Page 31 of Familiar Things New

Practically bursting out of his skin with excitement, Andrew hurriedly wrapped a borrowed wool scarf around his neck. His heart thudded violently as he finished securing the fabric around himself. Even though he wasn’t exactly looking forward to walking through the snowstorm, he was looking forward to spending more time with Edwin.

Every minute with Edwin in the conservatory had been magical. And as though the sight of the vibrant plants thriving only feet away from one of the most brutal-looking snowstorms that Andrew had ever seen hadn’t been fantastical enough, once Edwin had joined him beneath the black cloth cover for his camera . . .

Oh, the whole thing had been so enchanting. Edwin had been enchanting. And Andrew couldn’t wait for them to spend more time together, even if it was while they were slogging through over a foot of snow.

After Andrew fastened the final button on his overcoat, he turned to retrieve his hat from one of the metal hooks on the wall.

“Are you sure you won’t mind storing my equipment here for a while?” Andrew asked William as he set the hat atop his head.

“Of course not,” William answered. “In case you haven’t noticed, we have plenty of room here.”

Andrew smiled. Yes, that was true.

Edwin was still getting ready for their walk, shoving his hands into his gloves. Some of his blond hair fell over his forehead, and he tried to blow it away, but it fell right back into place.

How was he so handsome?

Andrew cleared his throat. “About ready, Edwin?”

Edwin’s eyes snapped up. He blinked twice and then shook his head, causing the blond locks on his forehead to swish back and forth in a mesmerizing manner.

“Uhm.” Edwin ran a hand through his hair, pushing those strands back into place, and then he reached for his hat. After putting it on, he said, “Yes. Ready.”

William attempted to push Edwin’s hat back off by flicking the brim. Edwin’s hand shot up to steady it, and then he swatted at William. Laughing, William blocked Edwin’s hit.

“I was merely preparing you for the winter winds,” William reasoned.

Edwin rolled his eyes before turning to leave. “Bye, William.”

“Be careful out there,” William said. “Both of you.” He smiled at Andrew. “You, especially.”

Andrew huffed a soft laugh. “I’ll try not to injure myself,” he promised.

Edwin pushed the door open, and the two men stepped out into the cold. Gritting his teeth, Andrew shoved both of his hands into his pockets, already sensing that his relatively thin gloves likely wouldn’t be enough to effectively protect him from the storm’s bitter chill.

In only a few steps, Edwin’s face became pinched, and his sour expression intensified as both men moved off the final step, their legs sinking into the foot of white powder on the walkway, which wasn’t protected by an overhang like the stairs.

“Damn, that’s cold,” Edwin hissed.

“It really, really is,” Andrew said, though, in truth, he was still so frazzled from his earlier rush of excitement that he probably wasn’t registering the cold quite as intensely as he ought to have been.

“Good thing we only need to walk for forty whole minutes or so,” Edwin said, his bitter tone laced with sarcasm.

“At least we have nice company,” Andrew tried, his voice somewhat uncertain. His stomach swooped as he amended his statement. Just slightly. “I have nice company, anyway.”

Edwin’s lips curled into a small smile.

“Ah, well, I . . . I, uhm . . . thank you.”

Even though Edwin’s cheeks had already become pink from the biting winds, Andrew could have sworn that their color had suddenly changed to a more striking red. Hopefully he hadn’t been too forward.

“Sorry,” Andrew said through an uneasy laugh. “I probably shouldn’t have said that. I just thought you should know that I like spending time with you, is all.”

“Yes, I got that,” Edwin said, chuckling, the crimson color still clinging to his cheeks. “I, ah, I feel the same way. You’re . . . easy to like, Andrew.”

Andrew’s heart stuttered. Never had he thought of himself as someone who was easy to like. Not that he saw himself as an altogether unpleasant person, with regard to either his looks or his personality, but he’d always assumed that his foibles made him more tolerable than likable to most people, at least as a friend or a colleague.

Although . . . perhaps Edwin was referring to a different sort of like.