Going Up | ✓

England - (Epilogue)

England.

It's cold, even for someone who grew up with New York winters. I shiver, wrapping my jacket around myself as tightly as possible, burying my face into the thick scarf I've wound round my neck.

'It's April, it's supposed to be relatively warm,' I grumble, causing the man standing next to me to laugh.

'You were the one who always told me how much you wanted to come to London,' he points out, an amused smile tugging at his lips.

I shoot him a glare out of the side of my eyes. 'Yes, but that doesn't mean I like that it's cold.'

He just laughs a bit more, before reaching into the pocket of my jacket, coaxing my frozen hand out so it's grasping his warm one. 'Come on then,' he murmurs, his eyes regarding me softly. 'Let's go and find a small coffee shop or something, shall we?'

I hum in agreement, resting my head against his shoulder before letting him lead me away. 'So long as we come back later and go on the London Eye, okay?'

'Of course,' he agrees.

He seems to know where he's going, because he walks briskly and with a purpose. However, he's been like that for as long as I've known him - always straight to the point.

After a while, he leads me to a small coffee shop and holds the door open for me.

As soon as I step inside, I'm embraced by a blast of warmth and the aroma of sweet smelling coffee. I inhale, smiling happily. 'This is perfect.'

He chuckles, tugging on a lock of my hair playfully. 'I thought you would. Go and find a seat, I'll order you a hot chocolate.'

I can't help the smile that spreads across my face. We know each other so well that we don't even have to question what the other might want, we just know.

I find us a booth by the window that will allow us to look out on the busy street. I watch him as he interacts easily with the barista, even laughing at something he said.

Not long later, he comes over with a steaming cup of hot chocolate, topped with cream and chocolate sprinkles, a large coffee for himself and two chocolate brownies.

I grin indulgently at him. 'You know me so well.'

He laughs softly. 'At this point, I would be quite worried if I didn't, Poppy.'

I just nod, pulling my drink towards me, just as my phone buzzes with a text. I take it out of my jean pocket and smile. 'It's from Maddie.'

Hey, Pops, hope both you and Ivan are getting on well. Everything is good here - we're enjoying the big sleepover! Missing you lots though :( The boys say hi and send lots of love, as do the rest of us. Mads xo

I read it out to my boyfriend, who smiles affectionately. 'I miss them...' he trails off.

'Yeah, me too,' I nod. 'But... it's also really nice to just have some time to ourselves.'

He grins. 'You read my mind. Don't get me wrong, both Oliver and Alistair are great, but it's hard to have time to just talk to you these days, particularly because you're so busy at the moment and there's a lot going on at my work, too.'

Now that I'd quit my job at the garage and moved onto charity work, I'm suddenly finding myself with a lot more to do than before. It's been extremely hectic, so this two week break to London with Ivan is certainly going to do both of us the world of good.

'Exactly,' I agree. 'We're definitely lucky that Maddie loves them so much to look after them for a while.'

We spend the rest of our time in the cosy cafe talking about where we're going to go next and what else we want to do while we're here.