I kept as far away as I could, and selected the first restaurant I came across, which happened to be Freddie’s Fish and Chips. It had certainly changed since I was last here. It was just a fish and chip shop, as the name suggested, ten years ago. Now, it wasfar grander, and twice the size, having taken over the shop next door, which I believed had been a souvenir shop. In addition to fish and chips, the rather impressive menu offered lobster, crab, and oysters. It also had a wine list. I was glad I’d chosen not to drive.
‘Have you booked?’ the smiling waitress asked me the moment I stepped inside the door. Like the town, the place was heaving. The waitress, and all the staff, were dressed in white and navy outfits, a bit like a sailor suit. Some of the females wore skirts and some wore trousers with their tops, and although they all looked smart, the uniform was also a little twee, I felt.
‘Erm. No. Sorry. I only arrived in town today.’
She scanned the spacious but packed restaurant.
‘As you can see, we’re busy,’ she said, her smile fixed in place. ‘But if you don’t mind waiting at the bar, I’ll have a table free in about fifteen minutes. Are you on your own or will anyone be joining you?’
‘I’m on my own,’ I said, feeling like a wallflower at a dance. Even though my stomach had been rumbling since I’d left Far Cottage, I suspected everywhere would be the same, and fifteen minutes wasn’t that long. ‘And I’m happy to wait.’
‘Then follow me.’ She led me to the bar which ran along one side of the restaurant. ‘Sit anywhere you like,’ she said, handing me a little wooden boat with a number painted on the wooden sail, that she had taken from a large wooden chest at this end of the bar.
‘Thanks,’ I said, searching for a free bar stool and finally spotting one at the far end of the bar. Although having seen that the number on my sail was twenty-four, I felt a fifteen-minute wait might’ve been optimistic.
The empty seat was the other side of a stunningly beautiful woman, who sat sideways to the bar and was therefore facing in my direction. As I made my way through the crowd, I couldn’thelp but notice her – and I wasn’t the only one. Several people, both male and female appeared to be glancing in her direction. She certainly stood out from the crowd. She wore a red dress with a tightly fitted cross over bodice, showing off her ample cleavage, and the slit to one side of the skirt, exposed her long and shapely legs. She wore high heeled, black leather ankle boots, and an open-fronted, black leather jacket. Instantly, I thought of a model in one of those TV ads for sexy and expensive perfumes. I also felt totally inadequate. She kept flicking her long blonde, wavy hair and then throwing her head back and laughing, her full red lips pouting perfectly in between. Her companion was clearly very amusing.
He was facing her, so I could only see his back, and he needed a haircut. His somewhat messy looking hair, which under the lights above the bar, looked like dark chocolate, brushed the neck of his black leather biker jacket.
The rest of him, however, from the little I could see, was as impressive as the woman. His broad shoulders, firm shapely bum, and, as I got closer, faded jeans encasing long toned legs, made me take a quick gulp of breath.
A sudden rush of heat swept through me and then, to my surprise, the man stood up and stepped right into my path. I tried to stop but my body still appeared to be moving forward and I thudded into his back with a resounding ‘thrump’.
His tall frame was as solid as a wall, and he didn’t even tip forward by a fraction as my body hit his, but he quickly turned and faced me, towering above me by at least one and a half feet.
‘I’m so sorry,’ he said, his deep voice sounding genuinely apologetic as he scanned my face, his brown eyes filled with concern. ‘Are you okay? That was my fault entirely. I should’ve looked before I … stepped … out. I…’ His dark brows knit together and his voice trailed off, his shapely lips still parted, mid-sentence.
I took in his firm jaw line with a hint of stubble on his handsome, weather-tanned face, and my own mouth fell open as recognition dawned, but no words came out.
‘Lucy!’ he added in a tone of incredulity. ‘Is it … can it really be … you?’
Nine
‘Sam!’
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Or my luck.
Of all the restaurants in Fairlight Bay, of which there were several for such a small town, we had both chosen, Freddie’s Fish and Chips, today.
‘It is you,’ he continued, looking so pleased to see me I almost threw myself into his arms. ‘My god. It’s been ten years and yet you haven’t changed a bit. You look … fantastic.’
His eyes travelled the length of my body from top to toe and back again and then that devastatingly gorgeous smile I remembered so well, spread across his generous mouth sending tingles of delight – and of lust – right through me.
‘You look pretty good yourself,’ I said, not having intended to say that aloud, as I struggled to drag my admiring gaze away from his body. The way his dark blue T-shirt hugged his chest beneath that jacket left little to my imagination, and once again, all those memories came flooding back. His body had been firm and toned and pretty damned hot ten years ago. Today it looked twice as impressive. And oh so appealing.
I coughed to try to regain my self-control.
‘Thanks,’ he replied, his eyes twinkling mischievously. ‘What’re you doing here?’
‘Waiting for a table.’ I couldn’t think of anything brilliant to say, as usual.
He grinned at me. ‘I meant, here in Fairlight Bay.’ And then the grin broadened, and a hint of something danced in his eyes. ‘Are you here on holiday?’
For a second or two, silence filled the narrow space between us, as my eyes bore into him, and his eyes seemed to bore right into my soul.
Were we both remembering my last holiday here, ten years ago?
I know I was.
