Page 37 of Autumn at the Cornish Garden Café

‘Of course. I couldn’t eat a whole one but…’ She winked.

‘Ha ha! But do you think you’ll want children in the future?’

Rosa looked down and brushed at the skirt of her dress as if cleaning something away. She sighed, then met his eyes again. ‘It’s not always that straightforward, is it? Wanting and having aren’t always the same thing.’

Something in her tone told Henry not to push the conversation. He’d only wanted to find out how she felt about having a family because he’d doubted that he would want children, but now, being around Rosa had made him question his prior beliefs.

‘Let’s get a drink,’ he said, reaching for her hand again. When she let him take it, he breathed a sigh of relief because the last thing he wanted was to irritate her or make her anxious when they’d been getting on so well.

Orange cloths covered the tables in the café, with pumpkins in the centre of each one. Small LED lights flickered inside the pumpkins, and fairy lights adorned the counter and windows. The café smelt of cinnamon and ginger and when they went to the counter, he could see why. Green-and-orange iced cupcakes featured bats and ghosts, mini loaves of gingerbread had been decorated to look like coffins and mini cinnamon apple pies had faces carved into their pastry lids.

‘Cake?’ he asked.

‘Please.’ Rosa selected one with a bat on it and he got one with a ghost.

‘What would you like to drink?’ Pearl asked from behind the counter. Dressed as Cruella de Vil, Pearl’s outfit was so convincing that Henry had to remind himself she was actually very nice and not a cruel dog thief.

‘What have you got?’ Rosa asked.

‘We have non-alcoholic bloodthirsty punch, which is cranberry juice with lime juice and lemonade. We have Frankenpunch, which is ginger ale, pineapple juice, lime sorbet and tequila. Finally, we’ve made caramel apple mimosas, which contain caramel, cinnamon sugar, apple cider and caramel vodka.’

‘They all sound delicious,’ Rosa looked up at Henry. ‘What do you fancy?’

He bit back the reply ‘You!’ and said, ‘I’ll have a Frankenpunch, please, Pearl.’

‘And I’ll have the same,’ Rosa said.

Pearl got their drinks, and they took them along with their cakes to the green leather sofa. Sitting next to each other, they sipped their drinks simultaneously and Henry felt his eyes widen. ‘Wow!’

‘It’s so strong.’ Rosa licked her lips. ‘Delicious but strong.’

‘It is indeed,’ he said. ‘We should drink these, then try the mimosas too.’

‘Really?’ She giggled and for a moment, he saw the relaxed Rosa he adored. She could be so calm and lacking in guile, but then a wall would shoot up and he’d find it hard to know what she was thinking. It seemed to happen more often now, and he wondered if it was because she was confronting feelings she hadn’t dealt with for a while. It could happen when people felt vulnerable. He knew it because he’d felt it himself, but he wanted Rosa to feel safe with him and not to worry about being hurt. He had no intention of hurting her. Not ever.

‘Really,’ he said. ‘We’re here to have fun this evening and we can do whatever we like.’

‘I enjoy being with you, Henry,’ she said. ‘You’re fun company and so sweet.’

‘Why, thank you.’ She covered his hand with hers and leant her head on his shoulder in a way that made his skin grow warm. ‘I try to be good company.’

‘You are.’ She sat up straight again and sipped her drink and Henry did the same, enjoying how the alcohol in the cocktail warmed him right through. Outside in the gardens, people had started dancing and they watched them for a while as they ate their cakes, then Rosa said, ‘Want to dance?’

‘Why not?’

Rosa led the way outside and they joined in with the dancing. They shimmied around with other zombies, ghosts, vampires, pumpkins, astronauts and more. They danced toThriller, Monster Mash, GhostbustersandI Put a Spell on You… Henry could see Rosa relaxing as she danced, and he was glad. Whatever had happened to her before she came to Cornwall had left its mark, but he hoped she could work through it and have the life she deserved going forwards.

When a slow song came on, Annie Lennox’sLove Song for a Vampire,Henry held out his hand and Rosa accepted it. She stepped into his embrace and he held her gaze as they moved slowly around on the grass. With the moon high above them, the flickering pumpkins and the air sweet with cinnamon and crisp with autumn, it was a magical moment.

Everything else seemed to fade away, and it was just the two of them and the music.

Their connection.

Their hearts beating as one.

Rosa’s eyes glistened and Henry brushed a loose strand of hair from her face before kissing her forehead. Her skin was warm beneath his lips, grounding him in the moment. In awe of the depth of his feelings for this woman, he held her closer. He’d known her just two months, yet he felt as if his soul had always known her and had been waiting for her all this time. Everything that had come before didn’t matter because now he was where he was meant to be, and the woman he belonged with was finally in his arms.

When the song finished, they stood still for a few moments as if they both needed to gather their thoughts, and then Rosa said, ‘Now, about those caramel apple mimosas.’

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