Page 28 of Coming Home to Crumbleton

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. She’d been so caught up with the fact that she was going to have to talk to Oli, she hadn’t considered there was a possibility that she might have to make small talk with the rest of the town too. Lucky for her, it looked like the current crowd were more interested in working on their drinks.

Glancing around, Ruby spotted Oli sitting at a little table right underneath the dartboard. She headed straight for him before she could change her mind.

‘You came!’

Oli was on his feet before she’d even reached him. He smiled at her and she felt her treacherous knees give a little wobble. She’d love to blame it on the hill… but who was she kidding? This time, it was all down to the tall, dimpled man standing in front of her.

Ruby stared at him. She’d barely had the chance to take him in when she’d found him in the bookshop earlier – but now she let her eyes drink their fill.

Oli had changed… but only in the fact that he’d grown into his youthful good looks. He’d always been cute, but now… well… he was practically edible.

‘Of course I came,’ she said, her voice coming out in a croak as she dropped her eyes to the table. There was a jar of yellow roses sitting to one side, and right in the centre was a wicker basket. ‘Erm… what…?’ she started, gesturing at it.

‘The kitchen’s closed at the moment,’ said Oli, fidgeting a bit. ‘I asked Ken if he’d mind me bringing some food with me - and I did a bit of a snatch and grab from the bakery before they closed. I hope… I hope that’s okay?’

Ruby just nodded, mainly because her vocal cords seemed to have gone on strike. She couldn’t count the number of times the pair of them had dashed into the bakery just before closing time to hoover up the leftover sausage rolls, pasties and crumbly crusts of lemon drizzle cake. Then they’d retreat with their haul… to eat and study and… and…

It had been their thing.

‘Thanks,’ she muttered at last. ‘Definitely okay.’

Ruby suddenly realised that they were both still standing - hovering next to their seats. Oli looked more than a little bit awkward.

‘Shall we sit?’ she added, sliding into her chair without waiting for him to answer.

‘The… erm… the flowers are for you,’ said Oli, following suit. ‘I had them at the shop, but I didn’t get the chance to give them to you earlier. I thought you might… you might like them.’

She nodded and swallowed a ball of nerves that had lodged in her throat.

‘They always used to be your favourites,’ he said. ‘I didn’t know if-’

‘They’re lovely,’ she said, deciding to let him off the hook. ‘Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome,’ he said. ‘So… I guess we need to talk…’

CHAPTER 14

RUBY

‘Talk,’ echoed Ruby. ‘Right… talk.’

‘But first…’ he drew the basket towards him. ‘Here’s a plate for you… knife… fork… napkin…’

He handed each item to Ruby as he went, and she softened when she noticed that his hands were shaking ever so slightly. Perhaps he was as nervous about this whole thing as she was?! It seemed unlikely – Oli had always been pretty sure of himself. Not cocky – just comfortable in his own skin with a no-nonsense, straightforward attitude to life. It was something she’d always loved about him.

‘Earth to Ruby!’ said Oli.

Ruby glanced up to find him smiling at her, and she had to do her best not to melt.

‘Sorry,’ she said quickly. ‘I was miles away!’

‘Anywhere nice?’ he laughed, handing over a slightly greasy paper bag.

Ruby just shrugged. She wasn’t about to answer that. Instead, she opened up the bag and took a sniff.

Sausage rolls. YUM!

It looked like everything about this little meeting was going to act as a time machine. She reached in and gingerly extracted a golden pastry, placing it carefully on her plate before handing the bag back to Oli.

---