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Snuggled in her bed with a sleepy Wolfgang at her side (Max was away so her bed was top spot tonight) Robin tapped out a reply to Sam confirming she didn’t mind swapping, and then text Cormoran to let him know.
R: Change of plan, Barclay’s going to take over surveillance from you in the morning.
C: From the surveillance that’s 5 minutes from your flat - too long a commute for you?
R: Oh bugger off. He asked if we could swap so he can finish earlier, he’s got to pick his daughter up.
C: A likely story, you just want a lie in.
R: Enjoy your long night in a car! I’m already cosy in my nice, warm bed.
C: Touché. Sweet dreams x
Sadly, Robin didn’t get a chance to find out if her dreams were sweet or not. The appearance of the kiss at the end of Cormoran’s last text had ensured she had had a sleepless night.
The kiss alone was enough to keep her awake, but more than that was the mortification she was now feeing at not having replied. She had panicked. The kiss had caught her off guard and by the time she had collected herself, she felt she’d waited too long to respond.
Checking the time and seeing it was nearly 6.30 A.M., She wondered how Strike was. He’d be finishing his shift about now. As though he could read her mind, Wolfgang crawled onto her lap and nudged the phone in her hand, giving her a hard stare.
Cormoran was likewise exhausted from a night of uneventful surveillance, the effort of actively trying not to imagine Robin in her bed, and from contemplating cutting off his own treacherous fingers. Why had he added that stupid bloody kiss? He was grumpy too, that he wouldn’t even get to see Robin now that Barclay was going to take over. He had been looking forward to seeing her.
Checking his phone for the millionth time to see if she’d replied yet he nearly dropped it in his delighted surprise that this time, she had.
R: Hope the night shift was okay. Have a good day off. No working! x
Cormoran could have taken a photo, printed it out and framed it. A kiss back. Thank god.
C: I make no promises.
He had decided he better end the kiss cycle before it got dangerous. There was no changing the kiss in her birthday card, having already given it to Max, but at least he could blame that on a special occasion. He wasn’t sure they were at the kiss-on-every-text stage yet. He’d have to see how The Ritz went in a few days.
Reluctant for their conversation to end there however and keen to make sure she didn’t think there were hard feelings over the kiss debacle, he sent another message.
C: What are you doing up so early anyway, what happened to that lie in?
Robin, who had indeed thought there were hard feelings, was immensely relieved to see a follow up.
R: Going to walk Wolfgang in the park and then head into the office early.
C: Sounds nice. Tell him I said hi!
R: Should be. He says hi back and thanks again for your lads night the other day, he enjoyed the football!
Hesitating over sending the next message and worried Strike would see through her use of Wolfgang as a scapegoat for her own feelings, Robin decided she couldn’t resist.
R: He also says he misses you.
C: Miss him too.
R: You could always join us, if you’re not busy?
C: Be there in 10.
It was a lovely walk, the crisp Autumn air fresh on their faces and the sun surprisingly warm through the golden trees. Wolfgang was of course thrilled to see his new best pal Cormoran, though slightly disappointed at his seeming lack of biscuits.
He needn’t have worried, Robin had come prepared with coffee for her and Strike and biscuits for all.
Bounding through the crunchy leaves on his extendable lead and sniffing for squirrels as he went, Wolfgang was having the best day. He loved trotting alongside his friends, looking up at them as he weaved in and out of their legs, tangling the lead intricately between them as he went.
Having stopped so Robin could retrieve the biscuits from her bag and utterly immersed in their easy conversation, Strike and Robin had failed to notice this small but rather crucial detail. It came as quite a shock therefore, when Wolfgang, having apparently spotted a squirrel at long last, dashed suddenly forwards.
For all of their combined efforts to keep things normal between them after the stressful text exchange, Wolfgang, it seemed, had other ideas. As he charged away, the lead he had so masterfully tangled between their legs was pulled taut, sending their coffees flying everywhere and sending them crashing towards one another at considerable speed.
Robin thudded straight into Cormoran’s outstretched arms - an automatic reaction on his part - and flushed scarlet at finding herself almost nose to nose with him, their chests sandwiched together.
Not daring to look each other in the eye, they extricated themselves from the horrifying web of awkwardness that was Wolfgang’s lead. As they did so, Wolfgang came trotting back - looking incredibly pleased with himself - to report that there hadn’t been a squirrel after all. It must have been a false alarm.