it. Thanks for book club last night. Who knows, maybe in the new year we can actually read some books.’
‘Maybe,’ Lucy laughed. And when another customer came in, Jade and Celeste got back to being busy and Lucy went on her way.
She’d noticed the clock in the bakery and didn’t have long before she’d have to leave in order to make it to Aubrey House for five o’clock but as she crossed The Street back to the gate at the front of the path taking her up to her flat, she spotted Daniel waiting at the end of the path leading to the adjacent workshop.
‘I can’t stop,’ she called over, not looking him in the eye.
He didn’t waste any time coming towards her and when he reached her side he put a hand on her arm. ‘Hey, you don’t need to stop but a quick hello would be nice. I’m nervous, about tonight,’ he rambled, ‘not long to go and either I’ll be swamped by customers or nobody will turn up and I’ll start to worry it was a huge mistake to come here.’
She held the box of cookies and the bouquet, which she did her best to hide behind. ‘Good luck,’ she said in a voice that sounded fake even to her.
But he wouldn’t let her get away so easily. ‘Seriously, Lucy, what’s up?’ He was tall enough that he’d have to tilt her chin for her to look at him, the way he’d done the other day, but she knew the vibes she was giving off stopped him from doing any such thing. And she missed it. She couldn’t help herself. She wanted him to do it. She wanted to be with him, get closer to this man who’d suddenly come here to Heritage Cove, the home she knew she was hooked on and didn’t want to leave.
‘I’d better go, Daniel. I’m busy, that’s all. No big deal.’
‘It is a big deal when you can’t even look at me.’ His hand stopped her again and she just looked at it, his bare skin on the material of her coat yet somehow she could feel his touch as though it were on her bare skin too.
‘What’s going on?’ came a voice behind them and for once Lucy was glad to see Julian make an appearance.
‘Daniel, I need to go,’ she said more firmly. And her heart broke a little bit more when he held up both hands in defeat and slunk away, shaking his head.
It sickened her to see Julian look triumphant too, like he’d won his trophy in a duel.
‘Trouble in paradise?’ Julian asked, none too quietly.
But although she wanted to tell him to bugger off, she found herself bursting into tears. With everything she’d discovered in the last twenty-four hours, topped with a lack of sleep and a crazy workload, her emotions picked this moment to boil over. And when he took her in his arms, she didn’t have the energy to push him away. So, for once, she let him stand there and hold her.
*
Daniel didn’t have time to think about Lucy, not even to think about how he’d turned back to see her in Julian’s arms as though the confrontation with her ex the other night hadn’t happened at all, as though the closeness between them after they’d posed for photographs outside the shack had all been in his imagination.
Right now, Daniel had to put Lucy out of his head. It was time to focus on his launch. This was it, everything he’d worked so hard for, and he wasn’t going to let it fail. The Little Waffle Shack was due to open in less than two hours and whatever was going on with Lucy had to take backstage. His extra staff, Brianna and Troy, were ready. He’d been over the workings of the till, everyone knew where things were, the fridge was filled with bowls of batter in different varieties to cater for hundreds of waffles tonight before they’d have to make any more. Toppings were ready, some ingredients were chopped and waiting, everything was in place. And fifteen minutes before he was due to open up the door to the little shack he spotted a crowd had gathered down by the village tree. It sent a whirl of hope right through him that this really could work. His return to the Cove might have been a long time coming, but it felt right and he hoped this was a sign that life would