Chapter 16
Ada had been well and truly wrong. She couldn’t have been more wrong if she’d tried because while Milly had followed her advice and acted as if nothing had happened, Theo spent the next week thoroughly avoiding her and pretending she wasn’t there.
He spoke to her only when he had to and, as the atmosphere in the café had become even more strained, Milly found herself exploring the city more and more, escaping to wander the streets, recording content for her own social media and footage for the café too.
Just as she had on the day she’d found out about Tom and posted that raw, vulnerable video, she decided to do something similar, being honest about her own concerns now, her own worry that she was not achieving as much as she wanted for herself and the café.
The reaction had been phenomenal, the support she’d received bringing tears to her eyes and it made her want to create a similar feeling in her life, working in person with other businesses.
Part of her knew she should just ask Theo where all this was coming from, but every time she got near to building up the courage, her mouth glued shut and she couldn’t get the words out.
She’d spoken to Ada about it all a second time, and she encouraged her to keep trying but she was running out of patience.
This morning, Milly had attempted to talk about the food festival but when she brought it up Theo shut down, nodded at whatever she had to say and then went about his business.
Considering they were finally getting a few more customers, more than just one or two, and they needed to talk details about the different events they were hosting, it wasn’t conducive to making progress or promoting the café.
As her frustration mounted, the last customers leaving looking sheepish and barely smiling at them as they scuttled away in fear, Milly had had enough.
She thought about disappearing again too, but that hadn’t got them anywhere this last week and time was running out.
Theo stood behind the counter, mixing together some kind of buttery, sugary mixture that smelled divinely of cinnamon and nutmeg, and she moved to the end of the workspace, trapping him in place.
‘Excuse me,’ he said formally, ‘I’ll need to get out in a minute.’
‘Well tough.’ She crossed her arms over her chest, and he looked up.
‘Stop acting like you wish I’d disappear in a puff of smoke.
We need to talk about this last event and decide what we’re going to do.
I have to register all the events by the end of today, so we need a time, date, name and concept.
They’ve been hassling me for a few days now because they’re excited about what you’re doing and want to promote it. We can’t waste this opportunity.’
‘Oh, I’ll just come up with all that now, shall I? While I’m making kanelstang.’ He motioned to the bowl with the spoon he’d been holding, mixture dripping off it in sweet, sticky lines.
‘We need to brainstorm like we did before.’ She went about making a coffee to soothe her nerves.
She quite fancied another try at one of the delicious iced lattes and began following the instructions Theo had given her before.
She was just making the latte when, without thinking, she turned on the milk steamer and boiling hot steam shot out of the wand, scalding her hand.
‘Owww!’ she groaned, and in a second, Theo had dropped the mixing bowl on the side, had taken her hand and was running it under cold water.
Concern marred his features, drawing lines on his forehead and his eyes flicked between her hand and face.
Their eyes locked, the cold water reminding her of the canal, their nearly kiss, their bodies pressed together.
He dropped his eyes, studying the small red mark, then let her go and she drew her gaze to the damage.
‘Keep that under the water for another few minutes. I’ll finish your drink.’
‘Thanks,’ she replied as the stinging mixed with disappointment. ‘I was going to have—’
‘An iced latte with vanilla cold foam. I know.’
He didn’t look at her, but she could hear the softness in his voice.
‘I’ve been thinking about the last event—’
His voice was softer now, but still with an edge to it. ‘I’ll come up with something; let me think about it.’
‘But I already—’
‘To be honest, I’m wondering if we should pull out. I’m not sure this is a good idea after all.’
Ignoring the running water, she spun to face him. ‘What! You can’t mean that.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because it’s a brilliant idea! And we’ve already planned so much.’
He handed her a perfectly made iced latte with a layer of the delicious cold vanilla foam, then moved behind her and turned the tap off.
It looked like a work of art, and she used some paper towel to dry her damp fingers.
There was a small red mark, but it didn’t look like it would blister and it wasn’t stinging anymore, thanks to Theo’s quick actions.
