Page 50 of Storm in a Teacup (Love in Edinburgh #3)

One Year Later

Linny

I hold a coffee in each hand, severely regretting not grabbing a drink tray to carry them, but I have an unwarranted prejudice against drink trays because of this one time I went to fetch coffee for Carolyn and me at a café about a ten-minute walk away (this was obviously before Ben’s café moved in next door).

I put the two drinks in the drink tray and carried them all the way back to the store, to the back, and as I was about to set the drinks on the desk, one of them tipped out and spilled all over the floor. I never forget a betrayal like that.

After walking down the hill of a very populous and colorful street, I take a right and find Ben exactly where I expect him to be: on our bench.

I sit down next to him, handing over his coffee. “Maybe we should make a significant memory on a bench with a better view,” I say before taking a sip of my hot beverage.

“I think the view here is pretty nice.”

I turn toward him to find just what I was expecting: his eyes on me. “Smooth,” I comment .

“Always.” He grins into his coffee cup as he takes a swallow. “Where’d you get this? It’s good.”

“I don’t remember the name of it. Somewhere Significant, maybe?”

“Huh,” Ben muses. “Sounds familiar. Was it perhaps Somewhere Special?”

“Ah, right. That’s it.”

“I hear the owner is hot.”

“The woman? Hell yeah.” His nose wrinkles. I laugh lightly. “Oh. The guy. Yeah, I’d say he’s pretty good-looking as well. Good kisser. Great pheromones.”

Ben snickers. “I have heard his pheromones are better than the rest.”

“They are to me, at least.”

Ben throws an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into him and kissing me on the temple. “So, I have news,” he says.

“Do you? Me as well. Two bits of it, actually.”

“Well, you go first.”

“Mel is pregnant.”

Ben lights up. “You’re going to be an aunt!”

“I’m already an aunt. And technically, I will be this child’s…what is it? Second cousin? Your parents’ cousins are your second cousins. Then your cousins’ children are your first cousins, once removed.”

“Why do you know this?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

“Well, still exciting. She’s excited, I assume?”

“Oh, thrilled.”

“What’s your second bit?”

I grimace. “Atti is engaged.”

His eyebrows lift. “Poor lass. ”

I chuckle. “Mel says he’s been”—I curve my fingers in the air—“‘working on himself.’”

Ben’s lip curls. “To each their own, I guess. How you feeling about it?”

“Neutral. He took her to Spain to propose. He took me to France.”

“Where do you want me to take you?”

I sip my coffee to hide my smile. “If you take me anywhere but this bench, I will say no.”

“Noted.”

“Do you have plans I should know about, Bennett?”

He shrugs noncommittally. “I don’t know, Melinda. Have you plans I should know about?”

I throw a similar shrug back at him, then bump against him. “So, what was your news?”

“Ah, well, lots of engagements.”

“Rachel and Isla?”

“Och, no. They’re so annoying. They’re waiting until they’re better set up in their individual lives. Healthy, sure, but frustrating. I want to be best man at a sapphic wedding. Or would I be the man of honor? Butler of honor?”

I shake my head with a snort. “It’s definitely not ‘butler of honor,’ Benny. But I know your day will come. So, is it Callum and David?”

“Aye.”

“That’s exciting. You told me they both came to you separately about proposing, but with no specific plan. Who asked who?”

“They asked each other.” Ben beams manically. “They went down to the Lake District this past weekend and apparently, both pulled out a ring while they were on a rowboat together. So, my and Rachel’s hinting at them both that this was the weekend for it worked.”

My hand covers my heart. “That’s so precious. How are you feeling about it?”

“Absolutely thrilled,” he says without pause. “At least I’ll get to be butler of honor at that wedding.” He squeezes me tighter, kissing me on the mouth.

“You taste like coffee,” I say fondly.

“You taste like sugar, sugar.”

“What an egregious lie.”

He shifts next to me, arm still resting comfortably around my shoulders. “I was thinking…what if I got a cat?”

“Oscar Wilde will be wildly offended, but I think ultimately he’d like to have a sibling.”

“He won’t feel insulted by our choice of a four-legged feline?”

“No, if anything, he’ll make this new cat feel inferior.” I mimic Oscar’s voice, “‘What do you mean you need four legs? I’m doing better than average with three.’”

Ben chuckles. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He angles his head toward me. “Hey, Lin?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too. Wholly.” I kiss him.

Into my mouth, he mimics, “Wholly.”