you need to look like you’re having the most fun, but there’s simply no place for messing about. As this evening is more of a random free-for-all, just this once I let myself go. ‘Another strawberry? Talk about demanding customers!’
He’s properly laughing now and turning the twinkle in his eyes up to max. ‘I just sailed in after a month at sea, I need all the nutrients I can get.’
Unbelievable. Just my luck to hit on a superman. ‘And I just drove all the way from Gloucestershire, but I’m not about to inhale all the fruit.’
He’s still grinning, but this time he’s looking straight at me with the kind of smile that turns your insides to molten toffee. ‘Which saves me asking. I thought I recognised a Bristol burr.’
My eyes snap open. ‘I so don’t have one of those, thanks all the same.’ I’m so desperate to move him on I push the whole bowl of strawberries at him. ‘Take as much fruit as you need. And if you’re going to collapse due to vitamin deficiency, please don’t mess up the displays.’
He scoops a strawberry into his drink and pushes another into his mouth – ah, those teeth again. Then he hands me his heart and his face splits into a grin. ‘One heart, be sure you look after it. And watch you don’t drop your quiver.’
The best I can do is widen my eyes as I try to work out what the hell he’s talking about.
He’s raised an eyebrow now. ‘Your arrow pouch – it’s called a quiver. And I’m no archery expert, but it looks like yours is about to fall off.’ His grin splits even further. ‘If cupid loses his ammunition, you’re not going to have many takers for your pictures.’
Don’t you just hate it when guys come over like they know so much more than you?
I roll my eyes upwards to the chandelier. ‘I wasn’t planning on taking aim, my bow is purely decorative.’
‘In which case I’ll leave you to dish out your Lovebites.’ There’s one cocked eyebrow and he might be laughing. ‘I’ll catch you later.’
As he saunters off into the crush of brightly coloured padded jackets and flushed cheeks, I turn to Poppy. ‘He took his time.’
Poppy’s grin is wider still. ‘And you don’t think he hung around because there was so much flirting going on?’
‘What? With me?!’ Surely, she can’t be serious? ‘Whatever happened before, you know I’m done with men.’
She’s biting her lip. ‘He liked the starter so much he came straight back for more.’ The way she peers into my eyes, it’s like she’s trying to look inside my soul. ‘If you wanted to take things further there, I guarantee he wouldn’t refuse.’
For a second the pit of my stomach turns to syrup. Then I land right back in the real world and come to my senses. Of course I bloody wouldn’t be up for anything of the kind. What is my body thinking? But before I can let out my full scream of protest Jess comes into view, her wide-leg linen trousers flapping as her loafers clip clop on the floorboards.
Her eyes are shining as she comes towards us. ‘However much Ken and Gary are stretching it with those hot pants, they’re excelling themselves at getting the crowds in.’ As she smooths her aqua chiffon blouse, her laser gaze is directed straight at me. ‘Here, take some mint to your lovely friend over there. Four weeks at sea, he must be in need of some greens.’
That’s the funny thing about Jess – wherever she is in the building, she still knows what’s going on. Who else would pick up on windcheater guy from two floors away?
But luckily I’m spared that, because Jess starts clinking a spoon very loudly on a cocktail jug. The moment the buzz in the room dies down she clears her throat. ‘So, a very big welcome to the first of our anniversary celebrations and our first ever joint event with the singles club. As most of you know, here at Brides by the Sea we’ve always waved the flag for solo flyers …’ She pauses to beam around at everyone.
This isn’t just a sales pitch, it’s actually true. For years after the shop opened the team here were all single, independent, and happy to stay that way. It’s only in the last couple of years that one by one, despite not looking, they’ve unexpectedly found their happy-ever-after partners – even her.
Jess’s grin moves seamlessly into an