Page 14 of The Happy Hour
Jess wasn’t surprised that Ash hadn’t shown. He’d been fun but evasive, a bright spot in an ordinary week, and she’d made the mistake of getting her hopes up, letting in the spark of possibility that she could spend an hour with a handsome stranger and that he’d want to see her again.
The friends left with wide smiles and full paper bags, and the clocks ticked loudly in the quiet, telling her it was just after half past twelve. She tried to put her disappointment into a box.
‘You still need to eat,’ Wendy said, ‘even if your plans have fallen through.’
‘I’ll get a muffin,’ she said automatically.
‘Good choice.’ Jess recognised the deep voice, and she looked up to see Ash standing in the doorway, wearing his grey jacket, jeans and a dusty blue jumper. He was holding two takeaway coffees, and his smile was hesitant. ‘I’m so sorry. Can you still take a break? I understand if I’m too late.’
‘Ash,’ she blurted. ‘I—’
‘I was just about to force her out of the door,’ Wendy said. ‘Take her, please.’
He didn’t. Instead he waited, dipped his head slightly and said, ‘Jess?’
She stood, frozen on the spot.
‘I really am sorry,’ he said.
She picked up her bag from behind the till. ‘I can come for a bit, I suppose.’
His shoulders dropped, his smile widening. ‘Great. I got you an Americano, because of last weekend, but I also have cappuccino if you’d prefer that.’ He held up the cups. ‘I love the shop,’ he added, as Jess got her jacket.
‘Thank you,’ Wendy said. ‘I’m Wendy. Lovely to meet you, Ash.’
‘You too,’ Ash replied. ‘I particularly like the hares.’ He gestured to the shelf where they sat, looking menacing, and Jess wondered if it was rude to push a man you’d only met once before. Instead, she tugged his jacket until he was facing the door and then, when he made no move to walk through it, she pressed her hand between his shoulder blades and nudged him forwards. His jacket was soft against her palm and she felt the thrill of putting her hand on him – like something forbidden.
‘You did that on purpose,’ she said, once they were in the narrow walkway outside the shop.
He looked at her. ‘No I didn’t.’
‘You don’t even know what I’m talking about. Can I have my coffee?’
‘Not yet. It’s busy in here, you might get knocked.’
‘And you have a forcefield around you, I suppose?’ She waited a beat, then added, ‘I didn’t think you were going to turn up.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ he said again. ‘This morning didn’t go as planned.’
‘Aren’t you going to be late for your thing? It’s in twenty minutes, isn’t it?’
‘I can still have an hour with you. I called ahead, made sure I could be late, just this once.’
‘For me?’
‘For you.’ He nodded, his smile a flicker and then gone. ‘Shall we get going? We don’t want to miss it.’
‘Miss what?’ Jess asked, but Ash was already ahead of her, weaving between parents with children so small you didn’t see them until the last minute; couples who had decided Sundays were for strolling, no matter the crush; tourists looking at maps to determine which exit they needed for their next destination. Jess noticed that, as he passed the other stalls, Ash nodded hellos. To Olga – which wasn’t a surprise considering she’d seen him goofing around with her hats – but then he said hello to Susie on the Better Babies stall, and Enzo as they passed his elegant display of earrings and necklaces, the gold winking in the sunshine. Jess waved and smiled too, of course, but she worked there.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked, once they’d left the alley at the top of the market, going past the baker’s that smelled of warm, fresh bread, doughy and irresistible.
‘I thought we’d make the most of my lateness.’ Ash glanced at his watch. ‘We’ve got ten minutes.’
‘Until what?’ They waited to cross the road, tourists banked up at the crossing like runners at the start of a marathon.
Ash nudged her arm with his elbow, still holding firmly onto the takeaway mugs. ‘Patience.’
‘Really?’ Jess laughed. ‘I already had to wait over half an hour for you. I didn’t have to come.’
