Page 25 of A Touch of Magic at the Comfort Food Café
I nod, and can completely see how the Starks’s gorgeous direwolves in the books and TV show could have caught people’s imaginations.
Aidan passes me a coffee and leans back against his kitchen table. His hair is damp, I notice. And slightly long. It’s hard to picture him in an expensive suit and tie, but I know that was his whole life not so long ago. I admire how he has completely changed his life and pursued something that makes him happy instead. I’d like to do that, except I haven’t as yet quite figured out what that would look like.
‘I’d like to meet them, the other dogs,’ I say quietly, not sure if I’m overstepping. ‘If you think it would be okay? I could be your… uh, your guinea pig.’
He considers it, and nods once. ‘That could work. Juno likes you, which is a good start. Don’t expect too much though– they’re probably never going to be like she is. We’ll make progress, and they’ll settle, but it will be slow and sometimes frustrating. Persuading them the world is safe, that it’s okay to trust again, won’t be easy.’
I feel a sudden and unexpected sting of tears behind my eyes. I have more in common with the Wolfdogs than I could ever have thought, and I wonder if Aidan has somehow picked up on that kinship. He smiles at me gently. ‘But I promise,’ he adds, ‘that they will be worth the time and the effort. They’re damaged, but they’re not broken. They just need someone to believe in them.’
It’s too much. Too intense. Too close to home. I look away, staring at the now-snoozing wolf on the sofa, and squeeze the moisture from my eyes. I need a moment, and he gives that to me.
‘Anyway,’ I say, when I’ve regained control, ‘I came bearing gifts.’ I hold up the now soggy envelope. It’s smeared in mud and has tooth marks on it. Aaah, Juno. Heopens it up, and his eyebrows rise when he sees the invitation.
‘Wow,’ he says quietly. ‘I guess I’d better go. What do you reckon? Werewolf outfit? Too obvious? The vet from the village– Matt I think?– is due to come out here tomorrow to meet the pack, so I won’t be able to maintain my air of supernatural mystery for much longer.’
‘No, you won’t– he’s married to Laura from the café.’
‘Ah. She was real nice. Are you going? To this ball?’
I bite my lip a little, and think it over. ‘Truthfully, I don’t know. I have another social event I have to attend in London before that, and I’m not sure I’ll have much left in the tank. I’m… I’m not really a party person. Like I told you, I’m very, very dull.’
The smile again. Yikes.
‘And like I told you last night, I don’t believe that for a second. I for one find you deeply interesting.’
I can’t deny it, my heart does a little hop, then adds in a skip and a jump. Deeply interesting? What does that even mean?
‘In the same way you’d find a documentary on the history of the Black Death deeply interesting?’
‘No. Not even remotely. You know the way I find you interesting. I can tell you do, because you’re blushing. It’s cute.’
‘Aidan, I’m almost fifty. Cute is not an appropriate word!’
He laughs and holds his hands up in surrender. ‘Eye of the beholder, Sarah, eye of the beholder! But if you prefer, I’ll use a different word… like gorgeous, or beautiful, or good old-fashioned hot. Now, what else have you got for me?’
‘What?’ I ask, momentarily confused. I’m not really used to flirting with men. Certainly not in such an open way, and certainly not with guys like this. It’s very discombobulating. English men are usually a lot more reserved.
‘You said you came bearing gifts, plural. Or was the other one simply the pleasure of your company? If so, I’ll take the deal.’
I shake my head and look in my bag. ‘Do you ever stop being charming? Is it automatic?’
‘Not at all. This is all for you. Besides, I’m conducting an experiment: I’m trying to find out exactly how red your skin goes, and if I can keep it that shade the entire time you’re here.’
I feel my cheeks flame even deeper in response, and I scoop out the book I rescued from my shelves for him. A very well-read copy ofRivalsby Jilly Cooper. I slam it into his chest in mock disgust. ‘There! That’s for you, because you said you liked romance novels, and because you now live in the English countryside… Jilly is the absolute best. Though I’m not sure you deserve it.’
He flicks through the book, and grins at me. ‘I’ve heard of Jilly Cooper, though I haven’t read any. Isn’t she supposed to be pretty racy? It looks like you’ve read the heck out of this one, Sarah…’
‘I have. No shame, no guilt. That would be my desert island book. Anyway. I have to get going.’
I have to get going because being around Aidan is both delicious and disconcerting. I feel off balance with him, and I’ve never been the kind of woman who enjoys fairground rides. He is younger than me by a distance, but I still feel like he is the one in charge. It takes away some of my self-control, and I’ve worked very hard for it.
I go over to Juno and bury my fingers in her luscious fur. She gazes at me down her long muzzle, and I swear she seems to smile. I give her a final cuddle, then head to the door.
‘Thank you,’ he says, holding up the paperback. ‘I look forward to reading this. And to seeing you on Friday.’
‘Friday? What’s happening on Friday?’
‘I thought Juno and I might come and visit you. Or maybe you could meet us for a walk? I mean, I know you have zero interest in me as a man– you are “old enough to be my mother” after all– but I thought you might be interested in me as Juno’s dad…’
