in the pub,’ he further shocked me by saying. ‘I called here after I’d done in the village, but as you weren’t in, I risked a coffee in the Smuggler’s and that’s when I heard about it.’
‘I see,’ I said.
I was surprised that he had gone in unaccompanied.
‘And I’m mentioning it because as much as I hate to see Sam and Hope together, I don’t want her to get hurt. If you’ve started anything up with Sam, then please put a stop to it, Tess.’
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
‘I haven’t started anything up,’ I said, louder now, ‘with anyone. I have no idea who was gossiping but it’s all bullshit.’
‘Fair enough,’ he said, sounding unconvinced. ‘I suppose this is my cue to go.’
‘Yes,’ I said, jumping to my feet and thinking that we were parting on less than ideal terms again, ‘I suppose it is.’
I slammed the door behind him and paced about the cottage wondering why the hell Sam had been talking about, and embellishing, what had happened when there was every chance that Hope might find out. It really didn’t make sense, but as the only person who knew about it, Joe couldn’t possibly have got his ‘first-hand’ information from anyone else, could he?
I grabbed my keys, slid my feet into my sandals and made a beeline for the pub, determined to get to the bottom of it all.
‘What can I get you?’ asked the lad behind the bar who was helping out on a regular basis now business had picked up.
‘Nothing,’ I said, pointing along the bar to where Sam was tipping ice into a glass, ‘I don’t want a drink, thanks. I just want him.’
‘Oh landlord,’ laughed the two guys next to me, ‘there’s a woman here who wants you.’
‘He’s still as in demand as ever,’ teased another, sitting at a table. ‘I reckon I need to get me one of those bionic legs. That must be the thing that attracts the ladies, coz it can’t be his rugged good looks!’
Sam smiled and shook his head.
‘And there was me thinking it was my lived-in, careworn features and my unrivalled wit,’ he laughed.
I hadn’t realized that my voice had been raised enough to draw that much attention but I was too annoyed to care. Perhaps, I thought, it wouldn’t hurt to call Sam out in front of a few people. Maybe that would make him think about keeping his silly words to himself in the future.
He finished serving and then came to me.
‘Is everything all right?’ he asked, finally spotting my scowl and lighting the blue touchpaper by pointing it out, ‘You don’t look very happy.’
‘No,’ I said, banging my keys down on the bar, ‘everything is not all bloody right and I look like this because I’m not happy.’
There was a cheer from somewhere behind me and then everyone fell silent. You could have heard a pin drop.
‘Why did you tell Joe Upton that we kissed on Saturday night?’ I demanded, all thoughts of keeping it from Hope shoved aside as the red mist descended.
‘What?’
‘Why did you tell Joe Upton that we had an after-hours snog?’
I fixed him with my best death-stare, ignoring the confusion I could see clouding his usually bright green eyes.
‘You know as well as I do, that nothing happened,’ I said, lowering my voice a little, but not enough to make it too difficult for everyone else to hear, ‘so why lie?’
Sam sighed and looked over the top of my head to where everyone was still holding their breath, waiting for his explanation and, hopefully, heartfelt apology.
‘I haven’t seen Joe Upton,’ he said.
His volume matched mine, but he sounded angry and not, as I had hoped, at all contrite.
‘The last I heard he’d left again,’ he hissed.
‘So,’ I said, feeling more indignant than ever, ‘how do you explain the fact that he’s just turned up at the cottage and told me that he called in here earlier and heard straight from the horse’s mouth all about what happened Saturday night.’
There was a low-level murmuring breaking out behind me, but I didn’t take my eyes off Sam.
‘I have absolutely no idea,’ he said, looking right back at me, ‘because I’ve been at the cash-and-carry all afternoon. I only got back about ten minutes ago.’
That rather took the wind out of my sails and I could hear a titter as well as muttering coming from the rapt crowd of listeners.
‘What?’
‘I haven’t been here since lunchtime,’ Sam said. ‘Not that I need to