Vivien nodded. ‘I heard you opened up the waffle house again.’
‘We have. It’s a trial run,’ she added carefully. ‘See how she copes, and I’m helping her.’
‘Well I’m glad to hear it. The town’s not the same without that old place.’
That was what Sadie kept hearing from everyone. She couldn’t help but wonder whether, if it made her a hero now for trying to get this show back on the road, would it then make her the villain if it didn’t work out? If they ended up having to close again for good, if it proved to be too much for Sadie, would everyone blame her for the failure? Would they see April as the victim of an unsupportive granddaughter who’d decided that she’d rather please herself than keep the family business going?
But now wasn’t the time to worry about that, and so Sadie decided she wasn’t going to.
‘This is Luke,’ she said instead, gesturing to him.
‘So I’ve heard,’ Vivien said, regarding him closely now. ‘You’ve moved into the Old Chapel, haven’t you?’
‘Yes,’ he said cheerfully.
‘Bit of a wreck up there, ain’t it?’
‘You could say that, but it’s nothing I won’t be able to sort out. Have you been up there lately? It’s not looking too bad since I painted the outside.’
‘Can’t say I have. Never met the man who owned it before you either. He didn’t drink in here,’ she added, as if to say that fact alone made him someone every sane person would want to avoid.
‘Oh,’ Luke said, ‘where did he drink then? I thought this was your only pub?’
‘It is,’ Vivien said, her tone even more distrustful now of the unknown previous owner of the Old Chapel.
‘Can we get a couple of beers?’ Sadie asked.
Vivien nodded. ‘Pints or halves?’
Sadie glanced at Luke and grinned. ‘I don’t know about you but I’m having a pint.’
‘Well if you’re having a pint I can hardly wimp out and get a half, can I? It’s lucky the old house is in walking distance because it might need to be if we have more than a couple of those.’
‘Almost everything in Sea Salt Bay is in walking distance,’ Sadie said as Vivien went to get their drinks. ‘I don’t know how it’s even classed as a town at all – it’s basically about three streets.’
‘It doesn’t seem all that small to me.’
‘OK,’ Sadie said, laughing. ‘Maybe about half a dozen streets. Only just big enough to sometimes not feel like walking.’
‘Ah. Well they’re half a dozen very nice streets.’
‘Oh, yes,’ Sadie replied. ‘I’m the last person to argue with that.’
Vivien returned and plonked two frothing glasses down. ‘Will you be wanting food? Only the kitchen might be closing early tonight. Also, I don’t know who eats the muck, but the halloumi is all gone. Only two burgers left an’ all so if you want burgers you’d better get in quick.’
Sadie turned to Luke.
‘I could eat a burger,’ he said. ‘Ask me any time about burgers and I’d always say yes.’
‘Well, it’s hardly…’ Sadie began, but then paused. What she’d been thinking was that it was hardly first-date food and ordinarily she’d have gone for something a bit daintier. But she had skipped dinner at home and by now her black mood had lifted – even if only for the moment – and she was hungry. Not to mention that somehow this didn’t feel like a first date, though she couldn’t say why. The excitement was there, the newness, all the possibilities laid out before her. Would they get beyond tonight? If they did, how far could it go? The difference was that she felt far more relaxed today than she ever had on any first date. Conversation and even banter felt easy with Luke, and the desperate need to look like a girl who was more than she was just didn’t trouble her.
Perhaps it was down to the spontaneity of it, the speed by which events had taken over. She hadn’t had time to stress over what to wear or what she’d say. She was standing here, hair unkempt, sand in her shoes, wearing the same clothes she’d had on at work. But somehow, that was OK. Because Luke’s hair was also windswept, and he had sand in his shoes too and paint on his old denim shirt. As first dates went, it was about the most casual one Sadie had ever been on, but there was something she liked about that – very much – something different and wild and a little bit sexy too. Like anything could happen. And age difference or not (which wasn’t all that bad – in her opinion anyway), family disapproval or not, Luke was a little bit sexy too. OK, more than a little bit. He was what Natalie would have called sex on legs.
