Page 18 of The Little Shop on Silver Linings Street
She did; she was gasping.
Moments later he returned. ‘So then,’ he said, handing her a mug. ‘Ethereal man is now Secret Agent man. Do tell…’ His eyes were watching hers over the rim of his mug as he drank.
Damn, she thought she had got away with it.
‘I mean, the day before yesterday you didn’t know who he was and yet today, he’s inviting you round to dinner. That’s fast work, Daisy. I’m impressed.’
‘Yes, with hispartner, Kit. Honestly, Amos is old enough, well not quite old enough, to be my—’ She stopped, she didn’t want to use the worddad… ‘Well, he’s considerably older than me anyway, and spoken for. I met him yesterday, that’s all, on a course. A coincidence admittedly, but nothing more than that.’
‘Daisy, I’m just teasing…’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘Although I would like to know what he meant when he said that you were going to be making a piece of jewellery? Because as far as I’m aware, you just sell the stuff…’
She opened her mouth to protest but nothing came out. What would she say? Kit would see through her in a moment if she attempted to lie. Instead she tried to shrug it off.
‘I think calling it jewellery is rather overegging the pudding,’ she said. ‘I make stuff out of clay, it’s little more than a hobby and a bit of fun, that’s all. You couldn’t even begin to compare it with proper jewellery.’
‘I see…’ He frowned. ‘But then how did Amos get to hear about it?’
She took a swallow of her tea while she thought, fast. ‘I was wearing a string of beads on the course yesterday which Amos saw, well, he and Grace both did.’ She was thinking on her feet, but it sounded plausible. At least she thought it did. ‘Grace complimented me on them and so, later on, when she wasn’t around, Amos asked me if I could make her some as a Christmas present.’
‘I can’t imagine you wearing beads,’ he said, his head cocked to one side as he looked her up and down.
Daisy kept the smile glued on her face despite her rising anxiety. ‘I do have a life outside of the shop, you know. And I wear all sorts of things, most of them very different from what I wear here. I’m sure you do the same.’
Kit looked down at his jeans and blue linen shirt. ‘Nah, this is pretty much it actually. Not always a blue shirt admittedly but, well, you get the idea.’ He scrutinised her for a few long seconds. ‘Ah well, that explains it then.’ He took a sip of his tea. ‘Right, so what do you want to do first?’ he added, changing the subject.
Daisy heaved a sigh of relief and looked around her. ‘Let’s get everything in the safe. I polish better when the counters are empty.’
She began to unlock the cabinets, Kit following suit on the other side of the room. It was a laborious process but they had done it so many times that it had a rhythm all of its own and she was grateful that it meant neither of them had to say a word.
‘Bit weird though, don’t you think?’ asked Kit, a minute later.
‘What is?’ asked Daisy as she stood by the safe waiting for Kit to hand her another selection of jewellery.
‘Amos…’ Kit paused for a moment, looking up at her, a puzzled expression on his face. ‘Or maybe, not weird as such, I dunno, but very indecisive at least.’
‘Sorry, Kit, I’m still not following you.’
‘Well, Amos comes in here, a day or so ago, has a quick look around and when he can’t find what he’s looking for, tries to explain what he wants but comes up with the word ethereal to describe it.’
‘Yes, but what’s odd about that? A lot of people have something in mind but can’t quite explain what they’re looking for.’
Kit shook his head. ‘No, that’s not the bit that’s odd… It’s just that, well, no offence, Daisy, I’m sure your jewellery is lovely, but clay beads aren’t exactly ethereal, are they?’
She turned back to place a necklace into the safe, her cheeks burning. She was certain they were bright red.
‘No, I guess not…’ Aim for casual, she told herself, nonchalant. ‘Maybe he changed his mind about that. But then Grace, that’s his partner, loves flowers and wears everything in bright clashing colours, so perhaps he thought that my beads were a better fit after all.’ Dear God, never let them meet. Or never let him meet Grace and Flora together. ‘And, at the end of the day, he’s paying me for the present, so what do I care?’
‘Ah, materialism at its finest,’ replied Kit, and she could hear the grin in his voice.
She gritted her teeth. She wasn’t sure what was worse – being caught out in a lie or being thought of as something she abhorred. It was intensely annoying, but she couldn’t argue; given what she’d just said, it was a valid response. And if Kit carried on making the kind of observations he seemed to be rather good at, she’d end up telling him everything, and that couldn’t happen under any circumstances. She’d never be able to look any of them in the eye again.
‘Yes, but you said it, Kit, they’re clay beads. It’s costing Amos a tenner, that’s all. I don’t think that’s going to put me into the high earners’ tax bracket, do you? Blimey, it’s probably not even enough to buy your Christmas present with.’
‘You’ve never bought me a Christmas present before…’
It was true, she hadn’t. She didn’t know what had made her say it.
She snatched the ring box from out of his hand. ‘Yes, but this could well be our last Christmas here, Kit, both of us. I thought I might as well push the boat out.’
