Ten Years

Chapter Fifteen

Leïla had been sitting with Nass when she received Edward's call. She had blurted a quick "yes, of course" as he invited her for a cuppa. She had agreed without checking her calendar, and Nass knew how much she loved that thing.

Leïla and Nass shared a berrad, a Moroccan teapot filled with leaves of mint, gunpowder tea and hot water. A lightly raspy voice on a strong bass line played out of the speakers, an invitation to slow down.

"This looks like a date to me," Nass said.

"What? No. It's just coffee."

"If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck..." He wriggled his thick black brows.

She laughed. "I'm just curious to see what he has been up to."

He shifted to face her. "Let me see. You met once ten years ago and never met again until recently. He's an actor and he's engaged. That's what he has been up to. "

She stared at the phone clasped between her hands before pushing it under the throw pillow. He reached out and touched her arm. "I'm sorry. I just... I don't want to see you get hurt."

His words swirled thick in the air between them. Leïla let out a tiny sigh as if afraid a bigger one might reveal her turmoil. The way Edward's face let up when they stumbled upon each other, the way her breath hitched in her throat – it was all etched in her heart. Yet Edward was off limits to her, that much she knew.

Silence lay heavy which only accentuated her struggle. The idea of her stumbling upon Edward on a plane she almost missed ten years ago, spending hours pouring their hearts to each other only to never meet again until she moved to London was just something she couldn't wrap her head around.

She took a biscuit and dipped it into her tea. It softened and one-half plopped into the cup. She stared at it and shook her head. "It may be fate, serendipity or just one of those completely random things. Nass, I just know I have to go."

It was not a date, she repeated to herself as she made her way to meet Edward. It was not a date.

Now, her fingers itched to text Nass he was right. This felt like a date, a really good one, and it gnawed at her conscience. It wasn't her first rodeo, but she was not prepared for this.

Leïla had imagined countless times what she would say to Edward should the universe decide to give them another chance. Her imagination had failed to capture the rush of him mentioning two truths and a lie or the sparkle of mischief in his bright green eyes as he teased her about googling him.

Edward. He was sitting in front of her in this cosy café talking about the best parks in London. His lanky body had morphed into a slim and strong build. Reddish stubble edged his jawline. Hair curled at the nape of his neck. He smiled as he talked and, good Lord, laugh lines revealed at the edge of his mouth. He didn't have those before. He aged, she thought, but in a good way.

Stop it. Right now.

Why did she feel so flustered? There should be no butterflies in the pit of her stomach. This was just a friendly chat between two people sharing a cuppa. And he was engaged for fuck's sake. To Anna DeBeau. Femme extraordinaire with an Oscar or two under her belt. He made a point of telling her just in case she had some stupid idea in her silly little head. Leïla resisted the urge to rub the palm of her hands over her eyes. She reached instead for the scone on the table and debated keeping a piece, but then stuffed the entire thing in her mouth – or what was left of it.

He raised his eyebrows but didn't comment on that. Thank Allah for that.

"And of course Hampstead Heath," he carried on. "Any anxiety is dissipated whenever I walk there. It's like stepping into the country. I live very close by. I can actually see the ponds from my bedroom. What about you?"