side and his. Most of all, I see two unhappy people who could be much happier,’ he held her gaze and then his eyebrows puckered, ‘together.’
Penny leaned over the counter. ‘If all else fails, we can bang their heads together tomorrow night. Eight o’clock at The Admiral.’
‘Cheers to that,’ said Beanstalk, and he bounded off with his coffee.
When there was a brief pause in customers, Regan quickly made a latte with some cooling milk she couldn’t reheat and went in search of Kevin. She’d been doing this most days, in the vain hope that she’d catch sight of him. She walked a long way down Ditchling Road and circled back around The Level, but there was no sign of Kevin or Elvis.
In an odd way, she missed them. They had been part of her daily routine for a long time, and since the whole lottery prank debacle she’d got to know Kevin a little better. She wanted to find him so she could tell him that she’d given a statement to the police about him being attacked. She hoped it might make him feel a bit better to know that it had been officially recorded, although from the state she’d found him in last time this was probably wishful thinking.
The assault had clearly triggered something in Kevin, and she was worried for his mental health. She was certain the thief from the market was the same person who had assaulted Kevin, but the police officer hadn’t sugar-coated the fact that it was unlikely to come to court because this particular youth was well known to them and always had a family member who was on hand to provide an alibi. But still, even if there was only a slim chance of justice being done, she was still glad she’d made the statement, because it was a step in the right direction.
She stood by the skate park and scanned The Level. A few people had picnic rugs out and were enjoying the glorious May sunshine. A toddler was running around the fountains while his mother fussed nearby. Cyclists whizzed around the outer edge of the park. A dog walker with a small pack of shared leads trotted by, scaring some pigeons into flight. All manner of life was here, but there was no sign of Kevin or Elvis.
Regan was thrilled to see Charlie enter the pub on Friday night with Beanstalk, but she tried to hide it. They spent most of the evening with a group of Penny’s friends, and in the crowded bars talk was restricted. Regan barely had a chance to speak to Charlie, and when she did she wasn’t sure what to say, so instead she focused on downing a few shots. That way she could forget about the gorgeous man she was hopelessly in love with, who wanted to keep his distance so as not to damage her already shattered heart.
They left the last bar, and after hugs and another impromptu verse of ‘Happy Birthday’ the group dispersed. Regan pulled Penny to one side. ‘I’m not going to come back to yours if that’s okay,’ she whispered to Penny. ‘I’ve not had much of a chance to talk to Charlie.’
‘Good luck,’ said Penny, with a wink.
‘Oh,’ said Beanstalk, catching on to the plan, ‘I’ll walk you home, Penny.’ They hugged their goodbyes, leaving Charlie and Regan together.
‘You missed Mantra. How was your hot date?’ asked Regan, buoyed by a few vodka shots.
Charlie gave her a puzzled look. ‘Oh that. I was down the launderette.’
‘Really?’
‘Honest,’ he said. ‘Washing machine died. Why? Were you jealous?’
‘Nope. No. Nah-uh. No way.’ She shoved her hands in her pockets.
‘Did you have a good night?’ asked Charlie.
‘Yeah. I did. You know what could make it better?’ She swung around to stand in front of him, making him bump into her. The alcohol had made her brave. She looked at him hopefully. Was one snog too much to ask? She could see the turmoil in his dark eyes. She reached up her hands to cup his face.
Charlie sighed deeply. ‘Don’t do this. Please.’ His plea was pitiful.
She took her hands away from his face, because it was starting to feel weird now it was clear he wasn’t going to kiss her. She switched to her Plan B. ‘Charlie, I’ve thought about this and I think if we treat it like a holiday romance I’ll be fine.’ A smile flickered across his features. This was a good start, so she kept going. ‘We can have