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When Harry woke in the morning, the room was grey with slivers of light from the blinds and the house seemed quiet from up here. She stretched and enjoyed the feeling of the bedclothes around her. She turned, intending to go back to sleep and was surprised to see an empty space.

Listening carefully, she heard a light thump from the bathroom door, and footsteps on the stairs. Dempsey appeared with a towel around his waist and lost in thought, clearly assuming she was still asleep. She bit back a gasp and pretend to be so, as he removed the towel and hung it up by a warm radiator. Then he padded to the wardrobe to find his clothes. She watched through half-closed eyes, studying the sculpture of his back and shoulders. His arms were strong, and his arse tight above strong runners legs. He turned around and she got an eyeful. She faked a restless yawn that became a real one, and nestled into the sheets to avoid getting caught stealing evidence of what she'd already guessed; he was beautiful.

She must have dozed off as the smell of coffee stirred her. Immediately she felt awful for spying; what if he'd done the same to her? Perhaps he would have had more courage and moved from the bed, told her what was on his mind and, oh…

"Morning?" The man on her mind was dressed and he had placed a tray on the bedside table. Dempsey tentatively looked at her and she was ready with her apology for ogling him; "I wasn't sure how you took your coffee?"

Oh well. Perhaps it was for the best.

"White, no sugar thank you," she sat up and looked horrified at the clock. "That's half the morning gone!"

Dempsey shrugged. "Arlington's busy and I'm half way through a book. There's breakfast in the lounge."

She found him sitting at a small dining table by a mullioned bay window. A silver tray contained a coffee press, a large dish of fruit and a basket of pastries.

"How did you sleep?" Dempsey asked, handing her a plate.

"Like the dead, and you?" Harry took a plain croissant and sat on a love seat, built into the window.

"I could tell, you have the cutest little snore," Dempsey grinned and she threw a piece of pastry at him. He neatly caught it and popped it in his mouth. "I slept well too."

"What's on the agenda today?" Harry brushed crumbs from her dressing gown and pour herself some orange juice.

"Katherine said that Arlington wanted to take us on a tour," Dempsey leant back in his chair, "I heard there's a deer park."

"That sounds bearable," Harry smiled. "We seem to have a plan."

He rose from the dining chair and sat beside her. "You ready to be the happy couple today?"

His hand lingered on her knee and she watched an errant lock of hair stray over his eyes. Carefully she reached over and brushed it back, and his hand stilled. She made a decision based on instinct, and offered a light kiss on his lips; a simple brush of her mouth against his. When she sat back, Dempsey smiled at her, his head cocked to the side in curiosity.

"Practising," she said lightly, feeling like her world had been rocked a little. She got to her feet to prepare for the day and avoid too much over thinking.

"That's my Harry," Dempsey said and she surprisingly liked the sound of it.

DMDMDM

"That's fuck you money," Her fiancee observed quietly as they looked at the squeaky clean mega truck. At the wheel, sat Greg with Arlington in the row behind. At the back were two further rows of seats.

Arlington was on his phone and he waved at them to come over, indicating that Harry should sit with him and Dempsey further behind in a series of hand directions that she felt unreasonably annoyed by. Snapping the handset closed, their host explained, "I want to talk shop with Harriet."

Arlington probably didn't mean anything by it, but after 24 hours of Dempsey, Harry felt his loss and distance as if they were attached by an invisible cord. She turned her attention to Arlington. This was a job. Dempsey would be gone on Friday and with any luck, she'd get the grant.

She heard a note of steel in Arlington's voice as he asked what the museum would use his money for, and it reminded her further that this was a transaction. Arlington's money. Her money to pay Dempsey. Giving herself a shake, she began to explain the research programme. By the time the truck had stopped moving, Harry had to admit that Arlington had clearly completed his own research and was able to understand the importance of the grant.

"I thought you'd like to see the deer?" Greg killed the engine on a single track road above a tall ridge. Below them was a large area of purple heather, and a group of deer and a stag, yet to spot the human audience.

She watched them and watched Dempsey as he mouthed a silent 'wow' and wondered how many more layers he had. As the animals skittered away, the tour moved on and Arlington was distracted by the scenery too. Within the hour they were back up the long drive to the hall.

Arlington's phone rang again, obscenely loud in the peaceful surrounding. "Excuse me, there's scant signal around this place and I must take the call."

"That seemed to go well for you," Dempsey said quietly.

Harry nodded and without thinking, she threw her arms around him and kissed him. He gently returned the gesture, knowing they had an audience; Arlington was looking at them as he crossed the lawn.

"You'll have to excuse me, I must head to London this evening," he explained, "I'll be back tomorrow evening, in time for fireworks."

Harry looked confused.

"Thanksgiving, we Americans gotta have some fun," Arlington smiled, reminding her of a shark as he clapped Dempsey on the shoulder.

DMDM

They had dinner at the small table in their own space. The food was more fortifying than the night before, a warming casserole and hearty dessert. From across the table, Dempsey had looked at her differently and she felt warmed by his gaze and the wine. He wore a black shirt, unbuttoned lower than usual as if he was 'off-duty', and she wanted to lick his neck.

"I'm sorry that you had to sit behind us, that wasn't fair of him to make you do that," Harry was still cross about Dempsey being treated like the outlier.

"You were amazing today," he replied taking a sip of wine. "I've got no idea what you two where talking about anyways and I gotta admit, I was happy watching you."

"I throw myself into whatever I do, my ex-husband hated me doing that," she said quietly, hating herself for the doubt that sat inside her, "you really think it went well?"

Dempsey nodded, "I think you've done it."

"I think we might have, yes," Harry agreed, unwilling to take all the credit, very aware of Arlington's greed for women and the different circumstances had she been here alone.

"C'mon, I'm the arm candy," Dempsey grinned and she thought how much more he was. He poured the last of the wine and got up, taking her hand as they walked to the sofa. She wondered what might happen next and remembered the softness of his lips.

She heard a phone ring from his jacket pocket, hung by the door, not even aware that he had such a thing. "Not you too?"

"Sorry," Dempsey got up. "I carry it in case of an emergency."

He slipped past her and out into the lobby. Harry went to pour tea and had no idea how he took it. She supposed it was okay to ask but when she approached the door, she heard the tight tone of his voice; Dempsey sounded unhappy.

"How did you get this number?"

Harry couldn't hear the words, but she heard an American twang.

"If you want to book my services, you call the agency, Simone."

She took a step backward, suddenly aware that she'd forgotten that Dempsey was an escort. A police officer, but moonlighting as a sex worker to be blunt about it and a back story that clearly impacted him. This wasn't any of her business.

"I'm on a job."

There was a bleep as the call ended, and Harry heard him utter a fruity curse and she felt suddenly very stupid. The painful, thick sensation of hurt rose up inside of her. A job.

Harry hoped the candlelight would hide her distress and she spoke brightly when he returned, "How is everything at home?"

Dempsey looked sombre but quickly came too, and picked up the glass with a fleeting smile, "That wasn't… huh.. it's all okay, thank you."

At least he didn't lie to her. Yet the shame of thinking this could be more, burnt her heart. "I'm going to turn in, the excitement of the day has worn me out."

He nodded, "You don't mind if I stay here for a bit, I'll ask housekeeping to take this all away."

She felt the tears prickle her eyes and fled quickly. By the time he came to bed, she was already on her side, facing away from him and willed sleep to come.