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‘I’ve been doing it a long time.’
‘Your latte art was pretty cool. I’ve seen some done before but your bird design for Simone was excellent.’
‘Thanks.’
‘You must have practised a lot.’
I know he’s distracting me. I welcome it. I drag in a breath and make myself focus. ‘Yeah, but mostly I do it to put online. I have a social media channel for it.’
‘You have an influencer side hustle?’
I swear I hear an element of judgement in his tone. ‘I’m hardly at influencer status but my ASMR videos are really popular. And my how-to-do-it-at-home tutorials are increasingly getting clicks.’
‘And that’s the dream—to be an Insta-recognisable influencer?’
Oh, there’s definitely judgement there.
‘Actually, I’m going to have my own roastery one day. My own coffee label. And my channel is absolutely going to help with that.’ I’m not trying to impress him. I’m just babbling. It’s helping but not as much as his hand-holding is.
‘You want to take on the big multinationals?’ he asks.
‘No, I just want a boutique label. I want to support coffee growers with ethical practices who provide a sustainable wage. There’s room in the market for that and the world needs to change.’
‘You’re an idealist.’
I shake my head. ‘A humanist.’
The light from the phone on the floor in the corner is just enough to let me see him, hopefully without him seeing how much I’m staring. He’s the perfect distraction from the fear that I’m about to plummet hundreds of feet onto rocks. His eyes are stunning. A deep blue, they glitter with a vitality that makes me want to lean in to feel his energy. Okay, his muscles too. I want to test out the length and breadth of him for myself. It’s the weirdest thing. I avoid men. But this isn’t like anything else. This is like a lightning strike and, yes, I know that’s a cliché, but it’s the best my befuddled brain can come up with right now. I guess the storm outside is a prompt and all.
‘They should have shut down the gondola,’ I murmur. ‘We’d be safer up at the top even without power.’
‘We’ll be fine.’ His hand tightens on mine. ‘We’re more likely to be in a car accident.’
‘You know your facts.’ Who’s he trying to reassure? Me or himself?
‘Several.’
‘You’re a one-per-center, though. You’re already in a bunch of minority sections. Top of your class. Most wealthy.’
Most gorgeous.
‘And you think that makes me more likely to be killed in a freak gondola accident?’ He sounds amused.
‘You’re all kinds of special,’ I mumble.
His hand tightens on mine. ‘Look at me,’ he says softly. ‘We’re going to be fine.’
‘You don’t know that.’ But I breathe out slowly. I am not going to lose it here. I never lose it. I stay calm even when a situation seems dire. ‘But there’s nothing either of us can do in this moment to make it better.’
‘No?’
I pause, struck by a sudden frisson in the atmosphere between us.
‘Powerless is not a position I’m used to being in,’ he says.
I can well believe it. And, even though I mightn’t have the money he does, I do have my own drive. ‘Me neither.’
‘You were in charge of all the wait staff.’ He nods. ‘You’re usually in control?’
