Page 19 of A Christmas Celebration
Glowering seemed to be his go-to look, where Bran and I were concerned at least. I couldn’t imagine the group admiring him in the gallery had been on the receiving end of such hostility. Their esteem must have sprung from a very different expression and yet my pulse was still racing at the sight of this one, which was most unsettling.
‘No,’ I primly said. ‘I didn’t actually.’
‘Ignore my brother,’ said the other guy, taking the jump leads from me. ‘He’s been in a foul mood all day.’
‘Oh, I’m well aware of that,’ I replied sardonically, slamming his truck door shut and turning my back on it. ‘Our paths had the misfortune of crossing earlier, back in town.’
The guy chuckled and re-opened the door so he could pop his bonnet.
‘I’m Jack by the way.’ He beamed.
He couldn’t seem to stop smiling and I wondered if Brodie was so glum because his sibling had nabbed all the happy genes in the family.
‘I run the Brambles distillery on the outskirts of town.’
‘I didn’t know Wynbridge had a distillery,’ I told him. ‘But then I haven’t visited for a while. How wonderful.’
‘I didn’t think we’d met,’ he said, as he pulled a slightly dog-eared leaflet out of the pocket of his jacket. ‘The distillery is a relatively new addition to the area. You should come along,’ he added, handing me the crumpled paper. ‘I could give you a tour if you like.’
‘That would be great,’ I said, finding it impossible not to smile back.
I didn’t think he was flirting with me. He was just genuinely happy. Unlike his brother.
‘Hurry up, Jack!’ Brodie, who was still warmly cocooned in the cosy confines of the cab, shouted. ‘I was already late when you picked me up in town.’
Jack let out a long breath and raised his eyes skywards.
‘Something tells me you’ll be sampling your own drinks tonight,’ I laughed.
‘You’re not wrong.’ He joined in. ‘Now, let’s get you up and running, shall we?’
His powerful truck engine had almost instantly breathed life into the old Land Rover but Jack insisted we exchanged numbers and then followed me as far as the hall drive to make sure I got back safe and sound.
I kept looking at him and Brodie in the rear-view mirror and wondered what they were saying to each other. By the time I waved Jack off, Brodie was looking even more thunderous and staring moodily out of the passenger side window and, from what I could make out, Jack’s smile was somewhat strained.
‘Well,’ I said to Bran, who had forgiven me for abandoning him and plonked his head heavily on my shoulder as we bounced back up the drive. ‘That was more of an adventure than we were expecting to have, wasn’t it?’
I wasn’t even out of my jacket before Molly sought me out.
‘I hear you’ve met the new guy in town,’ she said, with a wicked grin as she plucked playfully at my jumper sleeve.
Yet again, the small-town grapevine had been hard at work.
‘Who?’ I frowned, feigning ignorance.
I knew she could only be talking about one person, but had every intention of playing it cool.
‘Brodie, of course.’
‘Oh, him,’ I said lightly, stepping neatly out of her reach. ‘Yes, I have.’
‘And what did you think?’ she quizzed.
‘Miserable,’ I announced, turning my attention to the leaflet. ‘But his brother Jack, who owns Brambles Distillery, is an absolute sweetheart.’
The look of surprise on her face was priceless.
Chapter 7
