Page 62 of One Night in Edinburgh

‘OK… sure.’ I hover uncertainly for a moment, then head back to the toilets, making sure to avoid the overenthusiastic waiter as I go. He’ll also think I’ve got stomach trouble – heading for the ladies again so soon.

‘Hi, again.’ Jamie answers on the second ring.

‘Hi, sorry about that. How do you feel about having that coffee after all?’

‘Great. Are you sure though? Will your dad not be a bit put out?’

‘It would be coffee with my family. Here at the restaurant.’ I wince in anticipation of his response. ‘You’ll get dessert too though.’ I quickly add as a sweetener.

There’s a short silence and in those few seconds my mind takes me to the worst-case scenario: Jamie thinks it’s way too soon for this, then decides I’m too much of a desperado and dumps me.

‘OK. Let’s do it,’ he says eventually. ‘I’ll be there in about five minutes. Provided it’s OK that I’m wearing jeans and a casual shirt?’

‘Really? Amazing.’ My hand flies to my mouth in delighted surprise. ‘Jeans and a casual shirt will be fine. I was worried you might think it was too fast and then ghost me. Anna’s warned me about this kind of stuff.’

Why the hell did I say that? Well done on blabbing about your insecurities, Steph.

‘Hey,wedecide the rules on us, all right?’ Jamie’s voice is firm and reassuring.

‘All right.’ I smile down the phone. ‘See you in a few minutes.’

Chapter 19

Five minutes later, I’m standing outside the restaurant waiting for Jamie to appear. As I see him come around the corner from the direction of the supermarket – his grin is so broad and genuine that I can make it out from several hundred feet away – I swear my heart doesn’t just flutter, it jolts into a full-on percussion rendition of ‘The Hills Are Alive’. It’s like the world around us fades into the background and the slow-mo kicks in, and for a moment everything is movie-perfect.

‘Hi, you.’ He slips his arms around my waist as he reaches me, pulling me into one hell of a greeting, before I even have the chance to say hello back.

He smells of spring air (and a little of the supermarket) and his mouth tastes of something sweet like cola.

‘Hi.’ I bite my lip coyly as we make every effort to control ourselves.

Given that we’re about to join the rest of my family – and it’s Jamie’s first encounter with them – arriving at the table hot and flustered is probably not advisable.

‘Any last-minute tips on how to win them over?’ he jokes, and I’m amazed by how chilled out he seems.

‘You’re surprisingly calm.’ I eye him with admiration. ‘I’d be a panicked mess if it were the other way around.’

‘They’re only humans, aren’t they?’

‘I guess.’ I bob my head from side to side in a non-committal way. ‘Though sometimes I wonder about Kayleigh.’

Jamie chuckles at this. ‘Well, I like a challenge.’

‘You’re sure this is OK?’ I take his hand in mine. ‘I don’t want you to feel obliged to do this, or for you to think I’m jumping the gun given it’s only the fourth time we’ve met up.’

‘Is that all it is?’ Jamie seems to ponder this for a moment. ‘It feels like more – like we’ve skipped a few steps or something.’

‘I know, right? It’s like that for me too.’

‘There you go then.’ He gives a confirmatory nod. ‘I think we’re definitely in “meet the parents” territory, don’t you?’

‘I do.’ I’m unable to hide the delighted and sickeningly loved-up smile plastered across my face.

‘Great. Then lead the way, beautiful.’

We enter the restaurant, where the staff member looking after front of house has clearly been primed for this moment.

‘Ah, here you are. May I take you coat, sir?’

---