down and thought Wynmouth might be a good place to look, he wouldn’t have to make many enquiries before he found me, would he?
‘They weren’t really my suggestions,’ I modestly reminded Sam, pushing thoughts of Dad to the sidelines again. ‘From what Sophie said, her daughter has been suggesting most of them for far longer than I have. It’s just for some reason that she decided to take them on board when I came along.’
‘Well,’ said Sam, coming to join me behind the bar and pulling me in for a hug I hadn’t seen coming or had time to for prepare for but still very much enjoyed, ‘you can’t deny that tonight has been down to you, can you?’
‘Of course, I can,’ I said, pulling away a little so I could look up at him. ‘This has been a joint effort right from the start.’
Sam looked doubtful.
‘You were just like Sophie,’ I insisted. ‘All you needed was a little nudge in the right direction to get the ball rolling.’
Sam laughed, the sound resonating through his chest and into mine.
‘And you,’ he said, ‘in spite of the fact that you’ve only been in the village for five minutes, turned out to be the girl capable of administering that little nudge.’
His sultry tone made my knees buckle a bit. It was just as well he still had his arms around me.
‘I suppose I did . . .’
The words died in my throat as I realized he was going to kiss me. I moistened my lips in anticipation and took a preparatory breath. He lowered his head and was so close I could almost feel his breath caressing my mouth.
‘Are you still there, Sam?’ someone suddenly shouted as they hammered on the pub door, and we sprang apart. ‘I think I’ve left my keys behind!’
*
I lay in bed in the early hours, imagining the kiss that hadn’t quite happened, and remembering how wonderful it had felt to be held. However, even though Sam was gorgeousness personified and had got me all stirred up, with my sensible hat on, the one that wasn’t fuelled by my sex drive, I knew it was probably just as well that nothing had happened. I hadn’t come to Wynmouth looking for a love affair. My life was already complicated enough.
I rolled on to my side, my ears trained to the sound of the waves as they gently broke upon the beach, and I felt sleep start to take me. Even though I was relieved Sam and I had been interrupted earlier, I couldn’t seem to stop my head playing out what might have happened had someone not forgotten their keys . . .
*
‘Morning!’ I cheerily shouted, announcing my arrival, as I slipped into the pub kitchen via the beer garden a few hours later. ‘How’s your head?’
Neither Sam or I had drunk a great deal; in fact, now I thought about it, I don’t think I’d seen him with a beer in his hand all evening. In fact, I didn’t think I’d ever seen him take a drink, other than the occasional fully loaded Coke, at all.
‘Clear as a bell!’ he called straight back. ‘Not even a hint of a headache. How about you?’
‘Oh, I’m all right,’ I said happily, ‘in fact . . .’
The words died on my lips as I walked through to the bar and found him framed in the doorway with his arms wrapped tightly around a young woman.
‘Oh,’ I choked, feeling a complete fool for just marching in. ‘Sorry, I didn’t realize. I didn’t mean to interrupt.’
I turned back to the kitchen, wondering if he made a habit of going around hugging women and then reminded myself that I wasn’t supposed to be bothered about things like that. The little fantasy I had indulged in as I nodded off had been just that, a fantasy. I stopped again, not sure what to do.
‘I’ll come back later,’ I squeaked, my cheeks burning.
‘No, don’t go,’ Sam insisted. ‘You aren’t interrupting. Come through. I want to introduce you to someone.’
My body temperature felt about a thousand degrees and I knew I was sweating. I must have looked a right mess.
‘Tess,’ Sam smiled, not noticing my discomfiture as he casually released the woman and steered her over to where I was standing, ‘this is Sophie’s daughter, Hope. Hope, this is Tess.’
‘Oh, my god!’ Hope squealed, as if I was the most exciting thing since sliced bread. ‘It’s so good to finally meet you!’