‘All except us... I was expecting you to come back out to the bar and tell me all about the new chef.’ Oliver pointed to her hair and opened the door fully ready to walk towards her. ‘You’ve got a stray—’
Pippa swiped the stray strand of hair away before Oliver took it upon himself to come and move it for her. She didn’t think she could handle the proximity tonight—not after her aunt’s comment. ‘I got it.’ She crossed her arms and held his gaze. ‘You appeared to be a littlepreoccupiedthis evening, so I thought I’d leave you be, even though we need to work out a plan for the dog competition.’
Oliver shuffled uncomfortably from foot to foot. ‘Oh, you mean with Ava? Well, after our business meeting, I felt obliged to offer her a drink in the pub being as I was rushing off from the meeting to start my shift here.’
‘Boy. That sure was a longbusinessmeeting.’
Oliver narrowed his eyes. ‘How do you know how long it was?’
Pippa licked her lips and subconsciously patted her hair. ‘Oh, I just happened to be at the hairdressers when Ava popped in to book an appointment. She mentioned she needed it done by a certain time because of her...date.’
Oliver’s face flushed, and he shoved his hands deep into his pockets as he shook his head. ‘No, no. It wasn’t a date per se. It was a catch up with a business oriented purpose.’
Pippa held her hands up. ‘Hey, what you do in your spare time has nothing to do with me.’ She turned her back on him, inadvertently dismissing him. Plus, she needed to hide any trace of jealousy her face might be betraying. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll turn all the lights off. See you tomorrow.’
She picked up a cloth and began wiping the already pristine table. Her heart beating rapidly as she waited for Oliver to answer. But she was waiting a long time as there was a long drawn out silence instead. She turned to face him again and was surprised to see he’d walked a few steps towards her and was directly behind her. She’d never heard him.
Her eyes widened as she looked up into his deep brown eyes fringed with equally dark lashes she’d been envious of when they were teenagers. Her chest rose and dropped from her heavy breathing. Oliver’s lips parted as he looked down at her mouth. The air tingled with tension. Was he going to kiss her?
His finger reached up and brushed over the tip of her nose. ‘You missed a bit of flour.’
He turned his back on her and strode out of the kitchen, not even looking back as he said night. ‘See you tomorrow, Pippa... Night.’ He hadn’t even wished her agoodone.
Pippa’s stomach turned over as she watched his large shoulders disappear through the door. His cologne wafted up her nose and added a flutter in her chest to go with her quickening heart rate. She sighed and forcibly threw the cloth into the sink. Why was he always having this effect on her? Oliver had been just a childhood sweetheart.
But he was the one who got away...said her inner voice.
‘Shut up,’ she said to herself as she turned the light off.
Act 3 - Chapter eleven
Pippa was just returningfrom her walk on the beach with Ginger when a motorbike passed her and pulled up in front of the pub. The man riding it had a tattered leather jacket on and faded blue jeans. He looked like he was shooting a commercial for 501 jeans. She watched mesmerised as the rider dismounted and unclipped the strap under his chin. Intrigued by who would have such a great body, Pippa waited with bated breath for the helmet to be removed so she could see who it was.
Declan turned to face her with an impish grin. ‘Morning Pippa. Is it okay to leave my bike parked here?’
Pippa’s grin reached from ear to ear. ‘Declan. I wondered who the mysterious man was.’ She nodded. ‘Yes, it will be safe there. Wow! That bike is amazing. How long have you been riding a motorbike? I’ve always wanted to have a ride on the back of one.’