Another couple walked in, and turning away to wipe down the milk wand that had scalded her, he said, ‘Go and drink your coffee in the sunshine.’
Though it sounded kind, Milly knew he was simply pushing her away again and shaking her head, she took her coffee and moved to the outside tables.
It wasn’t worth arguing about the cooking festival now, in the café, so everyone could hear.
She’d give it a while and speak to him again later.
There was no way they were pulling out. She’d sent off all the forms and, more than that, she knew it would be good for him as well as the café.
It would help him have more confidence in his abilities and see that the café could be successful.
She just had to find the right time to remind him of those things.
The sun was shining down, bathing the café in warm sunlight.
It looked so pretty as it shone on the spotless windows that she felt a renewed burst of enthusiasm to do everything she could for the place.
If only Theo would let her. She changed her normal glasses for her sunnies, lifting her head and enjoying the view again, this time without squinting.
The sky was a bright, royal blue and virtually cloudless.
What clouds there were sat in wispy stripes.
There was a gentle breeze keeping her cool and the waters of the canal could be heard faintly splashing against the boats and the walls of the canal bank.
All around was the chatter of tourists, the hum of conversation and laughter, and she took a moment to drink it all in.
One woman had a particularly dirty-sounding laugh and it made Milly smile every time she cackled, as though she was in on the joke too.
As she sipped she made a note in her notebook of all she’d just felt.
She was beginning to find contentment in every moment possible.
She hadn’t enjoyed being scalded and she didn’t like how weird things were with Theo, but here she was, putting that aside and enjoying the simple pleasure of the sun on her face and hearing laughter, which in turn made her smile.
‘Milly!’
She turned sharply at the use of her name, instantly recognising the voice but not quite believing she was actually hearing it.
Ada was walking towards her, smiling and dragging a suitcase, she jumped up, knocking into the table and almost spilling her coffee.
The two women squealed and ran towards each other.
‘Ada! What are you doing here?’
‘What do you think? I’ve come home for a bit. Only for a short visit though. The conditions are so intense out there they send us home every now and then for a mental health break, but I’m back to a different part of the Arctic in a few days.’
The two wrapped each other in tight hugs as, hearing them squeal again, Theo ran out from the café, stumbling over the tiny gangplank in an effort to see what was happening.
‘What is it? Milly? Are you okay?’
The two women turned to see Theo with flour all over his T-shirt and a shocked look on his face.
Milly pointed at Ada, unable to hide her huge, excited smile. ‘Ada’s back.’
Relief flooded his features, followed swiftly by anger. ‘I thought you’d hurt yourself again. I nearly had a heart attack.’
He’d nearly fallen in the river, she thought, grateful her smile would be attributed to Ada and not him.
‘Again?’ Ada asked. ‘What did you do?’
‘Just a tiny burn.’ She showed her hand. ‘It’s nothing.’
They both stared at Theo who, after appraising them like a grumpy head teacher who was faced with two unruly pupils, then took a few steps forwards and hugged Ada.
‘It’s good to have you back. How long for this time?’
She repeated what she’d told Milly and Theo nodded. ‘We’ll catch up later. I’ll leave you two alone for now.’
As he walked back inside the two women hugged again.
‘Oh, I’ve missed you!’ Milly said, squeezing her extra tight.
‘I’ve missed you. It’s nice to be back for a few days, but I have to be honest, I can’t wait to see what different wildlife I can capture when we move locations.’
It was wonderful to see her friend’s passion and feel it seeping from her pores. She sat in the chair opposite Milly’s and Milly joined her, hugging her drink close for comfort. Ada immediately swiped it away and took a sip. ‘Hmm. I’ve missed these. So, is he still being an idiot?’
‘He is.’
‘Right. We’ll have to sort that out.’
Milly glanced over her shoulder, ensuring Theo was occupied and wouldn’t hear, then leaned in closer.
‘He’s just pretending like nothing happened between us and, worse than that, he’s pushing me away, not listening to my ideas for the cooking festival.
He’s even talking about pulling out. This isn’t like him at all. ’