Page 44 of The Cornish Christmas Book Clu
Finding out they had a new part-time assistant would be another surprise for Tamara later.
* * *
It wasn’t in Tamara’s nature to be jealous, especially of her friends, but tonight was a challenge. She stopped wiping down the bar for a moment and watched Melissa and Nathanenviously, cosied up by the fireplace over a bottle of wine. Evelyn and Ophelia huddled around a table by the window, laughing over one of Quinten’s stories. Thanks to Ophelia’s persistence, the couple had been reunited and he was once more a fixture at the bungalow. Evelyn was looking particularly pretty tonight in a turquoise wool dress. Her burnished silver hair was caught back loosely at the sides with a pair of antique silver clips fashioned into twisted Celtic knots.
Now their children were older, Becky sometimes left the older kids to look after the younger ones and eat pizza, so they must’ve done this tonight as she and Paul were enjoying a meal together. Josie and Harry were chattering and laughing while they played darts, badly. Even Laura and Barry had popped in for a quick drink because her mother was babysitting little Josephine.
Was it foolish to imagine she and Gage could be the same one day? She stared greedily at Gage, propped on a stool at the other end of the bar, listening to Jimmy Trevail’s woes. After the bookshop had opened a week ago, he’d moved back into the flat over the shop so there were no more friendly chats over breakfast or late-night cups of tea. No kisses either.
She and Gage were very much at ease with each other these days, and the shiver of excitement that ran through her every time she set eyes on him hadn’t lessened one bit, but neither seemed ready to take the next step. Or at least they hadn’t said so aloud. If she made the first move and it frightened Gage off, where would that leave them?
Right now, though, all she wanted was to go home, unwind in a hot bubble bath and crawl into bed. Even that would be far later than it should be, because Christos had bailed again. His excuses were sounding thinner and thinner to her, but when she’d hinted along those lines to Pixie it hadn’t gone down well. No one wanted to believe their dream was falling apart.
Gage met her gaze and ended his conversation with Jimmy to start heading her way. Before she’d had a chance to beg Pixie for a ten-minute break, another customer pounced on her.
‘Any chance of getting served tonight, gorgeous? Or you can flash your tits. Either will do.’ The ruddy-faced man leered at her breasts.
His crude comment was no worse than a million others she’d tolerated over the years, and a sharp putdown was usually all it took. For some reason she saw red. It must’ve shown on her face because out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Harry keeping a wary eye on them. Despite being off duty, his policeman’s internal radar was still switched on.
‘You don’t speak to my staff that way.’ Pixie muscled her way in. ‘Get out of my pub and don’t come back. You’re barred.’
‘I’m pretty sure you don’t want to do that, little lady. I’ll spread it around Trelawney Court — and they’re people with plenty of moolah — that this place is a dump.’ He looked around the pub with a sneer. ‘You can’t afford to lose our business.’ He ogled Tamara again. ‘Maybe you haven’t been in the job long, love, but keeping the punters happy is what it’s all about.’
‘Thanks for the advice.’ Her sweet tone should’ve been a warning, but the idiot was too full of himself to realise. ‘I hope this keeps you happy.’ Tamara leaned forward to give him another eyeful of cleavage. The distraction worked perfectly, and he never noticed her picking up a full pint off the bar. ‘Beer makes a great shampoo, and your pathetic comb-over certainly needs help.’ She ceremoniously dumped the whole thing over his head.
‘What the fuck! You stupid cow.’ He pushed strands of wet hair out of his face and glowered at Pixie. ‘If you don’t fire her, I’ll sue you.’
Although she trusted her friend to step up and defend her, Tamara knew she’d overstepped the line.
‘Don’t worry, I quit.’ A tangled knot of guilt and relief took up residence in her stomach. ‘Sorry to leave you in the lurch, Pixie, but you don’t want me here any longer today, trust me. We’ll talk tomorrow.’
‘I’ll take you home.’ Gage’s dark, flinty eyes bored into the other man and she guessed his self-control hung by a thread.
All she could do was nod, desperate to get out of there before she broke down. Tamara stuck her chin in the air and took Gage’s arm.
Long before they made it to the door, loud clapping filled the pub, accompanied by the noisy stomp of feet on the wooden floors. She didn’t dare turn around when raucous cheers of ‘you go, girl’ from her friends and regulars rang out. Only when the fresh air hit, along with the full impact of what she’d done, did her knees buckle and threaten to pull her to the ground. If Gage hadn’t kept a firm grip on her waist, she would’ve faceplanted on the pavement.
‘I was damn proud of you back there. You know I would’ve—’
‘Thumped him. I got that impression. I should’ve handled it better. I’ve been doing this job for a decade and never physically assaulted a customer before tonight.’
‘He deserved it.’ Gage’s eyes crinkled. ‘If it’d been left to me, he’d have more to worry about now than wet hair.’
Tamara buried her head in his chest and sobbed.
Gage’s arms wrapped around her, so she felt safe and cared for.
‘Let’s get you home.’
It hovered on the tip of her tongue to ask him to stay with her, but she couldn’t force the words out.
‘I want to be with you too, but not because you’re angry and frustrated about what just happened.’ His face creased into a wry smile.
Knowing he’d read her mind gave Tamara the courage she needed. She was aware of throwing caution to the wind, but was too fired up to stop now. ‘It might not be “sensible” but I detest that word. Absolutely detest it. In fact, I’d ban it from the dictionary.’
Her vehemence made him smile.
‘I’ve had to be sensible since I was seventeen and it gets to me sometimes.’
