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Sighing, she shook her head before mumbling under her breath. ‘I was made redundant. The company went into liquidation, if you must know.’
‘Oh, sorry.’ He cleared his throat, his voice becoming serious. ‘That’s rubbish.’
‘Yes, it is a little.’ Layla stepped towards the counter as a woman pushed a buggy through the open doorway – at last someone to save her from Graham’s wit.
Chapter Six
Passing the change across the counter, Layla waved as the customer left before glancing across at Graham who was still busy serving. As much as she didn’t want to, she had to admit, she’d been grateful for his help over the past hour. When Diane had said it got busy, well, she hadn’t imagined the bakery would have got that busy. Teresa, who was baking in the kitchen to restock what they’d sold, had told her a coachload of out-of-season tourists were visiting the bay today and, that combined with a craft fair at the village hall, had resulted in the high number of customers.
She turned to the door as another customer walked through in. ‘Hi, what can I get you?’
‘Is the coffee and cake counter open today please, dear?’ The woman pushed her hood back and patted her face dry with a blue handkerchief.
‘No, I...’
‘It’s okay. Come on over, Enid. What do you want? Your usual?’ With the kitchen door swinging shut behind her, Teresa hurried towards the coffee and cake counter, balancing two large cakes in her hands.
Nodding, Enid smiled at Teresa. ‘Yes, please, dear.’
After watching Enid take a seat, Layla rolled her shoulders back and sighed.
‘That was a big sigh.’ Graham turned from his customer to Layla.
‘Just relieved to possibly have a little breather.’
After waving his customer off, Graham turned to look at her. ‘A little busier than your cruise ship then?’
Layla shook her head. What was he getting at? ‘Just busier than I assumed it would be.’ Glancing towards the door to check they were, in fact, going to have a few minutes breather, Layla pulled her mobile from her pocket. Nothing. Eli still hadn’t messaged back after her text yesterday. Umm, maybe he just needed a little nudge. Holding her mobile out, she grinned and snapped a photo before sending it.
‘Sending photos of you in your apron now?’ Graham raised an eyebrow.
‘Yes. What’s wrong with that?’ Did he have to have something to say about everything?
‘Nothing. Nothing at all. Who are you trying to impress?’
‘I’m not trying to impress anyone. It was just a photo.’ She shoved her mobile in her apron pocket.
‘Partner?’
‘What? No, he’s just a friend, someone I used to work with.’
Graham nodded; his expression was serious. ‘It is a man you’re trying to impress, then. Now, if he isn’t your partner, then he’s someone you wish was.’
Narrowing her eyes at him, she turned and picked up the cloth from the back counter. ‘Not at all.’
‘Uh huh.’
Layla turned her back on him and pulled her mobile discreetly out, checking for a reply. Nothing. What was she thinking? Was she really expecting Eli to drop what he was doing and reply to her instantly? He probably hadn’t even seen the photo yet. Although the two little ticks at the bottom of the picture suggested otherwise. Well, he was likely in the middle of something then.
‘Are you checking your phone?’
Jerking her head around, Layla opened and closed her mouth before slipping her mobile away again. ‘Does it matter? Are you my boss now?’
Graham crossed his arms, still leaning his back against the counter. ‘Not at all. Check away. You’ve just confirmed my suspicions, that’s all.’
Taking a deep breath, Layla turned to the counter and began wiping it down. She knew what he was getting at. She knew he was just trying to find something to tease her over.
‘You have a crush on this guy.’