He looked at her, waiting for her answer with a mischievous, inviting look in his eyes. Burger first, and then what? She hardly dared imagine because the thought had her heart beating so fast it made her dizzy.
‘Why not?’ she said. ‘I’m starving.’
‘Me too,’ he said. He turned to Vivien. ‘We’ll take those burgers if you don’t mind.’
Vivien shrugged as she rung them through the till. ‘No skin off my nose. One less item on the menu for me to worry about.’
* * *
‘This’ – Luke nodded at his burger, still chewing on the mouthful he’d just taken – ‘is just the best burger I’ve ever had.’
‘The best?’ Sadie asked, laughing as she reached for her own. ‘The absolute, undisputed best you’ve ever had in your entire life?’
‘Yup.’
‘Wow…’ Sadie took a bite of her own. The patty was juicy, no doubt about that, the pickle-to-sauce ratio just about perfect and the brioche bun soft and a little sweet, but the best ever? She munched with a look of contentment as she contemplated his statement. Or rather, she contemplated him. God, he was good-looking, and he got better-looking the longer she looked. There was no doubt that tonight was turning out to be an unexpectedly good night, a distraction from her worries which, right now, seemed a lifetime away.
‘So,’ she said as she swallowed a mouthful, ‘what made you choose Sea Salt Bay over all the other seaside towns you could have chosen?’
‘I used to come here as a kid with my parents. Until I was about eight anyway.’
‘Why did you stop? They got bored? You got bored?’
‘My dad got bored… with my mum.’
‘Oh… I’m sorry.’
He waved away the apology. ‘Life, isn’t it? He left her like so many do. Went off with his muse.’
Sadie frowned. ‘His muse?’
‘He was an artist. Mum was his muse at first – he drew so many incredible pictures of her. But after she’d had me she put on a little weight and he told her he’d have to find someone else to draw because she wasn’t the right shape anymore.’
Sadie’s frown deepened.
‘I know,’ he said, reading her thoughts in her face. ‘It was cruel and I don’t think my mum ever really got over it. And apparently Dad couldn’t have a muse and not sleep with her. So, you see…’
Sadie’s mouth dropped open.
‘Yes,’ he said, laughing and without a trace of bitterness in it. ‘He was an arsehole of the highest order and, no, I don’t really care for him all that much if I’m honest. I saw how it all left my mum and I didn’t much like it.’
‘Hmm…’
‘Are you shocked? Sorry, was it too much too soon?’
‘It’s just… well, I was expecting more along the lines of “It has a nice pier” or “I like the beach.”’
‘Oh yes,’ he said, laughing again. ‘It does have a nice pier and I do like the beach. All of those things are true. And I do have a lot of happy memories of this place from before my parents split.’
‘Do you see your dad now?’
‘Not often. He moved to Majorca with her’ – Luke made speech marks in the air with his fingers – ‘where the light is better. I pop over at Christmas and I try my best to get along with everyone but I find it quite gratifying that my mum has aged far more gracefully than either of them have.’
‘So he’s still with the woman?’
> ‘Yes, so at least he didn’t throw his marriage away on a fling, I suppose. I guess he must have loved her.’
‘And you,’ Sadie asked, ‘you never…?’
‘Married? No. A few close calls, of course. By thirty-five most people have had at least one, haven’t they?’
‘If it’s not too personal, what do you mean by close calls?’
His expression closed. It was so sudden and jarring that it threw Sadie completely. She half expected him to stand up and walk out.
‘I’m sorry…’ she began, but he put up a hand to stop her.
‘You have nothing to be sorry for. I should have expected you to ask questions like that – it’s only natural given that we’re here together now. It’s just…’ He let out a pained sigh. ‘It’s just that something happened and I still find it hard to talk about.’
‘You don’t have to. I shouldn’t have asked.’
