Reece moves seamlessly between rounds – literature to science to current affairs – taking to quiz hosting so naturally that you’d think he’d done it many times before. He catches my eye across the car park and winks, and something warm and wonderful spreads through my chest.
‘He’s good at this.’ Wilma follows my gaze.
‘You can tell he’s used to public speaking,’ Lettie agrees. ‘Which is a bit odd for a builder, don’t you think?’
I stuff another slice of coffee and walnut cake into my mouth to avoid the charged silence, grateful when it’s time for another round.
‘Question fifteen is our local knowledge round,’ Reece calls out. ‘What are you supposed to do at the Thimblenouth Force waterfall?’
‘Ooh, I know that!’ I squeak in excitement. The three ladies are quiz veterans, and even if I know the answers, they’re already scribbling them down faster than my brain works, but that is something Iknow.
‘You’re one of us now, Dolly dear!’ Lettie nudges me. ‘We’ll make a Yorkshire gal out of you yet!’
It gives me yet another warm feeling inside. I’m having the time of my life too. The Agatha Quizties are formidable competitors and I wouldn’t want to be on any other team, and it strengthens that feeling of having found somewhere I belong. I’m still not sure how I ended up here, but it’s starting to feel like somewhere that’s always been mine, just waiting for me to find it again.
During breaks between rounds, I slip back to the van to serve more tea and hand out the sandwiches and cakes my teammates bought, and looking around the car park gives me such a glow of pride.
Over an hour has passed since we kicked off, and I’m wishing it wasn’t over already when Reece announces the final question – a sudden-death round between three tied teams, including ours. ‘The poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by Wordsworth is often better known by which one-word title?’
‘“Daffodils”.’ We all agree, but a man from the team called Quiztina Aguilera stands up and calls the answer a nanosecond before Wilma does, and a huge celebration erupts as they’re crowned the winners.
‘Cheaters!’ Wilma shouts, although the sizzling look that passes between her and the winning man shows it’s nothing more than good-natured banter between old rivals, and I make a mental note to ask the ladies if they’ve ever been anythingmorethan rivals.
‘That was the best quiz night we’ve ever had.’ Lettie returns from making herself another cup of tea in the campervan and holds it up in a toast.
‘By miles.’ Wilma clinks her cup against Lettie’s. ‘The atmosphere, the food, and the host was rather excellent too, don’t you think, Dolly?’
Reece isglowing. He’s magnetic, and I can barely take my eyes off him for long enough to give them an answer.
‘I’m already looking forward to next week!’ Madge says, like it’s already set in stone that we’ll be doing this again.
‘What’ll we do if it rains?’ Wilma asks.
‘One of those big tents, like in the baking show.’ Lettie sips her tea, sounding like she’s already thought it over. ‘Our very ownBake-Offtent. Everyone can fit underneath it and stay warm and dry.’
I don’t ask how she expects us to have some giant marquee tent ready and waiting, or how much such a thing is likely to cost, and just appreciate the comment for what it is – they’ve enjoyed this so much that they even want to come in the rain.
As the evening winds down and people begin to gather their belongings and start leaving, I realise I can’t remember the last time I felt this happy. Really, truly uncomplicatedly happy, with no caveats or dark clouds on the horizon.
I watch Reece being congratulated by groups of quiz veterans who stop to thank him on their way off, and it makes something settle into place in my soul. This is what we were meant to do. The Marzipan Campervan and what’s left of the pub have combined to create something that makes everyone’s lives a little brighter, including ours.
‘We did it.’ Reece finally makes his way over to me and drops an arm around my shoulders as we wave goodbye to the last of the villagers, after fending off enquiries about whether they can book tables in advance for next week.
‘We did it,’ I confirm, trying not to think about the scattered chairs and empty plates that aren’t going to clear themselves up. ‘You were amazing. Like you were born to have a microphone and a quiz master’s handbook in your hands.’
‘Thank you. It was nice to feel like I was doing something right for the village, and to do something that I actually had a handle on. I’m constantly out of my depth with the renovations, pootling from one disaster to the next, but that felt like exactly what I should be doing… and exactly who I should be doing it with. It’s the first time I’ve felt likemein years, and that’s because of you.’
He turns to face me and my arms automatically slide over his shoulders and reach up to brush his hair back. Some of the waves have escaped the product holding them and are curling forwards, and as I go to do it again, something changes in his expression. The adrenaline from the night is flowing through both of us, and as I look up into his bright eyes, it seems to morph into something different.
His tongue touches his lower lip, and it makes my pulse quicken. I tilt my face towards him and he steps closer, backing me gently against the side of the campervan. The metal is still warm from the day’s sun, and I can feel the heat of it through my dress as he braces one hand against the van beside my head and the other comes up to cup my face, and his eyes ask a silent question.
When he kisses me, it’s nothing like the gentle, tentative kisses we’ve shared before. This is heated and confident and full of all the joy and triumph of the evening. His lips are warm and demanding, and when my hands fist in his shirt and pull him closer in response, he makes a low sound in his throat that sends heat shooting through me.
I’m dimly aware that we’re still in the car park where anyone could see, and that Campervan has become involved in this unexpected threesome, but I don’t think I could stay upright without her at my back. With Reece’s body pressed against mine and his mouth moving against my mouth like he’s been starving for this, nothing else seems to matter.
‘Do you have any idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that?’ he breathes against my lips when we pull back for air.
‘Probably about as long as I have?’
