Freya turned round to see Rome standing there brandishing a letter and looking furious. To her surprise, he was clearly angry with her. Their hot, romantic evening suddenly seemed to be slipping away.

She stepped towards him. ‘What’s wrong? What’s happened?’

He thrust the letter towards her and then walked away across the room, digging out his phone as he started typing something furiously on it.

Freya watched him for a second then looked at the letter. Her heart sank as she realised it was from the glass studio in St Ives asking Rome for a reference for her.

‘I applied for this before I came back to work for you,’ Freya said, knowing it wouldn’t make any difference to his mood.

He held the phone up, clearly having looked up the job online. ‘This was why you wanted to leave Through the Looking Glass? I thought perhaps you wanted something that was bigger and better. But now I find out that you want to leave being a partner in your own glass studio to work in a different glass studio on a temporary six-month contract with a lot less pay.’

‘Rome, let me explain.’

‘So it wasn’t that you wanted a change in career, it wasn’t that you wanted more money, it really was that you just wanted to get away from me. What the hell did I do?’

‘It wasn’t you.’

Rome paced back across the floor, clearly not listening. ‘Am I really that awful to work for, I know I’m grumpy sometimes, is it that? Or is it that I’m boring, you find me so mind-numbingly dull that you can’t bear to be around me any more.’

Freya was horrified. ‘Rome, no, that isn’t it at all.’

‘You were happy to kiss me, you wanted to sleep with me, so obviously I couldn’t be too abhorrent for you. Or is it like some of the women on the island say: good at sex, not really good for much else. And you just thought you’d have a piece of that before you left?’

‘If you shut up for a second, I’ll tell you why I wanted to leave.’

‘So tell me?’

Freya sighed. She had never envisaged having the conversation like this. She had imagined that it would eventually happen over much more romantic circumstances. Maybe over a meal and a bottle of wine she would tell him that she loved him and she needed time away from him to finally get over him. And there was a tiny sliver of hope that he would then say it back. After the kiss that night, after their conversation about cuddling which was very obviously about making love, she had begun to think he did have feelings for her after all, that she hadn’t imagined those feelings over the last few days and weeks that had led up to that fateful night when she had stormed out on him. But now she had hurt him and the chance of a romantic night making love in this incredible room was gone.

She watched him standing there, so angry, and she didn’t know if what she was about to say would make any difference to him.

‘Why are you doing this?’ he asked.

‘Because...’ She stepped closer. ‘Because, you blind silly boy, I’m in love with you.’

Rome stared at her. That clearly wasn’t the answer he’d been expecting.

‘I love you, I have been in love with you for so long. I love your humour, your kindness and your intelligence, I love all your geeky little facts. I love you. I love you to the moon and back.’ She let out a little giggle of relief at finally being able to say it after all this time.

He pushed his hair back from his face, clearly at a loss for words.

‘I applied for that job because I couldn’t do this any more. Because every day I worked with you or every evening I spent laughing with you, it was torture because all I really wanted to do was kiss you and make love to you and tell you how I really feel. Because every time I see you go off with another woman…’ her words caught in her throat ‘…a little piece of me dies inside and I couldn’t do it any more.’

All the fight went out of him. Rome took her hand. ‘Oh god Freya, I had no idea. I thought you might be attracted to me, I had no idea you loved me.’

‘That night, at Envy.’ Freya swallowed down the humiliation she had felt when she had stormed out. ‘I thought you were going to tell me that you loved me too. I even somehow stupidly persuaded myself that you were going to propose after that silly conversation about engagement rings and then your casual platonic offer to marry me. I’m such an idiot. And then you gave me this beautiful brooch instead of an engagement ring and asked me to be your business partner. I was so disappointed and it hurt so much that you just didn’t see me that way. It hurt more than when I found Jake cheating on me. And when I came out of the bathroom and saw you talking and flirting with that waitress, I knew that I would always be watching you going off with other women, and I realised if I didn’t leave I would always be waiting for you to eventually turn your attention to me and I couldn’t do it any more. I’ve been there with Jake, I waited for eight years and he never loved me. I wanted to stay on Hope Island, I wanted to stay working for you, I love working with you and working with glass but I knew I just needed time away from you to try to fall out of love with you. I thought six months working in St Ives, six months where I wouldn’t get to see you any more, maybe it would be enough. Then I could come back and just be friends.’

He reached out and stroked her face. He looked absolutely devastated by this news. ‘I can’t believe I hurt you, I’m so sorry, that was never my intention.’

‘But today, we were holding hands, you kissed me, we were going to come back here and make love. Was that really just sex? Did it mean nothing to you or do you have feelings for me too?’

