“We had a business meeting,” Ryan clarified.
“You take your mum to business meetings with you?” Warren asked. “That is adorable.”
Fred noticed Ryan’s cheeks redden.
“I’m looking to expand Coast Roast, and Mum and Dad have offered to come in with me,” he said, looking very much like he didn’t want to be having this conversation with Warren at all.
“You’re lucky to have that kind of familial support,” said Warren.
“I am,” Ryan replied, and smiled at his mum.
“Are you close with your family?” asked Martha.
“Ha. No. And I doubt they’d ever offer to help me out financially. They don’t agree with my choice of profession.”
Fred felt the need to change the subject for Warren. She didn’t want him to feel exposed or awkward about his difficult family situation. “So, you’ve taken the plunge on expanding Coast Roast,” she said to Ryan.
“I have indeed. I’ve made an official offer on the shop next door, and now we’ve applied for the loan, so fingers crossed.” Ryan looked at her and she could see from the way his eyes were lit up how much it meant to him.
“I’m so happy for you!” She really was. “I’ll keep everything crossed for you.”
Their coffees arrived along with several small plates of starters, which were greeted with sounds of approval around the table and included the peppered shrimp that Fred had often hankered after when she’d lived in London.
“Please share them with us,” said Warren to their guests. “I’d be interested in your thoughts.”
Ryan made noises about getting going, but Martha was already sinking her teeth into a small pastry patty and making appreciative sounds, so he gave up. When the starters were polished off and the main courses arrived, Ryan excused himself, gesturing that his mum should do the same. He handed a twenty-pound note to Fred and said, “For our coffees and toward the starters we ate.”
“Nah-uh, mate, your money’s no good here, my friend,” said Warren, plucking the note out from between her finger and thumb and handing it back to Ryan. “If there’s anything to pay, it’s my treat.”
Ryan raised his eyebrows at Fred in a way that said,This man is an absolute cock, and said, “Thank you,” to Warren in a voice that sounded as though his hand was being crushed in a vice.
While she couldn’t deny that Warren was very nice to look at, and he was a good kisser, she was feeling increasingly that he wasn’t her cup of tea.
“Do I piss Ryan off?” Warren asked, as they tucked into dishes of jerk fish, rice and peas, spicy plantain chips and chicken stew.
“Ummm…” She continued chewing long after she had swallowed her food, to buy herself some time. “You can come across as a bit…full of it?” He did ask.
His face fell, and he nodded. “Yeah, I can see that. It’s one of the reasons I’m a writer; I’m better with words than people.” He went on, “The only way that I can function in social situations is to embody a kind of alter-ego. You know, like how Beyoncé has Sasha Fierce? Well, I have Carlton Courage.”
She laughed. That explained a lot.
“And I like you, and I thought you were unlikely to like the stuttering mess that is me in social situations without—”
“Carlton Courage,” Fred finished for him.
He nodded, glumly. “Yeah. Dumb, huh?” Then he looked up at her with big searching eyes.
“No, it’s not dumb.” She’d experienced a lot of conflicting emotions in the last hour, and it seemed set to continue. “But I’m wondering if Carlton is more of a hindrance than a help. Wait a minute…you came to dinner at my house with all those people you didn’t know.”
Warren cringed. “I know! I didn’t know how to turn your aunt down when she invited me. That’s another thing I’m incapable of: saying no.”
“Oh, Warren.” She laughed. “Okay, well, you need to know that my aunts aren’t easily offended, they wouldn’t have minded if you’d said you were busy. Was it very painful for you, meeting my entire extended family?”
“Excruciating!” He shook his head, smiling bashfully. “I was terrified the whole evening. And then, when I got back to the hotel, I couldn’t sleep for replaying all the things I’d said, over and over. That stuff about coffee not being a luxury item…god, I makemyselfshudder.”
She reached over and placed her hand on his, trying not to laugh at his distress. The man had layers; she’d give him that.
“So, when you invited Ryan and Martha to join us for lunch…”
