"So your brother has a house up in the Hamptons as well as one in New York?"
Robbie and Laura were sitting on the sofa, opposite the stove. The room was warm and there was a cozy glow from the lights, all carefully placed to gently illuminate the small space to perfection.
"Yes. Ritchie and his wife spend most of the time in the city townhouse but the Hamptons house is one they go to at weekends and holidays." Laura said, looking at the flames in the woodburner and stretching out her legs towards the fire. She felt the cozy warmth of the stove and felt herself unwinding after the long drive and the excitement and stress of the afternoon's events.
Robbie raised his eyebrows. Laura's brother had obviously done very well for himself.
"Sounds nice" he said, smiling at her. They were close to each other on the little sofa. Robbie felt warm and snug too and the wine they'd had with the pizza had also relaxed him both in mind and body. The little cottage had soon warmed up and the light from the stove cast an apricot glow into the room. Laura too was relaxed, more so than she had been in a long time. Her and Robbie's legs were pressed up against each other and occasionally their arms made contact. She couldn't help but feel her attraction towards him increase each time their bodies touched. She wondered why he didn't pull away. Was it because he was comfortable with them being this close? Laura didn't want to question it. Just feeling him close with the fire making the room cozy and warm was giving her the most wonderful feeling that she didn't want to end.
Robbie felt the attraction too. Their initial friendship as colleagues had grown over the years into something much more personal and he had come to discover that his feelings had slowly, almost imperceptibly, turned into something more; something that just went past the bounds of friendship. He often felt guilty feeling like this. The loss of Val still occupied his mind and life but as time had passed the realisation came that he couldn't ignore the feelings he knew he had for Laura. Sitting next to her, close and relaxed he felt his attraction for her fill his body and senses with a warm and potent excitement. She didn't pull away from him, if anything he felt her closer. Did she feel the same? Despite their close friendship he questioned if she was attracted to him. He was older, often grumpy, set in his ways; how could she possibly see him as anything other than a friend?
But sitting so close to her, feeling her warmth and the relaxed nature of their simply being together, Robbie, just for a second, allowed himself to entertain the fact that perhaps she felt the same.
He looked at her, she was chatting about her family again, a soft smile on her face, the odd chuckle as she told him the plans she had while she was in New York. He realised he was simply enjoying being with her, with no work, no problems to discuss, no lab results or other colleagues, just her.
"Sounds like a great way to spend Christmas" he said, taking a drink of his wine before putting the glass down on the little oak side table.
"What about you? What's Lyn got planned?" Laura asked, her expression bright with interest.
"Ah, just the usual stuff I think, she's just moved in with this new partner, he seems a nice lad, very welcoming to me" Robbie glanced at Laura before looked into the fire. There was a look of reflection on his face that Laura recognised and she knew he was thinking of the past and Val. "I'll be meeting his parents at some point over the break so I think she's set on him" Robbie continued, returning his gaze back to Laura with a smile. She nodded back, encouraging him to talk more.
"I think they're looking forward to doing a big Christmas dinner, then they're having people round on Boxing Day" he frowned a little as he spoke, his eyes going back to the stove, it was one of his imperceptible expressions that Laura had become attuned to over the years of knowing him. She sensed there was something on his mind. She did what she always did when this happened and waited for him to talk. He took the cue, unconsciously and comfortably as he always did
"Our Lyn's got some daft plan about inviting round one of her colleagues, an older woman, more my age apparently" Robbie said, a slight frown on his face as he continued to look into the fireplace.
"She's divorced, and I know Lyn thinks a lot of her but I've got a feeling she's trying to matchmake" He now glanced at Laura
"How do you feel about that?" Laura said, her eyebrows raised and with a tilt of her head. The words escaped her before she had time to think. She had been caught short by Robbie's admission of any semblance or even a mention of life beyond Val
Robbie sighed and looked back into the dancing flames of the stove.
"I dunno; I know Lyn's trying to help out, encourage me to maybe spread my wings a bit, y'know? after Val." He said and Laura waited for the familiar look of sadness on his face which was ever present when he spoke about his wife.
"I like how she wants me to get on with my life, maybe share it with someone, but, well. . ." He trailed off and gave Laura a sad smile "Part of me likes the idea, but just not with a complete stranger. It would take someone very special for me to go down that road." He looked back at the flames in the stove, gently rolling around the remnants of a large log in the center.
"Anyway what have I got to offer?" he said with a sigh and a resigned look on his face, glancing back from the fire to Laura
"Plenty" she said, and Robbie saw how she held his gaze, her eyes were bright and unblinking as she looked at him
Robbie smiled back at her with a bashful expression
"Thanks" he said and then inwardly cursed himself for what seemed such a blunt and inelegant albeit genuine response to what she had said. She didn't seem to mind and he saw she held his gaze and he felt his heart race - there was something in her eyes that he'd not seen before; or maybe he'd not allowed himself to see or register. It was an intense but tender look that matched the sincerity of her statement
"What about you? Any romance in your life at the moment?" He said, suddenly feeling awkward at the exchange and what it might or might not mean
Laura smiled and looked away quickly at the fire. Robbie worried for a moment that he had overstepped the mark a little with his enquiry but as she replied she continued to gaze into the fire with a soft enigmatic smile.
