Page 43 of One Night in Edinburgh

Maintaining eye contact, I get up and walk round to his side of the table and plonk myself down beside him. He quickly gathers me into his arms and pulls me into the most incredible kiss I’ve ever experienced. My body responds hungrily, this time tingling all over – from the top of my head to the tip of my toes. This is why I held out so long when Anna thought I’d lost the plot, and she and Connor kept on at me to date other guys. They hadn’t experienced this.

We eventually pull apart breathlessly and just stare at each other, smiling, as if unable to believe this to be real; like even one blink would mean the other would disappear, and we’ll discover it wasn’t real. Well, that’s certainly what I’m thinking anyway.

‘I hope I didn’t get in the way of anything tonight?’ Jamie asks, once we’ve emerged from our semi-trance. ‘It sounds like you had plans.’

‘Oh… no. I was just going for a drink with Connor. He didn’t want to go out anyway.’

‘I was wondering if you might be on a date. And was hoping you weren’t.’

I don’t know why, but I redden slightly at this comment.

‘You’re seeing someone else.’ Jamie looks gutted all of a sudden.

‘No, I’m not. I was in the middle of planning a second date though when you got in touch.’

‘Right. Good guy?’

‘He seems nice enough. Anna and Connor talked me into signing up to a dating app.’ I pluck my phone from my handbag and show it to Jamie. ‘They said it was time to move on.’

‘I used to be on that one.’ Jamie takes the phone from my hand. ‘Nice profile photo – and bio. Lucky for me that I saw your message, otherwise I might have lost you to…’ He taps on my matches ‘…Sean.’

‘Nah, don’t think so. On our first date the conversation only seemed to flow after a few drinks.’

‘That’s a tell-tale sign it won’t last the distance.’

‘Yeah, I think you’re right. He’ll be fine. I do hope he meets the right woman for him though, because everyone deserves to have love in their life.’

‘Look at you.’ Jamie reaches up and strokes my cheek affectionately. ‘You’re a proper angel – seriously beautiful, inside and out.’

‘Do angels call out middle-aged men for having uncouth facial hair?’ I wrinkle my nose awkwardly.

‘Only on a bad day.’ Jamie grins at me, then picks up his can of beer and holds it out towards me. ‘To new beginnings?’

‘Hey… that’s the exact toast we made at New Year.’ I reach across the table and grab my own can, but hold back, waiting for his response.

‘I know. And I’m hoping that if I play this evening out exactly as I did then, I’ll be allowed to walk you home again.’

‘Ah… I see what’s going on here. We know where that’s going to lead.’ I sip at my beer coyly.

‘Exactly.’ Jamie winks at me and threads his fingers through mine.

‘Only this time my ex will be sleeping in the room next door.’

‘I can live with that. We’ll just have to be quiet. He’s definitely gay then?’

‘Yes. Definitely. It’s written right here on the…oh…’ I turn my beer can three-sixty degrees, then check Jamie’s. ‘There’s no label on these. It’s new stock, which means if you hadn’t seen it today, you might never have seen it at all.’ The realisation sends an unpleasant chill down my spine.

‘Don’t think about that.’ He rubs my fingers gently as if unconsciously trying to warm them up. ‘Think about how it all worked out and how we can stay in bed all day tomorrow, making up for lost time. And also how I won’t have to bolt from your apartment with no shoes on, dying for a pee.’

‘You were? I didn’t know that.’

‘Neither did I until the cold hit the soles of my feet and I heard the lapping of the waves on the breakwater.’

I giggle as Jamie pulls me into him again, and we spend the next couple of hours snogging like teenagers – in between me recounting the tales of my beer-can campaign.

Chapter 14

By the time Jamie and I reach my apartment block – having taken the scenic route by the water as we did at New Year – we’ve had a few more beers, and we’re more than reacquainted. The journey takes twice as long due to being literally unable to keep our hands off each other.

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