Declan’s enormous smile made Tammy’s breath catch in her throat. ‘Nice. I’ll definitely be dining more there now.’
Tammy didn’t know how to feel about Declan’s blatant admittance to finding her attractive in not so many words. ‘I-I’d better get these candles lit. Uncle Ben will be wondering where I’ve got to.’
Tammy lit the candles and Declan walked over to the door to open it for her. Even though Tammy remembered noticing upon entering the kitchen that it was on a swing both ways hinge like she’d had in her bakery, she was still impressed by his gentlemanliness. Once she’d passed through the door, to Tammy’s surprise, Declan quickly side-stepped her and called for silence.
‘Quiet everyone!’
With the music turned off, silence fell over the customers in the lounge. All eyes turned in Tammy’s direction and she felt mini volcanos erupt underneath her cheeks. She was livid inside at Declan for causing such a fuss. He should have asked her first. Tammy had wanted to slip past everyone and wish her uncle a happy birthday privately.
Tammy tentatively walked over to the table where her Uncle Ben and Katherine were sitting. She presented the cake to a very touched Ben.
‘Erm, happy birthday Uncle Ben.’
She placed the candlelit cake down in front of her Great-Uncle Ben and he sat motionless, a look of pure astonishment on his weathered face. His mouth hung slightly open, and his eyes glistened under the warm glow of the flames.
‘I...I don’t know what to say,’ Ben stammered, placing his hand on his chest. He glanced around at the smiling faces gathered around him, then back to Tammy. ‘You did this for me?’
Tammy nodded, her own eyes welling up with tears. ‘Of course, Uncle Ben. I wanted you to feel special today.’
Ben shook his head in wonder, tears now trickling down his cheeks into his bushy beard. He blew out the candles and everyone cheered. Standing up, he stepped out from the table to pull Tammy into a tight embrace.
‘You’ve made this old man very happy,’ he said, his voice thick with emotion. As they parted, he wiped at his eyes and chuckled. ‘Goodness me, you’ve got me blubbering like a baby in front of everyone.’ He wiped his tears away. ‘Thank you, Tammy. What a lovely surprise. I hope it’s kipper flavour.’ Tammy giggled.
The crowd erupted in warm laughter. Beaming bright enough to light up the whole pub, Ben enthusiastically began shaking hands, hugging, and thanking the many well-wishers flocked around him.
Katherine leaned over to Tammy’s ear. ‘For a man normally so reserved, seeing Ben radiate pure joy is a beautiful sight to behold. Well done, Tammy. This is a birthday he will never forget.’ A lump formed in Tammy’s throat. She felt as though she finally felt what it was like to have family—real family. ‘Three cheers for Ben!’ shouted Katherine. ‘Hip-hip.’
The whole pub chorused hooray, and Tammy joined in.
‘Hip-hip.’
‘Hooray!’
‘Hip-hip.’
‘Hooray!’
Applause erupted again and a golden retriever and black labrador came bounding over to the table, their noses in the air sniffing and their tails wagging frantically, followed by a frantic-looking Pippa.
‘No. You can’t eat sugar. It’s not good for you.’ She grabbed their collars and hauled them away. ‘Come on, let’s take you upstairs and you can have a slice of beef each.’
Tammy watched her uncle as he made his way around the lounge, her mouth upturned. It was only then that she noticed two sets of eyes watching her from opposite sides of the pub. One set was hazel brown, the other sky blue.
