Page 73 of The Seaside Cocktail Campervan

‘Oh, I have a pizza horsebox.’

Angus quirked an eyebrow.

‘I travel to events,’ Lucy explained, ‘set it all up, and cook my own hand-crafted pizzas.’

‘Right, well that sounds … fun. Different.’

‘Yeah, I’m just getting established, but it’s going well so far.’

‘Good. Though I have to say I’m not much of a pizza fan really. Prefer healthier food.’

‘Oh.’

Well, that halted the conversation.

‘Ah … I’m sure yours will be good though,’ he then mumbled on feebly, trying to dig himself back out of the conversational black hole he’d just dropped them in.

Lucy gazed out of the window at the passing fields, wondering what on earth she could say next. This was so different from her drive out in Ruby after that first beach afternoon, with the windows wound down and she and Jack singing like loons.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at The Black Swan Inn, pulling up into one of the few spaces left in the rear car park.

‘Well, here we are,’ Angus announced, stating the obvious.

‘Lovely.’

It was a relief to arrive. She certainly felt in need of a drink. Perhaps a glass or two of wine would loosen up the chat a bit. Angus insisted on buying the first round, and they found a table tucked cosily in a corner. He talked some more about various IT projects he’d undertaken; filling her in on his love for what went on behind the scenes in a computer. Asking had she heard about the benefits of business intelligence, data mining (she was visualising men with spades digging up words and numbers at that point) and enterprise architecture, blah-blah? By the end of this rather long-winded conversation, she was more bamboozled than when they’d started. This was exactly why people paid good money to get someone like Angus to deal with their computer problems. Because they didn’t want to have to learn about all the complex (and boring) background stuff themselves, they just wanted to be able to use the damn things. She didn’t actually share those thoughts with Angus however, sensing they wouldn’t go down too well.

Lucy was ready for another drink soon enough, and headed off to the bar to buy the next round. She didn’t want Angus to feel he had to pay for her all night. She leaned against the smooth, lacquered wooden bar top, waiting her turn.

The main door of the pub swung open, catching her eye, and, oh shit. What were the bloody chances? Of course the person walking through the door had to be Jack Anderson. Lucy’s skin went all prickly and a strong impulse to hide rose up inside her.

He quickly spotted her too; looked across, his brow furrowing for an instant with surprise.

Jack approached cautiously, no sign of the cocktail-man bravado in his step. ‘Hey, good to see you,’ he said awkwardly. ‘Didn’t expect to see you here,’ he added, with just a hint of his gorgeous smile.

‘No, nor me you.’ Lucy’s heart was hammering away in her chest.

‘So, who are you with?’

‘Oh, um, just a friend. He’s over there.’ Lucy pointed across to the corner, where Angus was finishing his pint.

Jack’s eyebrow quirked as he glanced in Angus’s direction, who in turn gave them a brief nod. ‘Ah, right, I see.’ Jack’s smile soon turned to a frown.

What did it matter to him who she was with anyway, Lucy mused. He was the one who’d given her the cold shoulder. The one who’d told her they should ‘cool it’. Thankfully, the barman turned to her to take her order at that point. ‘Yes, a white wine and a pint of Diet Coke, please.’

Jack shifted slightly, ready to place his own order. One of the friends he’d arrived with, the tall one, moved nearer, seeming to look her up and down, before saying, ‘Hi.’

‘Oh, hi …’ Lucy answered politely.

‘Ah, this is my mate, Matt …’

She really didn’t feel comfortable standing around making conversation in the circumstances, and guessed Jack was feeling awkward too. The barman placed her drinks on the bar top and she quickly paid. ‘Well, I’ll see you around, Jack.’

‘Yeah.’

She couldn’t figure out the look that Jack was giving her at all.

With that, she picked up the two glasses and headed back over to their table, her heart still thumping. Back to making small talk with nice-guy Angus, whilst trying to avoid more mind-numbing in-depth IT conversations.