‘Yes. Would you mind?’
‘No, of course not! I can certainly try, at least.’
His mum laughed and patted my arm. ‘Graham’s a little eccentric but he’s not daft. If a gorgeous girl walks up and tells Charlie she needs to borrow him for a minute, he’ll know he’s beaten.’
I smiled and glanced over at Charlie. He moved his head, as if he sensed me watching him, and his gaze locked onto mine. There was a silent plea in his eyes.
‘Looks like you were right,’ I said.
‘I know my Charlie,’ his mum replied. ‘He doesn’t always say a lot but it’s all there.’
I glanced back at her, unsure as to whether she was referring to more than the current predicament Charlie found himself in.
‘I’ll see what I can do.’
‘Thanks. Last time he got stuck with him, he ended up “accidentally” spilling red wine on himself just to get away. Ruined a perfectly good, rather expensive shirt.’
I wound my way between the groups of people congregating on the large back lawn and headed towards where Charlie and his cousin were still engaged in conversation, although, from what we had seen, that conversation appeared to be mostly one-sided. Charlie had now moved and was leaning against the trunk of an apple tree, his head resting back but the intense eyes still focused on his cousin. I approached from the side and touched his arm. He jumped a little and I guessed that he wasn’t as intently focused on the conversation as his demeanour indicated.
‘Hello.’
‘Hi,’ he said, straightening away from the tree. ‘You OK?’
‘Yes, thanks.’
Charlie introduced me to Graham.
‘Libby, my cousin, Graham. Graham, this is my friend, Libby.’
‘Nice to meet you,’ I said, automatically.
‘Likewise.’
I made a point of wrapping my arm around Charlie’s and felt him turn a little towards me. ‘I hate to be rude,’ I said, looking at Graham, ‘but would you mind if I stole Charlie away for a little bit?’
‘No, not at all. I’m sure I’ve bored him enough by now anyway.’
‘Oh, I don’t believe that for a moment,’ I said, a little laugh accompanying my declaration. Graham smiled and a little blush tinged his cheeks. Clearly this was a family thing.
‘Catch up with you later, Graham,’ Charlie said, before steering us away towards a spot shaded by a medium-sized oak tree.
The blue eyes fixed intently on me. ‘Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome. Although you should probably thank your mum. She’s the one who planned the extraction mission.’
‘Then I’ll do that, thanks. I see she sent her best operative. Obviously I’m more important than I thought I was.’
I watched the sun and shade dappling on his tanned skin. I realised I was still holding his arm and made to release it.
Charlie covered my hand with his own, keeping it where it was. ‘It seems you made quite the impression on my cousin. He’s still watching us. If you let go now, he’s going to smell a rat.’
I tilted my head back and looked up at Charlie. His voice was serious but his eyes weren’t. Surrounded by people he knew, and with a beer or two inside him, no doubt, he was completely relaxed. He looked down at me, his face full of mischief.
I shifted my weight, unsure as to what else was shifting right at that moment. ‘And so what, exactly, am I supposed to do now then, instead?’
Charlie moved and gently pulled me down onto the bench that half surrounded the trunk of the tree. He was still looking at me as though he wanted to say something, but he didn’t speak.
‘Charlie?’ I said, eventually. ‘Is something wrong?’
