Chapter 27
Placing the tray on the table, Rowan shrugged out of his coat. ‘It is beautiful in here, isn’t it?’
‘It sure is.’ Hanging her own coat over the back of her chair, Scarlett looked around the large marquee.
Fairy lights were strung around the edge and little potted Christmas trees sat on each table.
In the middle of the marquee stood a large firepit where customers could roast marshmallows, and above the till hung signs listing a million different variations of hot chocolate available to order.
After unloading the mugs and plates of mince pies from the tray, Rowan took the seat opposite her.
‘Thanks.’ Drawing a mug towards her, Scarlett wrapped her hands around it, thankful for the heat of the hot chocolate seeping through the ceramic. ‘I think it’s going to take me hours to warm up again, but at least we found the perfect tree.’
Rowan brushed away crumbs from his stubble as he lowered his mince pie to the plate. ‘We certainly did. It will look amazing back at Pennycress.’
Taking a sip of her hot chocolate, Scarlett licked her lips. It was every bit as delicious as it looked. ‘Yum, this is good.’
Chuckling, Rowan leaned across the table and gently wiped her nose before holding out his finger and presenting a smear of cream. ‘You had cream.’
‘Oops.’ Wiping it from his finger, Scarlett licked it off before looking at the two robins on his jumper. ‘So, tell me, where do you get all your Christmas jumpers from? I can’t work out whether you have a share in a wool company or whether you’re just super talented with the knitting needles.’
Rowan glanced down at his jumper before looking across at her again. ‘Haha, neither. My nan knitted me a jumper every single Christmas before she passed away. Of course, I’ve grown out of a great many of them, but the ones I can still squeeze into, I do.’
‘Wow, she was one talented lady.’ Reaching across the table, she traced her forefinger along the branch the robins were sitting on. His nan had knitted every little detail, from the twigs to the snow lying on top. ‘It’s so detailed.’
‘It is. And, yes, she was talented. I think the two of you would have really got along, if you’d met. She used to sell her makes at craft fairs too.’
‘She did?’
‘Yes. Her favourite time of the year was Christmas. She always said she felt as though she could go a little crazier with her jumper designs at Christmas.’ Rowan chuckled. ‘Her words.’
Scarlett grinned. ‘She sounds great.’
‘She was.’ Leaning back in his chair, Rowan dragged his hand across his face. ‘And I miss her.’
‘I bet.’ Reaching out, Scarlett took his hand in hers and squeezed. The more she got to know the person he was, the more she could feel herself falling for him. She shifted on the chair. ‘Can I ask you something else?’
‘Yes, of course. I’m an open book.’ Rowan held his hands out on the table between them, his palms upwards.
‘Do you remember that time when I went to Pennycress to find Laura and you were in the Community Hub meeting with Miss Cooke, Jill and everyone else?’
‘Yes.’ Rowan nodded as he took her hands in his again.
‘You were about to tell me why you were there when Miss Cooke came outside and ushered you back in again. Why did you go to that one meeting? There was another one the other day and you weren’t there, so are you on the Community Hub or not?’ Scarlett frowned. ‘I just wondered, that’s all.’
‘Ha, now you’ve discovered my deep dark secret.’ Rowan chuckled. ‘And this will test whether you really like me and want to continue this relationship or run for the hills.’
‘Ah, really.’ Scarlett gave a small laugh. His deep dark secret? She was pretty sure it wouldn’t turn out to be as deep and dark as her own one. ‘Go on, test me.’
‘Do you remember I mentioned to you that I had a bit of a challenge convincing Miss Cooke to okay my permit to let me sell on the street?’
‘Yes, I remember.’ She raised her eyebrows. ‘Tell me she didn’t bribe you to become her village spy or, I don’t know, someone who sits in on the meetings and votes a certain way depending on Miss Cooke’s whim of the moment?’
‘Haha, nothing of the sort. I know Miss Cooke’s niece, Heidi. We worked together for a few years before I moved here and began my coffee business.’
‘You do?’ Scarlett slumped back in her chair. That was so far from what she’d been expecting she didn’t really know what to think. Leaning forward again, she lowered her voice. ‘Miss Cooke is a real human being with, like, a family and everything then?’
Rowan chuckled. ‘She is. As hard as it is to imagine, she’s not a robot created to keep the residents of Meadowfield in check.’
‘Well, I’ll believe anything now. So, is her niece the reason you came to Meadowfield then?’ She frowned. He’d told her he’d decided to move here after staying at Pennycress whilst travelling with work. Was there something he wasn’t telling her? ‘She lives here?’
‘Nope.’ Rowan shook his head. ‘I don’t think she’d ever move to Meadowfield, not with her aunt as infamous as she is. But, yes, she was the one who recommended I stay at Pennycress when I visited the Cotswolds for work.’
‘Oh, okay.’ He had been telling her the truth then. ‘So how come you were in the meeting?’
‘Because I made a mistake I won’t be making again.
’ He grinned as he ran the pad of his thumb across the back of her hand.
‘Heidi asked me to check to see if her aunt had received an email asking for a reference for a new job because Miss Cooke hadn’t answered it yet.
It turns out the email must have bounced because she hadn’t received it. ’
‘Right. So, you then got stuck in the meeting?’ It made sense. She could well imagine Miss Cooke commandeering someone to help.
‘Yep, it turns out I went to find her at the wrong time and suddenly I find myself being dragged along to Pennycress with no excuse to back out of a meeting I didn’t want to be at.
’ Rowan glanced around the marquee quickly before turning his attention back to her and lowering his voice.
‘Heidi’s going through a tough time with her husband, and she’s not told her aunt yet.
Hence why she turned to me to find out about the email instead of ringing her.
She just can’t face all the questioning. ’
Scarlett nodded. She didn’t blame Heidi and this situation was just another example of how kind Rowan was, how much he cared and wanted to help people. She looked up at him. ‘I’m so glad we went ice skating.’
A slow grin spread across Rowan’s face as he realised what she was saying. ‘Me too. Honestly, I never thought I’d ever be able to trust anyone after what happened between my ex-wife and my so-called mate.’
Scarlett swallowed, a lump forming in her throat as she tried her best to suppress the feelings of guilt and doubt stirring in her stomach.