Scones Away!

‘Exactly.’ Oliver’s grin flashed, and when they started walking, his hand remained firmly around hers.

They strolled through the gardens, the sun beating down, and Charlie could almost feel her freckles popping to the surface. Oliver told her about his life childhood growing up near the Welsh border – not that far from where Charlie had been born – and how he’d loved going to the funfair and country shows as he grew up.

‘I loved them all,’ he said. ‘The atmosphere, that sense of everyone having a good time, finding something interesting or new, or indulging in their passion. I thought about getting involved in the gun dogs for a time. I always watched the trials but, as I grew older, I instinctively moved towards catering. It suited me, and so when Nat – my sister – suggested the cocktail stand, it felt right. I mean,’ he added, stopping on a wooden boardwalk that protruded into the middle of a pond, ‘who wouldn’t want to spend their days around people who are taking time to do something for themselves? Enjoyment, education, whatever it is. It wouldn’t be bad working here, would it?’

Charlie looked around, at the families and couples strolling, a woman sitting on a bench pushing a buggy back and forth, licking a green ice cream. ‘No,’ she agreed, ‘it wouldn’t. But we have more flexibility with our businesses. We’re our own bosses.’

‘How are you finding that?’

‘Good. Busy, though. I can only call on Juliette so often – she has her own work to do. But I don’t know if I’m ready to employ someone else. Everything’s a bit fluid – the markets, where I might end up.’ She watched as Marmite dangled a tentative paw in the water, got scared when a leaf drifted towards him and hid behind her legs.

‘You’re not staying in Cornwall?’

‘I don’t know,’ Charlie admitted. ‘I can’t live with Jules and Lawrence for ever. They need their own space. What about you, anyway? You don’t live down here.’

‘I’ve got a few mates,’ he said, his eyes sliding away from her. ‘As long as I don’t outstay my welcome on any one sofa then it’s not a problem.’

Charlie laughed. ‘You’re a proper wanderer.’

‘Does that bother you?’ His grip on her hand had tightened, his gaze returning to her face.

‘No, of course not, but—’

‘Charlie?’

‘Yes?’ She waited, the ice cream suddenly heavy in her stomach. Oliver seemed to be searching for the right words, but then he leaned towards her. His kiss was gentle and Charlie found that, after a beat, she was kissing him back. It felt good, comforting, but nothing like the sensation of Daniel’s lips on hers. That rush of adrenalin and desire. She shouldn’t be doing this. She stepped back.

Oliver’s smile downgraded from self-assured to tentative. ‘Was that OK?’

‘It was lovely.’ It wasn’t a lie.

His smile widened and he took her hand again. They walked off the boardwalk, back onto the path, only to find a small boy giggling up at them. ‘You made smoochies,’ he said, pointing an unapologetic finger. ‘Eww!’

‘You won’t feel like that when you’re older,’ Oliver said calmly, and pulled Charlie away.

After Oliver had failed to persuade Charlie to go on the zip wire that hovered terrifyingly over the Eden Project, Charlie drove them back to Newquay, the windows of Juliette’s car wound down to let in as much air as possible. When she pulled up outside his temporary digs, he turned to face her.

‘Come to the beach with me? There’s an area where dogs are allowed.’

‘I’m not sure,’ Charlie said. ‘I left Juliette on the bus, so I should just check …’ she pulled her phone out of her bag and saw that there was a message from her friend.

Doing an evening session with Belle on the beach. Hope Ollie was fun! Xx

Charlie bristled. ‘Beach sounds great,’ she said, forcing a smile.

Ten minutes later, she was showing Oliver how to skim stones across the breakers while Marmite bounded in the shallows, treating each new wave as if it was a tiny, Yorkipoo-eating monster.

‘You’re not holding your hand right. It needs to be more like this.’ Charlie stood behind him and twisted his hand. ‘And then, in one, fluid motion you need to go like this.’ She demonstrated with her own stone, which skipped across the water three times before it disappeared.

