Page 12 of Snowflakes Over Micklewick Bay

‘Oh, she’s that all right,’ she said fondly, feeling the weight of his gaze. She peered at him from beneath her lashes, her eyes meeting his. Her aunt was right, they had a kindness to them but also, if she wasn’t mistaken, a hint of sadness, too. It made her wonder what his story was. Maybe she wasn’t the only one with a past she’d rather forget. ‘I’m sorry about this.’ She waved her finger between the two of them. ‘Please don’t feel like you have to hang around, or if you’d rather have your burger in peace, just say and I can head back to the van, help my aunt tidy up. I’ll totally understand.’ Fibber! You’d be gutted if he’d prefer that!

‘I’m very happy with this.’ He copied her finger waving and gave an amused smile. ‘I’d rather you stayed, unless you’d prefer not to, of course.’

‘I’m good to stay.’ She felt her blushes deepen.

‘So, how long have you been running The Bougie Burger Company? Great name and great branding, by the way. Stands out as being different – high quality. Represents your product well.’

‘Thank you, we set out with that in mind; even paid a company to design the branding for us – that was four years ago now.’ She looked at him, her eyes squinting in the late spring sunshine.

‘And it’s clearly a roaring success if you’ve got people coming out of their way to buy your burgers – I overheard lots of the conversations when I was in the queue yesterday. They were raving about them.’

‘We have some very loyal customers.’ Hannah smiled bashfully as she batted a fly away with her hand.

‘Understandable. It’s one of the reasons I came back today; couldn’t get the thought of a Spicy Bougie out of my mind, especially after I sampled the burger I had yesterday.’ He paused, Roly pushing his head into his lap for an ear tickle. Lachie obliged.

‘That’s good to hear.’ Hannah couldn’t help but wonder what the other reason was, and if he was going to tell her.

‘The other reason I came back was to⁠—’

‘Here we go, you young ’uns. One Spicy Bougie with a side of fries for Lachie and I’ve brought you a piece of lemon drizzle cake, Hannah, lovey.’ Colleen arrived on a blast of her usual energy, bursting through Lachie’s words as she began bustling about, setting the food down on the picnic table. Roly’s nose shot up in the air and he started sniffing enthusiastically, making them all laugh. Hannah couldn’t decide if she was gutted or relieved that her aunt had stopped Lachie from revealing his other reason. Much as she was eager to know what it was, if he’d said what she was hoping he’d say – that he’d come back to see her – she would no doubt have responded clumsily to hide her embarrassment. Then again, she told herself, he was probably about to say that he was hoping to get another stamp on his loyalty card, get closer to his free portion of French fries!

‘Thanks, Colleen, this smells delicious. And you, Roly, are such a greedy-guts,’ Lachie said, chuckling, oblivious to Hannah’s thoughts.

‘He’s a character, that’s for sure,’ said Colleen. ‘Don’t worry, Roly, I’ve got some meaty morsels set aside and cooling for you as we speak.’ She glanced between Hannah and Lachie, smiling. ‘Right, enjoy, you two.’

‘I’m sure we will.’ Lachie gave her a smile before turning his attention to unwrapping his burger.

Hannah observed him intently, keen to see his opinion of her favourite burger. It suddenly felt important that he should like it. Just as he did yesterday, he held it in his hand as if perusing it, then took a bite, closing his eyes as he chewed, which was punctuated by various sounds of appreciation. She took advantage of his eyes being closed and scrutinised his features more closely, taking in the smattering of freckles that danced over his cheeks, his straight nose and dark auburn eyebrows, the wave of his thick hair. Sunlight glinted off the stubble that grazed his chin. She released a wistful sigh. Oh, my days!

His eyes pinged open, making her jump. She flushed, embarrassed that he’d caught her staring.

‘Oh man, that is seriously, seriously good,’ he said once he’d swallowed his mouthful. ‘You’ve got the level of spice absolutely spot on; just the right amount of kick to complement the beef without being overbearing and obliterating the other flavours. Chef’s kiss to the guacamole, too. The texture adds another level of interest.’ He looked her square in the eye. ‘Your burgers are honestly the best I’ve ever tasted – they’re amazing.’

