Page 28 of Winter at Wishington Bay
‘Better when he’s awake, though, as a general rule.’
‘Yep.’
‘Thanks for this,’ I said, gulping the hot liquid down and tidying the kitchen a bit as I did, killing two birds with one stone.
‘You don’t need to scald your throat. No rush. But I’ll get out of your way.’
‘Thank you for lunch. It was lovely.’
‘That was all down to you.’
‘The company wasn’t, and nor was the offer. So, thank you. Just accept the damn gratitude, will you?’ I laughed.
He gave the briefest head tilt of acceptance. ‘OK. Thank you. It was lovely. And novel. I can’t remember the last time I had lunch without my eyes being focused on a document or screen.’
‘Really? And you still manage not to drop anything on your tie. I’m impressed. I can’t always manage that even when I’m concentrating. Much to my mother’s eternal shame.’
‘I can’t imagine anyone ever being ashamed of you.’
How little he knew…
‘That’s sweet of you, thanks. But you really should take time out to eat lunch properly.’
‘Actually, eating lunch at all is a bit of a novelty unless it’s a business one. The one at Ned’s the other day was my first experience of sitting down to lunch as an exercise in itself, for no other reason than to actually eat lunch, in as long as I can remember. And that was only after being castigated by you that I wasn’t taking advantage of my surroundings.’
‘It was?’
‘Yes. Why do you think I looked so much like a fish out of water?’
‘You didn’t.’
‘I kind of asked you to join me then, except obviously I knew it was impossible as you were on duty. I felt so odd.’
‘You looked fine. Nobody thinks anything of people eating on their own. Especially these days. Everyone is so wrapped up in themselves or have their faces stuck to their phones. It’s habit. Getting comfortable in your own company? It’s a good thing to work on.’
‘You’re saying I’m likely to be that way for some time so get used to it?’
‘No!’ I replied, my mouth in a horrified ‘O’ shape. ‘That’s not what I meant at all!’
And then I saw the merest twinkle in his eye.
‘You’re teasing me.’
‘Only partly.’
‘Hmm. Well, I’ll let you off. One time deal though.’
‘I’ll remember that. Thanks.’
‘Right. I’m going to finish off upstairs.’
‘I’d better go and do some writing before the pooch wakes up and wants another walk.’
We looked down.
‘No danger of that any time soon,’ I grinned. ‘You could always follow his lead. No pun intended.’
Nate’s brows knitted together.
