Page 35 of Sunny Sundays at Primrose Hall

‘You were miles away there.’ Katy shook her head, laughing. ‘I was just saying that you and Tom seem to be getting on pretty well these days.’ There was an implied question in Katy’s wide-eyed expression which Sophie chose to ignore.

‘Yeah, he’s really nice, isn’t he? We were chatting about the workshops that he’s organising for later in the year. I think they’re a really good idea, but I know I’ll be nervous when it comes to it. I’ve never really shown anyone else how I work and I’m afraid that I’ll be found out, that someone will tell me I’m not doing it properly. Do you ever feel like that with your work?’ Sophie asked.

Now it was Katy’s turn to ignore a question and instead focus on something else she had on her mind.

‘Do you think that there might be anything else on the cards for you and Tom, though? You seem so good together and there’s nothing stopping you. You’re both free and single.’

Sophie smiled, wondering if it was possible that Katy was a mind-reader. She gave a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders, a smile playing on her lips, which told Katy everything she needed to know.

‘I thought so! Do you want me to have a quiet word with Tom, hurry things along a little? You know, I’d be ever so discreet.’

‘Absolutely not,’ Sophie said emphatically. The last thing she wanted was Katy’s well-intentioned meddling. Besides, she was a grown woman, not a love-sick teenager. She was more than capable of sorting out her own love life, if she needed to. ‘Honestly, we do get on well, but we’re just good friends. I don’t think either of us is looking for anything more at the moment.’ And as she said it, she could hear how convincing it sounded, even if Katy’s disappointment was all too apparent.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. There was a steady flow of visitors and Sophie enjoyed chatting to those who stopped to look around her stall, hearing where they’d come from and why they were here today. If they were true motor car enthusiasts or whether they’d simply come for a day out in the beautiful English countryside. She handed out a lot of her business cards and sold plenty of items too. It was interesting to see which of her pieces of jewellery were popular with her customers as it gave a good indication of where she should concentrate her efforts on replenishing her stocks. It gave her a sense of pride to hear people talk so positively about her work and it also gave her the confidence to consider her next moves in growing her small business.

‘Are we going to the pub?’ Katy asked later, as the traders were packing up their wares at the end of the day.

‘Silly question,’ piped up Mike. ‘Of course we’re going to the pub after all our hard graft here. I think we deserve a celebratory drink, don’t you?’

Katy and Sophie laughed, because although they had been manning their stalls since early this morning, it really didn’t feel like work to be here, in such a beautiful setting, amongst their fellow crafters, enjoying the chatter and ambience of such a special day.

‘Ah, your ears must have been burning,’ said Mike, as the doors to the stables opened and Tom strolled in. ‘We were just talking about going to the pub.’

‘That is good timing then. Count me in.’ He glanced across at Sophie and she smiled before returning to the job in hand, aware of Katy’s eagle eyes upon them both.

Everyone was in high spirits as they sat in the garden at the Three Feathers, revelling in the success of the day and enjoying the company of their friends, who understood the sense of satisfaction at sharing their creations with people who were willing to spend money on them. Laughter rang out and Sophie chatted with Josh and Cecily, who sat on either side of her. Occasionally she would look up and catch Tom’s eye from across the table and she would give a shy smile, feeling suddenly self-conscious after her earlier conversation with Katy. Perhaps she’d built up her connection with Tom into something it really wasn’t.

Sophie went up to the bar with Cecily to order another round of drinks and while they were waiting, Tom sidled up next to her.

‘How are you?’ he asked, with what was becoming a familiar smile that spoke directly to her insides.

‘Really good, thank you. Wasn’t it such a brilliant day? I hope Pia has forgiven Jackson. She was in a state of shock when he turned up like that.’

‘Yep, what I’ve learned about my brother in the short amount of time that I’ve come to know him is that he is full of surprises, but I think it’s all smoothed over now,’ he said, with a low chuckle.

‘That’s a relief and oh, I’m sorry about the ice cream. I hope you’ve forgiven me.’

‘Absolutely nothing to forgive, although… if you were to ever try that again then, you know, I might not be responsible for my actions.’ There was a devilish glint in Tom’s eyes and Sophiethought she quite liked the sound of whatever it was he had in mind. ‘Look, I’m going to have to shoot off. I want to pop back to the hall to check that everything’s been cleared away. I don’t want Pia waking up to an almighty mess in the morning, but hopefully we can get together again soon.’

‘Yes, that would be lovely.’ Sophie plastered on a smile, hoping it would hide her disappointment. She’d entertained the idea of the two of them staying behind at the pub together again to have a proper catch-up after everyone else had left.

‘I would offer to cook for you, repay your hospitality from the other night, but I think I’ve mentioned that my kitchen is the size of a cupboard and I probably don’t have the necessary equipment to rustle up much of a dinner, other than a ready meal in the microwave.’

It made Sophie smile.

‘Don’t worry. You could always come to mine again or we could grab a takeaway?’

‘Or we could go out to dinner? If you fancied it? No pressure.’

‘That sounds…’ It sounded full of possibilities and sent a swirl of excitement around her body. Her mouth twisted involuntarily as she tried to contain her enthusiasm. ‘…nice,’ she said, as casually as she could muster.

‘Great. Well, let me just firm up on what I’m doing this week and then I’ll drop you a text and we can get something sorted.’

‘Sounds like a plan,’ she said, cringing as she said it. She blushed and suspected she was sporting a gormless expression too. She only hoped that Tom would overlook just how awkward she was in the face of a simple invitation to dinner.

24

Pia woke late on Sunday morning. She’d slept heavily as the stresses and the strains of the previous week had finally caught up with her and after a couple of well-deserved large glasses of red wine last night she’d collapsed into bed and slept right through. It was a surprise when she pulled off her eye mask, her sight adjusting to the light coming through the bedroom window, and she saw on the bedside clock that it was past nine o’clock. She never slept that late and her immediate thought was for the dogs, who would be champing at the bit to get outdoors. She pushed herself up and gave a glance around the room and found them still happily curled up in their beds. She sank back down beneath the covers, relishing the moment of peace and solitude. It was a relief that she didn’t have to worry about the car show any longer, well, not for another year at least. It was all behind them and according to the exhibitors and visitors alike, it had been a huge success. Once she’d got over her anxiety and nerves, she had really enjoyed the day and even Jackson’s impromptu visit hadn’t entirely spoilt things for her.

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