Page 59 of The Typo

We both hesitated, not sure what to do next.

Then he took his glove off and stuck his hand out.

‘Hello, Amy, I’m Cameron. We meet at last.’

I put my hand in his, appreciating the gentle strength of his palm against mine.

‘Hello, Cameron, it’s good to see you.’

I kept hold of his hand and then spontaneously leaned up to briefly press my cheek against his. He smelled of chocolate, with a faint citrus undertone which I guessed must be from his aftershave.

‘I didn’t?—’

‘I wasn’t?—’

We both started speaking over each other.

‘You go first,’ I said.

‘No, you,’ he replied. ‘Please.’

I stepped back, and tried to read his thoughts in his features. Since that initial smile, his face had grown serious. What did he have to confess to me? Was he regretting his decision to come here? Had he only done it to tell me in person that it would never work between us because of my own deception? There was only one way to find out. It was time to make another leap of faith.

‘Okay, what I was going to say was that I wasn’t sure you were going to come. I couldn’t help thinking that you wouldn’t have sent the postcard if you’d known the real me. And then your response to my confession seemed so strange. I didn’t know what to make of it. I even thought the whole thing might have been a hoax. I very nearly stayed at work. Why go out and get soaked on a fool’s errand? But sometimes you have to be brave. I decided it was worth running the risk of getting cold and wet. Who would believe it’s the first day of spring?’ I gestured at the sea of umbrellas surrounding us. ‘I mean it’s not a patch on the conditions you’ve been facing over the last few months,’ I added hastily. ‘I’m in no position to complain really. Talking about the weather is an easy excuse to fill awkward silences.’

‘I’d be doing the same if you hadn’t got in there first.’

At last, he smiled again, and I found myself marvelling at the way it made me glow all over, despite all the unanswered questions which hovered between us.

‘Rainy Edinburgh definitely could give Antarctica a run for its money on the cold front,’ he said. ‘And there I go, falling back on the same crutch. Look, there’s a lot to talk about. Shall we go somewhere in the dry to continue this conversation? I’m very happy to stay out in the rain with you, but your lips are getting a little blue.’

The sudden rush of heat his words provoked in me was very effective in counteracting the cold conditions, even if they hadn’t provided me with the reassurance I was looking for.

‘Sure, that sounds like a good plan. I know just the place.’

ChapterThirty

We walked side by side down the Royal Mile while I kept up a steady stream of commentary about the street’s history, feeling the need to fill the silence. I was fluctuating between hope and despair, still uncertain about what our conversation might lead to. Yes, he had smiled at me and seemed pleased to meet me at last, but what if he was just being polite? What was really going on here?

I took him to the little café which I’d visited with Leonie, and was heartened by the way he immediately chuckled about the free puppies sign. We went through the motions of placing our orders, then settled down at a quiet table by the window. I tried not to stare when he took his coat off, again experiencing a pang of misgiving. He wasn’t handsome in a conventional sense, but he was good-looking enough in my eyes to make the little voice of insecurity at the back of my mind pipe up and question why someone like him would be interested in me. I stamped down on it immediately. Wasn’t there equally as much chance that he was thinking the same thing about me?

‘Speaking of pets, how are Eliza and Fraser?’ Cameron asked, as we waited for our hot chocolates. I welcomed the easy opening gambit.

‘Extremely hairy, mostly quite cuddly now, although with the occasional moment of disdain to make sure I remember my place.’

He laughed. ‘That’s cats for you. I think they enjoy keeping their humans on their toes by making them question whether they’re needed or not.’

I summoned up my courage and seized the opportunity he’d offered.

‘While I can tolerate that behaviour in the cats, I prefer to keep that kind of toying with emotions out of my human relationships. I’m truly sorry I wasn’t honest with you from the start. My insecurities have a lot to answer for. And I can’t promise they won’t make me act stupidly again in the future. But I can promise that I will be nothing but honest with you. I hope you’ll show me the same courtesy in return. I know we have a lot to learn about each other, but I can’t even consider that until I know what it is that you couldn’t tell me via email. So please come clean, or we might as well go our separate ways now.’

Before he could reply, the waitress came over and delivered our drinks.

‘Can I get you any cakes to go with these?’ she asked. ‘We have a great selection today, and they’re buy one, get one half price.’

We both shook our heads. In any other circumstances, cake would of course have been a great idea, but I was too on edge to think about eating anything, and judging by Cameron’s no, I suspected he might be feeling the same too.

‘Fair enough. Give me a wave if you change your minds,’ she said. ‘I’ll leave the menus here for you in case. Enjoy your drinks.’

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