Page 17 of Pyg

Alice nodded and returned her gaze to the man’s sleeping face. She touched her fingers to his warm hand resting atop the blanket.

“Hello, George. Sorry I got your name wrong, and I’m sorry again that I bashed your head.”

Ash bounced back into the room, as if unburdened by handing over the wallet. “Okay, that’s with the team now. Hopefully, in a short while, we’ll be a bit more up to speed on George here. Mystery — almost — solved.”

“We still don’t know what he was doing in the road like that, poor thing.”

“Nope, but we’re a step closer to finding out.”

Alice nodded and patted George’s hand.

“Anyway, I suppose I should get going.” Ash gestured to the door.

“Me too.” Alice bent to retrieve her fallen coffee cup before she stood.

Ash grimaced. “Oh no, that wasn’t from the vending machine, was it?”

Alice nodded with a grim smile.

Ash sucked air in through her teeth. “Blimey, and you drank it?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“That stuff is like rocket fuel. I should check you over, just in case.” Ash’s cheeks coloured as she laughed.

“You can if you want,” said Alice, barely suppressing her smile.

“Hmm, well I would, but I’m not on duty, so I’d have to refer you to one of my colleagues.”

“Well, in that case… perhaps you could point me in the direction of somewhere that serves a decent cup of coffee.”

“Hmm, there’s a cute little place just up the road. They have the most amazing muffins.” Ash chef’s-kissed her fingers. “I’ll take you, then at least you’ll have a doctor on hand if you need medical assistance.”

Alice bit down on her grin. “Lead the way to the muffins, doctor.”

* * *

The sharpnessof raspberry kicked against the gooey white chocolate coating Alice’s tongue. She murmured her pleasure through a mouthful of muffin and closed her eyes, savouring the first taste of something substantial since yesterday lunchtime.

“You weren’t wrong… these are delicious. Mmm.” Alice swallowed and opened her eyes to see Ash, staring at her display of unbridled pleasure. Amusement ticked up one side of Ash’s mouth in that disarming lopsided grin. Alice smiled back and Ash blushed, flicking her long dark lashes down to redirect her gaze at the giant mug of coffee she held in her hands.

“There’s a good reason they’re my favourite,” she muttered into her mug.

“Well, you have good taste.” Alice took a sip of tea, the perfect chaser to the rich muffin. She glanced around the small café with its exposed brick walls, reclaimed wooden furniture, and Edison bulbs casting a warm glow overhead. A playlist of lo-fi beats added to the hipster vibe.Fran would hate it.Alice smirked and turned her attention to the woman sitting in front of her. “So, you come here often?”

Ash’s laughter reached her eyes.

“I try not to come too often; the struggle to resist the muffins is real, and now you know why.” She gestured to the crumbs on Alice’s plate. “But it’s close to work, and it’s nice to get out of there from time to time. I used to come here a lot with… my ex.”

Alice propped her elbows on the table and leaned in. “Ooh, so this is where you bring all the women?”

“I wouldn’t say that, no.” Ash snickered. “We used to come here as it was nice to get away for a coffee together and not be surrounded by gawping colleagues.”

“Yes, I can see why that would be appealing.”

“Anyway, am I that obvious?”

With a little leap in her chest, Alice grinned because she’d guessed right. She sat back and playfully narrowed her eyes, taking Ash in.

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