“Did I say anything wrong?” I murmured as I pressed a soft kiss on his hair.
“No. It wasn’t you.” He drew a shuddering breath. “I–it was just a little panic attack.”
“Oh that’s alright then.” My voice dripped with sarcasm. “Do you want to stay at the hotel today?”
He shook his head.“No, I’m okay. It happens sometimes. But I really want to go exploring with you.” I gave him a once over. He looked so fucking adorable with his beanie and the elegant scarf, and all bundled up in his new APEX coat.
“Well, if you’re sure. Let’s go have breakfast somewhere.” I would ask him what had triggered the panic attack later. For the moment, feeding him was my top priority.
We left the hotel room, and Noah took my hand in the lift.
“Thank you, Lew.”
Fifteen minutes later we arrived at Kat’s favourite cafe again. Scales & Steam was across the square from her office, and Kat and Roy swore they had the best coffee in Kirkmuir. I wasexcited to try some of their sweet treats with Noah. Everything was just more fun when we did it together.
The purple-haired barista greeted me like an old friend.
“Good morning, lovelies. What can I get you today?” She beamed at me. Her eyes intrigued me. It took me a moment to realise that her pupils were vertical and that she had a patch of light purple scales on her neck.
“Good morning.” I grinned over the counter. “Can we get two bottles of water, a fruit salad, two coffee lattes, and the Pumpking for me, please.” I tapped the glass display and pointed at a scrumptious looking cupcake. "What about you, Noah?” I asked him.
“I’ll have the red velvet cake.”
“Can we get two slices, please? Kat’s been telling me about it for ages,” I told the barista with a chuckle. “She’s addicted.”
She grinned back. “She is. Are you a friend of hers?”
“Her future brother-in-law,” I explained and swiped my card before Noah could even begin to protest. The barista acknowledged it with a little wink and waved us to the end of the counter. We waited for our order, standing a little closer together than strictly necessary.
Noah picked a table by the window and people watched while we sipped our drinks and ate our food. It was the perfect morning. When we were done, we took our dishes back, grabbed two more coffees to go, and I fished a business flyer from next to the tip jar.
“This is their roaster,” I explained and held the Wild Bull Roast leaflet up in front of Noah’s face. “Their coffee is fucking amazing. I want to see if I can order some for when we’re back home. Life is too short for shitty coffee.”
Noah gave me a curious look that I couldn’t quite place, but waited until I had grabbed one of the business cards that read ‘Wild Bull Roast Kirkmuir’, before we left the café.
It was a surprisingly beautiful day. Cold and a little gloomy, yes, but at least it was dry. Occasionally, the sun peeked through the clouds. It gilded the roofs and put a spring in Noah’s step I’d rarely seen since his return to Scotland.
We walked past the Silverlight Theatre and did a little turn around Kalon Gardens, the park behind it.
It had been named for a Dragoness who had vanished about twenty years ago. A statue of her, made from white marble, marked the centre of the park.
Her son lived in a castle not too far from the distillery. I’d met him a couple of times.
“How about we stay here and finish our coffees?” Noah pointed to a little Japanese pavilion next to the statue. “It’s so peaceful.”
I bet the park was beautiful in summer and made a mental note to come back with him then.
Shit. He won’t be here then, he’ll be back in Bali.
I fucking hated it so much. Why did he have to leave when we only just found each other again?
“How’s the social media thing going, by the way?” I prompted Noah when we sat down on a small bench. I inched a little closer so I could keep him warm. “Is our strategy working?”
“The social media thing? You’re cute.” He laughed and nearly spit out the sip he had taken. “Sorry.“ He took another mouthful but swallowed it down before he spoke. “As far as I can tell, it’s working. I have a smaller brand deal coming up, and I got quite a few donations on Moola.”
“How does that work?” I asked him.
“So, I post the link and then people can wire me money through it. It’s a bit like a tip for ….”
