Page 22 of Starting Over at Halesmere House
‘And we’ll see. He’s attractive of course, but he might not view me in the same way, and he doesn’t live here. I’m happy to be making a friend with whom I share some interests and an occasional walking buddy would be nice.’
‘Then I hope your friendship makes you both happy.’ Alice was delighted for her aunt, however sensibly Sandy was approaching this new connection. ‘You’ve been divorced for ages; you deserve a lovely time with someone else.’
Inside the pub, the buzz and live music was different from the usual atmosphere. Alice quickly checked out each room in turn but other than seeing Lizzie and Cal at the bar with people she didn’t know, there was no sign of Zac yet.
Sandy raised a hand to Stan and Pearl, who were waving them over to a table in the centre of the pub’s three rooms, and she tucked her arm through Alice’s. ‘Come on, looks like they’ve saved us a place. My feet will thank them later.’
Ella was there too, and Stan was hovering, making sure she had enough room for her bump. She caught Alice’s eye, and they shared a grin. Regular dining had been suspended for tonight, and the pub was packed. The smallest room had been taken over by a buffet and Alice recognised most of the artists from Halesmere scattered through the building. Luke, Marta and Max were also at the bar, and everyone was trying to catch Lizzie and Cal’s attention so they could congratulate them. Alice offered to go and fetch drinks for her table, and she joined the throng. A few people moved away and she managed to congratulate Lizzie and Cal, raising her voice over the band playing in a corner.
Lizzie, with her long blonde hair swept up, was stunning in a blue dress and Cal was in a kilt. His dad’s Sutherland tartan, he explained with a grin, pointing out a tall, craggy man further along the bar, and the resemblance was clear. Cal’s reality TV star client had also just arrived and was causing a bit of a stir as he live-streamed his way to the bar, and Lizzie was laughing as Cal pulled a wry face.
Alice had checked with Sandy earlier about gifts, and she’d told her that Lizzie and Cal would like donations, if anyone wanted to make one in lieu of presents, to a charity supporting young people coming out of care. Sandy had explained the connection, that Cal had grown up partly in care in Belfast and had met Lizzie at the Hart when he’d first moved to Cumbria over ten years ago.
A heady sense of new adventure was filling Alice with anticipation, and she found it easier than she’d expected to get swept up in the joyous and lively atmosphere. She’d carried the company’s load for so long and she was still getting used to the realisation it had gone. No longer did she have eighty employees to manage, clients’ demands to meet and a hefty budget to balance. But awareness that she was far from alone at Halesmere brought another flare of happiness. No matter how hushed the barn was when she came home every night, she had friends here and was determined to make a success of this move. She was part of this place, and tonight she wanted to enjoy every second.
When Max set off for their table with a tray of drinks, she caught his eye.
‘Sorry, Alice,’ he called over the din. ‘I didn’t realise you were there. Next one’s on us.’
‘It’s fine,’ she shouted back. ‘Another time. And I really ought to be buying you a drink to say thanks for giving me a chance with a garden.’
‘No thanks required – it’s a load off my mind.’ Max was holding his tray aloft and he grinned as the crowd swallowed him up.
‘Your turn, Harvey. I’ve been looking for you.’ Zac’s voice above her left shoulder sent a quiver racing down her back and she looked up at him without moving her head to see laughter dancing in his eyes.
‘That makes two of us, because I’ve been looking for you,’ she replied boldly. She’d re-read his messages this morning and the meaning was clear. They were flirting, and she needed only this greeting to understand he was picking up right where they’d left off last night.
‘So are you going to buy me that drink?’
‘I think the first one’s on Lizzie and Cal.’ Alice instinctively leaned closer to make sure he’d heard. It was three deep at the bar and still more people were arriving. ‘But tell me what you want, and I’ll pay for it now. It’ll be ages before we get served again.’
‘What I want?’ He quirked a brow and her breath caught.
‘To drink.’ Her heart was hammering, and she couldn’t look away.
‘A bottle of that, please.’ He pointed to something in a fridge behind the bar.
‘Right. Don’t you ever drink alcohol?’ All those messages and searching her out here for one inexpensive bottle of non-alcoholic beer? Anticipation raced through her mind again.
He shrugged. ‘I’m driving.’
‘From Halesmere?’ She hadn’t been expecting that. ‘I thought you’d have walked.’
‘I’m supposed to be dropping a couple of people back, so, no. Not tonight.’
‘Okay. So is my next drink on you?’
‘Definitely. Are you planning to leave early?’
‘No.I’m having too much fun to go back to an empty house on my own.’
Zac had one elbow on the bar, and when someone crashed into him from behind, he was sent staggering into Alice. She couldn’t have moved out of his way even if she’d seen it coming; a woman pressed in the space to her right kept knocking her arm and muttering apologies.
Desire was a blast racing through her as his body connected with hers, firing her senses in a way she hadn’t even thought possible. Alice wasn’t expecting the firm press of his chest against her breasts, eyes level with his jaw, and her smile fled. She tilted her head to see his gaze lingering on her mouth and her lips parted, issuing their own invitation about what she wanted.
‘Sorry.’ He caught her elbow to steady her.
‘It’s fine.’ Those two words were all she had right now, his fingers gentle through the thin material.