‘Right.’ Oliver narrowed his eyes. ‘So I go like this, then like this. And then …’ He threw his stone, and it skimmed once before disappearing.

‘Yes!’ Charlie gave him a high-five. ‘It can only get better from there.’

‘I wouldn’t be so sure. I’ve never been that great at sports.’

‘Skimming stones is hardly a sport, though I can get competitive about it. I won’t today, obviously, as it’s your first time. But next time, Oliver, you’d better watch out.’

‘Next time?’ He took her hand. ‘You think there might be a next time?’

Charlie swallowed. ‘There could be. If you show enough promise.’

‘Then I will try very, very hard.’

They walked at the edge of the sea, their shoes in their hands, while the summer evening played out beautifully around them. Charlie liked Newquay. It was always full of people laughing, surfing, jogging along the beach. There were families paddling, a few still swimming, the sky turning pink just above the horizon. A group of twenty-somethings were trying to light a bonfire on the beach, which made her think of Daniel.

‘What is it?’ Oliver asked.

‘What do you mean?’

‘You squeezed my hand.’ He released his grip. ‘Luckily I still have the use of all my fingers.’

His grin was usually calming, but Charlie couldn’t match it.

‘No shrugging,’ he said. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Juliette is spending the evening with the yogis.’

‘And that’s bad because …?’

‘Because they’re Daniel’s.’

‘Daniel owns the yoga group?’

‘You know what I mean. I’m sure he set it up to piss me off, and now Jules has gone over to the dark side.’

‘You’re making this all very black and white.’

‘It is! He’s suddenly decided he doesn’t like my food market, and he’s sabotaging me.’ They started walking back to the car.

‘Or maybe the yoga has been organized for months and he forgot to tell you. Or he’s seen the positive impact your events are having on Porthgolow and has decided to put resources in to continue your good work, and bring even more people to the village? Look, I’ve only met Daniel briefly, and I told you before that there was something about him I didn’t like. But if you’ve got to know him, then why don’t you just talk to him? Get everything out in the open.’

‘Every time we see each other we end up sniping.’

They had stopped outside Oliver’s temporary home, and he glanced at the upstairs window, gave someone a quick wave and then ran his hand through his hair. By the time Charlie looked, there was nobody there.

‘Ask him to move the yogis further down the beach,’ Oliver said, shrugging. His cheeks were fiercely red, and she wondered if his tanned skin had finally had enough sun. ‘Surely it could accommodate you all?’

‘If that’s the case, why didn’t he set them up at the other end of the beach in the first place?’

‘Just talk to him, Charlie. And let me know if Saturday’s still happening.’

‘Of course it is!’ Charlie said, aghast. ‘There’s too much momentum to stop now. You will come, won’t you?’

Oliver brushed his lips over her cheek. ‘You know that I’m entirely at your disposal.’

‘Brilliant! Thank you, Ollie. For that and – and for today.’ She smiled, wondering if he would kiss her properly again, wondering if she should let him when, only two weeks ago, she had been kissing someone else. If she really wanted to take things further, she would have to tell him about Daniel, that it had been a one-off, an aberration. But Oliver just squeezed her hand, gave Marmite a quick stroke and let himself into the house.

As Charlie drove back to Porthgolow, her mind refused to settle. Was it just a misunderstanding, another slip from Daniel that had resulted in the yoga group taking up her part of the beach, or was he playing games with her? Of course Oliver was right, and the only way of finding out was by talking to him, but the idea of facing him again after the hot tub evening made her palms clammy. She would just have to go ahead with the food market as usual; they’d been there first and what, realistically, could Daniel do about a whole load of vans and trucks driving onto the beach? If he didn’t want a horrible accident on his hands, then he would have to be the one to give way.

