9. Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
E vie wondered if James had been having the same concerns as her, because when he pulled up to take her on the five hour trip to Cornwall on the Sunday, as soon as she had sat in the passenger seat he had offered her two audio books they could listen to. Then, once the first was finished he made a planned stop at a service station to refuel the car and themselves, before getting back in and into a chat that was steered so neatly Evie began to wonder if James had rehearsed various conversation starters to ensure there wasn’t a minute of uncomfortable silence.
The problem was, the more he engineered the chat the more Evie wanted to retreat. She needed space and quiet to get her thoughts in order, and much of the time preferred peace over noise. James was making way too much noise as far as she was concerned.
‘You have got to stop,’ she said after he asked for her thoughts on houseplants. James looked hurt and she tried a different tack. ‘I don’t need entertaining all the way. You’ve kept up enough entertainment for the past four hours, I’m sure you’ll be getting tired from it.’ She smiled to soften her words but James scowled.
‘Maybe the entertainment is for me – I’m driving, I need to stay alert to be safe on the road.’
Evie looked at him annoyed, ‘James, come on. You and I both know what’s going on. Can you please just give it a rest for ten minutes at least? You’re like a toy at Christmas that doesn’t stop beeping. I need some quiet.’
His lack of response made Evie roll her eyes. He was the same age as her, 26, and yet he was acting like a child. Surely people had told him no before, or to be quiet. She tried not to rise to it and instead absorbed the silence in the quiet of the car, watching as the motorway dissolved into roads that disappeared into country tracks, flanked either side by trees and hedgerows.
It was a beautiful sunny day and due to them making good time, they were due to be at Cyan’s house shortly. Plenty of time to get settled into the guest house and maybe even enjoy a dip in the pool Grace had told her about when Evie visited her the day before. She had been in bed but was looking much better than when Evie had seen her previously. Being looked after was clearly helping.
Grace had been thrilled when Evie had told her she was heading to the house with James. ‘This is amazing, you’ll be in that house together for two weeks. It’s a perfect time to figure out whatever is going on between you,’ she had said with a wry grin. There was nothing going on between them, Evie had insisted but Grace had just held her hand and smiled broadly, ‘give it time.’
‘We’re here…I think,’ James said, breaking into her thoughts and Evie looked up at the enormous walls that had suddenly sprung up in the middle of the rolling fields. A metal gate stood between them and accessing the property. It loomed over them as they drew up alongside and James opened the window to swipe the key card in the reader. The breeze, which carried with it the scent of the ocean blew into the car and Evie perked up at the proximity to the sea. If there was time in the next fortnight she hoped to get a trip to the seaside in.
‘It’s not working,’ James said, turning to look at her, his blue eyes sparkling in the sunshine. ‘Any ideas?’
‘Not really, but I can jump out to give it a try, maybe it needs to be done at a strange angle,’ Evie said, extending her hand to take the card from James. He gave it to her and for the briefest of moments their fingertips brushed against each other. Evie clasped the card quickly and pushed on the door handle, swinging her legs out of the car and appreciating the change from sitting. She strode round to the driver’s side where she swiped the key card. It made a whirring noise, but nothing magical happened with the gates. She was expecting them to swing open, but they didn’t budge. A wasp buzzed near her and she flapped to keep it away from her face. The air was relatively still and warm for July, and already Evie was feeling the sweat pool in the base of her back. She needed her hat if she was going to be out in the heat for much longer.
‘It’s not working, is it?’ James said irritably from the interior of the car.
‘I’ve got her team’s numbers, I’ll give them a call – someone is bound to be able to help,’ Evie said, keeping her smile to herself at James’ response. She was fairly certain he needed lunch, then he would be able to think clearly again. He always did work best on a full stomach.
Fifteen minutes later, after numerous calls to Cyan’s PA, manager, head of staff and then eventually the head of security, who was mortified to learn of the problem, she had it agreed someone would be out to help them.
‘Apparently Bryn, the security guy is surfing. He thought we weren’t coming until this evening and hasn’t set up the card yet. He can’t get back for two hours and has suggested a local pub for us to go to. Apparently Cyan has a tab there, we can order whatever we like.’
James, who had become more morose as Evie had made the calls perked up at the idea of food. ‘Cyan goes to the local pub?’ he replied in answer as he started up the car and put the details into the sat nav.
‘No, I think it’s just the staff who use it but who cares. I want a plate of fish and chips and an ice cold coke,’ Evie said, salivating at the idea.
It didn’t take long to find the pub in the village, along the road from Cyan’s house, and as soon as Evie spotted it James practically skidded into a parking spot he was so keen to get inside. Eschewing the sun drenched patio where picnic tables were placed with billowing parasols, the two decided to go inside the pub to cool down.
James, on entering the pub had managed to secure them a table, get two drinks and order food in the time it had taken Evie to pop to the loo and wash her hands.
‘You were quick,’ she noted, sliding into one of the reclaimed church benches that were being used as seats. She didn’t mind the rustic, rescued look, but did find it disappointing that so many pubs looked identical when you got inside. Still, this particular one seemed clean, had plenty of people ordering drinks and, by the looks of the food going past them, a reasonable standard of meals coming out of the kitchen.
James looked up from scrolling on his phone. ‘You might not know this about me but I get sort of cranky when I’m hungry, I thought it would be a good idea to get things ordered to save you from me turning into the Hulk.’
‘Oh sure, I can see the resemblance,’ Evie said, a smile breaking through.
‘Hey, I could be the Hulk, check these out,’ James said, flexing his biceps. Evie had to admit they did pop a fair bit, but she wasn’t going to let him know that.
