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After a few steps, he turned to look back at Beth, who was staring at the two of them.
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded a couple of times and hurried to catch up.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
When they were settled on the terrace at Hell’s Bay Hotel, Beth couldn’t resist getting her camera out and snapping a few photos of the scenery while they waited for the waitress to come and take their food order. Turning away from the beautiful expanse of blue-green water, she brought the camera to her face again to take a photo of Trystan and Ellie peering at a ladybird walking across the table.
“Can you take a photo of the ladybird too?” Ellie asked.
“Sure.” She moved closer and clicked the shutter, then glanced inside, hoping the service would be fast. Ellie was prone to tantrums if she had to wait too long for food. After the earlier scene with the broken mug, she’d rather avoid any more drama for the day.
Her stomach was also beginning to complain of hunger and she was hoping for quick service for her own benefit too. It made choosing a dish difficult, since she was now torn between ordering a burger and chips, like she really wanted, and the salad which seemed more fitting around Trystan.
She was still dithering when the owner came over and made a fuss of Trystan before asking what they wanted to eat.
“We’ll have the sausage and chips from the kids’ menu and …” Beth scanned the menu and frowned. “Just a sec … You order first.” She waved a hand in Trystan’s direction.
He snapped his menu shut. “I’ll have my usual: burger and fries.”
“Oh, thank goodness.” Beth closed her menu. “I thought you were going to choose something healthy and I’d have to follow suit. But I’ll have the same. The burger sounds great.”
“Okay.” The woman scribbled on her pad with an amused grin. “Coming right up.”
“You seem to have me down as some sort of health nut,” Trystan said as she walked away.
“Not a nut, no. Just very healthy. Which I usually am too, but not while we’re on holiday, obviously.”
“Obviously,” he said, glancing at Ellie, who’d slipped off the chair to follow the ladybird down the table leg and onto the ground. “How did you get into the school photo business?” he asked when Beth went to pack her camera back into its case.
She looked at him in surprise. “Oh god. That’s not really what I do … I mean … I forgot I told you that.”
“What do you mean that’s not what you do?”
She grimaced. “I wasn’t lying, more like just trying it out to see how it sounded. I didn’t know we’d end up being …” She winced, completely flustered. “Friends or … I just didn’t think it mattered what I told you I did for a living. I probablyama school photographer … I haven’t quite figured it out yet.”
“Right … that’s confusing.”
“I specialise in wedding photography,” she told him. “At least I did. Mum used to look after Ellie while I was at work because it was mostly at the weekends. I had to cancel the jobs I had lined up for the summer holidays. Partly because I just couldn’t face it. I still have a couple of weddings lined up in the autumn. My friend will look after Ellie then. After that, I need to find something that fits around Ellie better. I’ve done a bit of school photography before. It’s not my dream job, but it’s money.” She grinned. “And it’s a lot less pressure, considering very few parents expect school photos to come out well. The same can’t be said for people’s weddings.”
Ellie came back to them and casually climbed up onto Trystan’s lap. It felt a little petty to be jealous of her daughter, but it highlighted how little physical contact Beth had had with Trystan since she’d had a go at him. She missed how tactile he’d been prior to her outburst.
“You’ve got big hands,” Ellie said, taking Trystan’s hand and holding it against her own.
“Thank you,” he replied. “I grew them myself.”
It took Ellie a moment to laugh, but when she did it was a proper belly laugh. “I’m growing my hands too. Will they get as big as yours?”
“Probably not as big as mine,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Maybe as big as your mum’s.”
Ellie reached out to Beth and they compared hand sizes. The conversation jumped from one random subject to the next until the food arrived.
“Sausage and chips,” the young waitress announced, setting Ellie’s food down. “And your vegan burgers and sweet potato fries will just be a minute.”
“Thank you!” Trystan positively beamed as the waitress nipped back inside.
“Was that a joke?” Beth asked, nudging Trystan when he began to chuckle. “Please don’t tell me you’ve tricked me into a healthy lunch. I was looking forward to a big juicy piece of meat!”
