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Chapter 15
As Holly sat in the Well’s café, she regretted her choice of table as the sun shone through the window pane making her feel uncomfortably warm. Scanning the café for an alternative table, she bit her lip.There must be a coach party or two in town, she thought. With it being market day the square was full of visitors mulling around. She removed her jacket and pulled at the neck of her T-shirt. Sipping her piping hot coffee, she wished she had chosen a cool drink. She had chosen coffee in the hope that the caffeine would kick in. She had been up most of the night sketching, in a frenzy. She had felt inspired. Inspired by the heat which had coursed through her body after spending the evening with Mitch. It had begun as a little flame at the start of the evening and turned into a raging fire. She had replayed the previous evening over and over again in her mind. The evening she’d had with Mitch had been perfect, although he had left the caravan abruptly.Did I scare him off?she thought as she looked in the direction of the café door. Nina had texted her first thing saying she wanted to meet Holly, to discuss some ideas she had for the hub.
Holly pushed away a curl which had fallen in front of her eyes, noticing the blooms falling over the side of hanging baskets which came into view when the wind blew. She noticed a couple in the corner gaze into each other’s eyes and share a tender kiss. She recognised something in them, something she felt inside herself. Ethan came to mind, she knew that was an entirely different relationship – certainly not the sort of thing the couple in the corner had. Ethan had been pushing her for a date and she knew it would go nowhere with him. She needed to tell him straight. And even though you should not mix business with pleasure she felt she needed to let Mitch know how she felt about him.
‘There you are.’ Nina woke her from her thoughts, dumping her designer bag on the table.
‘Hi.’ Holly smiled.
Nina waved at the waitress. ‘Skinny latte, please.’
Holly wondered if there was such a thing as a truly skinny latte. She opened her mouth then closed it, deciding Nina would not appreciate the comment.
Nina applied her lipstick. ‘You look tired, darling. Was last night too much for you? What with the strain you must be under at the moment?’
‘No. It was a great evening. I’ve been up half the night.’
Nina snapped her compact mirror shut. ‘Oh. I see. Did your neighbour keep you busy?’
‘No, no.’ Holly blushed. ‘My mind was buzzing with ideas.’
Nina smiled and leaned over the table. ‘He’s rather gorgeous, isn’t he? And single?’
‘Yes.’ Holly crossed her arms. ‘So, the hub? You said you wanted to discuss it?’
‘What ideas do you have?’
Holly sighed. Nina had clearly said that she wanted to meet to talk about her own ideas, not Holly’s. Holly took a deep breath. ‘Well, one of my ideas was to hold breakfast meetings with local craft workers and artists, to gauge their interest in renting art space at the hub. It would be at reasonable rates, as the hub itself would be a not-for-profit venture.’
‘That’s a great idea. I can let you have some dates and free room hire for the meetings at the Town Hall. I can promote it through the local news and on the website.’ Nina’s latte arrived and she took a sip. ‘That’s sorted, then.’
Well that was brief,Holly thought as she drank some of her own coffee.
Nina leaned forward again. ‘Mitch. He’s divine.’
Holly bit her lip.So that’s what this is all about,she thought. Nina wanted to talk about Mitch.
‘You know me and my luck with men. Mother tells me I’m too picky. But Mitch – wow – we hit it off. Like we had a real connection.’ Nina smiled. ‘Do you know what I mean?’
Yes,she did know what Nina meant. Exactly what she meant. Jaz’s comment came back to her, yet again:That man is every woman’s type.Maybe the connection she felt with Mitch was nothing surprising, nothing special.Maybe he’s just a hot guy,she told herself.But she still wanted to find out if he felt the same. ‘He’s a nice man.’ Was all she could say.
‘So, tell me more.’
Holly gave a brief outline of Mitch, careful not to say anything that was not common knowledge, although she still felt uneasy as Nina had the knack of twisting every word into some sort of fantasy story. She mentioned he was a widower, but nothing about the accident and police investigation. Nina seemed to become more excited the more she said and Holly felt her body droop in equal measure.
‘So, let me have his number and I’d better get back to the shop.’ Nina retrieved her phone from her bag. ‘Mother’s minding things, but I don’t like to leave her for too long. Otherwise she rearranges my shelves.’
Holly fumbled with her phone on her lap and turned the power off. After a couple of seconds she lifted it up showing it to Nina. ‘Oh. Sorry. I’ve run out of charge.’
Nina frowned. ‘Well, text it to me later.’ She smiled as she rose. ‘Lovely to catch up.’
Holly bit her lip as she watched Nina breeze out of the café.
Mitch wounddown the window of his pick-up as he drove home. It was surprisingly warm. The DJ on the radio station said they were experiencing an early heatwave and it would be the hottest June since records began. He’d had a great chat with the pig farmer called Ed, who was straight talking and easy-going, reminding Mitch of the farmers back home. It was usual that as soon as the Somerset farmers heard his accent, which most perceived as cockney, they mistrusted him. They saw him as an incomer, here to take their business and land, even though his family had owned the farm in Somerset for over one hundred years.
Trixy woke. She had been cooped up in the pick-up truck while he was in his meeting and now yapped as he reached Lovelands. It was as if she knew where she was. He guessed he should call in with Trixy as Holly had agreed to sit her. The trip to Essex with Sid was looming up. He realised it would be the last visit Sidney could make to Essex with his health in steady decline and the consultant had warned Mitch that Sid was unlikely to see Christmas.
Driving into the car park, Mitch spotted Holly, her hair glistening in the sun. She had tied it back in a ponytail and she looked graceful. She stood with three men, one he recognised as pretty-boy Ethan and the other two he assumed were builders, based on what they were wearing.Holly appeared to be talking confidently – pointing to printed plans and then gesturing around.She looks like she can handle herself,he thought.Although, he remembered, there had been moments over these past two weeks when Holly had gazed into his eyes and had seemed helpless and vulnerable. Those were the times he felt acutely attracted to her, wanting to make everything better in her world. Trixy yapped and he realised he was staring. Holly waved at him. He nodded and put the truck into reverse to drive away as she was clearly busy, but she beckoned him over.
