Free Secret North: Book 4 of The Wishes Series by GJ Walker-Smith

wished he had; I might’ve told him the whole story. Good things were happening and I was feeling an unusual need to share.
    “Do I look any different to you, Paolo?” I asked.
    The man looked completely trapped, as if there was no correct answer. “New shirt?”
    “New beginnings, Paolo.”
    “Should I alert the media?” The caution in his voice killed the joke he was trying to make.
    “No need.” I grinned. “She is the media.”
    ***
    I decided to walk home from Nellie’s, which wasn’t something I did often. It was a good decision. After a few days of intermittent rain, the humidity had given way to sunshine. The bustling streets of Manhattan are the perfect place to be alone with your thoughts, and I had plenty. Most revolved around the preposterous offer I’d made to Bente of moving in.
    Her argument that we’d only known each other a short time was completely valid. Neither of us were renowned for making rash decisions. We were sensible and smart. So why was every fibre of my being hoping she’d take me up on it?
    I could think of only one reason. Turning thirty had made me soft.
    I was still walking when I received a text from the lady in question.
    - Are you busy?
    I thought quickly, trying to come up with a witty response.
    - No
    I failed. Turning thirty had made me really soft.
    - I think we need to talk
    No good could come from a sentence like that. I could almost feel my feet dragging as I slowed to type my reply.
    - Dinner? I’ll cook for you
    I added a smiley face for good measure. I had never texted a smiley face in my life. What the hell was happening to me?
    Bente replied with a love heart. Perhaps she was losing it too.
    I picked up my pace and rushed the rest of the way. By the time she knocked on my door a few hours later, dinner was prepared.
    I put on a confident smile, took a breath and opened the door.
    “Hi.” Her voice was barely there, and the half-hearted wave she gave me was just plain odd.
    “You’re greeting me with a wave?” I asked, puzzled. “Do you want me to follow up with a high-five?”
    She answered with a quick shake of her head, an even quicker lurch forward and a heart-stopping slow kiss. After spending all afternoon preparing for the worst, it was the most welcome kiss I’d ever received.
    Talking wasn’t high on my agenda at that point, so it was left to Bente to break the embrace. When she pulled away and walked to the centre of the room, I didn’t move.
    “I’ve been putting a lot of thought into your offer and –”
    “And what?”
    She spun to face me. “Why do you do that?”
    “Do what?”
    “Cut me off. I was in the middle of explaining and you cut me off. It’s annoying.”
    “I am annoying,” I agreed, taking small steps toward her.
    Her cross look began to slip. “I am too,” she confessed. “I’m also really messy. Shambolic actually. You wouldn’t want to live with me.”
    I dropped my head and smiled at the floor. “Shambolic? That sounds serious,” I teased. “I’m sure I’ll adapt.”
    “But you’re clearly a neat freak, Ryan.” She waved her hands around the room. “You’d have a breakdown in the first week.”
    “Maybe,” I agreed. “But I’m prepared to chance it.” I had no idea why.
    She shook her head. “It’s a really bad idea.”
    I stared at her, trying to figure out what to say. She was being sensible at a time when I seemed to have lost my mind. I should’ve been thanking her.
    “So you’re saying no?”
    “I’m not sure,” she replied, sounding confused. “Common sense says we should be ending this before it gets out of hand.”
    “You’re breaking up with me?” I couldn’t help smiling as I asked the childish question.
    “Technically, I think we have to be together before we can break up,” she replied, over-thinking things as usual.
    “I could do that,” I bravely offered.
    “Do what?”
    “The couple thing,” I said awkwardly. “I could do that with you.”
    The corner of her