Scott nodded sadly. Once he got a table, he’d message Tyler and Eddie. He desperately needed his friends to wait with him until Prin’s flight took off. Just in case.
Starbucks lay up ahead. Scott worried that if he tried to eat or drink anything, he would bring it straight up again. He’d order a latte and give it to Eddie. Missiles could be raining down and Eddie would still fancy a bite to eat.
“Scott?”
He spun around. There was Prin. Larger than life and standing right in front of him. Scott had to hold on to a nearby luggage trolley for support.
“Prin.”
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Looking for you.”
“Wait a minute. Was that announcement your doing?”
Despite his extreme stress, Scott held his hands up. “Guilty.”
A group of young people came through the doors. They were loud and excited for their trip. For a second, Prin disappeared in the throng. Scott panicked that when it cleared, he wouldn’t be there.
He was wrong. Prin hadn’t moved a muscle.
“Can we talk?” Scott asked.
“What is the point?” Prin replied. “You’ve told me how you feel.”
“That’s the thing. I haven’t. You didn’t let me finish. Please, Prin. At least give me that.”
Prin seemed plagued by indecision for a moment before he nodded. Scott tried not to let his emotions get the better of him.
Completely oblivious to all the people around them, Scott only had eyes for Prin.
“Go on,” he said, softly.
“I said that on the outside, maybe we do look mismatched,” Scott said, holding his hand up firmly. “But, on the inside you are one hundred times the man I am. Look at you, you’re even going home to check up on an uncle that disowned you. Fucking hell, Prin, I think you might be an angel on earth.”
A small crowd had gathered behind Prin, which wasn’t helping. He swallowed hard when a middle-aged couple held up crossed fingers.
Please don’t let anybody film this. For fuck’s sake.
Still, going viral looking like the soppiest sod in the south of England was preferable to letting Prin get on that plane.
“I love you,” he declared. “There. I said it. I have ever since that day in the café. I didn’t dare tell you because you’d think it was me getting carried away.”
Prin was silent.
“I am the best person I can be when I’m with you,” Scott continued. “Even my mother says so.”
The trace of a smile played on Prin’s mouth when Scott said that. This tiny bit of encouragement spurred him on.
“I know you think I gave your name up because I saw the case slipping from my grip and I was so fixated on being the hero of the hour,” he said. “That’s so not true. Richard was browbeating me and saying the whistleblower was only doing it for personal gain. I couldn’t bear to hear you being put down like that. Honestly, Prin, it was an accident. A terrible, shitty accident that if I could take back, I would. Please don’t leave me. Whatever I need to do, tell me and I’ll do it.”
Finally, he had run out of words. The emotions he’d managed to keep in check now spilled out. Tears ran down his face and his hands shook.
He glanced at the couple. The woman was dabbing her eyes and the man gave him a thumbs-up.
Prin swallowed. “You hurt me,” he said. “When my uncle rejected me last year, I felt the same pain that I did when I lost my parents. I vowed that if I let someone in again, they would have to be special. Instantly, I opened myself up to you and that terrified me. But I still did it, Scott. There was no other option, so I tried to bury my worries. Not very successfully, I’ll agree.”
Scott’s bottom lip quivered. Every instinct was to dash over and wrap his arms around Prin. Instead, he held his ground.
