Page 43 of The Cornish Cream Tea Bookshop
‘Everything in balance,’ he said. ‘That’s my motto. And it fulfilled the thing I loved most about being a trainer, which is talking to people, being sociable. In a lot of ways, it’s even better, because I meet a lot more people, I get toserve customers all day. Some I see several times a week, others I only meet once. But I make them happy: less hungry; more fulfilled. When I was a trainer, my clients were mostly happy in the long term, but when they came to see me? Not so much.’
‘Was it a lot of tough love?’ she asked.
‘Oh yeah. I wasn’t there to go easy on people. I worked them hard.’
His words sank into her like syrup. She didn’t want her mind to follow the path it was heading down, so she took another large gulp of wine and said, ‘If you don’t mind me saying, you still look pretty … healthy.’
He nodded. ‘Apart from not killing myself in the gym, I’m leading a completely normal life. There’s a chance of it coming back, but it’s slim.’
‘What happened when … when you got it? Do you mind me asking?’
He shook his head. ‘I’d been feeling ill for a few days: bad nausea, and like I couldn’t take a proper breath. It was January, so I thought it was flu, but then, one day – I’d just got home from the gym – I felt off. Strange in a way I can’t really describe. Then I started seeing flashes of light, had darkness at the edge of my vision. Then I woke up in hospital.’
‘Shit. That sounds so scary. Were you living alone then, too?’
‘No, I was living with my girlfriend. I was lucky she was there, even if we didn’t last much longer after that. My recovery was slow, and I guess – well, it was a lot for her to take on board.’
‘You too, though!’ Ollie couldn’t help saying. ‘Youmorethan her.’
He shrugged, smiled at her, and she knew he didn’t want to go down that road.
‘Anyway,’ she went on, ‘when I said you looked healthy, I didn’t just mean that you don’t look like an ill person. You still look …’ She bit her lip, then leaned over and squeezed his bicep. They’d taken their coats off in the pub, and he was wearing a speckled blue long-sleeved T-shirt that hugged his torso.
He raised an eyebrow, amused. ‘I look …?’
She rolled her eyes, but she was glad he was making her say it: bringing lightness and flirtation back to the table. ‘You look like you still take care of yourself. Like you could be Mr May in the Port Karadow Hot Business Owners calendar.’
‘Is that something you’re bringing in next year?’
Ollie pursed her lips. ‘Definitely considering it, now that I’ve invented it.’
‘Keep me in mind.’
‘You’re at the top of the list. If I can’t find anyone else, you’ll have to dress up in different outfits for every month. And when I sayoutfits,I mean togas, swimming shorts, maybe just a big bunch of sunflowers covering the pertinent bits for August.’
‘I can almost see your cogs turning.’
‘This actually might have to happen, now. But what I’m saying is, you look incredibly fit.’
He grinned, then rubbed his knuckles against his shirt. ‘I try my best,’ he said, but then his smile slipped. ‘I walk a lot, and I do yoga every week, at a class here in Porthgolow, in fact. At Crystal Waters, the hotel on top of the cliff. I try and stay healthy without pushing myself.’
‘Sounds good,’ Ollie murmured. Her thoughts were racing – not with made-up calendar poses – but with all the things she wanted to say to him. She would never have guessed he’d been through something so traumatic.Inflammation of the heart.He hadn’t said as much, but the fact that he’d had to change his career, his whole outlook, made her pretty certain that it was a serious, possibly life-threatening, condition. And there she’d been, griping about her aching shoulder. ‘But you’re always so sunny!’ That was her next thought. Sadly, it had also burst out of her mouth.
Max’s gaze was serious. ‘I have a lot to be thankful for. The fact that I’ve recovered, that I’ve found something else I love doing. That I live where I do. That people ask for my advice about coffee machines, and I end up here, having early Christmas drinks with fiery booksellers.’
‘I’m very thankful for that, too,’ Ollie said, emotion unexpectedly clogging her throat. She had given up trying to find Max’s flaws. Every new revelation made him go up in her estimation.
‘Come to yoga with me one weekend, if you like?’
Ollie didn’t have to think about it. ‘I’d love to. And next time I hunt down one of those legends, you have to come with me and Henry to find it.’
‘Absolutely,’ he said. ‘I’m glad we’ve got a plan.’
‘Why?’ Ollie asked, as they clinked glasses, sealing the deal.
‘Because I was starting to panic, scrambling for an excuse to see you again, outside of chai tea latte time.’
Ollie’s laugh revealed her delighted surprise. ‘Well, now we’ve got two whole reasons, both of which could be recurring.’
