Chapter 16
?? From Auntie Kay
Good flight over to Canada and settled in our hotel in Vancouver. Have you and Nick got your act together yet? I know he’s not called Steven but surely you can see he’s perfect for you xx
?? To Auntie Kay
Can’t believe you’re thousands of miles away and you’re still meddling! I have a date tonight. With a Steven. So ner! xxx
I checked my watch as I hurried down the cliff path to the seafront.
Whose stupid idea was it to wear high-heeled boots?
Hurrying in heels wasn’t easy and I was late.
It wasn’t even my fault. As I was leaving the street, one of Auntie Kay’s neighbours stopped to congratulate me on being the new owner of Seaside Blooms and ask me whether Auntie Kay was enjoying her travels.
Despite my protests that I had to meet someone and that Auntie Kay had only left yesterday, Mrs Bailey kept me for nearly fifteen minutes talking about the time she’d almost booked a long weekend break to New York before deciding on a static caravan in Cleethorpes instead – not quite the same thing.
As soon as I rounded the corner, I spotted Steve, immediately recognisable from his online photo.
He raised his hand, stared at his watch, shook his head then turned to stare down the seafront in the opposite direction from my approach.
Hmm, if my interpretation of his body language was correct, Steve Turner was not a happy little bunny at being kept waiting.
I took a deep breath and tapped him on the arm, declaring brightly, ‘Steve? I’m Sarah.
’ I put my hand out to shake his and felt very small when he didn’t take it.
Years of working in business made this a natural reaction on meeting someone new, but perhaps it wasn’t appropriate.
Especially for a date I’d kept waiting. Especially a date with a face like thunder.
Especially a date who was looking at me as though I was something unpleasant he’d just trodden in.
Oh pants. It was going to be a long night.
‘You’re late.’
I self-consciously put my hand back down by my side. ‘I’m so sorry. I got held up. One of my—’
‘It’s about to start,’ he interrupted. ‘You owe me ￡7.75.’ He put his hand out.
‘Sorry?’
‘￡7.75. I’ve already bought the tickets.’ He moved his outstretched hand slightly closer to me and repeated, ‘￡7.75.’
‘Erm, okay.’ I rummaged in my bag for my purse and handed him a tenner.
‘I haven’t got any change.’
‘It doesn’t matter about the change,’ I muttered, feeling like I was paying a taxi-fare.
‘Okay.’ He pocketed the note. How rude. It was only ￡2.
25 but I had expected at least a little objection or perhaps an offer to buy some popcorn.
He thrust a ticket into my hand and headed into the lobby without even holding the door for me.
I watched him through the glass, heading towards the usher.
Was he even aware I wasn’t with him? Or bothered now that he’d been paid – with interest – for the ticket?
I hesitated for a moment wondering whether to follow or run.
Sod it. I’d paid and it was a film I really wanted to see so I might as well go in.
I caught up with Steve as he reached the door to screen two.
‘I hope we can get some decent seats,’ he said, finally acknowledging me again.
He then surprised me by stepping back and holding the door open with a big smile that lit up his eyes and transformed him from Mr Grumpy into Mr Pretty Hot Actually.
I relaxed, putting his earlier rudeness down to a combination of nerves and frustration at my lateness. I’d have been the same. Well, not rude, but I’d have been fed up if a date was late, especially if I’d already paid for tickets.
The opening credits were rolling and, as my eyes adjusted to the gloom, I saw that the cinema was packed.
‘Shit. We’re going to have to sit right at the front. Nice one, Sarah.’ He spat my name out in disgust then stormed down the slope.
I was mortified as I took in the curious gazes of the cinema-goers sat in the closest seats to our disturbance. ‘Sorry,’ I whispered, scuttling after him.
‘Sorry,’ I whispered again as I pushed past several pairs of legs to slide awkwardly into a seat beside him in the middle of the second row. ‘Sorry,’ I whispered to Steve as I sat down beside him.
He shushed me. The cheeky git actually shushed me.
As I slowly walked back towards the Old Town, I switched my phone off silent and noticed several missed calls from Clare.
I decided to wait until I was back at the cottage before ringing her but she beat me to it, no doubt desperate for a progress report and probably even more desperate to score points by knowing everything before Elise.
If I were a betting woman, I’d put money on her having had me on solid redial for the past half an hour.
‘How was it?’ she said, the moment I answered.
‘Absolute disaster…’
‘What an eejit,’ she cried after I’d told her about his reaction to me being late. ‘Why didn’t you just walk out?’
‘To be honest, I was so surprised at his reaction, I just followed him and sat down but I kept going over his reaction, getting angrier. I’d finally plucked up the courage to leave when he completely threw me by taking hold of my hand.’
‘No!’
‘Yes. Can you believe the nerve of the guy?’
‘What did you do?’
‘Faked a sneeze and put that hand over my mouth. He wasn’t so keen to grab it after that.’
Clare laughed. ‘You’re learning. I hope it hasn’t put you off.’
‘No. I’ll stick with it. Maybe the next Steven will be The One.
’ I hoped so anyway. Because I didn’t want too many repeats of this evening.
I cringed as I recalled shuffling out of the cinema with the crowd, trying to ask Steve what he thought of the film.
He looked at me as though I’d asked him what he thought of shooting a few ducklings for fun.
‘I’d have enjoyed it far more if we’d got a decent seat. ’
Well and truly put in my place yet again, I began rehearsing how I could bring the evening to a swift close.
He beat me to it. ‘I’m going to the gents’,’ he said.
‘You don’t need to wait for me. In fact, I don’t want you to wait for me.
’ Then he disappeared in the direction of the toilets. Rudey McRude from Rudesville.