"A similar situation to you, funnily enough. My brother is desperate for me to hook up with one of his business partners. Like Ritchie he works partly over here and also has a place in New York."
"Right" said Robbie, his eyebrows lifting. He tried to smile but couldn't hide a tension in his lips that showed how he really felt
"We've had a few dates, meet-ups, dinner or whatever when he's been in the country, but there no spark" Laura said, noting that Robbie had bristled, ever so slightly at her admissions.
"Well, you definitely need a spark" he said
"Yes. You do" she looked at him, her gaze direct at his now "And to be honest I don't think my career helps. Talking about cadavers over dinner isn't the best foundation to build a new relationship"
"No, I suppose not, unless the other person is into cadavers as well" Robbie said, both of them chuckling now
"He's a decent enough chap and we've had the odd bit of fun but, well. Similar to what you said. It will take someone special to put up with the nuances that come with my career "
Robbie nodded at her words but also coloured a little. He wondered if by "fun" she meant sex. He found himself feeling suddenly and irrationally jealous; not just at the thought of this bloke she talked about but by the thought of her being with someone, anyone. He knew he had no right to feel like this. Of course she would seek out a relationship; she was single after all. There was every chance she was as lonely as he felt too so why wouldn't she want someone else to share her life with. But as he had got to know her more and more as friends he'd not really had any inkling of her being in a relationship. He always assumed she was like him, obsessed with work and paying the price with a compromised personal life.
Robbie looked into the charred embers of the fire, hoping his face wasn't betraying him.
"I think I'll turn in" Laura said with a yawn looking at her watch; it was almost midnight.
"Yeah, it's late" said Robbie finishing the last of his wine "We might need an early start too, I bet the breakdown service will be busy"
"Are you going to be ok on that thing?" Laura said as she got up from the sofa, nodding towards the futon chair with a slight smirk. She felt bad for Robbie, he had been driving all day and no doubt he ached a little from wrangling the car through the snow but he had already insisted he would sleep on the futon and that she should have the comfy bed upstairs.
"Yeah, I can sleep on a clothesline, me" he said, standing up from the sofa. Laura chuckled and shook her head and he laughed back. He realised he was simply gazing at her again, the wine had relaxed him and he had enjoyed her company, not just for the evening but all day, despite the stress of getting stranded.
His eyes held hers and to his surprise, she placed her hand on his chest, just over his heart.
"Don't shy away from meeting someone special. You deserve happiness, Robbie" she said, a bright sweet sincerity in her eyes
"So do you" he said, speaking what was on his mind before he had chance to think about whether he should say it or not, and, acting purely on the emotion he was feeling, he placed his hand over hers and gently squeezed it.
"I hope things work out for you, in New York. I don't like the thought of you not being happy either" he said softly
She kept her hand on his chest and he could feel the warmth from her palm through his shirt; and then, the gentle touch of her thumb caressing him, ever so slightly. He looked at her, and she looked back, his hand still over hers he found himself returning her touch with his thumb over the back of her hand. He felt that they were on the edge of something, something big and important, together. Laura felt it too. For so long she had wanted to be able to tell him how she felt; that she had feelings for him that transcended their friendship. He had never given her any signal that he might be ready for anything other than friendship after Val. But only a few moments ago that had changed, he had said he might be ready for a relationship. Feeling his hand over hers Laura felt she wanted to pull him down to her and kiss him. But she knew she couldn't; she knew it had to come from him. She couldn't be the one to make the move, it had to be his decision and all she could do was wait for him until he was ready. Feeling the warmth of his chest under her hand, the thud of his heart and the counter touch of his hand on hers Laura wondered if he was perhaps, finally ready to take that next step.
Robbie gazed at her, his heart thumping in his chest as his thumb gently caressed her hand and suddenly, wonderfully, he knew he wanted to kiss her. Uncertainty speared his conviction, however - feeling like this was a new and bold notion that had presented itself suddenly - and was it really what she wanted too? It would be too frivolous, too advantageous to assume she wanted the same, especially after what she had just said about how she was sort of seeing someone. Her hand remained on his chest and he continued to caress it while he looked back at her. She smiled, cautiously and almost shyly and he knew the look, it was unmistakable and it gave him the answer he was hoping for. . .
Suddenly there was a loud knocking sound
Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam
Then a fraught silence and Robbie and Laura looked at each other with alarm.
Then the knocking came again
Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam
"God, Robbie what's that?" Laura said, her voice low with panic
"Someone at the door?" Robbie said, frowning. He was a little alarmed too, more from the sudden noise that had disturbed the peace than from anything else "Must be Dan maybe?" he said to Laura as she followed him as he went to the porch and the front door of the cottage.
He turned the key in the door and opened it onto the winter's night.
There was no-one there.
AN: If you're puzzling about Lyn's new partner that I refer to – it's my deduction from canon that Lyn does have a new partner at some point – "Tim" her original boyfriend is referred to in the pilot episode as a "physio" who she has "followed" up to Manchester. However in the episode Wild Justice we learn that "her partner" is "a financial advisor" so instead of keeping "Tim" the physio and what would be a massive career swing I have taken the chance to give Lyn a new partner – as yet nameless and also nameless in all my other stories when referred to.