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Which was when her smugness backfired on her.
She was at this market on her own today. It was held every Thursday in a small town an hour’s drive from Tinstone and was renowned for its farmers’ market. She wouldn’t normally have bothered to drive quite so far, but today there was an additional feature of a craft fair, and as it was her day off, she’d been unable to pass up the opportunity.
But no one had been able to accompany her – and by no one, she meant her dad or Nicole. Her dad was at work and so was Nicole, having been asked to do an extra shift because someone was ill, so Seren was winging it on her own. Unfortunately, she hadn’t realised just how alone she was going to feel.
She knew she’d quickly get into the swing of things as soon as she started chatting to customers, but for now even the simple act of nipping off for a cup of coffee would be fraught with anxiety as she didn’t want to risk leaving the van unattended. Goodness knows what she was going to do when she needed the loo.
Pushing that disconcerting worry out of her mind for the time being, she grabbed the float, checked that there was no one taking any particular interest in Dippy, and dashed towards the nearest cafe and darted inside.
Thankfully there wasn’t a queue, and she was in and out again with her coffee in a matter of minutes. She knew she wouldn’t be able to do that again, so she was grateful her dad had made her a sandwich to bring with her. Maybe she should invest in a flask?
When her phone buzzed and she saw she had a message from Daniel, wishing her good luck for today, she was filled with warmth that he was thinking about her.
She was thinking about him, too. He was constantly in her thoughts, a heady backdrop to whatever she was doing, and she couldn’t wait to see him again, to feel his arms around her, and his lips on hers.
It wasn’t only the physical things that she loved about him, it was how he made her feel. He had an air of dependability, and she felt secure that he wouldn’t mess with her emotions. Which was a good thing, because each time she was with him she knew she was falling for him more and more.
Neither of them had mentioned the ‘L’ word, but she hoped it was only a matter of time. Time was what they had plenty of, so there was no point in rushing it. They’d only met less than a couple of months ago, and they were already spending as much time together as they possibly could, which wasn’t easy with her work schedule and her Dippy schedule, but she’d managed to see him nearly every day for a week.
Her phone buzzed again.
Thinking of you x, she read.
Her fingers flew over the keys.
Thinking of you, too xxx
Wish I was there.
So do I!! I don’t think I like being at a market on my own.
You don’t have to be.
???
I could drive to you, if you want me to?
You’d do that for me?
I’d do anything for you.
Seren took her eyes off the phone and stared into space. Wow, what a heart stopping thing to say. If he meant it the way she’d taken it, of course. Which he probably didn’t. It was just a phrase.
Do you mean that? You’d come here?
I’ll be with you in an hour. Is there anything you need?
Just you.
You already have me… xxx
Seren took a shaky breath. ‘Falling’ for him indeed? She’d already fallen. She was in way over her head, and she hadn’t realised it until now. But instead of making her feel anxious or scared, she felt empowered and energised. She fizzed and tingled with excitement and felt on top of the world.
Was this love?
She hoped it might be…
‘I think I prefer this to being Santa Claus,’ Daniel said, after handing several bags of assorted winter greenery to a lady who had seventeen people coming to Christmas lunch and was looking for decorations that the kids couldn’t break. He’d been extolling the virtues of the ivy Seren had used for the table decorations she’d made and had even suggested that the lady could pot the ends in some soil after Christmas and they’d probably take root.
