Burning Heart

Chapter Six

Edith sat at the bistro set outside of a café. It was Wednesday lunchtime and she couldn't face another second in the stuffy office. Her desk was surrounded by windows and the increasing heat made it feel like a greenhouse. The cool breeze that ruffled her cardigan was perfect after sitting in intense heat all morning.

Since telling her colleagues about her almost drowning she'd not heard the end of it. Every time she took a sip of her drink she was patted on the back to bring it up, every time she went to the toilet they warned her not to fall in... it was funny, but not constantly. As she escaped they shouted for her to be careful of the fountain; she responded with a not so professional response of two fingers waved at them.

She wished she had some to talk to, but she had no idea if Graeme was on lunch or if he was covering lunch duty... he was boring at the moment anyway. The other option was her mother, who was just on one – convinced the man who was going to provide her with a granddaughter was close. And

"Mind if I join you?" a deep voice asked, looking up she smiled at Edmund as he stood with his tray. "All the other tables are full."

"Of course." She smiled, "I didn't know you worked around here."

Edmund sat and rolled the sleeves of his shirt back from his hands. "Just on the edge of the food court." He nodded, "Which one do you work in?"

She waved her hand behind her, "That tall glass monstrosity. How are you, I've not seen you since the beach."

"The dreaded beach." He smirked, leaning back in his chair as he tore into his sandwich, "I'm the same as always, nothing ever changes. How are you? Coping?"

"With the amount of bullying I'm getting from the girls?" she sighed shaking her head, "Barely. Tell me something interesting, I'm bored of work talk."

"There's a new Five Guys in the centre." He smirked, "Want me to grab you one for lunch tomorrow?"

Her eyes smiled into his over the table. "You'd bring me a burger?" she gasped, remembering the greasy joy of the burger. "No, don't go out of your way for a burger."

"A burger and company." He shrugged, "I'd do it for you."

"Thank you." She smiled, her heart leaping at his words. "I've actually been practising just a little."

"Really?" he grinned, taking a gulp of his pop. "How come?"

"I mean, I'd have drown if it wasn't for you." She said honestly, noticing the pain over his face at the memory. "I don't think Grae would have been able to swim to me in time, but you saved me, and I know it's future thinking, but if I had a child who I couldn't reach I'd want to be able to do something like that."

She watched as passion filled his features and he looked as if he were going to start on a speech, but instead he just smiled at her, a small heart breaking smirk really. "Good."

"I'm better at dirt though." She said making him laugh, "And plants. I haven't tried animals though, but I don't think Flora would be a good test."

"I'd have imagined Cats would do the opposite." He agreed as his smile grew larger until he was all but grinning at her. "Maybe try small, like a rabbit or a squirrel and then move onto dogs and cats as a final test."

"Good idea." She agreed, pulling her cake over and removing the wrapper. "Has Grae told you about the school disco?"

Edmund nodded, his eyes staying on hers as he chewed. "Tried to rope me in."

"I can imagine it now, you standing in the corner arms over chest shouting at children for getting too close." She teased and he frowned. "What?"

"Like you'd be any better; you're fifteen don't snog him like your twenty." He screeched causing a few people to look their way. "You dress sluttier than I do, go home and put a skirt on!"

"I am not an old woman already." She said, biting back the laughter.

"No, you are not." He whistled, looking her over. "That skirt should be illegal."

"Don't be a perve." She snorted, smoothing the item down. "Hundreds of women have this skirt; it was cheap from a popular shop."

"Yes but not everyone has the arse for it." He shrugged nodding his head to a woman in her forties who was almost painfully skinny "Imagine her in it; it would hang off of her."

"Different clothes suit different women." She frowned.

"Yes they do, and that skirt suits you too well." Edmund stated, the possessive glint in his eye made her heart flutter wildly as she turned to look at the people walking past them. "Do you work with mostly women?"

"It's admin, of course it is." She snorted, "The men at work are in security or facilities... it's like a time warp in my office."

"You're more than welcome to come to my office." He shrugged, "You can even be a journalist too!"

"Ah, but I'm a good administrator, not a good journalist." She sighed before smirking. "I work for a good company; I don't think you'll be able to afford me."

"They sent me to live in Hong Kong."

"So?"

"They paid."

"So?" she said with a laugh as he smirked over at her. "What time is it?"

"Five to. You have to go?" he asked as Edith huffed. "What do you want on your burger?"

"Whatever you're having." She grinned, standing up and walking away from him.

Despite herself, she walked with an extra wriggle just in case he was watching. There was something about Edmund that set her on edge, in a good way. He kept her thinking and when he was teasing her then well, she was thankful she didn't blush easily. A small part of her hoped he liked her and that it wasn't just his way like it was with Grae. He'd flirt with a painting just because it was female.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw Ed with his head back basking in the sun. Much like she'd been doing not twenty minutes before. Reaching out with her magic, she felt his burning presence and gave it a push causing him to sit up straight and look at her until she felt a gently push back.

"And who is that gorgeous man?" Fiona asked as Edith walked into their little corner. "You hiding him from me?"

"It's only Ed." She shrugged, slipping her bag beneath her desk.

"Ed, as in the brother who saved you from drowning?" Lesley laughed with a wink. "Did you wrap your arms around his shoulders and be a damsel in distress?"

"He doesn't touch me, ever." She complained to the girls, knowing they'd give her the honest answer. "Like after, he just threw blankets at me and directed me with my own handbag. When he passes me things he cradles them like I'm about to drop it, but I swear it's so his hand doesn't touch mine. I asked him and he just brushed it off."

"Has he always been like it?" Fiona frowned, "Maybe he's got a germ thing?"

"No, I remember him helping me when I was younger; with splinters and cuts and even getting me out of trees." Edith sighed, looking between the two older women she'd adopted as surrogate mothers. "He touches everyone else, is always wrestling Grae and shaking people's hands, he just won't touch me."

"Maybe he likes you." Lesley shrugged, "Maybe he'll blush too much if you accidentally touch him, or maybe he's just weird."

"Men are all weird, Lesley." Fiona stated.

"Can't deny that." Lesley replied, turning to her computer screen. "You can always have Pip; he's free to a good home."

"Don't forget Dean, you can put them in bunk beds." Fiona grinned as Edith laughed shaking her head.

They loved them really... they must do.