Hannah beamed. ‘Oh, wow! Thank you. I’m over the moon you think so.’

‘Mmm. I do, a hundred per cent.’ He ran his tongue around his mouth, as if savouring the flavour once more.

‘So, am I right in thinking you’re a bit of a foodie, then?’ She wouldn’t like to hazard a guess at what he did for a living. She stole a look at his hands, hoping they might offer a clue in the way of calluses. But she noted that, though they were large, they didn’t appear to be roughened by manual work. It struck her that he seemed knowledgeable on not only food but also branding. Maybe he had his own food business? ‘Do you work in the food industry?’

His expression darkened, which was something Hannah hadn’t expected. ‘Aye. At least, I did until… well, let’s just say it looks like there’s a career change on the cards.’ He took another bite of his burger while Hannah broke off a piece of the lemon drizzle cake and popped it into her mouth, wondering what had caused the dip in his mood. She hoped he didn’t think she was prying. She could empathise more than he’d ever know in that respect. She decided not to push him any further.

With his mouthful finished, Lachie’s smile returned, which she was glad to see. ‘I’m actually a trained chef.’ He dabbed at the corners of his mouth with the paper napkin.

‘Oh.’ Hannah let his revelation land. Somehow it didn’t surprise her, and it would explain why he scrutinised the Bougie Burgers so closely; he was looking at them with a professional eye. Since he’d volunteered this information, she set aside her reservations about pushing him. ‘You are? Do you work locally?’

He shook his head. ‘I spent the last five years working as a private chef.’ He took another bite of his burger.

‘Really? So, does that mean you go round to people’s houses and prepare fancy food for them when they’re hosting dinner parties?’

He swallowed his mouthful before he replied. ‘Aye, sometimes. My passion’s in seafood and foraging – it’s amazing what you can create with foraged ingredients. I do a mean monkfish with foraged marsh samphire and coastal herb salad.’ He grinned. ‘Yikes! Sounds like I’m blowing my own trumpet.’

‘Sounds delicious, and it doesn’t – sound like you’re blowing your own trumpet, I mean. I’d love to find out more about foraging.’ It was something she’d always been keen to learn more about but had never got around to. She’d been unsure how well foraged ingredients would go down with the Bougie Burger clientele, plus there were the time constraints to take into account; making the burgers and sides from scratch took up a whole chunk of her evenings, leaving little time for anything else. ‘So, what made you want to go into private cheffing?’ That, however, had no appeal to Hannah; working in the burger van pushed her social anxiety to the limits at times, but working so closely with strangers in the close proximity of their home would put her a million miles outside her comfort zone. But it didn’t stop her from being interested to hear what made it so appealing to Lachie.

‘I kind of fell into it by accident after I’d finished at catering college. A friend recommended me to his aunt and uncle who were having some important guests for dinner and had been let down by their usual chef. Sort of snowballed from there.’ He looked thoughtful for a moment, as if going over the memory. ‘I like the freedom it gives me, not being tied to one place. It’s been exciting.’ He held up the half-eaten burger. ‘Mmm. This is very good; the flavours intensify and dance together the more you eat of it. There’s a real harmony to it. Takes a skilled chef to create that level of balance.’

‘Thank you.’ Hannah beamed again, his praise packing an even greater clout after what she’d just learnt. ‘So, what kind of places have you worked in?’ That he’d described it as exciting had piqued her interest.

He turned towards the road, the whirr of wheels attracting their attention as half a dozen or so Lycra-clad cyclists whizzed by. Turning back, he said, ‘It’s been varied and I’ve had some amazing opportunities on the back of it; got to see some fantastic places. I’ve travelled to Europe, the States, Australia – the seafood and culinary vibe in Sydney is out of this world. Went to Fiji last year…’ He paused, scrunching his nose up. ‘Ugh! I’m conscious that this is beginning to sound like a bit of a boastfest, which isn’t at all what I intended. Most unattractive – apologies, please forgive me.’ He rolled his eyes, shaking his head at himself.