Chapter 9
When Milly awoke it was from the best night’s sleep she’d had in a long, long time.
She wasn’t normally a bad sleeper, but her hometown was noisy and at night she could sometimes hear people yelling in the streets after one too many at the pub.
As the evening had gone on, Copenhagen had quietened, and it had almost been like living in the countryside.
She couldn’t believe that not too far away from the canal house was a city full of people.
She’d woken up this morning refreshed right through to her soul.
As she arrived at the café, Theo as usual up and out way before her, she was happy to see there were actually some customers.
Only one or two more – the café was still empty compared to the others on their street – but that was still more than usual and showed that the effort they’d put in already was beginning to pay off.
She walked in to see Theo chatting happily to them while also working on a new batch of pastries. The customers went to sit down as she approached the counter.
‘What are these?’ Milly asked. ‘They smell delicious.’
‘They’re rhubarb and star anise rabarberhorns.’
Her eyes widened. It was another flavour combination she’d never heard of. ‘Can I taste one?’
‘When they’ve cooled. There’s a little vanilla cream in the middle, so you’ll burn your mouth if you try one now.’
As the customers Theo had been talking to left, another group arrived, and Milly had to contain her excitement. Theo acted cool, and like this wasn’t a big deal at all, but she could tell from the lightness of his tone and the genuine smile on his face that he was as happy as she was.
While he chatted, she took some short videos, nipping outside to capture the beauty of the floating café in the sunlight.
She wanted to show it sitting on the canal, the sun beating down on it, as it was another gorgeous day.
The pale cream of the paintwork sparkled against the brilliant blue sky and fluffy white clouds.
She also took the opportunity to film one of her own videos, sharing a tip about finding your niche if you wanted it to succeed.
Not long after she’d posted it, a business commented and messaged her directly that they were struggling and could use any extra tips she had.
She made a note to reply to them later with anything else she could think of.
A few moments later, she went back inside, in need of a coffee.
As she stepped behind the counter and made herself one, she had to work around Theo and the latest thing he was making. She almost bumped into him a few times, but they worked harmoniously in the small space, though her body was always aware of his presence.
‘What are you working on now?’ she asked, watching him knead a dark dough.
The second lot of customers left, and they waved goodbye, wishing them a good day. Theo turned back to her.
‘It’s rye and oat bread. For my sm?rrebr?d.’
‘The open sandwiches.’
‘That’s right. Well done.’
She grabbed her phone and a tiny tripod from her bag and began setting up.
‘What are you doing?’
‘I’m going to film you making the bread.’
He stopped and spoke over his shoulder. ‘Umm, no thank you.’
She grinned. That was at least a politer refusal than she normally got. ‘No arguments I’m afraid.’
After a few minutes of faffing she had the camera at the perfect angle and was recording as Theo worked in silence.
‘You can still talk,’ she said with a grin, sipping her latte.
She winced a little as the hot liquid hit her mouth.
She’d overheated the milk and slightly burnt the coffee, not too much, but just enough to make it not as delicious as the ones Theo made.
‘I’ll mute the sound and add a voiceover or some music and text on screen when I post it. ’
‘Really?’
‘Yes. So tell me what you’re doing so I can describe it later.’
‘I’m kneading the dough,’ he said deadpan.
‘I can see that but what exactly does that mean? Do you move your hands in a special way?’
Theo glanced at her, lifting one eyebrow. She had to admit that did sound quite rude. As he turned back she caught his cheeky smile.
‘You stretch the dough, pushing it one way, while pulling it the other. But only for a few minutes. Rye doesn’t normally need kneading, so we don’t want to overwork it. Here—’ He stepped aside and motioned for her to try. ‘Wash your hands first though.’
‘Oh, no, I – cooking’s not really my strong suit.’
‘This isn’t cooking. This is baking. Come on. You want to teach me how to grow my business and use that awful social media, I want to teach you something.’
‘No, really I—’ She wasn’t going to cope being that close to him and she knew she’d be rubbish at it.
‘Isn’t it good to step out of your comfort zone?’
‘Now you’re using my words against me and that’s not fair.’
