"Can you please tell me what happened?" Sorcha begged Cora. The whole evening Cora had tried to avoid her. She wanted to keep the relationship with Robert a bit longer private. She wanted to enjoy every second of it, without interfering.
"These weeks you have been very quiet, and it almost seemed you were depressed, but tonight I saw a smile on your face, a genuine one. Did you met somebody, who made you forget about Robert?"
Cora smiled, she had suspected that Sorcha would have guessed that she and Robert were back together. Her desire to keep it secret was also impossible since he was coming to pick her up again.
"Are you going to let me guess?"
Cora turned around with a plate in her hand. "The customers are waiting." She said smiling and walked out of the kitchen.
She was walking on clouds the whole day. She managed to start with her new book. The first phase was mapping out the story and it was roughly finished. With this, she could start writing. She looked at her watch, almost closing time. Hopefully the guests will leave on time, so they could clean early.
"That took longer than I had hoped," Sorcha said. I guess we are not going to get a drink at this hour?"
Cora looked at her watch, almost midnight. Would Robert already be waiting at the front door? "Those two last guests were doing it on purpose. I have never seen somebody drink their wine that slow."
"They were annoying were they not? Come I will walk up with you." Sorcha hooked her arm in Cora's, who hesitated. "Oke come on Cora. You need to tell me now. You have been acting strange all night. Who did you meet?"
"You will know soon enough."
"You are being mean; you know I do not like secrets."
Robert had been listening from around the corner and smiled. Cora had not told Sorcha about them being back together. He could surprise them.
"I think I know who Cora met." He said just before he stepped around the corner. He saw a smile appear on her face and he got weak inside. How sweet she was, he also liked the expression on Sorcha's face. It was a mix between shock and relief. He stepped closer towards Cora and put his hand on her waist while kissing her cheek. "Hello, my love, how was your workday?"
Cora leaned into his kiss, his hand on her waist felt so familiar. "It was busy, but a good one."
"Except on those two last customers, they were just a pain in the ass."
Cora chuckled. "They were quite annoying." She looked at Robert, who was still keeping his hand on her waist, he had moved it a bit more to her back. "We should go home; it is quite cold."
"That sounds as a good plan." He leaned closer towards her and whispered. "I can feel you better without this thick coat."
Cora wrapped her arm around his back and started walking.
"Well, I will see you tomorrow." Sorcha said, while also walking off.
A cold wind blew right into their face and Cora tried to hide into her big scarf that she had wrapped around her neck.
"Let us hurry, I am sorry that I did not come by car. We could take a cab?"
"No, no. I will be fine, but we should walk a bit faster so I can warm up again."
Robert took Cora's gloved hand in his and picked up a faster pace. "Tomorrow I will take my car; I do not want you to be cold."
"Do not be silly, it is not that far."
"Do you want a cup of tea too?"
Robert yawned; he had hoped to go to bed soon. It had been a long day. His mother had been bugging him all they about him being in London. According to her he needed to be in Downton. It confused him, his father assured him that he was capable of running the estate as long as Robert did the company. But his mother made it seems differently. He felt Cora's hand in his neck, playing with his hair.
"It is alright if you want to go to bed. I will follow soon."
"Where is the fun in that?" Robert supressed another yawn.
With her cup between her hands, she sat down next to him on the sofa. She leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. "I do not mind having you here on the sofa, but you do seem tired. Was it a hard day at work?"
Robert lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulder, she nestled closer against him. This feeling was something he could get used to. How horrible his day would be, he had Cora to come home too. Should they be thinking about finding a place together? Or was that too early to think about? He sighed, it would not matter, for now he wanted to be in the present and enjoy her presence and forget about his work.
Cora put her cup down and rested her hand on his stomach. "Everything alright?"
"It is nothing to worry you about." He answered, kissing her temple. He yawned again and rested his head against the backrest. Before he realised it, he was asleep.
Cora noticed Robert's breathing getting slower, when she looked up, he was asleep. He had been really exhausted, why did he not just text her that he was not picking her up? She could have walked home on her own, she had done that for a very long time. Still, she did love that he was there to pick her up, she had loved the look on Sorcha's face. She would bug her about it during tomorrows shift, she was sure of that. Careful, she got up and picked up the blanket that was on the armchair, she tugged Robert in as best as she could. She emptied her cup and went to take a shower. Running around in the restaurant always made her sweaty and she was still a bit cold from being outside. Winter was here, there was no doubt about that. When she had changed into her pyjama's Robert was still asleep on the sofa. She watched him for a couple of minutes. He had a handsome face; his jawline was strong. She adored the extra pounds he had on him, he was fit, but not muscled and that was what she liked the most. When she rested her hand on his belly, it was soft and still she could feel his muscles underneath it. Gently she kissed his jaw, she did not want to wake him up, but he could not sleep in this position for the rest of the night. He should lay down on the sofa or come to bed. She preferred the last option, that would mean she could use his body heat to warm up. "Darling." She said softly when he did not wake up from her kiss and caressing over his jaw. He stirred but did not wake up. Cora started to raise his legs to get him to lay down on the sofa, but this movement woke him up.
Startled he looked around, when he found Cora's face he calmed down. "I am sorry, did I do something wrong?" He asked.
Cora's hand rested on his cheek. "I was trying to make you more comfortable. Come to bed, you will sleep better. You did nothing wrong sweetheart, come." She took the blanket of him and took his hand in hers; she was not sure why he would think he did something wrong. Drowsy he followed her to the bedroom. She pulled the duvet back, he immediately turned on his side and was snoring before Cora could walk to her side. She pulled the duvet back up and tucked herself and Robert in. She crawled close to his back and was asleep herself very quickly after resting her head.
