Page 77 of The Summer That Changed Us

She nodded. ‘Sometimes.’

‘And what about you, is there one lucky guy in your life?’ His eyes stayed glued to the water ahead of him. ‘Although I guess I should have checked that before I asked you to dinner.’

She regarded him out of the corner of her eye, not sure how to respond. This was work, wasn’t it? The chip supper was simply a vehicle for them to conduct the interview. She hardly dared speak in case she said something wrong. All of a sudden, she realised how much she wanted it to be dinner. Just dinner. Not work.

‘I’m single.’ Her voice came out sounding like a strangled cat. ‘But aren’t you interviewing all the shortlisted businesses over dinner?’

A guilty smile crept over his face. ‘More like coffee. In some instances. In others, I just did it over the phone.’

‘Oh.’ She’d had special treatment. A bubble of happiness burst inside her chest. She’d been drawn to him from the first moment she met him. Did this mean he liked her too?

She looked at him, taking in the gentle humour in his eyes, the slightly sheepish smile. He was lovely. They were sitting side by side on the bench. Suddenly she was aware of his aftershave, of the gentle pressure of his leg against hers, the sound of his breath and found herself letting out a tiny happy sigh.

‘So, if I did have a man in my life, you wouldn’t have interviewed me?’ she teased him.

His face reddened, making her heart swoop with joy; he was adorable.

‘I would! Definitely. Especially as you’ve been such a good friend to Amber. And to me.’

‘But over coffee, not chips?’

‘No. Yes, I just meant … ’ He scratched his head. ‘I don’t know what I meant. But I’m glad we’re both here.’

‘Me too,’ she laughed, storing up the happiness she felt to examine it later, replay the conversation and check it out from every angle. ‘So, how’s the vegetable box challenge doing?’

He rolled his eyes. ‘Me and my worthy principles. This week we got given kohlrabi. We had to google them. I think I must have ticked the box which said please bring us weird, knobbly vegetables.’

‘Let me guess – you made curry?’ she said.

He grinned sheepishly. ‘They haven’t made it out of the fridge. I’m beginning to wish I’d stuck to frozen peas and sweetcorn. We need you to come back and have dinner with us.’

Her heart fluttered. ‘Or you come to mine?’

‘I’d like that. I could bring my knobbly vegetables.’ He looked down at his lap while he wrapped up his uneaten chips. Which was probably a good thing because she was holding in a giggle and berating the fact that she seemed to have the sense of humour of a thirteen-year-old boy.

‘Date,’ she said, swallowing her mirth. ‘Shall we make it after the awards?’

‘Great!’

By unspoken agreement, they both stood and walked towards the bin to dispose of their rubbish.

‘So, are you looking forward to the awards dinner?’ he asked.

She groaned. ‘I haven’t done anything about it. No dress, no speech … my parents are coming, Nula and her husband and Grace and Robyn, but I’ve been allocated a table of eight. I meant to ask you—’

‘Believe me,’ he cut in, touching her arm, ‘I’d love to sit with you. But as the sponsor, it might look a bit dodgy if I’m at your table. And actually, I’ve been given the job of entertaining our compere. But rest assured, I’ll be cheering you on when you win.’

‘Actually, Barney, I wasn’t inviting you,’ she said, her eyes twinkling at him as he clamped a hand over his forehead in embarrassment. ‘But thank you for your faith in us. No, I wanted to invite Amber. She’s the inspiration behind my new venture and if she’s there and we do win, I can thank her in person. And even if we don’t win, it’s a chance to dress up for the night.’

‘Amber?’ he said, his voice light with laughter. ‘She’d … I mean … that would be—’ He swallowed. ‘She’d love it. It’s exceptionally kind of you.’

‘My friends will adore her. I’ll look after her, make sure she doesn’t nick the free wine.’

Barney grinned. ‘All I’ll hear about for the next week is what she should wear. There’ll be online deliveries of outfits night and day.’

‘That’s the best part of going out,’ said Katie, thinking that she ought to give her own outfit some consideration. ‘Tell her if she wants a second opinion, bring her clothes round and give me a fashion show.’

Without warning, she found herself pressed to his chest in a hug.