All Chapters of The Things I Can't Do To You: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Neither of them seemed willing to end it. Amelia looked down briefly before looking back up."Can I ask something?" "Anything." "Were you planning on shaking my hand?" Jake blinked. "What?" "You've looked at my hand three times." "I have?" "Unless you've suddenly developed a fascination with fingers or want to check if I've got eleven fingers maybe?" His ears warmed. "I..." She tilted her head. "Oh my goodness." "What?" "You've been trying to decide whether to hold my hand." Jake considered denying it. Instead he admitted defeat. "...yes." Her smile became almost impossibly fond. "You could have just asked." 

Jake: I have a question.Amelia: Morning to you too.Jake: Morning.Jake: I forgot that bit.Amelia: I noticed.Jake: Important question.Amelia: Go on.Jake: How long were you standing at your front door laughing after I practically fled the scene?Amelia: About five minutes.Jake: Five?Amelia: Maybe six.Jake: That's devastating.Amelia: You actually turned around halfway down the road to check I was inside.Jake: Safety first.Amelia: Then you realised I'd caught you.Jake: I did.Amelia: Then you power walked away like someone had shouted "Fire!"Jake: Tactical withdrawal.Amelia: Cowardly retreat.Jake: Strategic repositioning.Amelia: Panicked escape.Jake: We clearly remember events differently.Amelia: I remember them perfectly.Jake: Convenient.Amelia: You practically saluted me before leaving.Jake: I absolutely did not.Amelia: You looked very serious.Jake: I was trying not to embarrass myself.Amelia: Too late.Jake: That's harsh.Amelia: Accurate.Jake: I thought you'd

Jake checked his watch for the fourth time in as many minutes."She's not late if you didn't even tell her you were coming." he muttered.She's inside. Go and get her.Kade, I'm not marching into an office building to announce myself.Why not?Because she's working.Work is finished.Wait another three minutes.Kade made a sound somewhere between a grumble and a sigh before retreating into sullen silence. Jake smiled to himself. He had chosen a spot across the road from Amelia's office where he could see the glass entrance without looking as though he was waiting for someone. In reality, he was doing exactly that.People drifted out in twos and threes, laughing as they escaped the working day. Some hurried towards the station with takeaway coffees balanced in one hand. Others lingered on the steps to finish conversations that had clearly started hours earlier.Every time the doors opened, Jake looked up. Every time they closed again without Amelia, Kade became a little more impatient.

The air outside the pub felt cooler than either of them expected. Amelia paused on the pavement, drawing in a slow breath. "I think I needed that." "The drink?" "The company." Jake smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that." She slipped her hands into the pockets of her coat and looked up at the evening sky. The last of the daylight had disappeared, leaving the city washed in amber streetlights and the glow of shop windows. "So," she said. "Am I walking you home or are you walking me home?" "I was planning on walking you." "I thought you might." "You don't mind?" She looked at him as though the answer should have been obvious. "I'd like that." They set off at an unhurried pace, neither of them in any rush for the evenin

Jake arrived a few minutes early. He always did.It wasn't because he expected Amelia to mind if he were late. She had already shown him she was endlessly patient. He simply preferred arriving with enough time to settle himself. The picnic blanket was folded in the boot beside a cool bag containing sandwiches, coffee, bottles of water and a small box of chocolate-covered strawberries he'd quietly bought earlier in the week.You labelled the containers."They're organised."They're labelled.Jake smiled despite himself.The entrance door to Amelia's apartment opened and she stepped into the afternoon sunshine wearing a pale blue summer dress with white trainers and a cream cardigan draped over one arm. Her honey-blonde hair rested in loose waves around her shoulders, and the smile she gave him as soon as she spotted his car made every careful plan for the day worthwhile.Mate."I know."She climbed into the passenger seat."Morning.""Morning.""You were early.""I was.""I knew you wo