The yogis looked serene, sitting on the beach equal distances apart, their shadows stretching long and thin behind them in the evening light. Charlie tried to make Juliette out but, from this distance, she could be any one of a number of dark-haired women. She slowed when she passed Myrtle’s pop-in, indicated, and was about to turn up the hill when she saw a figure leaning against Gertie, his attention focused on the water.

His muscled calves were tanned below khaki shorts, his dark hair blowing in the sea breeze. A German shepherd sat placidly at his side, his tail twitching. Charlie’s heart began to pound. She had to face him sometime, and if she did it now they might be able to avert the impending disaster.

She swung into The Seven Stars car park, attached Marmite’s lead and climbed out of the car. Daniel’s gaze was fixed firmly on the horizon and she felt a stab of satisfaction that she might be surprising him for once, but when she was ten yards away, Marmite barked and raced over, first sniffing Jasper and then putting his paws on Daniel’s leg.

He looked down and then crouched to ruffle the ecstatic dog. As he stood, he caught Charlie’s eye and grinned. She stopped, taking a moment to compose herself.

‘Charlie, I wondered if I might bump into you here.’

‘Why, because I’m going to have to spend the next day and a half trying to work out how to fit twenty food trucks in among a group of flexible yogis?’

His lips twitched. ‘No, because this is your bus.’

‘It’s after hours and I had the afternoon off, anyway. I don’t know why I’m explaining myself to you. It should be you doing the explaining.’

‘Do anything nice?’

Charlie gave him a blank look.

‘This afternoon, were you doing anything fun?’

‘I went to the Eden Project, with Oliver.’

Daniel’s smile wavered. ‘It’s a great day for it. You’ve caught the sun.’ He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing, and Charlie felt truly scrutinized. She wondered how red her cheeks were, whether her spray of fair-weather freckles had taken up residence across her nose. She forced herself not to look away and Daniel’s expression softened.

She took her chance.

‘Why did you organize the yoga when you knew my food market was happening this Saturday? If it’s because of how we left things before, then …’ Then what? Should she apologize? She had been well within her rights to back off after their kiss. It had been so sudden, so intense. She was still struggling to work out exactly how she felt.

Daniel dragged his gaze from her lips to her eyes. ‘Lauren organized it,’ he said. ‘She got talking to Belle when she was staying with us and asked if she could put on a course of yoga on the beach. I told her to go for it, because she’s a good colleague and I like to encourage initiative. I thought she’d have the common sense to plan it around the market.’

‘But she hasn’t,’ Charlie replied. ‘So what are we going to do about it?’

‘We? So you think we can try working as a team, now?’

The heat in Charlie’s cheeks went up a few degrees. ‘The reputations of my events and your hotel rest on the outcome. We could do with working together to come up with a solution.’

‘I think you’re right,’ Daniel said. ‘What do you suggest?’

Charlie sighed and leaned against the bus. It was easier being next to him than facing him. ‘You definitely have to have yoga on Saturday?’

‘Belle has been booked and paid for, and she’s got clients for every day that she’s here. I’m not sure anyone would be too happy about us cancelling it.’

‘And I can’t cancel the food market, because it’s a sure thing, now. I’ve got vendors invested in it, and I’ve promoted it on social media. We could move Belle further down the beach, but it’s still going to be noisy and busy. We don’t want to risk any yogis being squashed. Not even Belle,’ Charlie added, with only a slight trace of bitterness.

Daniel laughed. ‘She’s not your cup of tea?’

‘She simpers,’ Charlie replied. ‘I mean, she obviously runs a very successful business and Juliette is beyond happy that she’s here but I just—’

‘You don’t think she’s on your side.’

‘Oi.’ She slapped him on the arm. ‘You’re not being helpful. We need to fix this, for both our sakes.’

‘OK,’ Daniel said, suddenly serious. ‘How about we … no, I’m not sure that will work. We could maybe …’ Charlie glanced at him, but he was shaking his head. ‘Oh, I know!’ He grabbed her arm and Charlie jumped, feeling the fizz of electricity at his touch.

