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‘I’m not totally sure why you did it, or if you can even hear me, but thanks.’ A few moments later, there was a soft tinkle, and a slight shimmer of pinkish-hued glitter puffed into the air, making him smile. Whatever was going on, it seemed Hudsbury’s magic was on his side. There was an atmosphere in his office – like it was holding its breath.

Even though he’d been waiting, he still jumped when the knock came, smacking his knee against the drawer that had crept open again. He swore under his breath and slammed the drawer shut. It bounced open, smacking into his shin. ‘Please stop. I don’t need any more help. And you know she doesn’t know. So, unless you’re planning on telling her…’

The drawer shut itself, almost sulkily.

‘Yeah, that’s what I thought,’ he hissed, and hurried to open the door. ‘Hi, Amrita. Come on in.’

‘Hey, Jamie. Here.’ She handed him the battered pencil tin. ‘I really am sorry, again. And still a bit confused as to how I ended up with this.’

‘Probably just one of those Hudsbury things. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. But thank you for bringing it back.’ His fingers traced the familiar dents and scratches as he opened the lid to draw out his favourite drafting pencil – and dust off the glitter that confirmed his suspicions: this wasn’t an innocent mistake; magic and mischief was very much afoot.

‘I remembered you said it was sentimental.’ Amrita smiled, apparently not noticing the glitter.

‘Yeah.’ He liked that she understood – and didn’t seem to be judging him for it.

She shrugged off her coat and sat down, making herself comfortable, and Jamie felt like everything around him exhaled and settled too. Amrita looked around, slightly confused. ‘Did you feel that?’

‘What?’ He felt bad misleading her, but it wasn’t like he had any choice.

‘Oh, nothing I guess. You said you had more to show me.’

He slid the large folder towards her, suddenly feeling nervous. He hadn’t realised how much her opinion mattered until that moment.

She opened the folder slowly and studied the first design. He felt it again, that flare of magic as her finger traced over the new lines of the hallway. ‘I like how you’ve done this. You took what I said on board and narrowed it, but without making it feel small. And the seating and shelves feel almost organic… like they were always supposed to be there.’

‘They were. I just hadn’t realised it until you pointed it out. And once you had, it all seemed so obvious.’

‘You really love your job, don’t you?’

The question surprised him, jolting him out of the magic. ‘Yeah, I really do. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it can be frustrating at times. I sometimes feel like I drown in red tape and legislation. And it can be heartbreaking when the budget can’t stretch to meet the designs. Or when the client just doesn’t have the same passion for certain elements that I do – but fortunately that doesn’t happen too often.’

‘I don’t doubt that.’ She flicked to the next set of designs. ‘You’re clearly really good at it. It’s like you captured everything I was thinking and made it real.’

‘You made it easy. It’s all your ideas. I just wove them in with Sylvie’s.’

‘No. This is so much better than what I’d imagined. It’s perfect.’ Her voice caught slightly.

‘And yet you make that sound like it’s not a good thing.’

‘No, it is. It’s just…’ She shook her head. ‘This is going to sound really silly.’

‘Say it anyway. I promise not to judge. Too much.’

‘Despite the squabbles and us butting heads, I’ve actually kind of enjoyed this.’

‘Not sure why that’s a bad thing?’

‘Because it looks like we’re nearly finished.’

It took him a few moments to work out what she meant. When he did, he grinned hugely. ‘Are you saying you like my company?’

Her eyes flicked down, away from his for a second or two – just long enough for him to worry he’d misread the situation and said the stupid thing he should have kept to himself. When she looked up again, there was a glint in her eye. ‘I guess you’re not so bad. For a lofty know-it-all.’

‘At least I’m not so defensive that I’m actually verging on the offensive!’

Amrita froze for a second before cracking up laughing, the sound buzzing through him and igniting his magic. ‘Fair enough.’

‘So, what about you?’