Chapter 28
‘So did you ask her?’ Annabelle hissed on Friday afternoon as Thea disappeared behind the bakery shelf.
‘Ask who what?’ Nick, who knew all too well, played for time. He’d seen Thea coming in, and she looked stressed. He didn’t want to add to her problems.
‘You know damned well who and what,’ Annabelle replied. ‘Just get on with it or I’ll—’ She turned her attention away from him as Thea re-emerged and walked to the counter. ‘Oh, hi, Thea. How are you doing?’
‘Fine, thanks,’ Thea replied, but to Nick’s attentive eye it still looked as though she had something on her mind. ‘How are you? How was the holiday?’
Annabelle beamed. ‘It was fabulous and thank you so much for covering at such short notice. I really appreciate it, and I know Nick does, too.’ Nick saw her glancing at him. ‘I hope he told you that.’
Thea looked at him, and he felt his heart skipping around merrily in his chest as she did. When would that ever stop happening, he wondered. ‘He did.’ This time her smile seemed more heartfelt. ‘And to be honest, he did me a favour. The extra cash’ll come in handy over Christmas.’
‘Well, I’m sure we could find you a more permanent job if you wanted one,’ Annabelle replied. ‘From what Nick’s told me, you were brilliant behind the counter and in the rest of the shop.’
‘He’s being very kind,’ Thea said, but Nick could see she was pleased to hear the compliment. ‘He had to show me a fair few times how the till worked!’
‘Oh, it takes a bit of getting used to,’ Annabelle said airily as she started to ring up Thea’s purchases. ‘Do you, er, need a hand taking these out to the car?’
‘Thanks, but I’m sure I’ll be fine,’ Thea replied, then slapped her forehead.
‘Oh, bugger, I forgot, Gran’s asked me to pick up a bag of the Somerset Ruby spuds as well.
She’s cooking Christmas dinner for us all and she forgot to get some when she came in last week.
Can you put a bag through, and I’ll grab one on the way out? ’
‘Sure.’ Annabelle smiled at Nick, and he knew what she was going to say next. ‘And don’t worry about lugging them out. Nick’ll take them to the car for you. Wouldn’t want you putting your back out this close to Christmas, would we?’
‘Oh, I can manage,’ Thea said.
‘Don’t be daft.’ Nick finally spoke, and to his relief, his voice wasn’t shaking, even though his palms were sweating, and his stomach was flipping like a pancake. ‘I’ll go and grab a bag for you.’
Thea’s smile made his nerves even worse. Why was he behaving like a lovestruck fifteen-year-old? He’d worked alongside Thea for three weeks and hadn’t felt like this.
‘Well, get a move on, little brother.’ Annabelle gestured. ‘That sack of spuds won’t carry itself.’
‘Yeah, right, OK.’ Nick hurried out from behind the counter towards the front of the store where the paper sacks of potatoes were. ‘I’ll, er, see you at the car.’
‘Thanks.’ Thea smiled at him again. Nick picked up the pace before he could put himself through the torture of eavesdropping on the rest of the two women’s conversation.
He didn’t want to be mortified by his sister’s attempts to matchmake.
Hefting a twenty-kilogram bag of Somerset’s best potatoes over his shoulder, he spotted Thea’s Volvo in the car park and made a beeline for it.
‘Sorry.’ A voice came from behind him as he put the bag down by the boot of the Volvo. ‘It’s so old, it doesn’t have central locking, or a key zapper!’
‘It’s fine,’ Nick replied, turning around to see Thea approaching with the rest of her shopping. ‘I’m used to lugging stuff around all day, anyway! And I’m in no rush to get back behind the counter. Annabelle’s been nagging non-stop.’
‘Oh yeah?’ Thea’s smile made Nick’s breath shorten again. ‘About what?’
Realising he’d nearly dropped himself in it, Nick back-pedalled furiously. ‘Oh, nothing, really, just stuff to do with the business. She’s very particular about the way she likes things done, and I don’t think I quite kept everything to her standards while she and Jamie were away.’
