Chapter Forty-Nine
The following morning, Brodie woke early and it took him a moment to realise where he was.
His arms were around Flora, her head resting on his chest. The light was filtering gently through the curtains and he could hear birdsong.
He moved slightly, careful not to wake her, and smiled as he gazed at her, remembering the previous night. Then her eyes opened.
She blinked at him. ‘Good morning.’
He gently brushed away the hair from her face. ‘Hello.’ He wanted to savour the moment but also hoped she didn’t have any regrets.
Flora touched his chest lightly with her fingers, tracing the outline of his tattoo. ‘What does it mean?’ she asked softly.
‘It’s the Sanskrit symbol for breathe.’
‘Breathe?’
Brodie nodded. ‘I got it when I was younger and lost a friend. He drowned in a loch.’ He paused. ‘Everything felt out of control. My sister got me into yoga to try and help me overcome panic. Breathing was the one thing I could control.’
Flora rested her hand on his chest. ‘I’m sorry about your friend and that you had to go through that.’
A slow breath escaped Brodie’s mouth and he closed his fingers around hers, appreciating her words. But he didn’t want to dwell on that memory right now; he wanted to enjoy this time with Flora. ‘How do you feel about breakfast?’
‘Mm, do we have time?’
‘Loads. There’s no rush.’
‘I suppose I am quite hungry.’ She tilted her face up towards his.
Brodie kissed her gently and then more passionately, realising he couldn’t remember when, if ever, he’d felt this way about someone.
Much later they made breakfast together, as though they’d been doing it for years.
Flora had pulled on one of his T-shirts and she leaned against the counter, sipping coffee, while he made pancakes.
She automatically reached to take some plates from the cupboard, while he took butter out the fridge.
‘There’s some maple syrup in the cupboard there,’ he said, pointing.
She laughed as she opened and saw the solitary bottle sitting on the shelf. ‘It’s not difficult to find.’
‘True. I’ve only ever got the essentials in, if that,’ he said, thinking about the sparse contents of his fridge.
He hadn’t thought to stock up when he’d nipped to the shops yesterday to buy the ingredients for dinner.
Brodie hadn’t wanted to assume that she would stay over and that she’d be here for breakfast. He was just relieved he had the basic ingredients for pancakes.
‘My cupboards in my flat are the same. I don’t even think I’ve got jam. Just some honey and peanut butter.’
He wrinkled his nose in disgust. ‘Yuck. I won’t be rushing to yours anytime soon. I hate peanut butter.’
‘That could be problematic, because I love it.’
He walked across and kissed her on the tip of her nose. ‘They do say opposites attract.’
She chuckled softly as he followed her through to the table in the living room. They sat next to each other and he couldn’t take his eyes off her as she buttered a slice of toast. Even though she was wearing just his old T-shirt, her skin glowed. She was so pretty.
Glancing up at him, she smiled. ‘You okay there?’
‘Yes,’ he said, feeling mesmerised but also a bit caught off guard.
‘Just wondering if you’re finished with the butter.
’ His chest tightened as a sudden wave of panic set in and he reached for a knife.
Realising how much he was falling for her made him feel wonderful but also uncertain when he thought about her leaving the village.
She was looking at him curiously so Brodie forced himself to smile, hoping that the sense of overwhelm he felt wasn’t obvious on his face.
He knew that Flora was different; whatever was between them felt different.
It felt real. Yet his mind couldn’t stop racing and tugging him away from the moment.
Why can’t you just enjoy this right now?
You’ve just spent the night with a gorgeous woman who is this very minute sitting at your table eating your pancakes.
Worry had always been Brodie’s way of protecting himself when he started to feel vulnerable and exposed.
Now, all he could think was that Flora was only here for a few more weeks.
She was leaving. He determined on snapping himself out of it and reached out to her, intertwining her fingers tightly with his.
And when she smiled at him, his doubts started to fade and the tension eased a little.
As they sat there chatting and laughing and eating pancakes, he allowed himself to put his worry aside and enjoy just being in the moment with Flora.