Free Say You Will by Kate Perry Page A

cake. She wanted something substantial and true, not a fleeting satisfaction that’d make her crash.
    She wanted Ben.
    She lowered her head and focussed on the work.
    She got to the bottom of the paperwork and set the pen down. “Done.”
    He looked at the neat pile. “Now we need to organize them by date.”
    “Already done, and I marked each quarter with a tab.” She turned the stack of papers to show him the blue tabs peeking from the sides.
    He frowned. “That was fast.”
    “Are you saying I didn’t do a thorough job?” She dared him to say otherwise with her gaze. “Because I can assure you that I did.”
    “No, I’m saying you’re a wonder.”
    “Oh.” Flustered, she felt herself blush. She stood and pulled her sweater down. “If you won’t be needing me …”
    He stood, too. “I need you, Em.”
    There was a hint of dark desire in his voice, and it made her shiver. She lost her voice, not sure what to say because she was sure Take me wasn’t right, even though it was the only thing in her head.
    He stepped closer, reaching out to her—
    A knock on the doorframe startled her.
    “Sorry, miss,” a workman said. “We’re done now.”
    “Yes.” She cleared her throat and gave Joe a reproaching look before briskly following the workman to let them out.
    To be safe, she left with them. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Joe—she didn’t trust herself.
    She took the underground to Shoreditch, walking dazedly to the coffeehouse. What had just happened? If she didn’t know better, she’d have suspected that he’d been about to touch her—maybe more.
    He was a player. Whatever he’d been up to couldn’t have been good.
    “Hello, Em.”
    Startled out of her daze, she realizing she’d almost walked straight into Ben. She frowned at him. “What are you doing here?”
    “I work here.” He flashed his sweet smile at her. “You’re right on time, like usual. Ready to go out to the greenhouse?”
    Not thinking, she winked at him and held up one of her gardening gloves. “More than ready. Want to help me get it on?”
    Confusion shadowed Ben’s face. “Is something wrong with your hand?”
    She blinked. What was she thinking, trying to flirt with Ben? It was Joe’s fault, which was exactly why she didn’t want him. Ben was much more suitable as a husband and father: dependable and loyal.
    Dull , said a voice that sounded suspiciously like Joe’s.
    She lifted her chin. Dull was just what she needed.

Chapter Eleven
    “Sorry I’m late,” Sara said as she unwound her black scarf and shimmied out of her overcoat.
    “I only just arrived.” Rosalind smiled at her reassuringly. “I’m glad you picked this teahouse. It’s adorable.”
    “My mother loved it here.” She nodded in thanks at the waitress who took her coat, tugged her skirt straight, and sat across the table. “I haven’t been here in a while.”
    She felt both sadness and envy—envy because she and her mother had never had proper tea together. “It’s difficult planning a wedding without your parents at hand, especially your mother.”
    “Mum would have loved to see me find someone to love.” Sara blinked her eyes a few times, sniffling, and then shook her head. “But you’ve lost your father, too. You must be sad.”
    Was she?
    Yes. The answer was irrefutable. Only her sadness wasn’t that she lost him—it was because she’d never had him to begin with. “My relationship with my father was complicated,” she said lightly, smiling at the waitress who came to take their order.
    After they asked for a pot of tea and scones, Sara said, “I’m sure your father loved you, even if he showed it materially. He must have left you and your sisters nice inheritances.”
    The only inheritance Reginald Summerhill would leave his daughters was daddy issues.
    Now wasn’t the time to have those bitter thoughts. She opened her sketchpad. “We should talk about happy things, like your wedding dress. I drew some initial