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Maybe some candyfloss would help take Izzie’s mind off it, or a ride on the Ghost Train?
‘Wait up,’ Ron called from behind, and Annabelle stopped. She was surprised to see him grinning from ear to ear, and when she saw what he was holding she was amazed.
‘I did it!’ he said, handing Izzie the stuffed dog. ‘I had one more go…’
Izzie cradled the toy, cuddling it to her chest. Her face was beaming. ‘Thank you. I love him. I’m going to call him Pepe,’ she announced.
‘Won’t that be confusing, having two dogs called Pepe?’ Ron asked.
Izzie shook her head emphatically. ‘His name is Pepe. He looks just like Aunt Beverley’s Pepe,’ the little girlinsisted.
Annabelle thought that the only thing the real Pepe and the toy Pepe had in common was their colour, but she didn’t say anything and her smile was indulgent as she watched her daughter scamper off to show Jake and Sam her prize.
‘You didn’t actually win it, did you?’ she asked Ron out of the side of her mouth, her smile still in place, her eyes on Izzie.
‘No.’
‘How much did you pay for it?’
‘As much as I needed to.’
‘I suspect you paid much more than it wasworth.’
‘I paid what it is worth to Izzie,’ Ron said quietly, a small smile playing about his lips.
Annabelle narrowed her eyes. ‘You paid that much, eh?’
‘To Izzie it’s priceless.’ Ron’s grin widened. ‘Look at her!’
Annabelle hadn’t stopped looking. She couldn’t take her gaze off her daughter. ‘She’s thrilled to bits you won it for her.’
‘Exactly!’
Annabelle abruptly stopped walking and Ron came to a halt.‘You’re a nice man, Ron,’ she said, leaning towards him and kissing him on the cheek.
Ron looked stunned.
Annabelle was fairly stunned herself because as her lips touched his skin, she’d felt a tingle shoot down her body, ending at her toes.
Ron’s eyes bored into hers, and he lifted his fingers to touch the place on his cheek where she’d kissed him.
Gosh, had he felt it too?
Unlikely, Annabelle concluded. He was probably just wiping away the moisture left by her sloppy peck.
But she couldn’t drag her eyes away from his, and she had a feelinghe wanted to kiss her back. A proper kiss.
‘Can you winmesomething?’ Sam’svoice was a welcome interruption and Annabelle broke Ron’s gaze with relief.
‘I’ve used up all my luck for one day,’ Ron told the boy. ‘How about I take you and Jake rock pooling tomorrow, if Jake wants to come?’ Ron glanced at her, questioningly.
‘I’m sure he’ll be delighted,’ she said.
‘Izzie can come as well,’ Ron added. ‘I don’t want her to feel left out.’
‘That’s very kind of you, but please don’t feel sorry for us. We’ll be fine.’
‘So you keep saying. Anyway, I don’t feel sorry for you.’
Annabelle looked away. Of course he didn’t. From where he was standing, he probably thought she had a fair bit going for her: a roof over her head, parents who loved and supported her emotionally and financially, two gorgeous children...
‘I’ll buy the lads some buckets and nets,’ she said, spying a stall selling colourful beachy stuff and kiss-me-quick hats. Anything to get away from the depths of Ron’s eyes. Whenever she looked into them, they did funny things to her insides.
Thankfully, just then the others caught up with them, and the strange atmosphere between her and Rondissipated, and for the rest of the evening she studiously avoided looking in his direction.
Not because she didn’t like him. It was the exact opposite.
But it would benefit no one, least of all her, if Ron were to suspect she was developing feelings for him. Especially since she had no idea what to do with them and even less intention of acting on them.