‘You had every right to ask. If it matters to you then—’
‘No.’ Sadie shook her head. ‘When you’re ready. I can’t say I’m not mad with curiosity but I’m happy to wait until you’re ready to tell me.’
He nodded. ‘Well, anyway, that’s why I never married.’
Sadie wondered whether the way he referred to marriage, rather than simply to settling down or moving in with someone, was because marriage had been on the cards for him, and she wondered what on earth could have destroyed that hope – because looking at his face it was clearly something he’d hoped for once. But she’d meant what she’d said: she didn’t want to force a confession from him of that sort – not while this was all so new between them – and part of her wondered if she wanted to know just yet. What if it was something that would put her off him? She was really beginning to think that she liked him a lot, and she really didn’t want to hear something that would change that so she turned the conversation back to her own life (not that it was all that much safer) and she tried to make it light again, hoping the moment would pass.
‘My family are always complaining that I haven’t settled down yet,’ she said.
‘I’d have said you’re far too young to worry about that.’
‘Try telling my family that.’
‘How old are you – if that’s not an impertinent question?’
‘It’s not, and I’m twenty-six.’
‘Twenty-six. I can’t pretend I’m not a bit jealous – I wish I was still twenty-six.’
‘My brother says you’re too old for me.’
‘Your brother says a lot of things…’ He shook his head. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound… I realise he’s just looking out for you.’ And then he gave a cheeky smile. ‘So, this conversation where your brother is telling you I’m too old for you… when did this happen? More to the point, why?’
It was Sadie’s turn to smile, but it was less cheeky and more sheepish. ‘I guess he can just see the tell-tale signs that I fancied you. Let’s just say he won’t be very pleased when he hears he was right.’
‘We don’t have to tell him – it’s just one date after all.’
‘No, but you can guarantee that Vivien will; she’ll be straight over tomorrow hoping for brownie points.’
‘What is it with this town and your brother?’
‘I can’t explain it, but everyone just loves him – and I mean everyone. You won’t hear a bad word said about him. Imagine how it feels to be the little sister of such perfection.’
‘I should imagine it’s hard for everyone to compete. I’d hate to have been a teenage boy in this town if he’d been at my school.’
Sadie laughed as she reached for her beer. ‘You’d have got my vote, if it’s any consolation. Although, I could hardly date my own brother.’
‘With one hand she giveth, then with the other she taketh away.’
Sadie’s laughter rang out across the pub. ‘Sorry, that probably sounds like a backhanded compliment, but it was a compliment.’
‘Then thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’
‘What about you?’ he asked. ‘There must have been more than your fair share of boyfriends.’
‘So I look like a slapper?’
‘God no!’ he cried, almost choking on his burger. ‘God, is that what it sounded like? I didn’t mean that at all!’
Sadie’s laughter was louder still. ‘Oh, dear, you’re very easy to wind up, aren’t you?’
‘Hmm. I’ll have to look out for that. But seriously, what I meant was that you’re… well, you’re gorgeous and I would have expected to see men queuing outside your door.’
‘So now I sound like a prostitute, so thank you. I can see there was a compliment in there too though.’
‘I mean it,’ he said. ‘I think you’re stunning. After… well even after the boat accident I shouldn’t have been thinking about you… well, not in the way I was, but I couldn’t do anything else. And I was really hoping you’d call the number on my card because it would give me an excuse to talk to you again.’
‘You have Ewan to thank for the fact that I didn’t. He did his best to lose your card, although I’ve since found it. So I do have it and maybe I will call the number on it now I know all this.’
He smiled. But then it became a vague frown. ‘Your brother really doesn’t like me, does he?’
‘Let’s just say I’d better not take you to his house for a visit any time soon.’
‘I suppose that’s fair enough in the circumstances. Maybe one day in the not-too-distant future he might be able to forgive me?’