‘Of course I have feelings for you. I adore you. I love spending time with you, you make me laugh, I can talk to you for hours and every night my dreams are filled with you and believe me they’re pretty X-rated.’

‘You dream about me?’

‘Every night. Which makes me feel all kinds of creepy, having those thoughts about my best friend. I think about you like that all day too.’

She stared at him. ‘But if you have these feelings why haven’t you done anything about it?’

‘That night, I wanted to talk to you about it, but I wanted us to be equals first. I didn’t want to be your boss asking you out. I wanted to give you half of the company and then I was going to talk to you about being partners in other aspects of our life. But you walked out before I got that chance.’

Emotion clawed at her throat. She’d got it all wrong. ‘You were going to ask me out?’

He shook his head. ‘I don’t know. I was going to talk to you about it. In some ways I was relieved I never got that far.’

Disappointment crashed through her again. ‘I don’t understand. You changed your mind. You didn’t want to ask me out?’

‘You’re my best friend and you mean the world to me. I value our friendship so much I didn’t want to ruin it just for the sake of having sex.’

‘You’re my best friend too and that will never change.’

‘I don’t ever want to lose what we have. I don’t do relationships. I’m useless at them. I never know what a woman is thinking or what to say and I would end up doing something that would hurt you and then I’d lose you.’

‘But for the last two years we’ve practically been in a relationship. We spent almost every hour of every day together. I fell in love with the man you are when we’re alone. Not the fake persona you show to everyone else. The real you. We talked, we laughed, I was never bored by you. You never said the wrong thing or upset me. The only thing missing from our relationship was the intimacy. Sex wouldn’t ruin us, it would complete us.’

He shook his head. ‘But I did hurt you. By not doing anything I upset you. These last few days when you walked out on me, I realised that I can’t live without you. Six years ago I lost someone very close to me and it broke me, I can’t go through that again.’

‘So what was tonight about?’

‘Desire took over. I wanted you so much.’

‘You can have me.’

‘It’s a bad idea. We’re better off as friends.’

‘And how would that work? We stay as friends. Do you think I’m going to be OK watching you date other people, because I won’t. Will you be OK if I start dating other people, marry someone else?’

Rome scowled.

‘So you don’t want me but you don’t want anyone else to have me either. This is ridiculous. I get you’re scared of getting hurt. But you can’t hide yourself away for fear of what might happen. There are no guarantees in love but it’s better to try than to live a half-life where you’ll never experience love again.’ She slid her hands round his neck. ‘Why don’t you show me what your dreams look like?’

‘Freya, this isn’t a good idea. It would change everything between us.’

‘Only for the better.’

‘What happens if it ends?’

‘What happens if it doesn’t?’

Rome still didn’t look convinced and Freya stepped back, hurt. She obviously wasn’t worth the risk and she certainly wasn’t going to beg.

‘I’m going for a shower. Fill in the reference form for me, that’s the least you can do. Let me go so I can try to get over you. Why don’t you take the twin room tonight and tomorrow we can just pretend that this conversation never happened. We’ll just carry on as normal until I’ve worked my notice.’

She walked away from him and into the massive bathroom, barely noticing the huge hot tub and the large walk-in drench shower that was big enough for several people to take a shower all at the same time. The tiles were an inky metallic blue that sparkled in the spotlights. She stripped her clothes off and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water pour over her, closing her eyes against the water as it splashed across her face.

What a mess. She didn’t know what she imagined would happen when she told him she loved him but it wasn’t this. She cursed herself because if she hadn’t got nervous and freaked out, they would be making love about now. And maybe that would have been all that she needed to get over him, maybe they’d have had no chemistry at all and one night would have completely cured her of any inappropriate feelings for him. Though she doubted that to be the case. If their incredible first kiss was anything to go by, they had off-the-wall chemistry. But now she’d never find out.

What was it going to be like over the next few weeks? She presumed it would be awkward at first but they would eventually be able to work alongside each other fairly normally while they completed the work on the school mural and they would just dance around the elephant in the room.

She leaned her hands against the wall and lowered her head so the water could pour over her neck and down her back.

Suddenly she was aware of a heat behind her that had nothing to do with the shower. Her breath caught in her throat, not wanting to turn round and find out she was wrong, not daring to believe she could be right.

She opened one eye, just as a large hand snaked around her stomach and Rome pressed a kiss to her shoulder and then another kiss just below her ear.

‘I’m not letting you go.’

Just in case there were any doubts of his intentions, he placed a condom on the shelf in front of her.

