Page 42 of The Seaside Cocktail Campervan

‘Cheers, mate.’ Olly smiled as he took both glasses from Jack, handing one across to Lucy.

‘Oh Jack, this is Olly,’ Lucy said casually.

He was tall and olive skinned, with dark cropped hair. Undeniably and irksomely handsome, in fact, Jack thought.

‘Hi.’ Jack forced a tight smile.

‘Yeah, thought my little brother could help me out for the night.’

There was a second of silence as Jack registered her words. ‘Y-your … brother?’

‘Yes …’

The penny dropped with a bloody huge clang. Jack had been jealous all night of her brother. Now, who was the stupid idiot?

‘Right, right … Hi Olly, g-good to meet you,’ Jack found himself stuttering.

‘Hey, looks like you’ve had a busy night too, mate,’ Olly commented, happy to make small talk.

‘Yeah, been a great party, hasn’t it? A really good atmosphere,’ Jack responded, still trying to get his head around this scenario.

‘Well, thanks Jack,’ Lucy added, ‘for putting my name out there …’

Her smile seemed cautious, yet it still lifted him. The revelation that he’d got it wrong all night was now lifting his hopes, despite her coolness. The Ice Queen had crept back in. She seemed different from the girl he’d chatted with so easily in the dunes that day. But they were both busy working tonight, it was a different environment here altogether. Perhaps she was just trying to stay professional?

‘You’re welcome.’ Despite his misgivings, Jack couldn’t help the slow grin that spread across his face.

‘Nice of that bar van guy to give us a drink there at the end,’ Olly said to Lucy on the way home. ‘So, have you two have met up before, then?’

Lucy felt a little uncomfortable. She gazed at the headlamp-lit road ahead before answering. ‘Yeah, a couple of times. Jack is okay. Been a help to me, getting me tonight’s job and all that. Though …’ She was almost going to mention his past misdemeanours as far as Becky was concerned, but for some reason she found herself not wanting to run him down to her brother.

Oh, why did Jack have to turn out to be such a disappointment? All that business with Becky was years ago now, she supposed. But did a leopard ever change its spots? She sighed heavily and pretended to concentrate on the road for a while.

‘Ooh, it’s a late night,’ she then commented, after a yawn escaped her lips. The clock on her dash read 12:25 a.m. It always took a while to pack up at the end of a function; especially with needing to let the pizza oven cool down fully before setting it back inside the horsebox.

‘Yeah, I hope Freddie isn’t up too sharp tomorrow,’ Olly said, pulling a woeful face. ‘He was awake at 6:10 this morning.’

‘Ouch.’

‘Yeah, he certainly hasn’t grasped the definition of weekends as yet.’

‘Hah, he’s only two! Just wait ’til he’s twelve, then you’ll never be able to get him out of bed. I remember what you were like!’

‘Hah, yeah.’

‘Yeah, you my little bro, were like a bloody bear going into hibernation. And all the moaning and groaning that went on, just to get you out of that sweaty pit of a bedroom.’

‘Hey you.’ He gave her a jokey, gentle prod on the arm.

They enjoyed teasing each other, as siblings often do, but their love was evident too. Through their parents splitting up, they were always a team, turning to each other when the going got tough. There’d been Olly’s disappointment at flunking his A-levels, which meant his chances of going to uni had been pretty much obliterated; Lucy’s devastating rocky patch with her ex; and all the other ups and downs of life they’d experienced so far. They’d always been there for each other. Tonight had been no different; when Lucy had confessed she was in a bit of a spot with young Tamsin dipping out on her already, he’d offered to help out straight away. Even though he’d been working all week beforehand and most likely fancied a cosy night home. Even his girlfriend Alice had come up trumps, offering to keep Daisy there with her for the evening. They were planning on having a ‘Girls’ Night’ on the sofa with Netflix, Lucy had learned, once Freddie had hit the deck, that was. Daisy would have been in her element, for sure.

And the big plus in having Olly there at the function too, so soon after Becky’s revelation, was that her brother had been a great foil for Jack’s attentions, giving Lucy some much-needed space to think and retreat.

The whole bloody thing was just too confusing. It was late, she was tired, and all she needed to do right now was to drop her brother off and collect Daisy Doo. Then, she’d sleep on it and hopefully dream about anything or anyone but Jack Bloody Anderson.

Chapter 23

Jack woke in a crumpled bed, alone, with sunlight streaming through his window.