Good God, was this because the world was a more exciting place when he was with her?
Was this what falling in love felt like?
No-o…
That couldn’t happen. Itwouldn’thappen because Angus knew he had the control to make sure of it.
And, okay, it would be playing with fire if he went along with it but it would be acontainedfire. Like feeling the heat from a fireplace, not a volcano. It would only be a few days and, if he was ever going to find out what it did feel like, this was the safest opportunity he would ever have. There was no reason to tell Tilly what he was thinking. They’d never see each other again after this.
The thought that he could just have atasteof what it was like was surprisingly compelling.
Angus took a deep breath as Tilly’s voice broke the extraordinary spiral of his thoughts. She was giving their order for socca.
‘Deux parts, s’il vous plaît, monsieur.’
‘Le sel et le poivre?’
‘Oui. Merci.’
He watched the new pan coming out of the fire, the batter now cooked and slightly charred on the top, but he wasn’t wondering what this local speciality was going to taste like.
That spiral hadn’t quite stopped.
A taste would be safe enough, surely? Not of the socca but of falling in love – if only to find out if he was actually capable of allowing that to happen. Just a sip. He didn’t have to drink the whole bottle, after all. It could be a worthwhile experiment. If it went horribly wrong, he could go home knowing that he’d been right all along and he wasn’t missing out on anything by keeping such shenanigans out of his life.
If he discovered something different, it would be food for thought for what he needed to look for in the future.
And who knew? He might learn enough to understand what had driven his father to risk too much, too often.
Hemighteven be able to forgive him.
9
‘Wait!’
The touch of Angus’s hand on her arm did more than make her slow their progress back to pick up their clothing from the dry cleaners.
It felt like her heart had actually stopped for a blink of time and then it thumped hard enough to feel like two beats in one. She could still feel the print of his fingertips on her skin after he’d lifted his hand but what she could also feel was the echo of his lips on hers.
And an ache of something much deeper than merely wanting to experience that again. This felt more than a need, even. It felt like a craving – something you had to have even if you knew how bad it would be for you.
‘That’s the shop where I bought my shoes, yes?’
Tilly nodded.
‘I’ll be back in two ticks.’
Two ticks. A short period of time but hopefully enough to squash that sensation of how much she wanted Angus to kiss her again. And it might have worked but Angus suddenly turned back.
‘No, come with me, Tilly.’
She followed him into the shop. He went straight to the shelves of hats and picked up the flat leather ‘driving’ cap.
‘I want to put the roof down on the car,’ he explained. ‘So I think I need this.’ He put it on his head and tugged at the front and back to settle it. One corner of his mouth lifted. ‘How do I look?’
Gorgeous, Tilly wanted to say.Beau gosse.
I want you to kiss me…