‘If you’re living in Sea Salt Bay now he has a very good reason to. The town is too small for people to have serious grudges; we make an effort to get along for that reason if nothing else. It doesn’t mean it’s all peace and harmony, but it means that we try maybe a bit harder here. Ewan will come round.’
He nodded. ‘That’s good to hear. So… what’s the deal with your waffle house?’
‘It’s not my waffle house – it still belongs to my grandma. She and my grandpa have run it for as long as anyone here can remember, and when he died we – the family – were all set to close it. But I decided to help Gammy get it running again.’
‘And that’s a long-term plan for you? What did you do before that?’
‘I was training to be a teacher, would you believe?’
‘You’ve given it up?’
‘I’ve quit my course, though everyone seems fairly sure that I could get another place if I needed to.’
‘Do you think you’ll go back to it?’
‘I don’t know. It depends what happens with the waffle house. I don’t know that I’m cut out to be a teacher, if I’m honest.’
Sadie took a swig of her beer. She didn’t much like the way the conversation was going; after the day – no, the week – she’d had, she just wanted to forget about the waffle house and her future for a while.
‘Tell me more about you,’ she said. ‘What do you do?’
‘It’s a bit dull in comparison to what you’ve told me.’
‘How can it be dull? You’ve already told me that your dad is an artist – that’s not dull.’
He shrugged. ‘I’m just a builder. By trade, anyway. Now it’s just this and that.’
‘Ah, so that’s why you can be so blasé about restoring the Old Chapel! A handy guy to know actually, and I think people will suddenly start liking you a lot more around here when they find out you can fix their leaky roofs.’
He laughed as he reached for his beer.
‘So, this and that,’ she continued. ‘What’s this and that?’
‘I don’t just take on contracted work now; I invest a little here and there, buy to sell, that sort of thing.’
‘You were right, I started to glaze over when you mentioned investing.’
‘I did try to warn you. Even I think it’s boring and it’s how I earn my living.’
‘So what’s not boring to you?’
‘Being on a date with someone who’s incredibly attracti
ve and makes me laugh into the bargain.’
Sadie blushed. She picked up her burger, mostly to hide her face, and took a great bite, causing relish to squelch out and drop onto her plate.
‘Even when she’s doing this?’ she asked through a mouthful.
‘Oh, the burger just adds an extra layer of sex appeal. I did say I couldn’t get enough of burgers, didn’t I?
‘So, you have a pub and a beach here. What else do you do for fun in Sea Salt Bay?’
Sadie put her burger down and wiped her mouth. He might have said he found her eating her burger sexy but she wasn’t taking any chances.
‘There’s the amusement arcade and the fairground rides on the pier – not exactly high-octane but families like them. I expect you’ve seen those, though. The bay here is really shallow and safe – that’s why so many people dive here…’
He grimaced and she laughed.
‘Maybe no diving for you just yet. And I guess hiring boats is out of the question now too.’
‘Yes, I think it might be wise to stay away from boats for a while.’
‘We’ve got a donkey sanctuary on the cliffs a couple of miles along the coast – Sweet Briar, I think it’s called. It’s very cute anyway.’
‘Not really my thing, I’m afraid. I got bit by a horse once.’
‘But they’re not horses.’
‘They look enough like horses to put me off.’
‘Oh, well there’s a seaside postcard museum.’
‘Even less my thing if I’m honest.’
‘Hmm, it is a bit crap to be fair but the tourists like it. There’s the chip shop, ice-cream parlour, bingo hall…’ She looked at him. ‘I’m not really selling this place, am I?’
He laughed. ‘I don’t need you to sell it to me; I’m already sold – I have a house now, remember? I just wondered what there is I might be missing out on.’
‘Well…’ She paused, and then inspiration struck. ‘Midsummer there’s always a firework party on the beach – that’s always fun.’
‘Sounds like it. So that’s…’
‘A couple of weeks away. Not too long to wait now. Will you go?’
The Waffle House on the Pier: A gorgeous feel-good romantic comedy Page 15