‘What? What could we do?’

‘How about, just for Saturday, we have the yoga up in the gardens of Crystal Waters? There’s lots of space around the pool, they’ll still have the spectacular views, and they’re far enough removed from the market for neither to impact on the other. There.’ He spread his hands wide. ‘Perfect solution.’

Charlie stared at him. His expression was smug, satisfied, but there was something else, too. That laughter bubbling just under the surface. Slowly, realization dawned on her.

‘Oh my God,’ she murmured. ‘Oh my God, Daniel.’

He raised an eyebrow.

‘It was always going to be up at the hotel on Saturday, wasn’t it? You were never going to be in the way of my food market.’

‘It was an easy assumption to make, when they appeared on the beach this morning for a week-long residence. I can see how you could have jumped to the wrong conclusion. I had expected a visit from you earlier, actually. I was looking forward to seeing you.’

Marmite squeaked and hid behind her legs, but a quick glance showed her that Jasper was still lying patiently at Daniel’s feet. Her dog was making something out of nothing, as usual. Charlie wondered if he’d learnt that from her.

‘You purposely didn’t tell me,’ she said through gritted teeth. ‘You let me think this, let me get worked up about it, when all along you were planning on having it at the hotel on Saturday.’

‘All’s well that ends well. You need to stop assuming that everyone’s against you.’

‘How can I, when you keep doing stuff like this? I bet you organized Rose and Frank to put on that little show outside my bus, just so you could set me straight and feel superior about it. You’re trying to show me who’s in charge, but do you know what?’ Her eyes blazed into his.

‘What?’ he asked. ‘Tell me.’ He leaned towards her, his breath tickling her cheek. ‘I’m all ears.’

They were only inches apart. He smelt good, woody and citrusy. She pushed the thought away.

‘I’m not against you, Charlie. I thought I’d made that clear the other night, but if you want to keep believing it, there’s nothing I can do.’

She couldn’t look away. Daniel’s eyes were dark pools of intent and his lips were so close … She knew how kissable those lips were …

‘Hey, Char! Hi, Daniel.’ Juliette’s voice broke the spell and Charlie jumped backwards, turning to her friend as if she’d been starved of her company.

‘Jules! How was it?’ Juliette looked happy, her skin glistening, her cheeks bunched into a smile.

‘Brilliant. You have to give it a go, Charlie. It’s the most wonderful, uplifting feeling, and Belle is a great teacher. Oh, and I meant to text you earlier, but I got caught up on the bus. She found out that they’re running all her sessions at the hotel on Saturday, so you don’t need to worry. The food market is safe! But Daniel’s probably told you that anyway. Want to go up to the house together?’

Charlie forced a smile. She wished, with all her heart, that Juliette had sent that text. ‘I’ve got your car in The Seven Stars car park. I’ll drive you up the hill, unless you want to walk?’

‘A lift would be lovely. Did you have a good time with Ollie?’

Charlie nodded, aware of Daniel’s gaze on her. ‘I’ll tell you all about it at home.’

‘Great. I’m just going to go and say goodbye to Belle, then I’ll meet you at the car. Catch you later, Daniel.’

‘Bye,’ Daniel called. ‘There, you see,’ he said, once Juliette was out of earshot. ‘I wasn’t keeping anything from you.’

‘I need to get Marmite his dinner,’ Charlie said. ‘Please don’t scratch the paintwork of my bus.’

‘Wouldn’t dream of it.’ Daniel stood up straight. ‘Good to see you again, Charlie. Glad we’ve sorted things out. I’d hate for there to be any animosity between us.’ He squeezed her hand briefly, letting go before she could react, and led Jasper down onto the beach.

Marmite whimpered, as if he was upset at the German shepherd’s departure, despite clearly being terrified of him. Charlie let out a loud, exasperated sigh and took her dog back to the car.

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