Page 13 of Snowflakes Over Micklewick Bay

Roly gave a whimper. ‘See, Roly thinks so too, don’t you, fella?’ Roly whimpered again. ‘No need to rub it in, I’m feeling bad enough already.’ Lachie’s faux hurt expression before he dived back into his burger made Hannah laugh out loud; he felt so good to be around.

‘Don’t be daft! It doesn’t sound boastful at all! I was the one who asked where you’ve worked. It sounds amazing.’ Granted, she hadn’t expected his response to include such exotic locations; she’d been anticipating something more along the lines of the homes of well-off people who could afford to hire the services of a private chef for special occasions. It made her realise how small her own world was by comparison and she found herself longing to hear more. ‘So, come on, make me jealous, where else have you donned your chef’s whites? Do any fancy private yachts or famous people feature?’ she said jokingly, feeling her shyness slip further away.

The look on his face told her everything. ‘No way!’

‘’Fraid so.’

‘Oh, wow! Tell me all!’

Lachie shook his head, laughter shining in his eyes. ‘Not right now, I want to hear more about you while I enjoy what’s left of this delicious burger. And it was no big deal, really.’

‘Spoilsport!’ Hannah giggled. From where she was sitting it sounded like it was very much a big deal. She got the feeling he was being modest and trying to play down his experiences.

He sat observing her for a moment, his eyes full of warmth. ‘You’ve got a beautiful smile; lights up your whole face.’

‘Oh… um…’ His words took her by surprise. It didn’t help that she was so unused to receiving compliments from a man, she didn’t know how to respond. Aware her dreaded blushes had returned, she glanced away, covering her shyness with a smile.

‘And I love the way your nose scrunches up when you laugh.’

‘Oh no! It scrunches?’ Hannah rubbed her nose, her self-consciousness increasing.

‘It does.’ He smiled at her. ‘And it’s very appealing.’

‘Oh… okay.’ She found herself smiling back at him, happiness flooding her chest. ‘Anyroad, what were we talking about before?’ Was it possible for her face to burn any redder?

‘You were about to tell me what you do in your spare time – assuming you have some spare time, that is. I appreciate having your own food business where you do all of the creating yourself leaves very little free time for anything else, but please tell me you allow yourself at least a few hours away from it.’

Hannah took a deep breath, relieved that the focus had moved away from her smile, though she couldn’t deny, his appraisal of it had filled her with happiness! ‘You pretty much hit the nail on the head. I don’t get much free time – Bougie Burgers is pretty all-consuming.’ She didn’t like to say her life revolved around the burger van and her home with her aunt. That she didn’t do anything else with her days, had no friends to hang out with. Much as the situation was one hundred per cent her choice, she didn’t want to come across as a pitiful loner, which was how she felt most of the time. ‘How about you? Do you manage to get any time to yourself in amongst all that jetting about and basking on fancy yachts?’ she asked, a playful glint in her eye.

She was surprised when his broad shoulders heaved with a sigh. ‘Um… I’ve taken a year out; doing a bit of travelling – hence the campervan – accepting the odd private cheffing job here and there to keep my hand in as well as getting the buzz of being back in a kitchen, feeling the kick of being creative with food.’ He nodded to where a blue VW campervan was parked up nearby, its bodywork gleaming in the bright sunlight. A collection of stickers with what appeared to be a Scottish theme adorned the rear of it. ‘But, for now, I’ve been trying to escape the pressure of… well…’ His voice tailed off and his gaze fell to the table. ‘I guess I needed some time to think.’

His shine suddenly dimmed, like a cloud blocking out the sun, and she sensed there was more to what he was telling her; something he’d rather not talk about right now. Again, it was something she could empathise with. ‘That must be exciting, just waking up and driving wherever you fancy, following the road,’ she said, injecting a cheery tone into her voice, hoping to lift his mood.

‘Aye, it’s been pretty cool so far. Brought me here.’ His eyes locked on hers, sending sparks dancing between them. Hannah’s heart fluttered.

‘It did,’ she said softly.

His expression clouded again. ‘You should give it a try if you get the chance.’ The smile that followed didn’t make it to his eyes.

The familiar joy had gone from his voice. It tugged at her heartstrings and sent her mind working overtime. Was a broken relationship at the core of it? she wondered. She scrutinised his face, searching for clues. Was his heart feeling sore? Or was it more a case of weary relief that it was over? Her dysfunctional time with Evan had left her feeling out of sorts for months after it had ended, and not because she’d missed him or had been devastated that they’d split up. It was because his toxic behaviour had ground her down and erased what little self-confidence she’d had.

Sensing her thoughts were heading down an unpalatable route, Hannah gave herself an internal shake and picked up the reins of the conversation with Lachie. ‘Much as I’d love to do a spot of exploring, I couldn’t leave my business. Besides, I don’t have a campervan, just an old banger of a car and the burger van and I’m not so sure either of those would be ideal. And then there’s my aunt. She’s been very good to me, I couldn’t just up-sticks and leave her to look after Bougie Burgers.’ Reminder of her Auntie Coll dragged her attention away from Lachie. Reluctant as she was, it was probably time she was getting back to the van to help her aunt.

Lachie’s eyes switched from Hannah to the Bougie Burger van from where Colleen had just stepped out and was now heading their way with a paper napkin in one hand and a drinks carrier in the other. ‘Something tells me she’d be absolutely fine with it.’ He gave a lopsided grin before taking another bite of his burger, his green eyes peering at Hannah over the lid of the bun.

‘Here we are, young ’uns, thought you could do with a fresh drink each – hope a cuppa’s okay for you, Lachie. I thought it’d be a nice change from water.’ Colleen set the drinks carrier down on the table.

Lachie swallowed his bite of burger. ‘Tea’s great, thanks, Colleen. It’s very kind of you.’ He shot Hannah a bemused look as Colleen turned her attention to Roly.

‘Roly the rascal, sorry you’ve had a long wait for this, I got sidetracked.’ She placed the napkin filled with chunks of beefburger on the grass, Roly watching her intently. He glanced at his dad, drool forming at the corners of his mouth as he awaited the signal to dive in.

‘Good lad, Roly,’ Lachie said before clicking his tongue. Roly didn’t waste a moment. He pounced on the food, devouring it in a matter of seconds. He glanced around at them, licking his lips before turning his attention back to the paper napkin, ensuring no hint of flavour remained.

‘Wow! That’s impressive.’ Hannah laughed.

‘That’s Roly,’ said Lachie.

‘Typical Labrador.’ Colleen chuckled. Turning to Hannah, she said, ‘You might as well carry on with your break while I crack on with tidying up Bougie Bertha, flower. The road’s gone quiet so I doubt we’ll get much business now – not that we’ve got much left to offer anyroad.’