‘Oh God, I hope it wasn’t anything I did – or didn’t do.’ Thea looked worried, and Nick mentally kicked himself. ‘You didn’t get into trouble on my account, did you?’
‘No, no, nothing like that,’ Nick said hurriedly. ‘I, er, I mean, I kind of said I’d do something, and I didn’t, and now she’s on my case about it…’
‘So what was it, then?’ Thea asked. Nick was sure he wasn’t imagining a trace of amusement in her voice, which made him even more self-conscious. ‘Anything I can help with?’
‘Well…’ He started to shuffle on the spot and forced his feet to stay still. ‘Actually, there is something, but feel free to say no, and I don’t want to be weird about it, and really it’s all right if you don’t want to, and?—’
‘Nick.’ Thea’s voice cut gently through his nervous chatter. ‘You know you can ask me anything. Just tell me what’s on your mind.’
Sensing that it was now or never, that this moment might give him an answer he’d been searching for ever since he’d reconnected with Thea properly, he steeled himself. Whatever she said next, at least he’d be secure in the knowledge that he’d done something.
‘Well,’ he said carefully, ‘I’ve been meaning to ask you something.’
Thea’s brow wrinkled endearingly. ‘Yeah? What is it?’
Nick took a deep breath. ‘I’ve been invited to the Midwinter’s Eve Ball tomorrow night at Cherry Tree Court, and I was, er, wondering if maybe you’d like to go with me?
The invitation’s for me and a plus one, and I know it’s rather short notice, but I’ve been trying to pluck up the courage to text you about it ever since we did the Christmas market together.
’ He rubbed the back of his head, the nerves starting to get to him again.
‘I mean, it’s perfectly fine if you’ve got other plans, and to be honest, I’d understand if you did, it being tomorrow night and everything, but I promised Annabelle I’d at least ask you so that I said I had and?—’
‘Nick.’ Thea’s voice interrupted, just as gently as it had before.
He raised his gaze from where it had been firmly planted on the ground by his feet, and as he did so, he realised that Thea had put her shopping bag down and was standing right in front of him.
So close, in fact, that he could smell the sweet, floral scent of the perfume he’d begun to associate with her when she’d been working alongside him at the shop. It made his senses reel.
‘Yeah?’
Thea moved a little closer, until she was properly in his space. With anyone else it would have felt intrusive but somehow having her that close to him felt deliciously right. She raised her eyes to meet his, and as she did so, a smile stole over her lips.
‘I’d love to go with you to the Midwinter’s Eve Ball,’ she murmured.
Her words took a second or two to register, but as they did, Nick felt a huge grin spreading over his face, and a warmth flooded his cheeks.
‘Really?’
‘Really.’
Thea’s face turned upwards and, as their eyes met fleetingly, it was only a split second before their lips lightly touched.
The sweet, soft pressure of her mouth on his felt so right, all thoughts and doubts floated away for the few seconds that the kiss lasted.
He was reminded of the almost-kiss on her doorstep and how frustrating it had been to be so close and yet so far.
He slid his arms around her, and felt a warm surge of excitement when she moved even closer to him.
The kiss felt years in the making, and so absolutely right that he never wanted it to end.
‘Pick me up at seven?’ she said as they eventually stepped back from each other.
‘Yeah. I mean, yes, sure, absolutely.’
‘See you tomorrow, then.’
‘I’m looking forward to it.’
Nick was so flummoxed by how quickly and easily Thea had agreed to be his plus one, and even more so by the fact that they’d ended up kissing that it wasn’t until he got back to the shop, he realised he hadn’t offered to help her put her shopping in the car.
As he approached the counter, Annabelle gave him a sly smile.
‘She said yes, then.’
Nick nodded. ‘She said yes.’
‘Don’t screw this up, little brother,’ Annabelle added. ‘And for God’s sake don’t be late. That waste of space partner of hers never went anywhere on time, and Thea doesn’t need reminding of that.’
‘I’ll keep that in mind,’ Nick said absently. Wandering off to make himself and Annabelle their customary afternoon cuppa, he wondered whether or not he should slip something stronger into his own tea, just to stop his hands from shaking.