Chapter 3 #4
“It’s so great to see you, Peter!” she said at last, and found herself pulling him closer for a hug. The surprise of seeing him completely out of the blue made the hug inevitable, the natural way two people might greet each other after so long apart.
The embrace was quick and friendly, and laced with laughter as they awkwardly negotiated the box of cakes Gaby was clutching. But amusement faded when Gaby smelled the spicy scent of Peter’s aftershave at his neck and felt the brush of his hands across her back.
His aroma and his touch made her stomach flip, just as it used to when she’d been a girl.
Pull it together, Gaby, she told herself.
“It’s been a long time,” Peter said when their clumsy hug ended. “How are you?”
“I’m good. You?”
“I’m good, too. What brings you back to Hamblehurst?”
The necessity of friendly small talk was a welcome relief after the rush of emotion she’d felt during those brief seconds she’d spent in his arms.
“My aunt had surgery and I’m helping her around the house for a few weeks.”
“Your Aunt Jill, of course I remember her. I hope she’s okay,” Peter said, his genuine concern obvious and touching.
“She’ll be fine in time. So, are you still living here?”
Peter nodded. “I teach maths at the high school.”
“That’s wonderful. I remember you were studying maths at university.”
“What about you? Did you travel around the world like you said you would?”
“I did and I still am, actually. I was working in Madrid before I came here and…”
Gaby’s gaze fell on Harry Goodwin who was sitting behind the wheel of the car parked outside the Sweet Treats café and looking increasingly worried as he watched her chatting away.
“Peter, I wish I could stay and chat but I’m in a horrible rush right now,” she said. “Maybe we could catch up later?”
“I’d like that. What about a drink together tonight?”
She wanted desperately to say yes, but if she spent the afternoon managing the birthday party booking at Harry Goodwin’s hotel, she couldn’t possibly also swan off for drinks in the evening and leave her aunt all by herself again.
“I don’t think I can tonight. Maybe tomorrow instead?”
“Sure. I’ll give you my number.”
Gaby punched his number into her phone. “It really is great to see you, Peter. I’ll drop you a message later.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
She gave him another awkward hug and then hurried to Harry’s car. As she climbed into the passenger seat and pulled on her seatbelt, she couldn’t help peering out the side window and watching Peter walk inside the café and head towards the counter.
“Sorry about that,” Gaby said as Harry pulled away from the kerb and drove along the cobbled lane.
“An old friend?” Harry asked.
“Something like that. We knew each other when we were teenagers and haven’t seen each other since.”
Harry made the turn at the junction and something about the look on his face made Gaby curious.
“What is it?” she asked.
His grin widened. “Nothing really. It’s just that I watched you come out of the café and almost walk into that guy and saw how you pulled the box of cakes out of the way in the nick of time. That’s almost exactly how Mel and I met.”
This was the last thing Gaby had expected him to say. “Really?”
Harry nodded. “Except in our case, Mel didn’t get the box of cakes out of the way in time and they ended up crushed between us. I was covered in chocolate cake and so was she.”
“Oh, my goodness!” Gaby couldn’t help laughing.
“She was mortified. I was… sort of amused and, well, to be honest I was completely charmed.” His grin widened. “And that was the start of our story. I’ve been head over heels in love with her ever since.”
Gaby let out a little sigh. “That’s very romantic.”
“Are you sure you still want to come and help me with this birthday party booking?”
The sudden shift confused her once more. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
Harry gave an easy shrug. “I saw the way you looked at that guy when you crashed into him just now. And I saw the way he looked at you. Maybe you’d rather go back to Mel’s and have coffee with him.”
Gaby felt the flush of embarrassment burn her cheeks. She might only have known Harry Goodwin for a total of two minutes, but her reaction to seeing Peter again must have been obvious if even a stranger could detect it.
“I said I’d come and help you and I meant it,” she said. “I swapped numbers with Peter and we’ll catch up later.”
Harry glanced across at her, his expression warmly amused. “Fair enough.”
It was time to change the subject before she started blushing furiously again. “While we’re driving, why don’t we make the most of the time we’ve got. Give me a rundown of the system I’ll be working with at your hotel and the event timings and anything else you think will be useful.”
Harry launched into an overview that filled the time until they reached Foxglove Street.
When she ran inside her aunt’s house with the shopping and explained about the situation at Harry Goodwin’s hotel and her offer to help him out of a difficult situation, Jill immediately approved and was glad to know her niece was lending a hand to the great-nephew of one of her friends.
Jill added that while Gaby had been out, some other friends had phoned Jill to check up on her progress and a couple of them had arranged to visit during the afternoon, which meant she wouldn’t be entirely alone.
That went a long way to easing Gaby’s conscience about rushing off and leaving her aunt for the entire afternoon.
Gaby quickly unpacked the shopping and prepared a sandwich for her aunt to enjoy for lunch and then rushed upstairs to change. After checking Jill had everything she needed, she kissed her aunt goodbye and dashed back out to where Harry was parked, working on his phone while he waited for her.
“Ready?” he asked, starting the car.
“Ready,” she said, already looking forward to getting stuck into the work that lay ahead and helping a local hospitality business in their hour of need.
The hours of busyness that lay ahead would hopefully stop her mind wandering to Peter Bailey… and the way his appearance out of the blue had made her heart almost dance right out of her chest.