I waved my hand.
‘Oh, don’t worry about that, I always get things sorted in time.’
‘Okay, but…truly, Fallon, I’m concerned about your health too. I saw a lot of stress and exhaustion when I was working at the hospital – they’re serious things. This can all wait if it needs to, there’ll be other fairs, events.’
He looked very concerned, his blue eyes searching mine. I had no doubt that he would drop the whole thing if I asked him to. But the truth was, despite my reservations, I was already beginning to enjoy myself, and being away from London and the office was such a relief in itself that sourcing, fitting and painting a van in record time felt like something close to fun. I also couldn’t deny that spending time with Alexander – nowthat he was proving more reasonable than I had expected – was pleasant, and I was happy to keep that going.
‘It’s fine, and I would tell you if it wasn’t.’
‘Promise?’
‘Promise. Now, what else do we need to think about?’
‘The flyers are designed but not printed yet – this is what they’ll look like.’
He showed me a fabulous design which incorporated the botanical feel of the labels with an art deco flavour.
‘I love it. What else are you printing up other than flyers?’
‘Erm… nothing else?’
‘Right. Well, at the very least you need cardboard coasters. I can get that sorted – I know an amazing place that makes them out of recycled paper from local schools and offices. You’ll need a roller banner as well, and what about menus?’
‘Menus? What, with one item: gin and tonic?’
I rolled my eyes.
‘We arenotjust going to be selling gin and tonic!’
‘We’re not…?’
‘No. People can have that, of course, but it’s Christmas and you’re launching a summery drink. What we need is a cocktail – at least one. They have to be festive and fun, and they’d better stick to your ‘local’ line as much as possible. Something with cranberries – there must be someone growing them near here; isn’t it a Yorkshire thing to have them with cheese?’
He raised his eyebrows.
‘It is! How did you know?’
‘I love Wensleydale. All cheese, really. We could do something with herbs and spices, maybe orange. We’ll have to give it some thought. You could even sell cocktail packs so people can make them at home, and little hampers with local cheese or crackers to have with them – they’d make greatChristmas presents. I can’t believe we have so little time; there’s so much we could do here!’
‘I wish I’d thought of these things earlier.’
‘Never mind, we’ll do what we can. Now, what about a webpage?’
‘It’s taken care of. Hetty has done all that and I’m confident in it.’
‘Great. I’ll have a quick look this afternoon then. Local press? We need a cheesy photo of you raising a glass to lure in your customers.’
I resisted the temptation to point out that the fact he was so good-looking wouldn’t do the brand any harm; I had the feeling he might not like the idea of being a male model.
‘Must we? I hate having my photo taken,’ he grumbled.
‘We must. In fact, why don’t we do it now and I’ll sort out a press release? A phone photo will do and mine’s got a decent camera; I use it for this sort of thing a lot.’
I was used to people reluctant to get in front of the camera, as well as people only too keen to get as many photos of themselves from as many different angles as possible, to plaster all over Instagram, and – having grown up with my mother – I knew a little something about people’s best sides. Within minutes, poor Alexander was clutching a bottle of gin and trying to look professional and warm, although I privately thought that smouldering might bring in more customers.
‘Okay,’ I said, pleased with what I had. ‘These are great, you’re very photogenic. Come and have a look.’
Wow, maybe inviting him in so close was a mistake. As he leaned in and I swiped through the pictures, I could feel the heat of his body next to mine and smell a delicious nutmeggy, woody, amber scent that went straight to my head – and in a good way. I cleared my throat and tried to sound business-like.
