‘Hi.’
Suddenly I didn’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing because it was almost impossible to say anything at all. He really was the most stunning person I’d ever seen. The dark ash tones of his hair, the moss-coloured eyes that shifted with the sunlight and the inviting broad slope of his shoulders that seemed made for me to rest my head against. Wyn looked strong and tanned in a way that casually suggested he spent a lot of time outside throwing tree trunks around rather than sculpting his muscles in a gym, and his loose jeans and snug shirt fit his body in a flawlessly unstudied fashion. Every aspect of him was perfect and I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Dozens of pairs of eyes peered out from behind books and sunglasses, and a lot of his admirers were a good few years older than me. Despite the fierce sting of jealousy that stabbed at my heart I couldn’t really blame them – once you’d set eyes on Wyn Evans, it was almost impossible to look away.
Only he wasn’t there with them, he was there with me.
But it wasn’t a date.
‘Glad you could make it,’ he said, completely oblivious to the thirsty looks he’d garnered from every corner of the square.
‘Same,’ I squeaked, trying to block out my competition.
He flashed a smile that almost knocked me off my feet. ‘Can’t think of a single thing on this earth that could have kept me away.’
Someone hadn’t spent his evening tangling with an enormous wolf and it showed.
‘I hope I didn’t get you into trouble with your grandmother,’ he said, rubbing the back of his neck as he cast a glance back at Bell House. ‘I know how strict grandparents can be and she didn’t look too pleased to make my acquaintance.’
‘It’s fine.’
Complex sentences were too much of a risk, better to stickto single syllable answers until I could look directly at him without being completely dazzled.
‘Great, because I’ve been thinking about our tour.’ Wyn stuck his hands deep into his pockets and ground the toe of his boot into the ground. ‘Savannah is a great town and there’s a lot of cool stuff to see but I think it’s important to start someplace good. An historical landmark of the utmost significance.’
‘Sounds good to me,’ I managed to say. ‘Where are we going?’
‘It’s a surprise,’ he replied. ‘I think surprises are always more fun, don’t you?’
‘Sometimes,’ I murmured, flashing back to the night before. ‘Not always.’
‘This one will be worth it.’
He held out his arm and after a split-second of hesitation, I slid my hand through the crook of his elbow. It fit like two parts of the same puzzle and I knew I would follow him off a cliff if it meant prolonged physical contact.
‘Never in my life will I doubt a word you say,’ I declared just twenty minutes later. ‘Historically significant doesn’t even start to cover it. This is life changing stuff.’
Wyn touched his huge, double-scoop waffle cone ice cream to mine in a dairy-based toast before taking a rapturous lick.
‘Sure, the Telfair academy has some cool art,’ he replied in his best official tour guide voice as we escaped the din of the jam-packed Leopold’s Ice Cream Parlor. ‘But did they invent tutti-frutti ice cream? I think not.’
‘Put it on the historical register, give it a blue plaque, make it a UNESCO site, whatever it takes,’ I said with great solemnity. ‘This place must be protected.’
Finally I had found the solution to the unbearably humid weather. Ice cream. My double scoop of chocolate chip and butter pecan wobbled ominously atop the waffle cone but Iwasn’t about to lose even a mouthful. It was so delicious, I could have cried.
‘We used to come down to Savannah sometimes when I was a little kid,’ Wyn said, wandering happily down the street. ‘I always got the lemon custard, Gramps always got the strawberry.’
My eyes widened as I attacked my cone with surgical precision.
‘Wait, I didn’t see lemon custard. That’s it, as soon as we finish these, we’re going back.’
‘Leopold’s is over one hundred years old, it’s not going anywhere,’ he said laughing at my serious expression. ‘We’ll get it next time.’
Next time. I felt my whole body light up with joy. He was already thinking about next time.
Soon the main street was far behind us. Wyn led the way, strolling into another leafy green square shaded by a dense canopy of oaks, and right away the temperature seemed to drop by ten degrees. Everything felt better when he was around, even the weather.
‘You said you just moved here, right?’ He slowed his pace, giving me a chance to enjoy the momentary break in the heat. ‘Where did you live before? I’m guessing it wasn’t in the US.’
‘I was born here in Savannah,’ I replied as I ploughed through the chocolate chip and into the butter pecan. Every bite was worth the brain freeze. ‘But I’ve lived in a bunch of different places which explains my weird accent. Before I came here, I lived in Wales.’