Her heart thundered in her chest as he slid another hand over her breast and the hand that was around her stomach slid lower, his hot mouth on her neck the most wonderful feeling in the world. She didn’t say anything as he curled himself around her back, possessing her in every way, but she laid her head on Rome’s shoulder, arching back against him.

He stroked across her most sensitive area with sure, strong fingers, somehow knowing exactly where to touch her.

He ran his fingers across her nipple, kissing across her collarbone, and to her surprise he brought her tumbling over the edge very quickly, as she let out a guttural moan.

He turned her round, his eyes devouring her hungrily. She ran her hands over his shoulders, relishing in the feel of silky skin over rock-hard muscle. Her eyes cast greedily over his body. He was such a glorious sight and for tonight at least he was hers.

She ran her hands down his chest, across his stomach and further down between his legs, making him take a sharp intake of breath as she held him. He kissed her hard as she continued to stroke him and he groaned against her mouth.

He suddenly pulled back slightly. Sinking to his knees, he placed a loving kiss on her stomach then dipped his head lower. She cried out as he kissed against the area that was still so sensitive from the last time. She stroked her fingers through his gorgeous black curls, caressing the back of his neck as he worked his magic on her. There was something so glorious about seeing him on his knees, taking care of her needs, and it was that thought that sent that feeling crashing through her again. He sat back on his heels, staring at her, the hunger in his eyes for her so raw and urgent, she knew instinctively what he needed.

As she caught her breath she grabbed the condom and passed it to him and he quickly slid it on. He hooked his hands behind her knees and pulled her down on top of him so she was straddling him as he knelt on the floor of the shower, the water pouring over them both.

He cupped her face and kissed her as he thrust up inside her, she gasped against his lips and he stared at her as they moved against each other. He didn’t take his eyes off hers for a second as he slid his hands down to her hips, holding her tight against him. They held that connection, not talking, their breathing shallow, just eye to eye as if they both knew this feeling between them was something special and they didn’t want to break it. Sex had never felt like this before. This was something incredible and they both knew that.

He ran his hands down her legs, caught her knees and shifted her into a slightly different position so every thrust hit that sweet spot inside her.

She leaned forward and kissed him, sinking her fingers into his shoulders as that wonderful feeling built in her again. He slid his tongue across her lips and as she let out a little gasp of need, he slipped his tongue inside her mouth, colliding with her own.

Tension and need built in her stomach and she pulled back slightly to look at him.

‘I’m never letting you go, Freya,’ Rome whispered against her lips and it was these words of need from him that sent her hurtling over that peak and he quickly followed.

For the longest time, Freya didn’t move, her arms wrapped tightly round his neck, her face pressed into his shoulder as she was too scared to look at him. He was stroking his hands up and down her back as both of their breathing returned to normal but all Freya could think of was what things would be like between them now. Would he regret it? Would he try to talk his way out of it and tell her it could never happen again? They had shared an incredible connection and for Freya it had been the most intimate moment of her life. But what if he simply hadn’t felt that? What if it had just been nice for him?

‘Let’s get dry and go to bed,’ Rome said and Freya sighed a little. There were no soft words of endearment, no whispers of, ‘I love you.’ Was it really over before it had even properly begun?

She pulled back slightly and he kissed her on the forehead, which filled her with a tiny sliver of hope.

She stood up, her legs shaking, and watched as he got up too.

He moved out of the shower and grabbed two towels and came back to her, gently towelling her hair dry and then drying her body. He wrapped the towel around her and then quickly dried himself.

She wanted him to say something, anything that would indicate they were going to be OK, but he didn’t.

To her surprise he came back to her and scooped her up and then carried her through to the bedroom. He lay her down then climbed into bed with her, pulling her into his arms as he kissed her sweetly. Her heart soared and he pulled back slightly to look at her, his eyes filled with adoration for her. Almost all of her fears faded away. She could see how much she meant to him and he didn’t need to say a word.

‘You’re very quiet,’ he said, his eyes clouding with concern.

‘So are you.’

He smiled and she reached up to stroke his face.

‘I’m quiet because that was quite possibly the best sex I’ve ever had and I just wasn’t expecting it to be like that,’ he said.

His honesty completely disarmed her.

‘So no regrets?’ she asked.

‘No. None. Not for one second. You?’

She shook her head. ‘I’ve been waiting for this for years and now it’s finally happened it was everything I wanted it to be and more.’

He smiled and kissed her again then pulled back again to look at her as if he was seeing her for the first time.

‘So what happens now?’ she asked, finally finding the courage to ask the question.

‘Well, give me half hour and I think I’ll be ready for round two.’

She laughed. ‘That sounds like a perfect plan.’