Instead she laughed. ‘The Hulk? Do you suddenly burst out of your clothes? Your chest bare for all to see?’ Immediately the thought of James’ naked torso made her slap her hand on her mouth and go bright red.
To James’ credit, he brushed off the comment with a bat of his hand. ‘It hasn’t happened yet, but who knows. It depends how hungry I get,’ he said raising an eyebrow in her direction. It was a gesture that made her heart skip a little, and Evie tried to ignore it. Thankfully the food arrived at just the right time.
James fell onto the burger and chips as though his life depended on it, whilst Evie happily tucked into the fish and chips. The batter was crisp and she had soaked the chips with vinegar, just as she liked it. After a few minutes of eating in companionable silence, she paused to sip some coke, but realised James was watching her.
‘What?’
‘Nothing, just thinking it’s nice to hang out with you and…’ he broke off, stretching his arm across the table to bring his hand to her face. Evie wondered what he was doing when he brushed his thumb lightly over the corner of her bottom lip. ‘You had a little ketchup,’ he said, hastily bringing his hand back as though she would bite. Evie’s whole body was thrumming with his touch. No-one since they had broken up had made her feel the same but she couldn’t, wouldn’t, fall for it again. She wasn’t going to get hurt.
‘You could have just told me, I have a napkin,’ she replied quickly, rubbing her mouth with it to make a point.
‘Sorry. Didn’t mean to overstep,’ he replied, then necked his drink. He wiped his own mouth with the back of his hand, looking anywhere but at her.
‘Dessert?’ the waitress who had brought their food arrived at their table breaking the tension, and stood with her pen and pad in hand. ‘I can recommend the cheesecake, it’s so good,’ she said and Evie looked at her. They were similar in age, but where Evie was straight up and down, this woman had enviable curves that even a white shirt and black skirt couldn’t conceal. The apron even accentuated her tiny waist. Evie was reminded of the numerous times at school when the popular girls had sported tiny tops and hip hugging jeans, when she’d favoured huge hooded tops to cover her skinny frame, knowing she couldn’t fit in.
‘Are you working on the house?’ the waitress asked, her head on one side when the two didn’t reply.
Aware of the huge amount of confidentiality agreements Evie just smiled but the waitress, who’s nametag said Chloe, nodded and tapped her finger to her nose.
‘Gotcha. I mean, you have to be. People like you have to be at her house. She's got a tab. Did you know that?’ Evie listened closely, Chloe it seemed, like to talk quickly, her light Cornish accent blurring the edges of some of the words.
‘Oh yes, Bryn, her security guy said something about that,’ James said, sitting up straighter and smiling at Chloe, his eyes twinkling as he spoke to her. Evie watched as Chloe’s body language changed when the full force of James’ attention was turned on her.
‘What did you mean, people like us?’ Evie said, challenging the woman and, she had to admit trying to get her to look away from James. The two of them were looking at each other in such a way Evie was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
Chloe turned to Evie as though she had forgotten she was there. ‘Oh just…you know,’ she raised an eyebrow in James’ direction. In his tight white t-shirt, dark jeans and sunglasses pushed through his hair, Evie had to admit he looked a bit like Ryan Gosling on a day off. ‘You always look a bit more polished than us, we’re a bit more relaxed,’ she shrugged, shaking her blonde wavy hair as though to demonstrate.
‘Okay,’ Evie drew out the word a bit, unsure what to say in reply.
‘No dessert thanks, we’re just waiting for Bryn to let us in and we’ll be out of your hair,’ James said, turning up the smile to full wattage.
‘Feel free to have another drink then, maybe you could come and sit up at the bar though. We need this table for some paying diners,’ she said kindly. Evie hadn’t noticed how busy the bar had become, but when Chloe spoke she realised she was right. They both agreed and left the table, making their way to the bar where they could wile away the next half an hour or so. James excused himself to head to the bathroom and Evie ordered them both a coffee.
Chloe brought them over with a biscuit each and placed them in front of Evie. ‘I hope you don’t mind me saying, but you two make the cutest couple.’
Evie felt the butterflies back in her stomach at the thought but knew she had to knock the idea on the head. ‘We’re not a couple,’ she replied, taking a sip of the too hot coffee.
Wiping down the bar Chloe stopped. ‘No way. I’m usually excellent at spotting when people are together or into each other. Oh, is that it? You’re into each other? You have to be, the way you two were before I came over. I just had to know who you were. The vibes were like…’ she rolled her eyes, ‘everyone should have someone look at them the way your man looks at you.’
‘ Not my man,’ Evie reminded her.
‘But you’re interested in him though,’ Chloe said looking deeply into her eyes.
‘It’s complicated.’
‘What’s complicated?’ James asked, sliding in next to Evie, his arm brushing against hers.
‘My hair routine,’ Chloe said, with a wink in Evie’s direction.
James flicked a look down to his phone, uninterested, ‘Oh. Okay. Has Bryn called you yet Evie?’ he asked, changing the topic quickly, clearly bored.
Evie looked at her phone, she had three missed calls from the security guard. The bar had been so noisy she hadn’t heard them. She quickly called Bryn back who said he was around now and could let them in.
‘We should go,’ she said to James who had fallen into conversation with Chloe. He was making her laugh and she was tossing her hair back in a flirtatious manner. Evie decided she couldn’t be jealous, shouldn’t be, because James and her weren’t an item and never could be. Chloe was welcome to him.
‘Hope to see you around,’ Chloe said, eyes sparkling as she winked at Evie again.