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‘Oops.Mybad,’Miasaid, through a mouthful of cake. ‘Soz.Iforgot to change the sign whenIshut the door.Maybesomeone followed you in,Jan, thinking we’re open.’
Daisygot up. ‘I’llgo.’Shewaggled her finger in warning. ‘Don’teither of you dare touch my half of that cake!’Goinginto the shop, she skidded to an abrupt halt. ‘Rick!’
‘Hi,Daisy.It’sme.Backagain.’
‘It’syou.’Daisywiped a hand over her mouth hoping she didn’t have any icing crusted around it. ‘Backagain.Youcan’t need another bouquet already?’Hewas wearing jeans and a whiteT-shirt today and looked hot – in both senses of the word.Strandsof hair were plastered onto his forehead with sweat.
‘Imight take a bunch of something with me but, actually,I’min between appointments and could really do with a drink and something to eat.AndI, wellIknow you’re busy, butIwondered if you’d like to join me?Showme the best places to eat around here.’
Daisydidn’t have time to answer.
‘She’dlove to,’ calledJanfrom the door, lookingRickup and down with interest. ‘Timeyou had a lunch-break,Daisy.We’llmind the shop.Takehim up theToad.Goon.Scoot!’
Chapter Seven
RickandDaisytook their drinks into the beer garden and found a spot in the shade.Theumbrellas were up and fluttered in the sea breeze which whispered past.Itwas very hot forJuneand even the gulls overhead were wheeling slowly, too lazy to dip down for chips.Thesky was the colourDaisyalways thought of asDorsetblue.Avivid stretch of brilliant colour uninterrupted by any clouds, even the wispiest.Sheedged to the end of the bench and lifted her face to the sun; it was extremely good to get out of the shop and feel the sunshine on her face.AsTheToadwas a little way out of town, it escaped most tourists and its clientele were usually local.Itwas quiet today and they had the beer garden to themselves.
Rickcollapsed onto the bench.Hedrank half his pint of shandy in one go. ‘Thatfeels better.’
‘Busymorning?’Daisysipped her spritzer, wishing it was a cold pint of cider but she had deliveries to do later.Thesight ofRick’sthroat muscles working as he drank was doing something very alarming to her insides.Herheart was thudding so much she could feel its beat near the surface of her skin.Sheput a hand toher navy-blueVaVaBloom!polo shirt and rubbed her sternum.Geta grip, girl, all he’s done is drink shandy!
‘Non-stop.’Ricknoticed she was rubbing her chest. ‘Areyou okay?’
Daisysucked in a deep breath. ‘I’mabsolutely fine.Justa bit peckish.’Todistract him she asked, ‘Whatdo you do?Fora job,Imean.’
‘Irun a company which caters to the restaurant trade.’
Daisywrinkled her nose in confusion. ‘Whatdoes that mean exactly?Areyou likeSpeakeswhich does mass catering to some of the pubs around here?’
Hegave a short laugh. ‘Notexactly.Ispecialise in supplying pubs and restaurants with niche produce from unique producers.Whatthat actually means isI’mpermanently on the road checking up on my suppliers and finding new ones, sampling their stuff.Ihave a lot in theWestCountry.Cheterson the outskirts ofTauntonfor instance.Theymake a fantastic range of charcuterie.Thenthere’sTansyGinsandVodkasinTavistock.TherestaurantsIservice can’t get enough ofWestCountryproduce.’
‘Ithought it was all about cutting down on air miles, sourcing locally nowadays?’
‘That’simportant too.Itry to find really distinctive products that have a novelty value.Themost successfulI’veplaced recently is anEnglishsparkling wine with lavender top notes.’Heturned his pint pot around thoughtfully and ran a thumb through the condensation running down its outside. ‘Butyou’re right, people do want locally sourced food more and more these days.Lately,I’vebeen uneasy with the air miles count of some of my stuff.I’vebeen considering a change in career for some time.I’dalways loved the being on the road aspect of my job.Noconfining office, no nine to five.Seeingdifferent parts of the country.ButlatelyI’vegot jaded.Thedriving takes it out of me, the roads seem more congested.AllIseem to see nowadays is the back of the car infront in a motorway jam.’Herubbed the back of his neck in a tired gesture, his eyebrows rising in surprise. ‘Ican’t believe all this is spilling out.You’revery easy to talk to,Daisy.’
‘Thankyou.’Shesipped her drink.Ithad been said before.Itwas part of her job, especially when dealing with the bereaved.Sometimesshe’d listened for hours to a customer before arranging the flowers for the funeral of a loved one.Shedidn’t mind.Shefound it the most rewarding aspect of her profession.Theyhadn’t wanted to discuss the floral tributes so much as the person they’d just lost.And, even though her father had died years ago, she knew about grief.Sheunderstood. ‘Areyou thinking about a career change?’Sheknew about that too.
‘Possibly.Maybeeven settling down somewhere.Puttingdown some roots instead of living atGloucesterServices.It’sa very nice service station, don’t get me wrong, one of the best, butIfindI’mlonging to have a place in a community.Maybeone likeLullburyBay.’Hesighed heavily. ‘That’sone of the thingsMintyandIargue about.Shewants me to go into the restaurant business.Openup somewhere inBirminghamorLondon, or maybeManchesterbutI’mnot sureIwant that kind of city lifestyle anymore.’
‘Wehaven’t got a decent restaurant inLullburyBay, not anymore,’Daisysaid. ‘Cafés– there’sSeaSpraydown on the beach andBee’sBooksbut they only do snacks.Nicefood, don’t get me wrong,’ she added hurriedly, ‘but if you want to eat out anywhere interesting or unusual, you have to go intoBridportor even further.Ofcourse,TheShipis famous for its pies and the pub grub is good here too but if you want a special sort of place for an occasion, you have to go out of town.’
Rick’slips twisted ruefully as he looked around the beer garden.
Daisysaw its scruffy benches and children’s play area with its faded plastic cartoon characters forming the slide and see-saw through his eyes.Itwasn’t exactly the height of sophistication.
‘Ican’t seeLullburyBaybeingMinty’sscene somehow,’ he went on. ‘She’svery much an urban animal.Although, you know,Ican really see the appeal of living somewhere like this.And, the moreIcome here, the moreIthink so.’Heflicked a glance at her andDaisyfelt heat rise in her cheeks. ‘Whatsort of restaurant could you see being popular here?’
Daisylifted her glass and sipped thoughtfully. ‘Well, the locals like value for money and something not too pretentious and the tourists flock to the coast for seafood so fish is always popular.Youwouldn’t want to set up in competition withTheShiporTheToad–’
‘Howdid it get its name?’ he interrupted. ‘Itcan’t always have been called theToadandFlamingo.’
Daisygrinned. ‘Itused to beTheGreenMan.Craigthe landlord put names in two jars and got punters to pick a few out, then put the two least likely together.’
‘ThinkIprefer the old name.’
‘I’mwith you but it’s a talking point and people always remember it.’
‘Pointtaken.’Ricknodded. ‘Whatsort of food do they do here?’ he asked, asVicky,Craig’swife, came to take their order.
