Page 71 of The Village Inn of Secret Dream

And how much he wanted to feel her lips on his again, over and over.

Pete shook his head, as if trying to deny himself the sweet thoughts of having Belle in his arms.

Thankfully he was momentarily distracted by the arrival of Cassie and Aaron, the young waiter and waitress.

‘Hi,’ he said, his heart plummeting at the sight of them.

Cassie gave him a shy smile.

How would she even begin to interact with the customers? At least most of them were local and would be kind, but she looked as nervous as her heavily bitten fingernails.

But Aaron gave him more worry.

‘I see you’ve dyed your hair for the occasion,’ said Pete, trying and failing to smile.

Aaron nodded. ‘Needed to try out green,’ he replied, solemnly. ‘The ginger just wasn’t working for me.’

‘I see,’ said Pete. ‘Well, at least it won’t clash with the black uniforms.’

‘Are you sure we can’t just dress as we are?’ asked Aaron, glancing down at his jeans.

Pete shook his head. ‘Shall we just try out the uniforms for tonight and see how we get on?’ he said. ‘I mean, I don’t want you to get that T-shirt ruined.’

They all looked down at his T-shirt which appeared to be mainly swear words.

‘Good point,’ said Aaron. ‘It’s one of my favourites.’

‘I can see why,’ said Pete, turning away to open up the door for them both.

His heart was already sinking.

Belle was giving the place one last wipe down and check. She looked up and said hi as the youngsters came in.

Pete wandered over to her as they disappeared towards the kitchen.

‘Did you see his hair?’ asked Pete.

Belle laughed. ‘I like it,’ she said. ‘It’s a bit of colour around here. Those black uniforms you’ve chosen for them are pretty bland.’

‘Bland is good,’ said Pete, still frowning.

Belle’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Are you really the same Pete Kennedy who once wore cut-off jeans with a lime green T-shirt?’ she asked, smiling sweetly at him.

Pete couldn’t help but smile at the memory. ‘I did love that T-shirt,’ he said, almost to himself.

‘Well then,’ she told him. ‘You weren’t much younger than those two.’

He blew out a sigh. ‘It’s going to be okay, isn’t it?’

Belle gave a start. ‘You mean tonight? Of course it is.’ She looked at him concerned. ‘Why? Where’s this sudden dip in confidence come from?’

Pete shook his head. ‘I don’t know,’ he told her. ‘Just a feeling.’

‘And there was me believing that invincible act that you’ve had up until now,’ she said.

He fixed her with a look. ‘At some point we need to talk about last night,’ he said softly.

She looked away, her creamy cheeks filling with blush. ‘I suppose,’ she said, a little hesitantly.