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Her drink was quite strong though, so she’d have to be careful not to have too many, else she’d be squiffy in no time. It was probably a good thing for her sobriety, if not her pocket, that they were so expensive.
‘Enjoying your night out?’ a voice said, and Seren looked up to see the familiar face of one of her customers staring down at her. Seren didn’t know her name, but the woman had been shopping at the supermarket for years, plus she’d also bought something from Dippy.
‘You’ve got to have some time off now and again,’ Seren told her with a smile.
‘Oh, I agree! As I expect you well know, if we’re not careful us women will run ourselves ragged at this time of year!’ The woman laughed. ‘At any time of year, actually. I’ve got a partner and three kids, so I could do with a break once in a while.’ She frowned as the man waved to her. ‘I’d better be off; his nibs wants some of that hog roast. He hasn’t had any tea yet, so he’s starving!’
Seren watched her go, thinking she might like some hog roast in a minute, too. There was also a pizza oven, and she quite fancied a slice or two of that as well, but she didn’t want to come across as a greedy little pocket, as Aunt Nelly liked to say. Though what was so greedy about a pocket, Seren couldn’t work out. Her old aunt was full of odd sayings, and they often made her smile.
‘Aunt Nelly would love this,’ Seren said, feeling a small measure of guilt that she hadn’t visited her in a while, but she’d been so busy, and when she wasn’t working or manning the van, she was seeing Daniel. There were only so many hours in the day.
‘Grandad is quite partial to a bit of roast pork,’ Daniel said. ‘I don’t know what he’d think of this, though.’ He held up his cocktail.
‘Nelly would try every single one, then go back for more,’ Seren laughed. ‘Not sure she’d appreciate the music.’
‘Do you think she’s happy, living in the care home?’ Daniel asked, his expression turning sombre.
‘Yes, she is,’ she declared firmly. ‘I know you’re still worrying about whether your grandad has made the right decision, but I think he has. Every time I’ve seen him, he’s been having a great time, joining in with this, that and the other.’
‘You’ve got a point,’ he said. ‘It can’t have been much fun for him stuck at home on his own all day with Mum at work. I wasn’t living there, either, so…’ He shrugged. ‘I recently did some work for this old couple, clearing their pond and whatnot, and it was sad to see how heartbroken the old guy was because he couldn’t do what he used to do. He had a fine old time telling me I wasn’t doing it right.’ Daniel chuckled, then sobered again. ‘You could tell they thought the world of each other. It was lovely to see.’
‘I wonder if Aunt Nelly had any regrets about not getting married,’ Seren mused. ‘I know my dad doesn’t regret marrying my mum, despite it not working out between them. He says it’s because he got me out of it, the daftie, and I’m the best thing that ever happened to him. Awww.’ She blinked away sudden tears.
‘I can see why he’d say that.’ Daniel wasn’t looking at her. He was looking down at his drink which he was holding in his clasped hands. ‘You’re the best thing that’s happened to me, too.’
When he shot her a glance, she realised he meant what he’d said, and her heart did that funny little skipped-beat thing that it often did when she was with him. Was he about to tell her he loved her?
Mouth suddenly dry, Seren slurped at her straw. Was she ready for this? Was it too soon? How could he love her when he’d only known her for a few weeks?
And did she love him?
She wasn’t sure.
She thought she might be able to; he’d be an easy man to fall in love with, and she might be halfway there already. But was she prepared to say those three little words back to him?
Daniel cleared his throat. Was he waiting for her to say something?
She had no idea how to respond.
‘What are we going to try next?’ he asked, holding up his empty glass, and Seren realised that she’d also drained hers. ‘Shall we do the same again – both of us ordering something different so we can try each other’s?’
It looked like he wasn’t going to tell her he loved her, and she didn’t know whether to feel relieved or disappointed. ‘Good idea’ she replied, ‘although, I must warn you that if I like your cocktail better than mine, I might fight you for it.’ And with that, the sudden awkwardness dissipated, and she felt comfortable with him once again.
Two drinks later, and Seren was feeling more than comfortable. She was feeling downright tipsy. It was lovely leaning up against him, his arm casually slung around her shoulders, as they snuggled together underneath one of the fake furs. She was warm and cosy, both inside and out, and she wasn’t sure how much of that internal warmth was due to the alcohol or to being with Daniel.
‘Can you stay a while longer?’ he asked her. The evening was drawing to a close, the benches having lost some of their customers to the chill and lateness of the night.
‘I’ve got a late shift tomorrow,’ she sighed, ‘so there’s no rush to get home.’
‘What are your plans for the week, besides work?’
‘I’m going to the theatre on Wednesday, and Thursday is my day off, so me and Dippy are booked into a Christmas market. Yay! I’ve only done a couple, but I’ve enjoyed the ones I’ve been to so far. It beats working in that supermarket and having Pamela breathing down my neck. Nicole will be coming with me to help – you met her, didn’t you? – so it should be fun. How about you? What have you got planned?’ She decided she’d call in to see Aunt Nelly on the way back from the market, to let her know how it had gone.
‘Not a lot. I’m doing a Santa gig at the Winter Wonderland this coming week and for a couple of days the week after, but that’s it. I just wish I could find some more gardening work, but it’s a bit thin on the ground right now.’
‘It’s not long until Christmas and once the new year is out of the way, people are bound to start thinking about DIY and their gardens.’
‘That’s true. It’s the same every year, so you’d think I’d be used to it by now. Each spring and summer I have more work than I can shake a stick at, then come the winter, nada.’
‘You do make a cute Father Christmas,’ she teased.
‘Cute?’ His voice was flat. ‘I prefer ruggedly handsome, myself.’
‘That, too,’ she said. ‘But I didn’t want to say so in case you got big-headed.’ She lifted her chin, inviting him to kiss her, and as his lips joined with hers, she murmured, ‘Did I say sexy?’ then she giggled at his sharp intake of breath.
‘Woman, you’ll be the death of me,’ he growled in return, before crushing her to him and stopping any further words with his mouth.
Even as she lost herself in the wonderful sensations flooding through her, her mind continued to dwell on what he’d said earlier – that she was the best thing to have happened to him – because she had a feeling he might be the best thing that had happened to her, too.
