Lara could think of several things he could do, none of which were on her list.
‘Not that I can think of right now. Other than to carry all these heavy bags to your car.’
She was going to carry them out to his car herself but the words of the roofer chap rang out in her head. Jasper had offered to help. She should take him up on it. Even so, she had carried two of them to the door.
‘Are you going to the pub this evening?’ Trisha asked, when Jasper picked up the last bag of cat litter.
‘I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘It’s good to see you, Trisha. Take care.’
‘And you, Jasper. Don’t be a stranger.’
Lara couldn’t help herself. ‘Is anyone stranger than you?’ she asked him as he dumped the cat litter in the boot and closed the tailgate with the button on his key fob.
He burst out laughing. ‘Other than you, you mean?’
‘Obviously,’ she said. ‘It’s a good thing you came here, because I have no idea where the diner is.’
He raised one brow as he opened the passenger door and held it while she got in. He walked to the driver’s side and sat beside her, clicking his seatbelt into place as Lara did hers.
‘I thought that might be the case. Gramps told me how you two met.’
‘Oh. The online dating site you mean?’
‘What?’ He blinked at her in astonishment and then sighed in amused exasperation. ‘You almost had me going there for a minute.’
‘Sorry,’ she apologised. ‘It must be this sea air. I assume that means Tom told you I couldn’t find the lane on which the cottage that I’d bought online was situated.’
‘Yeah, that,’ he said, pressing the button to start the car.
‘Did he tell you anything else?’ She tensed in anticipation.
‘He said that you’d lost your parents and that you had no family to speak of.’
She sucked in a breath. ‘Not strictly true. I do have some family, but I choose not to speak of them.’
‘I see.’ He drove a few yards, turned right at the traffic lights, and pulled into a small car park. ‘We can access Bonnie’s Diner from here,’ he said, along with some of this row of shops. But a few only have a front entrance on the street.’
‘Good to know.’
He jumped out of the car and dashed to her side to hold the door for her. She smiled at his gallantry.
‘This is it.’ He pulled open a door and Lara stepped into a long dining space with a central walkway that had a black and white tiled floor with a row of bright blue, leatherette booths running along one side, and a row of yellow tables and bright blue chairs running along the other. To the side of those tables was an open shelved, serving area, again bright blue, and behind that sat the kitchen, all gleaming stainless steel and white.
‘Wow,’ she said, taking in every inch of the place. It was like stepping back in time to the fifties or something.
‘Is that a good wow, or a bad wow?’
‘Good. All good. This is the most cheerful diner I’ve ever seen. Not that I’ve seen that many.’
He was evidently pleased by her reaction.
‘Wait until you taste the food.’ He waved at a woman who reminded Lara of a famous actress from the glory days of Hollywood, but she couldn’t remember the name. Jet black hair in a high bun, eye liner to match and bright red lipstick. ‘This is Maud.’
‘Maud!’ Lara hadn’t meant to shriek. ‘Hello.’
‘Hello yourself,’ said Maud, marching towards her. ‘You must be Lara.’
To Lara’s surprise, Maud hugged her.
