Chapter 8 #3
She took off her glasses, folding them and placing them on the chair, then pulled the T-shirt up over her head and threw it on the ground.
As she looked back at the canal, Theo quickly looked away as though he’d been watching her but didn’t want to get caught.
The idea sent heat through her body. Just the thought of Theo looking at her made her feel more than Tom actually looking at her ever had, which made her feel both sad and justified in how quickly she’d gotten over him.
With her body still burning, it forced her into the water to cool down.
She dived in, feeling the bracing cold surround her.
She swam away from Theo, needing to move and warm up after the initial shock, but she soon came back towards him.
As soon as she lifted her head above water, the sun shone down, warming her face. It was glorious.
Further down the way, other people were doing the same.
Children were jumping in while parents swam, and it seemed utterly idyllic.
Shouts and laughter filled the air as they splashed and chatted.
He asked her about her Instagram account and how she’d started, and she treaded water as she told him it had all begun as a bit of fun.
Something she did to pass the time but something she’d grown more and more into as she’d found her niche.
‘I know it sounds silly, but I love the sense of community you can build. I think nowadays it’s harder to form communities locally and with life being so busy—’
‘And so online—’ he added.
‘Yeah. It can be really isolating. But online communities can be good too.’
‘I can understand that. I started the café because I wanted to build a community and share my love of flavour pairings.’ He climbed out and stood on the dock and, after swimming more than she had in years, Milly did the same.
He took a towel and wrapped it around her shoulders, staring into her eyes as he had when he’d stopped her falling.
Her heart thudded against her ribs, but before the moment could become something more, he turned and grabbed his own towel, settling into one of the chairs.
‘Did that start at culinary school?’ she asked as she sat too, using the end of the towel to dry her dripping wet hair.
He nodded. ‘I had more disasters than successes, but I just fell in love with trying different flavours together. Things most people wouldn’t ever consider.’
‘And the pastries?’
‘Every school teaches those, and I loved the process – the work, the detail, the effort. It’s calming on the mind to concentrate on something like that. But I’d like to be more adventurous with sm?rrebr?d too.’
‘Remind me what those are again.’
‘The open sandwiches. I think we could try lots of different flavours, take ideas from different cultures and mix them with traditional Danish ones.’
‘That’s a great idea and it would set you apart from some of the other restaurants.’ She sat up excitedly, leaving her hair to drip onto her legs. ‘Specialist flavour pairing is your niche!’
‘Do you think?’ Hopefulness lit his expression and pride swelled within her. She’d hit on his USP!
‘Yes! Absolutely. We’ve figured out what you need to do to stand out. Now you need to start doing it and I need to start telling everyone about it.’
‘As simple as that?’
‘As simple as that.’ She sat back, wrapping the towel around her as goose bumps flew over her skin.
She added her glasses too, allowing the world to come back into clearer focus.
‘I mean, your location is an issue, being so far down the canal, but we’ll find a way to deal with that.
Maybe get some advertising further up the street or more signage or something. I’ll have a think.’
He laughed and shook his head gently. ‘You’re pretty good at this.’
‘Thank you.’
The sun was setting, and the air had cooled since the middle of the day.
Theo’s hair ruffled gently in the gathering breeze, and he pushed it back out of his eyes.
Milly’s mind replayed how he’d held her at the garden, had pulled her close to stop her falling only an hour ago, and had even lingered draping the towel around her shoulders.
What if she reached up on tiptoe the next time they were that close and kissed him?
Would he kiss her back? Would he want her as much as she wanted him?
She turned away to stare at the bend in the canal, at the houses either side and the water still full of children and adults enjoying the long summer days. She had to get her mind back to business. She was only here for the summer anyway and she had something specific to achieve in that time.
‘So tomorrow,’ she said, only glancing back at him briefly. ‘I’m going to film you making things so we’ve got lots of content and you can learn to talk to camera about flavour pairings.’
He groaned loudly and not in a sexy way. ‘Do I have to?’
‘Do you want your business to be successful?’
‘Urgh. Fine. I’m going to make dinner.’
She repressed a smile as he got up and left, knowing he just wanted to avoid the topic. She wouldn’t let him though. Not now they’d figured out exactly what they needed to. She couldn’t wait to get started.