Page 86 of My Kind of Happy

Chapter Twenty-five

I sat on a stool behind the counter hugging my knees happily, watching Sam unload his car. It was the Saturday evening of the cricket club workshop; I didn’t think I’d looked forward to anything quite so much for months. All the other shops had closed up for the weekend except for Ken’s Mini Mart on the other side of the green, where Sam had just been to stock up.

I’d been hoping for a warm balmy evening so that we could have all the doors open. But despite being mid-June, the temperature had dropped and we’d had rain earlier. Now a brooding sky meant we had to have all the shop lights on. The weather didn’t seem to have had any impact on Sam’s choice of outfit; a T-shirt and cargo shorts which showed off his toned arms and legs and broad chest and in the dove grey light, his tan looked deeper than ever.

‘Have you got enough booze, do you think?’ I teased as he carried in a second case of beers from the boot of his car.

He’d already proudly laid out a selection of artisan snacks in the back of the shop, talking me through each one. There was a platter of serrano ham and various different salamis, dishes of olives and cheese and nuts, all very upmarket. It looked like the scene was being set for a party rather than a flower-arranging session.

‘I hope so,’ he said, pulling a face. ‘I’ll be in trouble if we haven’t. The only drivers are me and Tom. The other eight will put these away and all the food.’

Of the squad of fourteen, only ten could make it this evening, which was probably just as well; it was going to be a squash around the table as it was. Even now when it was just Sam here, I was acutely aware of his maleness; goodness knows how it was going to feel with ten men like him in the shop. Rather nice, probably, I thought, smiling to myself.

‘And I thought cricket was all polite clapping and cucumber sandwiches,’ I said.

He raised an amused eyebrow. ‘Everyone thinks because we look so smart in our whites and we all sit down to tea together nicely with the other side, that we’re perfect gentlemen. When in truth, we can drink your average rugby team under the table.’

He set the beer down on the floor and brushed his hair back off his face. I tried not to stare at the little dimple on his cheek or the golden stubble which highlighted his strong jaw, or the way the muscles in his back rippled beneath his shirt when he bent to stroke Scamp. I wondered instead whether Pandora, despite her exploits with ‘sexy tiger’ knew how lucky she was to have this handsome, capable, full-of-fun man in her life. I hoped so.

‘So you’re not gentlemen?’ I feigned shock. ‘I’m spending the evening with a bunch of hooligans? Now you tell me!’

‘Don’t worry, I’ll make sure no one gets out of hand.’

The earnest look on his face made my heart squeeze; this man was so caring and thoughtful.

‘I’m not in the least bit worried.’ I turned away from him in case my expression gave my feelings away and went to the big old wooden chest where we kept supplies. I took out all the scissors and secateurs we had and distributed them along the table. ‘They’ll have their hands full of flowers so they won’t be able to drink much.’

‘Flower arranging, who’d have thought it.’ Sam grinned and rested his hands on his hips, surveying the room. I watched him take it all in: the flowers set out in containers, the jute bags I’d bought in specially, the ribbon, the tissue paper. ‘I’ve known most of the lads since I was at school. Somehow we’ve become middle-aged without noticing.’

‘What do they all do?’

‘Apart from being particularly terrible at cricket? Did I tell you that by the way?’ he confessed. ‘What we lack in expertise we make up for in enthusiasm.’

‘Sounds like my floristry skills.’

‘Now you tell me,’ he said, mimicking my earlier comment.

‘Oi.’ I flapped a cloth at him.

He jumped back, laughing and lifted his hands in defence. ‘Joke! They do all sorts: there are a couple of builders, a gardener, a surveyor, a PE teacher – that’s Tom, who’s driving them all here in the school minibus – a journalist and a lawyer.’

I blinked at him. ‘Gosh. I’m quite nervous now.’

Teaching Sam had been fun but a big group of them was a whole different ball game. Why had I agreed to it? Oh yes, because Sam had asked me and I had a feeling I could never say no to Sam.

‘Don’t be. They’ll love you,’ he reassured me. ‘None of them can arrange flowers to save their lives, so no matter what you do, you are the expert in their eyes. Our eyes. And whatever we produce is guaranteed to impress our ladies.’

I tweaked a guard petal off a rose and folded it between my fingers. ‘Is everyone making bouquets for their wife or girlfriend?’

He offered me a plump green olive and I took it, savouring the salty sourness. ‘I think so. Although Mikey is single, so who knows. Actually, he’s the only one you might have to watch after a couple of drinks.’

I smiled. ‘Why’s that?’

He popped a handful of nuts in his mouth and bent down to give Scamp some fuss. ‘Because he goes for the pretty ones.’

‘Oh.’ My heart skipped a beat and I felt the heat rise to my face but before I could think of a witty reply, a car horn sounded outside and a minibus pulled up alongside the kerb.

‘They’re here.’ Sam reached the door in three long strides, catching hold of Scamp’s collar before opening the door. He turned back to me. ‘Ready for this?’