‘That,’ said Felix, pointing to a bush beside them.
‘I remind you of a plant?’
‘Not just any plant. You remind me of Holly.’
‘Holly?’
‘Yes. Spiky, painful if you get too close.’
Sarah humphed. ‘Thanks for the compliment,’ she said, her voice laced with sarcasm.
‘Hey, it’s not all bad. Holly is beautiful when its berries appear.’
‘Well, I’m sorry you think of me as spiky.’
Felix laughed. ‘I’m not trying to be mean, just making an observation.’
‘How kind of you.’ Sarah stalked off across the bridge. Felix jogged up to her and blocked her path.
‘You don’t see it, do you?’
‘See what?’
‘How you treat people, how you speak to people. You can be rude when you want to be, not to mention distrustful.’
‘I don’t suffer fools. There’s nothing wrong with that.’
‘Maybe not, but the people you’re dealing with here aren’t fools, Sarah. They’re good, kind people who are trying to be your friends.’
‘Friends? Give me one example of someone here who’s been a genuine friend to me.’
‘Fran.’
‘Apart from Fran.’
‘What about your friend that came to visit you at the café, Kate, wasn’t it?’
‘Oh, her,’ said Sarah, letting out a mirthless laugh. ‘She didn’t come to see me, she just wanted to look at wedding venues. She probably thought by cosying up to me she’d get a discount.’
‘Or maybe she wanted to involve you in her plans?’
‘I doubt it.’
‘Fine then. What about Hattie?’
‘You mean the same Hattie that demoted me to the kitchen and laughed at me in the pub?’
Felix scrubbed his hands through his hair. ‘God, you are something. First off, working alongside Fran is no demotion. Do you have any idea how many aspiring chefs would give their right arm to be trained up by her? Second, from what I remember of that night in the pub, we were all joking around. Taking the piss out of each other like friends do. There was no malice behind it. You really have a low opinion of people, don’t you?’
‘Maybe I’ve just been let down one too many times.’
‘Look,’ said Felix, leaning against the wooden fence and staring at the river, ‘I understand what it’s like to want to protect yourself. But if you don’t take a risk on people, how will you ever find the people who are good, who won’t let you down?’
‘And I suppose you’re one of them?’
‘Yes,’ said Felix, turning to face Sarah, ‘I am.’
Sarah leaned against the fence beside him, picking at a patch of mud with her boot.
