Page 31 of The Bookshop at the Cornish Cove

‘Not sure it’ll suit the London Financial Dennis though, eh?’

‘I’m not sure I know who that guy is any more.’ He looked down at his feet. He was like a lost little boy. I felt a little sorry for him. He’d been having a tough time and he’d also been helping me out of the goodness of his heart. An idea popped into my mind.

‘Why don’t you come to the pub quiz with me tonight?’

His head shot up at the same time that I wondered why those words had come out of my mouth. I wasn’t usually one to invite people to my inner circle, which was rather small and only really consisted of me and my family.

‘It might be fun. When was the last time you had fun, Dennis?’

‘You’ve already promised me fun on Sunday, Nance. I don’t want to be overdosing on it.’

I laughed. ‘Maybe Dennie likes fun.’

‘Maybe he does. Go on then, yes. Dennie accepts. Quiz night it is.’

‘Great, we’ll be leaving at about ten to eight. Starts at eight.’

‘Can I bring Vi too?’

‘Absolutely. She’ll definitely liven things up.’

‘That she will. Shall we knock on the door as we pass yours?’

He was full of smiles when I nodded. And his eyes sparkled. His lovely brown eyes. I liked Dennie. I just had to keep reminding myself that he was just my friend, and somehow find a way to stop those flipping summersaults in my tummy every time he smiled that Ryan Gosling smile.

18

As I heard the knock at the door, my heart did another little skip and I took a deep breath. I let Mum open the door, while I put the finishing touches to my make-up, telling myself that I was an idiot and not to get carried away with feeling anything more than friendship for Dennis. He wouldn’t be sticking around long term, so even if I was interested in him in that way, which I wasn’t of course, there was no point.

He winked at me when I went down to the hall, where he and Vi, Mum and Dad were waiting. We all fell into step, Vi between Mum and Dad, with an arm hooked through each of theirs. Dennis and I walked next to each other.

‘You look nice, Nance.’

‘Thanks,’ I mumbled and could feel my cheeks warming up in the cool night air. ‘You any good at quizzes?’

‘I can hold my own. How about you? As an ex-teacher, you must have expectations that your team has a good chance of winning.’

‘I can get by. Don’t forget that I was an art teacher though, not maths, so if there are any number questions, it’ll be all down to you.’

‘No pressure there then, thanks, Nance!’

Dennis was the first at the bar and offered to get a round in. We were lucky enough that someone got up and left the window seating area as we arrived, so we took over that area, which was my favourite space in the whole pub with a huge picture window that overlooked the harbour.

After a lot of laughs and a great deal of good-natured shouting at each other, in the spirit of winning, we were delighted to have come second, only pipped to the post by Clem and Meredith, Lucy and James and Gemma and Jude, all locals, and our protests that they had six in their group and we only had five, fell on deaf ears. Mum, Dad and Vi all said that they wanted to go home after the quiz had finished, but I was having a really nice time. Dennis said he’d stick around and make sure I got back safely if I wanted to stay, if Mum and Dad would make sure his Nan got back OK. I did notice that Mum and Vi pulled strange faces at each other and grinned, and I pretended I hadn’t noticed.

‘Right, you ’orrible lot,’ the landlord, Geoff, shouted at the customers across the bar an hour or so later. ‘Time you all buggered off home and let me lock up. I need my beauty sleep.’

I felt quite light-headed as I stood, and Dennis steadied me. I wasn’t a big drinker and I’d had a couple of glasses of wine which I really wasn’t used to. I’d noticed that Dennis had had a couple of pints though he was looking quite relaxed.

‘I’ve really enjoyed myself tonight,’ he said. ‘Thanks for asking me.’

‘You’re welcome. It’s been a really nice night. Fun too.’

He grinned back. That grin. Wow.

We didn’t have far to walk but spending time with Dennis had been lovely. And if I could get over this silly little crush, which I appeared to have, it seemed like we could become good friends. I didn’t really want the night to end, though, not just yet.

‘It’s a lovely clear night,’ he said. ‘Fancy a walk along the beach?’

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