Faint of Heart

Chapter One

Bess Rutherford sighed as she walked towards her usual coffee shop. It was packed for some reason that morning, and she really needed a decent hit of caffeine. She went through the door anyway and sat down at the last spare seat, rubbing her face and getting out a Samuel Black novel.

Tom Hiddleston looked at the woman who'd just sat down in front of him wordlessly. She hadn't asked if the seat was taken, nor recognised him. In fact, she hadn't looked at him at all. And now she was just reading, beyond focused on the fiction in her hands. He cleared his throat. She continued to read. He normally didn't have to try at all with women. It was like she hadn't heard him.

Bess hadn't heard anything at all, over the loud coffee machines and calls of orders and conversations. She was too immersed in 16th century Italian politics to look up. Until something tapped her hand, and suddenly every polite bone in her body was switched on. "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want to get up? Am I in your way?" She went to move and the same hand stopped her.

"No, no...just, hello." Tom smiled his genuine and charming grin. "I wanted to meet my table buddy while we both wait out this storm. What are you reading?"

Bess was taken aback a little and beamed a small but sure smile at him, lifting the book off the wooden table. "The Ground Is Burning. Research for a role."

Tom raised an eyebrow. "Oh you're an actress?"

Bess giggled and nodded. "Yes, I am! Where are my manners?!" She offered her hand across the table. "I'm Bess."

"Tom." He nodded and shook her delicate hand. "Hi, Bess..." He observed her put her book in her bag.

Bess gulped. "Well, I should order something. It has been a plea-" Tom stood as she did, cutting her off slightly.

"No, let me...do you have somewhere you need to be or can we continue this conversation?" He was ready to do anything with a woman as beautiful, mysterious and undeniably calm as Bess.

Bess blushed and looked down. "I don't have to be anywhere until 5pm...but at this point we may as well just get coffee somewhere like-"

"My place." Something deep and instinctual compelled Tom to say this. The whole tone of their brief interaction just changed. There was some sort of magnetic pull between the two of them.

"Lead the way." The same pull was how Bess found herself responding in the same way, suddenly confident.