Page 40 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

‘Well, go and kiss her back, you fool,’ Jake told him, with a grin.

Alex’s good mood faded abruptly. ‘I can’t,’ he said. ‘She was drunk and she’s been avoiding me all day. I know she regrets it.’

‘And what about you?’ asked Jake. ‘Any regrets?’

Alex hesitated.

‘What’s the matter?’ asked Jake.

Alex shrugged. ‘I guess it’s a trust thing. For both of us.’

‘Of course you can trust Hannah,’ said Jake, frowning. ‘She’s not Claire!’

Alex took an intake of breath. ‘I know,’ he said, trying to convince himself. He had tried to convince himself that Hannah wouldn’t take advantage of him. She wasn’t Claire. She could be trusted, couldn’t she? But the kiss had been so out of character.

‘You know, I never told you,’ began Jake.

‘What?’ asked Alex, filled with dread.

‘Claire tried it on with me once.’

Alex wanted to be shocked but instead he found himself sighing and saying, ‘I’m not surprised.’

‘Well, I was!’ said Jake. ‘Nearly had heart failure.’ He shook his head. ‘What a dreadful woman.’

Alex nodded.

‘Whereas Hannah is the complete opposite,’ Jake reminded him.

‘Which is why I’m pretty certain that she regrets her actions last night.’

‘Are you sure?’ asked Jake.

Alex shrugged his shoulders. ‘I reckon so. You know how shy she is.’

‘It’s a trust thing for her too,’ said Jake. ‘She was always shy in those early days when we met her, don’t you remember?’

Alex nodded, thinking back to the young woman that he had first seen and fallen for.

‘Ben told me that she seemed to come out of her shell a little once she met the girls and they all lived in that house in London,’ said Alex.

‘But then she met the idiot…’ Jake’s voice trailed off as he scowled to himself.

‘She would never tell me anything about Sean,’ said Alex.

Jake nodded thoughtfully. ‘Of course, you weren’t here the weekend she came back after they’d broken up. You had a competition.’

When didn’t I? thought Alex. But his mind was preoccupied with Hannah. ‘What did she say?’

‘Not much,’ said Jake. ‘Even to the family. She just suddenly appeared out of the blue with all of her possessions. But she was pretty wretched. I hugged her on the Sunday before I left and she was trembling. I think she was frightened.’

Alex took a deep breath. ‘Of him? Sean? Do you think he hurt her?’

‘Physically?’ Jake’s eyes flared with anger. ‘I don’t know. I hope not for his sake if I ever get hold of him.’ He leant back in his seat. ‘Mentally? Without a doubt, unfortunately.’

It had confirmed all of Alex’s suspicions as to why Hannah had no confidence.

‘Look,’ carried on Jake, his tone a little softer. ‘If you like her, why don’t you just talk to her?’