his hand.
‘But I hope the change of plan suits,’ he said, as a waiter rushed over.
‘Oh yes,’ I said, ‘it certainly does.’
‘Excellent,’ he said, then turned to the waiter, ‘we’re going to need a few more of these,’ he said, reaching for another blini, ‘and two glasses of champagne, please.’
Within a short space of time, I was feeling replete, relaxed and very mellow. Joe had only drunk half of his glass of champagne because he was driving, but mine was all gone and had flowed straight to my head.
‘I think I’d better stick to the tea now, thank you,’ I said, picking up my cup when Joe offered to order me another glass, ‘as lovely as the bubbles are.’
‘All right,’ he said, ‘I can’t very well take you back to Wynmouth tipsy, can I?’
‘Not unless you want us to be the talk of the village,’ I laughed.
‘Been there, done that,’ he shuddered, and I wondered what he was thinking of from his past. From what Mike had said in the pub, Joe clearly once had a bit of a reputation. ‘Here,’ he insisted, ‘quick, soak some of the alcohol up with these little shrimp toasts. They’re delicious.’
We both laughed as he refilled my plate to stave off the gossips. I wasn’t going to be able to manage even half of what he had given me.
‘So, how’s life down on the farm treating you, Joe?’ I asked once I decided I couldn’t manage another bite. ‘Are you still enjoying mucking in?’
‘Oh, the farm’s all right,’ he said ruminatively. ‘Between you and me, it’s Charlie, my brother, who’s the problem. He’s running the place and refuses to see reason about anything I suggest.’
‘What about your parents?’
‘Both dead,’ he said directly. ‘Mum died a while ago now and we lost Dad a few months back.’
‘Oh Joe,’ I said. I should have realized about his mum, when he mentioned her before in the past tense. ‘I’m so sorry.’
He wasn’t all that much older than me and it was dreadfully sad that he had experienced such great loss already. Having so recently said goodbye to Mum, I realized that we had more in common than a teenage kiss and being recently reacquainted with Wynmouth.
‘I lost my mum not all that long ago,’ I shared with him. ‘She had a heart attack and was gone quicker than I could click my fingers. I still can’t believe it really.’
He reached across the table and held my hand. Had he remembered me, he might have been able to recall Mum too. He might have seen her sitting on the beach in her yellow sundress. The thought brought a lump to my throat.
‘That’s what happened to Dad,’ he said, sounding choked. ‘One minute he was stacking bales, and the next . . .’
‘He was gone,’ I whispered, deeply regretting that I knew exactly how that felt.
‘Anyway,’ he sighed, squeezing my hand again before letting it go, ‘Charlie’s running the place now with Bruce as his willing and extremely naughty sidekick.’
I was already rather fond of Bruce but was sure I would like him even more if Joe could rein in his exuberance a bit.
He shook his head and sighed.
‘I hope I don’t sound bitter,’ he said. ‘I don’t mean to. I’m just finding it all a bit frustrating at the moment. It’s no mean feat trying to work with family.’
‘Oh, I know all about that too,’ I sighed.
This was something else we shared.
‘You do?’
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘I work for the family firm. My dad runs it and we seem to be clashing more and more these days.’
‘Hence the holiday?’
‘Hence the holiday,’ I nodded. ‘In part.’
‘Seems like we have quite a lot in common, Tess, doesn’t it?’ He pointed out, filling my cup again.
‘We certainly do,’ I agreed.
‘And I have to admit,’ he said, taking another slice of cake even though he had only minutes before sworn that he was fit to burst, ‘I was wondering how you could possibly manage to take so much time out. Six weeks is a long time, but if Dad’s the boss . . .’
‘He’s not doing me a favour,’ I shot back, feeling defensive. ‘It’s not nepotism, if that’s what you’re thinking. I work bloody hard for the company, and I haven’t had a proper break in years. I’m only taking the time I’m owed.’
Joe put up his hands in surrender.
‘All right,’ he said, ‘sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.’
‘I just hate it when people assume that I’ve had handed to me