Loving Jemima by Sienna Waters

Author:Sienna Waters [Waters, Sienna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-05-02T00:00:00+00:00

“I HAD NO idea places like that really existed,” Ellie said, laughing as they stepped back out into the night hours later.

“It’s a private club,” Jem said. “There are tons of them hidden around the city, but they don’t exactly advertise. You should see my father’s, it’s all pipes and hunting trophies and women can’t go into half the rooms.”

“Sounds lovely,” said Ellie.

“Come on,” Jem said. “This way.”

Ellie let herself be led, surprised to find that she wasn’t as tired as she would have expected. Jem took her hand as they rounded a corner and headed toward the river. The sky was already lightening, turning a pale gray.

“Just in time,” said Jem, stopping in the middle of the bridge. A pale edge of orange was visible at the horizon. “This is my favorite time of day.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sunrise,” Ellie said, starting to shiver with cold.

Jem pulled her in close, warming her with her body. “It’s a brand new, fresh start, and it happens every morning,” she said softly. “Something I’ve always found to be quite miraculous.”

Ellie laid her head on Jem’s chest as the sky turned from gray to pale gold and then bright orange, as the sun rose over the city, balancing on the water of the river for what felt like forever. She could smell Jem, could feel every inch of her body. “It is miraculous,” she said.

“I thought you’d fallen asleep,” Jem laughed, and Ellie could feel the vibrations of it all through her self.

“No,” Ellie said, half to herself. “No, not yet. I wouldn’t want to miss this.”

“You’ll miss work if you’re not careful,” Jem said pulling back. “We should get at least a bit of sleep, don’t you think?”

Ellie didn’t want the evening to end. She couldn’t imagine being alone. Not after spending the entire night with someone there. It sounded cold and lonely to let Jem go. “My flat’s close,” she said, hardly believing that she was saying anything.

Jem said nothing for a long moment. “Well, we’d better go then,” she said finally.

Ellie clasped Jem’s hand in her own and they walked together down the street. This was… good. Better than good. It was calming and beautiful and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so at peace. They were just coming in through the front door when Paul came rocketing down the stairs dressed in his green paramedic uniform.

“Late for shift,” he panted, then came to a full stop, eyeing Jem with undisguised curiosity.

Ellie sighed. She didn’t know how Jem managed to keep her life so secret, in Ellie’s case, everyone knew everything. “Paul, this is Jemima Darlington, Jem, this is Paul, my next door neighbor.”

“That’s a grand name,” Paul said, face wrinkling into a smile.

“Darlington?” Jem grinned back. “You don’t know the half of it.”

“Like the bank?”

“It’s a financial services company, not really a bank,” Jem began.

“And not really the time?” Ellie suggested.

“Right, right, gotta run,” Paul said. He grinned at Ellie. “You ladies behave yourselves.”

“He seemed nice,” Jem said as they rode the lift up to Ellie’s floor.

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