Chapter 33
CHAPTER 33
G emma went to bed on Monday night feeling totally bemused. That Fleur and Henry could ever have thought she would be a match for somebody like Angus irked her, but so did Kent’s attitude. Considering how heated some of their exchanges had been so far, he could’ve easily told her to get lost when she accosted him in the pub, but instead, he had helped her and lost half his drink in the process. It was a nicer side of him that she’d not encountered before, and she wasn’t sure she liked it. It was bad enough that he was physically attractive. Not that she was attracted to him, of course. It was purely an objective observation, that was all. Still, she didn’t like the fact that he was still rolling through her thoughts as she tried to get to sleep. Kent had no place in her bed, whether that was physically or imaginatively.
“So, how did yesterday go?” Sophie said in the cafe the next morning.
“Yesterday?”
“The date?” Sophie clarified. “What else would I have meant?”
“Right, yes. Well, there won’t be a second one. Let’s put it that way.”
“That’s a shame, although maybe that means there’s a chance for Kent? You know, I saw the way he looked at you yesterday, and he stayed later to help you out. Any gossip I should know? Have you warmed to him at all yet?”
Gemma shifted her line of sight to the kitchen door. Should she tell Sophie about the night before? About what Kent had said to Angus to rescue her from the disastrous date? No, Sophie would read way too much into that. That was something she would keep to herself.
“I’m sure he has his good sides,” she said, opting for an answer that was noncommittal. “Now, come on. I suspect yesterday’s rain means we’re going to be twice as busy today.”
They weren’t exactly twice as busy, but it was a steady stream of people all day, and the queue barely let up. As such. Gemma didn’t have any opportunity to pop into the kitchen and offer Kent a proper word of thanks for his help. She had hoped to say something before he left at three, after all, working together all day and not even thanking him wasn’t good manners, but when he appeared at just gone two-twenty, Sophie was talking Gemma’s ear off about Graham’s birthday, and there was no chance Gemma was going to say something with her there.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Kent said, flashing them both a smile, although it seemed to linger longer on Gemma than Sophie. Her stomach clenched with nerves.
“Bye Kent, have a great evening,” Sophie said.
“See you tomorrow,” Gemma added.
She had thought the comment was as innocuous as it could be, and yet Sophie grinned.
“Well, that was very civil,” she said, as Kent disappeared.
“We can do civil,” Gemma replied. Besides, now that Tuesday was done, they were down to fifty-four days.
Who knew, maybe she wouldn’t need the countdown after all.