None of them looked overly perturbed. Maybe this building was constructed to withstand earth tremors. Because Oliver’s entire existence had just shifted. The two of them retreated to silence and polite smiles as a stack of curious, bite-size parcels were placed before them and the waiter announced in his accented English, ‘Pineapple and green tomato clusters coated in Brazil nut.’ The parcels might have been small but he and Audrey each took their time first testing and then consuming the tart morsels. Buying time. Really necessary time. Because the last thing he felt like doing was eating. He’d come this close. He almost touched her, back then when she’d turned her blanched face away from him with such dismay. He almost pulled her back into his chest and breathed down onto her hair that none of it mattered. Nothing that had gone before had any relevance. Their slate started today, blank and full of potential.
