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“Don’t worry,” she said, brushing soft fingertips down my cheek, “there’s nothing that could sway me.”
“Nothing?” I asked tentatively.
She chewed on her bottom lip and with her gaze pinned to mine, shook her head. And suddenly, my heart felt fuller.
Showing Maya around the bar, introducing her to Marcus, Robbie, and the regular customers made me feel proud. Incredibly proud of what I’d achieved in my life and for the fact that the woman by my side hadn’t stopped smiling. A true, real, huge smile.
Marcus had tried to flirt with her, but like she said, she hadn’t been swayed. Her hand had clutched mine the whole time, andif for any reason we had to let go, it was at the small of my back, holding softly onto my t-shirt.
“And you’ve never thought of doing proper meals?” she asked as Marcus placed a plate of bacon sandwiches in front of us.
“We’d need to update the kitchen,” I replied, taking a quick swig of my tea. “And that takes money that I don’t have.”
“We could do more sandwiches,” Marcus offered.
“Yeah, I guess, but people know what they get here—bacon butties and chips. We do alright with that.” I was also scared of expanding and it not working out. Losing everything for the sake of wanting more.
“Well, these are perfect,” Maya said around a bite of her sandwich.
“Robbie our dishwasher made them.” Marcus grinned at me. “I told you he made a good sandwich.”
“Maybe we should promote him,” I suggested. “Increase that variety of sandwiches like you said.”
“Fuck no.” His head whipped towards Maya, and he held up a hand. “Sorry for the language, Maya, but I need a dishwasher more than a sandwich maker. He can manage to do both.”
“Well let’s at least give him a bit more money.” I reached for the notepad on my desk and scribbled a note to remind myself to increase Robbie’s wages. It wouldn’t be much, but if he was doing extra stuff he deserved to be paid for it.
Marcus pulled out the chair from the table that we cashed up on and placed it next to Maya. I knew what he was doing, and he was a little shit, but I wasn’t worried. His charm wasn’t working on her.
“What do you do again, Maya?” he asked her.
“I’m a software developer. For doctor’s surgeries and health authorities. Nothing exciting, I’m afraid.”
“I always wanted to work with computers,” Marcus said with a sigh. “If only I’d not bunked off school so often.” He gavea deep laugh, one that was overly loud. I groaned inwardly, because it was the one he used when he was trying to impress a woman. It rarely worked.
“I think it would take more than a few extra days at school, mate.” I reached for one of the sandwiches and took a bite. Theyweregood.
“Really? Do you need a degree?”
Maya smiled. “Yes, you do.”
“Where did you get yours?” he asked, reaching past her for a sandwich.
“Sheffield, because it was close to home.”
“Which is…” He looked at her with one eye closed. “Leeds, right?”
Marcus lifted his ankle to rest on the opposite knee and leaned his head on a curled-up fist. He had a huge grin, and I wanted to punch him on the nose. My stomach felt like it was chewing up my insides and my chest was going to explode. It was Marcus. I had nothing to worry about with him. It was his usual behaviour, and Maya wasn’t interested anyway, but I couldn’t help it. I was jealous. I’d never been jealous over a woman before, especially with Marcus. He was a good friend and wouldn’t overstep, it was how he was, but it was making me angry in a way I’d never felt before. I could even taste the bitterness on my tongue.
“Yes, I live in Leeds. It’s a great city,” Maya replied. She turned to me. “Talking of which, fancy showing me around town?”
“Yes, sure.” I stood up and reached out a hand for her. “Let’s show you the sites of Norford.”
“That’ll take ten minutes,” Marcus quipped.
“Maybe not even that long,” I added.
“Lovely to meet you, Marcus,” Maya said, getting up and moving to my side. “Hopefully see you again soon.”
