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‘Double ouch!’
She laughed. Not that it was a laughing matter - her life - and she knew he hadn’t meant his reply to sound callous or to tease her, but the way he’d said it, it made her realise how ridiculous it must sound. ‘Yes, definitely double ouch.’
‘Sorry to hear that.’
‘Ah, it’s just life.’ She looked at him. If she wasn’t careful, she’d be telling him everything about her tragic love life too - Andrew and Jennifer’s wedding included.
‘Yes, you’re right. Life has a funny way of pulling the rug out from under us.’ He frowned, the colour of his eyes deepening.
‘It does.’ Was he holding something back? Just as she was? He was certainly thinking about something he wasn’t ready or willing to share with her yet. ‘Anyway, I’d better get back to the bakery before Elsie sends a search party. Thanks, it’s been nice to chat.’
‘No, thank you and... umm... thanks for bringing all of this lot.’ He indicated the boxes of decorations.
Taking a last look around the room, she frowned. ‘When is the party?’
‘I’d rather not think about it.’ He chuckled. ‘It’s not long enough, and at this rate, people will be balancing their wine glasses and plates of food on all my moving boxes.’
‘Haha, at least they’ll have somewhere to put them.’ She grinned and indicated the stacks of boxes. ‘You could always fashion them into some sort of long sofa people could sit on.’
‘Good idea! I could cover them in blankets, and people would be none the wiser.’ The light in his eyes was back, even though Tammy could see he was trying desperately to keep a straight face.
‘Sounds perfect.’ Grinning, she let herself out of the front door, holding her hand up in a wave as she did so. Closing it behind her, she began walking back along the rocky pathway towards the beach. Halfway across, she paused and glanced back at the lighthouse and grinned.
Chapter Six
Tammy shrugged intoher cardigan as she stepped out of the kitchen before pausing. The lunchtime rush was in full swing out here. She glanced across to the bakery counter where Diane and Brooke were busy serving customers. She felt guilty sneaking past the queue and disappearing off for her lunch break, but she knew someone had to go for their lunch first and if she were to stay and help, then she’d only be pushing everyone else’s breaks back.
Once outside, she looked across to the beach. The sun was shining, and people were making the most of it - walking their dogs, watching their children play in the shallow waves or just soaking up the sunshine whilst lounging on the sand or perching on the sea wall.
Although a walk along the beach was tempting, the gnawing in her stomach reminded her she hadn’t eaten since breakfast and being as she’d woken up early to help Elsie and Teresa with the early morning baking, it had been a long time since she’d had anything to eat.
Of course, it was her fault. Elsie was always offering her coffee breaks and to grab something to eat, but she found it better to keep busy, keep her mind off the questions bouncing around in her mind, fighting to be heard. She’d much rather focus on baking and reminiscing about her childhood holidays spent at her gran’s bakery than try to figure out what she was going to do when she returned home. Or dwell on the upcoming wedding.
Taking a last look at the beach, she turned towards the café next door to the bakery and stepped inside. It was busy in here too. Weaving through the tables, she made her way towards the back of the café where she might be lucky to find an empty table.
Were all the tables back here full, too? She stood in the middle of the room and spun slowly around. They were. Why was the bay so busy today? Bags were crammed under tables, buggies squished out of the way beside the walls as people chattered and laughed over sandwiches and mugs of coffee. Something was obviously going on in the bay. A craft fair, maybe? Diane had mentioned there were craft fairs held at the community hall.
