Page 78 of My Kind of Happy

‘I’m only teasing you.’ He smiled and squeezed my arm gently.

I knew he was only being friendly, but my heart still quickened at the sensation of his fingers on my skin. This was ridiculous; I had to get my feelings under control. It was either that or avoid his company completely and I didn’t want to lose him as a friend.

Just then the door to the café opened and Rosie appeared wearing a T-shirt stretched over her bump and carrying a cloth and a towel. Sam dropped his hand from my arm casually and put his hands in his pockets. Scamp padded over to her.

‘Morning! Another hot one, I reckon.’ Rosie’s tummy was getting so big that she struggled to bend and stroke Scamp’s head. ‘You look pink already, Fearne.’

‘It’s thirsty work setting up for the day.’ I could feel my face burning, but it had absolutely nothing to do with the weather. ‘Have you got the coffee on yet?’

‘Patience, patience! I need to dry the morning dew off the tables and chairs first.’ She leaned on the back of one of the chairs and puffed her cheeks out. ‘And then I’ll probably need another sit down.’

‘Sit down now,’ said Sam, pulling a chair out for her. ‘We’ll dry the tables.’

‘I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself,’ she protested but I took her cloths and Sam gently persuaded her to sit. She sank down with a sigh. ‘Oh all right then, thank you.’

Sam began drying the tables and I dried the chairs.

‘While I’ve got you,’ she said, lifting her feet up onto the chair I’d just dried, ‘what do you think of baby showers – cheesy or cute?’

I wrinkled my nose. ‘I’ve never been to one, isn’t it just like a hen party but without the booze?’

‘I suppose.’ She smoothed her hands over her stomach. ‘Although I was sober at my hen party and my wedding and last Christmas. So I’m getting used to it.’

‘Pandora had baby showers for both of her pregnancies,’ said Sam. ‘She held them in the hotel we got married in and neither of them were sober affairs, or cheap.’

Another strike against Sam’s wife; it would be so much easier to put him out of my mind if I thought she was a wonderful woman. Then I could resign myself to simply being a friend. But as it was, I’d probably always carry an unrequited torch for him. It was so unfair. I groaned aloud.

‘Broke a nail,’ I said vaguely as Sam and Rosie looked at me.

‘I don’t want a posh do,’ Rosie continued, inspecting her own nails, ‘and I don’t want people spending money on me; but I thought maybe a few friends at home would be fun.’

‘Or you could have it here in the café,’ I suggested. ‘That way there’ll be no tidying up to do afterwards.’

She grinned. ‘I like your style.’

‘And involve the grandmothers-to-be,’ said Sam, drying the last table. ‘They love all that stuff, feeling part of it. It’s important.’

His lips pressed into a line and I just knew that Pandora hadn’t invited her mother-in-law to either of her baby showers. I hid a smile; I was doing it again – demonising her. Poor woman, if I ever met her I’d be expecting her to have horns and a red tail. She couldn’t be that bad, not if Sam loved her.

‘Good thinking. The baby will be here next month; I can’t wait, obviously, but a part of me thinks it would be nice to be made a fuss over one last time before he or she arrives and steals the limelight for the rest of my life. Right, that’s settled then.’ Rosie heaved herself off the chair. ‘Thanks for the advice. I’m going to go and invite everyone. You’ll come I hope, Fearne?’

‘I’d love to,’ I said, amused. ‘I’ll be in in a minute for my coffee.’

‘Two coffees coming up. On the house.’ She collected the damp towels.

Sam and I looked at each other after she’d gone in and laughed.

‘I get the feeling she’d already made that decision before asking us,’ I said.

‘Story of my life,’ Sam muttered under his breath. He looked at his watch. ‘Crikey, look at the time, and I haven’t even got around to the reason I came yet. Have you got your diary handy?’

‘It’s on the counter.’ I was intrigued. I clicked my fingers to Scamp and the three of us went back inside.

‘That bouquet you helped me make. Could you do it again, do you think?’ he asked, raking a hand through his hair.

‘You mean help you make something?’ I had to hand it to him, he was certainly dedicated to her.

Sam nodded. ‘But not just me, the whole cricket team this time.’ He grinned. ‘Honestly, the stick I took off them for doing some flower arranging. And when Archie suggested getting together for a night out, somehow your name came up and suddenly everyone wants to learn how to make a bouquet.’