AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I’m sure it will be a nice surprise, wherever he’s taking you.’
‘Hopefully. How about you?’ Evie nodded towards a stack of cake boxes on the counter.
‘I’m going over to Carrie’s place. Daisy’s going too and she’s got some pregnancy cravings for cheese and onion pasties, of all things, so I promised her I’d bring some. Why don’t you come on over when Jack drops you off?’
‘Oh, I don’t know. They don’t know me.’ She couldn’t just turn up to someone’s house and be expected to be invited in.
‘Nonsense. They’re both part of our bakery family. You know Daisy was a volunteer and I’ve known Carrie since she was a baby. She grew up in the bay and unfortunately had to move away before coming back and volunteering for a time. You’ll get on great with both of them. Shall I tell them you’ll come?’
‘I...’ Could she say no? She looked at Elsie.
‘Honestly, they’ll love to have you there.’
Evie nodded. ‘Okay then.’
‘Great. Well, I’d better get off. Have a lovely time and I’ll see you later. Jack knows where Carrie lives.’
‘Okay, thanks. Have a good time too.’ Evie locked the door behind Elsie and picked up her phone from behind the bakery counter. Jack hadn’t rung or left a message. He hadn’t even told her what time to expect him. He had been talking about going out tonight, hadn’t he? She was sure he had because he’d mentioned having to be back in time for his parents’ dinner.
She shrugged. Hopefully, he’d be a while, anyway, give her time to get changed and pop some makeup on.
Pushing the door up to the flat open, she paused. Typical. There it was again. A knock at the front door. She glanced down at her jumper on her way to the door and brushed away some flakes of pastry. ‘Hi, Jack.’
‘Evening.’
‘Have we got time if I just run and get changed?’
‘We do, but what you’re wearing is perfect.’
She grimaced. ‘Okay, as long as you’re not taking me anywhere fancy, as I haven’t even got any makeup on.’
‘You’re perfect as you are.’ He grinned. ‘And I’m afraid we’re not going anywhere fancy. Although maybe if I don’t mess tonight up completely, hopefully you’ll agree to me taking you somewhere fancy in the future.’
Grabbing her coat, she followed him outside. ‘Is that your courtesy car?’
‘It is.’ Pulling the keys from his coat pocket, he grimaced. ‘It’s another reason we can’t go anywhere fancy tonight. I don’t think I’d be allowed to drive within a five-mile vicinity of anywhere remotely upmarket.’
Laughing, Evie covered her mouth. ‘I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t laugh.’
‘Don’t worry, that was pretty much my reaction when the garage gave me the keys. I think the mechanic asked me whether I was laughing at the miniature size of the thing or at the bright yellow paintwork.’
‘At least you won’t lose it.’ Sitting in the passenger seat, Evie bent down and lifted the handle to slide the chair back.
‘Good luck with that. I’ve already tried and come to the conclusion that there just isn’t much leg room in here.’ Folding himself into the small car, Jack started the engine. ‘On the bright side, no pun intended, we should be pretty crash-resistant today. The other drivers will see us coming from miles away.’
‘Ha-ha, yes, that’s true. Maybe that’s why they lent you this one.’
‘I hadn’t thought of that.’ Chuckling, Jack pulled away out of Penworth Bay.
‘You’ve not actually told me where we’re going?’ She turned and looked at his silhouette illuminated by the headlights of cars driving on the opposite side of the road.
‘I haven’t, have I? I guess that’s because I’m worried it’ll be a disappointment.’
‘Really? You’ve got to tell me now.’
‘There’s some woodland on the other side of Trestow, which is quite popular in the wedding business. I’ve photographed a few recently. One at the weekend, actually.’ He shook his head. ‘Anyway, I noticed an injured crow but couldn’t catch it on the day, so for the last few days I’ve been going back and attempting to befriend it so that I can catch it.’
Evie looked at him again. He’d been attempting to rescue an injured crow for days? ‘Where’s it hurt?’
