LILY SAWYER TEXT ME BACK!!
Snorting, I quickly texted her.
Sorry, you overprotective nutter. My phone was on silent. Out with a friend. Talk later.
There was a text from Maddie asking much more calmly and less dramatically if I was all right. I assured her I was and got a notification that January had replied.
A friend with a dick?
I sent her the middle finger emoji in response.
The rest of my notifications could wait. Sighing, I took a photo of the loch and slipped my phone back in my pocket. I didn’t know how to explain Sebastian to my friends and January. Jan would say I needed to cut him loose if I was still attracted to him, and Maddie and Sierra would probably agree.
But … no one of any gender had ever pursued a friendship like this with me. Sebastian apparently enjoyed being around me. Maybe even needed me a little. And I couldn’t say I didn’t like the feeling. I could get over this crush and be his friend.
I could.
I was determined to.
“There you are.” Sebastian appeared between the trees, that sexy curl of his lips awakening the butterflies in my belly.
Okay. So, I wouldeventuallyget over it.
He sat down beside me on the bench, his arm pressed against mine. Together we stared out at the water for a bit.
“Thank you for bringing me here.” Sebastian broke the silence. “I didn’t even know this little gem existed.”
“You’re welcome.” Feeling a hunger pang, I stood up slowly. “I think I need to grab some lunch.”
“Why don’t we go to the Sheep Heid Inn? I’ve always wanted to.”
I stared out at the water, smiling a bit at the sound of Sebastian’s posh accent on the very Scottish wordheid. And maybe at the fact that he wanted to keep spending time with me. “Sounds good.”
I turned to look at him as he stood. He took another photo of me before I could even react.
“Will you stop doing that?”
“I can’t.” He shrugged. “You are incredibly photogenic, and I click where I must.”
It was much, much later, after we’d eaten at the pub and then ridden off our lunch by cycling back into Old Town, after Sebastian returned his hired bike and invited me to his flat for drinks with Juno before she returned to London. It was after Sebastian insisted on walking me home again but departed to work in his studio around the corner. After discovering Maddie and Sierra had gone out dancing without me but left me a bunch of voicemails demanding to know where I’d been.
I’d changed into my PJs and snuggled up in bed to do some coursework and dissertation research. As was my process so I didn’t get too overwhelmed, I switched from uni work to the romantic suspense novel I was reading that was like theBourneIdentitywith more romance. An hour later, eyes heavy with exhaustion, I’d finished my book and had a quick look on socials before bed. Curiosity compelled me to search Sebastian’s pseudonym artist account.
To my utter shock, there was a new post.
It was a photograph of me by Duddingston Loch. It was a closer shot than I’d realized. A headshot. The breeze had blown a strand of hair across my face and my eyes were lit up at just the right angle by the sun, making the green in the hazel more prominent.
The caption read:
After three and a half years here, I finally found this city’s real beauty.
My heart lurched in my throat at his meaning. It was quite possibly the most spectacular compliment anyone had ever given me. It was unbelievably …romantic.
Confusion rioted through me once more.
Sebastian had to know I’d see the photograph and the caption.
Switching out of the app, I settled my phone by my bed and turned off the light. Staring up at the ceiling, I let my turmoil of emotions sort themselves out. Finally, I decided it was my own crush on Sebastian that was making me read into things. Sebastian was affectionate and complimentary as a person. He didn’t mean to be romantic. Just … sweet.
