Page 39 of Falling in Love at Pennycress Inn

‘Thanks, but my neighbour changed it. Right, give me two seconds and I’ll be with you.’ Nancy took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders back before fixing a smile. ‘There, ready. You go and support Laura.’

‘You sure?’ Jackson waited until Nancy had nodded and began serving the next customer before grabbing himself a drink and slipping out from behind the bar.

‘That was good timing.’ Charlie nodded as they made their way towards the dartboard.

Jackson waved to Laura as she stood waiting her turn and blew her a kiss before settling against a table and taking a sip of his drink.

Leaning back against the table next to Jackson, Charlie pulled Nicola towards him so her back was resting against his chest and his arm around her waist. ‘Can you see from here?’

‘Yes.’ Nicola smiled, the weight of his arm around her a comfort, and placed her hand over his.

They watched as Laura took her turn, the darts flying through the air before landing just where she wanted them to. Nicola had never learned the rules of darts, but by the reaction of her teammates, Laura must have got the points they had needed to win the game.

‘Well done, Laura!’ Pushing himself away from the table, Jackson clapped his hands above his head, his drink slightly spilling as he did so. ‘That’s my girl!’

Nicola clapped as she watched Laura’s teammates hug and high-five each other. Slowly, the crowds dispersed, and Laura came towards them.

‘You were epic! Well done.’ Jackson drew Laura in for a huge hug before pulling away and kissing her.

‘Well done, Laura. That was great.’ Nicola grinned as Charlie joined in with congratulating her.

‘Thanks, it was a tough match.’ Laura glanced towards a teammate and high-fived them before turning her attention back to them. ‘I can’t quite believe we won! The other team are higher than us in the league.’

‘Ah, but how many matches have you had unbeaten so far this season?’ Jackson laid an arm around her shoulders.

‘Five I think?’ Laura grinned.

‘See, you need to have more faith in yourselves.’ Jackson kissed her again as her teammates returned, brandishing a bottle of bubbly.

‘Shall we go and see if there’s a table outside? Let the winners celebrate?’ Charlie spoke quietly.

‘Good idea.’ Reluctant to step away from his hold, Nicola took his hand and led the way outside.

With the sky clear of clouds, the stars above them made the perfect backdrop to such a perfect evening. Sitting down at one of the wooden picnic tables, she waited until Charlie had got comfy opposite her before holding up her glass.

‘To new beginnings.’

‘To new beginnings.’ Charlie clinked glasses before holding his up again. ‘To us.’

‘To us.’ Nicola took a small sip of her wine. She could feel herself falling for him. After the way Nathan had treated her, she’d accepted she was facing a future of being alone, her heart too broken and her trust too shattered to even think about dating again, but then Charlie had come along and she found herself at the beginning of this new adventure and suddenly things felt exciting again and she was realising that her life wasn’t mapped out in front of her anymore, not as she’d assumed it would be, anyway.

‘You look very serious.’ Charlie leaned slightly forward, the moonlight glistening in his eyes.

She shrugged. She couldn’t very well admit she’d believed she’d been left on the shelf, could she? ‘I was just thinking that unexpected things happen still. I mean, I never in a million years thought we’d be sitting opposite each other on a date now when I first met you.’

Chuckling, he leaned back, running his fingers through his hair. ‘I was that bad, hey?’

‘Uh, just slightly.’ She laughed.

‘Sorry, I’ve just had so much on my mind, what with the farm and having to step away from my life in London.’ He grimaced. ‘I was pretty grouchy, wasn’t I?’

She nodded. ‘Just a little.’

He shifted on the bench. ‘I hope your delightful ex has been leaving you alone now?’

‘Umm, I saw him in the village centre earlier and he tried to speak to me.’ She rolled her eyes at the memory. ‘I just don’t understand. He was the one who cheated on me. I actually found them in our cottage, and now he thinks he can just waltz back into my life, and I’d let him stay with me until he found a place of his own. It doesn’t make any sense. He doesn’t make any sense.’

‘Yikes. I’m sorry to hear that. I didn’t realise he’d cheated on you.’ Reaching across the table, he took her hand in his. ‘I gathered he wasn’t the nicest of people even just from my short encounter with him, but to cheat…’

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