Page 17 of Winter at Wishington Bay
‘You said there was soup for lunch. If you don’t come until later, it’ll be too late.’
I stared at him for a moment. ‘How are you and Gabe even related?’ I said, wrestling the tub from my bag and thrusting it at him. ‘There. There’s your soup. You’re welcome.’
Bryan’s lead tightened a little and we both looked down to see him trying to snuggle across Nate’s boots so that, even despite his posh new warm coat, he could lay down with the least amount of tummy on the cold pavement.
‘You should get him home before he gets too cold. What time shall I come to clean?’ All the friendliness of yesterday had evaporated and I felt a knot in my stomach. I knew I’d made a promise that I’d try and cheer Nate up while he was here in order to repay Gabe and Holly for their friendship, but it was just too damn hard. Nate was clearly used to people waiting on him, having the best things in life, and not appreciating any of it. Stupidly I, like many I suspected, had been taken in by that smile. He might have some sadness still darkening his mood, but looking like he did, there was no way he’d be lonely for long. So long as the woman in question wasn’t terribly bothered about manners…
‘Now.’
‘Pardon?’
‘You were on your way when I bumped into you, weren’t you?’
‘Yes. But that was when I thought you were going to be out.’
He moved to shift his weight and then stopped as he noticed Bryan resting comfortably across the top of his boots. He lifted his gaze from the dog to me. ‘I’ll lift my feet up when you vacuum and everything. I promise. And I make a mean hot chocolate. I think we’ll both need a bit of thawing out by the time we get there.’
See? I wish he wouldn’t do that. Just when I was wholly convinced he was a total arse, he’d go and say something endearing. It was really, really annoying. I lifted my head. The arrogance was gone, replaced by that sense of… almost as though he were unsure. Out of his depth. But how could that be right?
‘You made it quite clear that you’d prefer me to do the housekeeping when you were out the last time I was there.’
‘Actually, no. You put those terms in place. Not me.’
‘You didn’t argue.’
‘You didn’t give me a chance. You’re kind of formidable when you’re riled up.’
‘I was not riled up!’
‘Yeah. You were. Kind of like you are now. And when you shoved this at me.’ He held up the soup container.
‘Well, you’re rude! And unappreciative.’
Oh, my God. I was stood on the pavement having an argument with a man I barely knew, hurling insults at him. I could hear my mother’s voice now – ‘like a common fishwife!’
‘Nothing I haven’t been called before but I’d like to apologise this time, because I never meant to be either.’ He removed his hat, ran a hand over the short, dark hair and yanked it back on. ‘Please come back to the house with me. I don’t care if you clean or not but I’d really like to share this with you.’ He nodded at the container.
The sincerity in his voice and eyes took all my bluster away.
‘I made it for you.’
He grinned. Almost laughed. Almost. ‘I’ve got a pretty healthy appetite but this looks like it could feed a whole family. Please?’ he asked again.
I felt a pull inside me and nodded.
‘Thank you.’
I shook my head and hoiked my bag higher onto my shoulder.
‘Let me take that,’ Nate said, reaching for it.
‘No, really. It’s fine.’
‘I’ll swap you for Bryan?’ he gave me a slight eyebrow raise. Without waiting for an answer, he slipped the lead off his wrist and over my own in the same swift motion as relieving me of the bag. Opening it momentarily, he placed the soup tub back in.
‘Something else in there smells really good!’
‘It’s a clementine cake.’