He chuckled. ‘Stop being a baby.’
Realising she was going to have to try, she gave in and washed her hands, moving in front of the dough and preparing to get to work.
She quite enjoyed the feel of the squidgy mess in her hands, pulling it one way and pushing with the heel of her other hand.
Suddenly Theo appeared behind her, his body close to hers, though she could tell he was trying to maintain some distance.
His deep voice came over her shoulder, his breath tickling her ear. ‘Don’t be so rough. You’re acting like you’re angry with it.’
‘I thought you had to be firm.’
‘There’s firm and then there’s punching.’
She giggled. ‘Okay. How’s this?’
‘Better.’ His hands covered her own, gently moving them for her. His arms were pressed against hers, his skin warming over the goose bumps on her own. She felt a rush of longing again, and it sent a chill down her spine. ‘There, that’s perfect.’
She turned her head slightly, suddenly remembering the camera was there and realising her mouth was dangerously close to Theo’s.
He really did have the most perfect mouth.
So, so kissable and … oh my God, was he going to kiss her?
Did he want to kiss her? Her stomach swirled as if she’d drunk a gallon of liquid and they were frozen in this moment, neither moving but expectation dancing in the air.
‘I should umm …’ What was she about to do? Her mind had gone completely blank.
‘What?’ Theo replied, his voice barely more than a grumbling whisper.
Suddenly she remembered and ended up shouting in his face. ‘The camera! I should—’
Theo stepped away from her as if she was made of lava. ‘Fandeme.’
She didn’t need a translation app to know that was a curse word of some description. A blotchy redness crept up his neck onto his cheeks, and he scratched his stubbled jaw.
She moved to the camera and stopped it recording. ‘I think that’ll be enough footage.’
‘Good. Good.’ He picked up the dough, threw it into a bowl so it slapped the base as it landed and then covered it with a cloth, before placing it to the side to prove.
‘I’m umm …’ He ran a hand through his hair, not realising it was still covered in flour and leaving streaks of white in the dark brown.
‘You’ve umm …’ She signalled to the top of his head.
He caught his reflection in the window and swore again, washing his hands, then pushing them, still damp, through his hair.
He couldn’t have looked sexier if he’d tried, and still blushing he said, ‘I’m going to go and—’ but before he could finish, he scurried through the café and down to the lower deck.
That left her minding the café for a few minutes and she couldn’t resist grabbing her phone and replaying the footage.
As she watched, heat rose from the soles of her feet up to the top of her head.
Her heart beat stronger and quicker, and she told herself to calm down.
When a few minutes later she heard his feet on the stairs, climbing back up, she tucked her phone into her back pocket, grabbed a cloth and began to wipe the perfectly clean worktops until they were spotless, just as he always did.
‘Why don’t you go out and explore the city?’ he said, moving back behind the counter and beginning to move the cooled rhubarb pastries into a glass serving dish with a domed lid.
‘Yes,’ she agreed quickly, still thinking of his arms around hers, his body pressed against her back. She could definitely use some air and there was somewhere specific she’d been wanting to visit but hadn’t had chance yet.
Without waiting for him to encourage her further, she stepped outside and even though the summer air was just as warm as in the café, the slight breeze cooled her heated cheeks.
That had been intense. The sudden rush inside her had been powerful and something had stirred within him too.
It must have done from his reaction. Surely she hadn’t imagined the feeling between them and then he’d sworn and leapt away, hiding down below for a bit.
There was nothing down there except tables and chairs.
It wasn’t likely he’d suddenly remembered something vital he had to do.
She took some deep breaths. There weren’t the smells of salt or seaweed or harbours like she knew in England as the canal waters in Copenhagen were so clean, but she tuned in to the gentle ebb of the water.
A few more deep breaths and she felt more centred, ready to head on her way.
The Happiness Museum was about a fifteen-minute walk away.
Given that she’d never heard of anything like it, she’d wanted to visit as soon as she started researching Copenhagen.
After last night, with the visit to the Royal Library Garden, then the swim, she had thought about asking Theo to go with her, but something inside her decided it was a place to visit alone.