Chapter 40
FORTY
JESS
The day seemed to be dragging in the supermarket. Monday was always a little quiet in the shop, but it was going at a snail’s pace today, the time on Jess’s watch hardly moving every time she glanced at it.
The tills were quiet, so she was replenishing shelves with fresh sandwiches and snacks in the fridge section, part of meal deals ready for the lunchtime shoppers.
‘Penny for your thoughts?’
A middle-aged colleague pulled Jess out of her daydream, after she had absent-mindedly placed a box of Scotch eggs in the drinks section.
‘You’ve been miles away all morning,’ said her co-worker as she took the food and placed it in the correct section of the fridge.
Try as she might, Jess had been unable to stop thinking about the kiss in the cocktail bar.
Surely Declan must have thought about it too?
She could not recall the last time a kiss had given her goosebumps like the ones she had felt.
She had also been thinking about the house sale, and could feel the beginnings of a headache.
‘Oh my goodness, what am I like? I am just tired I think,’ replied Jess, who had tossed and turned in her bed last night going over the events of Saturday evening.
A part of her wished she had never agreed to go on a date with Declan. Her life was fine with Maisie, despite her occasional longing for some company in the evening. Things were uncomplicated and Jess liked it that way. Maybe there was something to be said for keeping yourself to yourself.
For the first time she wondered whether it might be a good thing if the house sale forced them to go their separate ways, despite the small matter of finding somewhere else to live.
‘Then go and grab a coffee; I’ll take my break later,’ said her co-worker kindly.
‘Thanks, I might just do that,’ said Jess gratefully.
She had half expected to run into Declan this morning, but there had been no sign of him.
He was clearly regretting Saturday night but didn’t have the courage to tell her.
She hoped he was not deliberately avoiding her.
She would rather he came straight out and told her he didn’t think there could be anything between them, for whatever reason, rather than have blurred lines.
As she sipped her coffee in the canteen she decided that when she eventually spoke to him she would not mention seeing him in Southport, as what would be the point?
Better off to find out early that he was a player.
There was no way she would let anyone into her and Maisie’s life who was unreliable, no matter how handsome they were.
This is why I have stayed single for so long, Jess thought to herself as she sipped her strong coffee, hoping it might help her get through her shift. She had survived this long without a man in their lives and that was not about to change any time soon.