Zac didn’t dare look at his sister, certain she would rather give their parents an update about the festival preparations and all they had managed to achieve since they had gone on their trip.
Zac sat next to Brodie and his mother motioned for Melody to take the seat next to him, putting Callum on the other side of the table. He could feel the heat from her skin her knee was so close to his.
‘Sorry it’s a bit of a squash,’ Gareth said. ‘I went to bring out the other table and chairs but couldn’t find them.’
‘Sorry, Dad,’ Lettie said. ‘We’ve been sorting out the storeroom at the back of the smaller barn where you kept the extra table.’
‘I saw it was very neat in there,’ he said after finishing a mouthful. ‘Which is good, I’m not complaining. However, maybe next time you decide to rearrange my things, let me know where I can find them.’
Zac knew his dad wasn’t too bothered but liked to remind them all that this was still his farm even if he wasn’t actually running it full-time any more.
‘Yes, Dad.’ Lettie walked over to him and kissed his cheek.
Lindy extolled the virtues of cruising around from place to place on the ship. ‘It’s incredible. If you’ve never tried it you really should,’ Zac heard her say. He had heard this before several times, when they had been deciding where to visit, when his mother was packing and other times when he probably had just not been paying attention. ‘You unpack your case only once and wake up in a new, beautiful location most days. There are sea days, of course, when there’s more distance between two places, but I love those.’
‘She spends her days lying on a sun lounger reading,’ Gareth said, rolling his eyes. ‘Don’t you, love.’
Lindy sniffed. ‘Yes, well, I’d much rather do that than sit in one of the pubs waffling to another holidaymaker for hours.’ She addressed the rest of them. ‘I want to go away to relax, not spend my time talking to people I don’t know.’
Gareth took a drink from his glass of wine. ‘You would know them if you bothered to talk to them though, wouldn’t you?’
Zac looked at his sister who rolled her eyes. They were used to their parents squabbling, but it was never anything serious and there was always a form of teasing and amusement in their bickering.
‘I thought they said they enjoyed their trip,’ Melody whispered, leaning her head closer to him.
Zac saw the concern in her face. ‘They did. This is them sharing that with us.’
Callum laughed. ‘You’ll get used to them.’
Zac had forgotten his friend was sitting next to them for a moment. He agreed with him and searched Callum’s face for any disappointment. There didn’t seem to be any, but he knewCallum was used to hiding his emotions. If Callum had any reservations about Zac and Melody becoming closer, Zac knew he would confront him about it at some point. He also knew his friend probably wouldn’t let on how he felt until he was ready to say something. The anticipation was worse than being confronted, of which Callum would be well aware.
Melody went to reach for the pepper just as Zac reached for the salt. The skin on the back of her hand grazed his and she jerked it back.
Anxious that Callum would pick up on her reaction, Zac picked up the pepper and placed it in front of her. ‘Sorry. There you go.’
‘Thank you.’ Her voice was tight and Zac wished the pair of them could relax. Clearly Melody was feeling at odds about what had happened between them, too. Deciding to direct the conversation to something neutral, he asked her about her sketches.
‘You mentioned that you sketch plants for Patsy’s books. That must be interesting.’
‘Yes,’ Callum added. ‘You were going to show me some of your work, if you remember.’
‘I was.’ She took a sip of her wine and set her glass back down on the table. Zac wasn’t sure if she was feeling calmer but hoped she was.
‘Yes, I’ll show you some of them after we’ve eaten, if you like?’
Callum had only just taken a mouthful of food from his fork and gave her a thumbs up as he chewed. He swallowed. ‘I’d like that.’
Melody looked at Zac and again he felt his stomach tumble under her gaze. ‘It is interesting. It’s also fun, except when Gran decides to add a couple of paintings to the book and only givesme a short time to get them right. We do work well together most of the time though, and I love what I do.’
‘Do you have much work to prepare while you’re here?’ Lettie asked from the next table.
Zac realised that everyone’s attention had moved to Melody.
‘You draw?’ Lindy asked. ‘I’ve always thought myself a little artistic, but nothing on a professional level.’
‘She’s very talented,’ Patsy said, giving Melody a proud look.
‘Thanks, Gran. Yes,’ she said, continuing. ‘I do need to refine some sketches and add more to what I’ve already done while we’re here. That’s part of why Gran suggested we come here, for the different fauna and flora found here on the island.’
