‘Nope.’ She grinned. ‘I just wanted to know if you would.’
He smirked before sitting down and, reaching for the ketchup, squeezed an alarming amount across his plate. ‘Just so you know, I wouldn’t have let you starve.’
Pippa grinned before swiping a slice of toast from his plate and taking a bite. ‘That is good to know,’ she said, eyeing the red mess with mock horror. ‘There is definitely something wrong with you. Who puts ketchup on a full English?’ she muttered, flapping the piece of toast between them. ‘Would never have worked out…’
‘I wasn’t aware that was even an option,’ he replied dryly.
‘Brown sauce all the way,’ she quipped, ignoring his comment. ‘What’s this?’ She picked up a leaflet by the side of his coffee mug.
‘Today’s convention programme,’ Theo replied, through a mouthful of toast. ‘I was looking it over last night while you were upstairs turning the bath into your own personal spa retreat.’
Pippa scanned the sheet. At the top it read: ‘Puffin Island Horology Convention– Day One’. Beneath it was a neatly formatted list.
‘We might not be having breakfast together, but as the two competition winners it’s probable we’ll be dining together at The Sea Glass Restaurant tonight.’
Theo nodded. ‘We’ll be joined by Doctor Miriam Bowes, the chair of the society.’
Pippa smiled as the memory of the only time she had dined with Theo flashed through her mind. In first year their hall had organised a potluck and she’d volunteered to make the dessert. However, during the day, time had slipped away from her, and she didn’t have time to whip up a culinary delight, so she’d nipped to the corner shop and picked up a chocolate roulade. Unfortunately, there was no time to defrost it so it had been a bit like a frozen brick when she served it. She’d gone at it valiantly with a spoon, dishing out portions, only to hear an audiblecrackas someone nearly chipped a tooth. Theo, sitting across the table with his usually impeccable composure, had stared at her, grinning.
‘I suspect tonight’s dessert will be safer than last time we ate together.’
He’d remembered.
Then Pippa noticed something on the itinerary and stared at Theo. ‘Hold up,’ she exclaimed. ‘You’reinterviewing Horace Vale?’
‘I am,’ Theo confirmed.
‘How the hell did you get that gig?’
He shrugged, annoyingly nonchalant. ‘I’ve published the most recent peer-reviewed paper on the Vale Brothers’ mechanism design, and I gave a keynote on their workshop evolution at the Geneva Horology Conference last year.’
‘Oh,of courseyou did,’ she muttered. ‘Because God forbid there be a clock-related event without Theo Blake centre stage.’ She picked up his mug of coffee and took a sip.
He quickly swiped the mug back. ‘I was invited,’ he said, wiping the rim of the mug. Pippa rolled her eyes. ‘Doctor Miriam Bowes follows my work and?—’
‘Of course she does,’ Pippa interrupted. She shook her head. ‘I can’t believe you’re the one that gets to speak to him. Horace Vale hasn’t done a public appearance since…’
‘The Vale partnership broke down.’
‘Do you know why it did?’
Theo shook his head. ‘No, but apparently he requested that I be the one to interview him,’ he said proudly.
Pippa narrowed her eyes. ‘Why you?’
Theo looked like he was about to say something then stopped himself.
‘Go on, what are you keeping from me?’
‘Nothing. Maybe it’s because he knows I won’t ask stupid questions.’
‘Well, I think you should ask in the interview how he feels about the fact that I once repaired a Vale & Co. moon-phase mantel clock using nothing but tweezers, a pin, and half a tube of eyelash glue.’
Theo raised an eyebrow. ‘Shocking that they didn’t askyouto do the interview.’
She tilted her head and smiled. ‘Just admit it, you’ve always admired my work.’
‘Have I now.’ Theo shook his head and shoved another forkful of beans into his mouth.
