Page 83 of It Was Always You

‘Yeah, probably… look, don’t worry… I’m fine.’

The woman sniffed and wiped her eyes and his chest clenched. She was really upset as she stood there, clearly not daring to walk away.

Finally, he smiled. ‘I’m Adam, by the way,’ he informed her, but unsure why that was even relevant.

She smiled back and her features relaxed a little. She breathed out a huff of air. ‘I’m Petra… Petra Millar,’ she said with a shaky voice.

‘Look, Petra, you seem really shaken up. Can I buy you a coffee over in the café?’ He gestured towards the back of the store where the little coffee shop was situated. He hoped it was still open.

‘Erm… erm…’

He cringed. ‘Sorry, sorry… I’m a stranger and it was creepy of me to ask. I just feel really bad about… you know… the poor impression of a footballer diving after a wee tackle.’ He nodded to the floor.

Petra laughed. ‘Coffee would be great, thank you.’

They wheeled their trolleys towards the coffee shop and parked them up at the edge in the trolley park. Adam ordered two lattes and carried them over to where Petra sat fiddling with her fingernails.

After handing her drink over, he sat opposite. ‘Are you okay now?’ he asked.

She pursed her lips and her eyes pulled into a frown. ‘Shouldn’t I be asking you that question? After all, it was me that poleaxed you with a shopping trolley.’

He waved his hand dismissively and grinned. ‘Oh, I’m fine. I’ll speak to my lawyers tomorrow.’

Petra’s face drained of all colour. ‘Oh God, you’re going to sue me?’

He frowned and shook his head slowly. ‘Nooo, no, I was kidding. That was a joke.’

Her eyes were wide again. ‘But you might change your mind… when you get home and your leg is all bruised… you’ll sue me, won’t you?’

He held his hands up in a surrendering motion. ‘Honestly, Petra, I’m kidding. I’m not going to sue you.’

She narrowed her eyes. ‘Are you sure?’

He chuckled. ‘I’m very sure. I was kidding.’

She was a very nervous person judging by the way her hands were juddering. ‘Okay… okay… that’s fine then.’

He took a sip of his coffee, wondering if she was for real. ‘So, Petra, what do you do?’

‘I… erm… I work in the wholefoods shop in town.’

He smiled widely. ‘You work at Nutty As?’

She nodded. ‘Yes, that’s me.’

He couldn’t help chuckling a little. ‘But your trolley was full of junk food.’ He remembered noticing the large amount of chocolate, wine, and crisps in the trolley, not to mention the ready meals and pizzas.

Her cheeks tinged pink and she cringed. ‘Guilty. I work with pulses and oats and tofu all day. All I fancy when I get home is a burger and chips or sweet stuff.’ She bit her lip as a smile worked its way across her face. She really was quite pretty.

Adam laughed. ‘Clearly use of the products is not a requirement of the job.’

She shook her head and briefly covered her eyes with her hand as she joined his laughter.

After a pause she asked, ‘So, Adam, what do you do?’

‘I’m an English teacher in high school.’ He took another mouthful of his coffee.

‘Oh, gosh. Teachers were never that good-looking when I was at school.’ She slapped her hand over her mouth as soon as the words had left it. ‘Oh God, I shouldn’t be allowed out in public, should I?’ she said as she covered her eyes and the pink in her cheeks became a vibrant red.