Sophie nudged him again. ‘That’s great, Will. You come over then.’
Will smiled her way. ‘I’m already signed up to volunteer over at the Sunshine Centre in Penzance. Just seeing where I might be able to fit at the moment.’
‘You fully retired then?’ asked Spencer.
Will shook his head. ‘No. I’m going to sort myself a business, so I’ll have some money coming in, but I’ll get other people torun it so I can put myself into volunteering roles. Well, that’s my plan. Have to see how it goes.’ He knew he was keeping his cards close to his chest, but he didn’t want to talk about the tearoom until it was finalized. He could just see them being pleased for him.
It was a nice feeling being in a group again. Loneliness had taken a back seat, leaving room for friendship and hope.
He glanced over at the empty chair opposite him, thinking whoever was in the bathroom was going to end up with a cold dinner.
‘Oh, there you are,’ said Alice, looking up. ‘I was about to send out a search party.’
Ginny pulled out the empty seat. ‘All right, chick, I got chatting to—’
‘Hey,’ said Will, offering a small wave.
‘This is Will,’ said Sophie quickly. ‘He’s Babs’s grandson.’ She went back to slicing a roasted parsnip. ‘Yep, her grandson. Will,’ she added slowly, without looking up from her plate.
The corner of Will’s mouth twitched as Ginny’s face held a blush.
‘Jed’s reeled him in to the Berry Buoys,’ said Matt.
‘And he’s doing his first shift at the Hub on Monday between four and six,’ said Lottie, looking directly at Ginny.
‘That’s Ginny’s shift,’ said Jed. ‘She’ll see you right.’
Will placed a baby carrot in his mouth as he stared over at Ginny. It was amusing to see her at a loss for words. Perhaps he should lighten the load. ‘Ginny and I have already met.’
Her eyes shot up, alarmed.
‘I helped her out in the café the other day,’ he added, and watched her shoulders relax. He went back to his dinner as the others happily chatted away about the Hub, café, and the sea shanty choir, not gazing up until a pea landed by his plate.
‘Ooh, sorry,’ said Ginny. ‘Accidents happen.’
Will looked at the pea. Was that her way of telling him the night they shared was an accident? He couldn’t be sure. He chanced a look her way to see the smallest of grins on her face, but that could be because she was talking to Robson. In fact, they looked quite comfortable together. Had he got it wrong about the chemistry he thought he had with her?
Ginny met his eyes, and her slight blush was back.
Maybe there was something. Perhaps he’d test the waters at the Hub during their joint shift. See if he could figure her out once and for all, because one thing he was sure of, he liked her, very much, which was a tad nerve-wracking, as he didn’t allow himself to get attached to women in case they left him.
‘We’ll be having this grub again for dinner tomorrow, Will,’ said Matt. ‘Join us if you like.’
Will motioned towards the main doors. ‘I heard there’s a service taking place for Remembrance Sunday by the memorial column along the harbour. I’ll be attending that.’
‘Oh, we’re all going,’ said Jed.
‘Councillor Seabridge lays a wreath, then we head over to the church, where Father Stephen continues the service,’ said Sophie.
Spencer nodded. ‘Then we come here for lunch.’
‘Okay, but I’ll have to miss dinner, as I’m going to see my gran,’ said Will. ‘I’ll meet you all down at the harbour in the morning though.’
Jed nodded. ‘There’ll be a few ex-servicemen like yourself there.’
Ginny’s eyes widened as her head shot up. ‘You were in the military?’
It just dawned on him he hadn’t mentioned much about himself to her. ‘Royal Navy,’ he replied. The chatter continued, so it was hard to hear what Ginny said next, but he was sure he heard her mumble something to herself about aBlue Manboat.
