Page 23 of A Sky Full of Stars
‘Well, he hangs around in the pub and tries to hide the fact he’s nervous of dogs, for a start!’ Annabelle beamed mischievously. ‘He got bitten on the bum by an Alsatian when he was six… he’s had a bit of a phobia ever since.’
‘Comet’s not tall enough to bite him on the bum or anywhere else!’ Charlotte grinned, although suddenly she was a little apprehensive about having left the two of them together. She also thought how well Tristan had hidden his worries when he’d rescued Comet from the horrors of the junk around the observatory.
‘Anyway,’ Charlotte protested, realising the full suggestion that Annabelle was making, ‘he doesn’t fancy me. He’s been grumpy pretty much every time I’ve seen him, barring tonight.’
‘Oh, that’s just Tristan,’ Annabelle replied, drying her hands. ‘His sister, Thea’s the only one who reallygetshim, and even she admits he can be a grouchy bastard a lot of the time. But believe me, underneath that tortured, Theo James exterior, he’s got the softest heart and really just wants to be loved.’
Charlotte grinned. ‘I think you’ve been reading too many romantic novels! I’m not in the market for a tortured soul, no matter how good looking he is.’
‘Oh, so you admit he’s good looking?’ Annabelle teased, with the easy intimacy that a couple of drinks and an evening in the pub could create. ‘I’ll bear that in mind!’
Charlotte didn’t reply, somehow knowing better than to protest innocence against a well-meaning friend of Tristan’s.
24
As Annabelle and Charlotte approached the table once more, Tristan, Jamie and Nick all stood up. Tristan handed over Comet’s lead and Charlotte smiled gratefully at him. He didn’t seem nervous of her little cocker spaniel, which was something at least.
‘Ready to go?’ Tristan asked.
‘Sure, and thanks again for offering to give me a lift,’ Charlotte replied. After the conversation with Annabelle in the loos, she couldn’t get the comparison with Theo James out of her head when she looked at Tristan. She’d mainlined theDivergentfilms a few years back, and adored seeing the actor inThe Gentlemenrecently, too. She told herself firmly to get a grip. It was clearly the Jack Daniel’s colouring her perspective tonight.
Annabelle, Jamie and Nick all said goodbye outside the pub and headed to the battered Ford Mondeo estate that was parked a few spots away from Tristan’s Audi. Chatting as they went, Jamie, who was designated driver for the evening, tooted the car’s horn cheerfully as they pulled out of the car park.
Tristan unlocked the car and then opened the boot. ‘Will Comet be OK in here?’
Charlotte nodded. ‘Yup. He’s so knackered, he’ll just crash out, I would think.’
As if to contradict her, the spritely Comet jumped into the boot, looking far from tired, and Charlotte unhooked his lead. She was confident he couldn’t leap over the back seat to get to her and as he settled down in the back she and Tristan rounded the car and got into the front seats.
Tristan started the engine, and for a minute or two they drove in silence. Away from the chatter and the lights of the pub, Charlotte took a moment to relax, and she leaned back on the black leather seat, taking in the dimming silhouettes of the landscape as Tristan drove back to Nightshade Cottage. She felt content, energised by the socialising, but also ready to chill by herself for the rest of the evening. She was an introvert at heart but once she felt comfortable she enjoyed the company of other people. She got the feeling, having observed Tristan tonight, that he was the same. She found her eyes drawn to Tristan’s profile in the fading light. He had a prominent nose, and a generous mouth, and surprisingly long eyelashes. Realising she was staring, she turned her head back to the front before he noticed.
Very soon they’d pulled into the driveway, and Tristan briskly undid his seatbelt and opened the driver’s door. By the time Charlotte had located her seatbelt clip, he’d walked around to the passenger’s side and pulled open her door, too.
‘Thanks,’ she said in surprise. ‘That’s very chivalrous of you.’
Tristan raised an amused eyebrow. ‘Just wanted to make sure you didn’t sprain an ankle getting down. It’s not a car built for, er, shorter people.’
‘I’m notthatshort!’ Charlotte bristled slightly, but then remembered Annabelle’s words in the ladies’, and decided to smile. Tristan might not have the gift of the gab, but it was still a nice gesture. She stepped down and then went to let Comet out of the boot. He jumped down and then sniffed around the front garden before lifting a leg on one of Lorelai’s rose bushes.
‘Thanks for the ride home,’ Charlotte said. ‘I wasn’t really looking forward to walking back down that road in the dark.’
‘It can be dangerous,’ Tristan agreed. ‘I tried to ban Gran from walking down it in the winter, but she ignores me and still does it sometimes.’
There was a pause and Charlotte found herself looking up into Tristan’s face and wondering what to do next. Then she remembered the paperwork, which was obviously the reason he’d agreed to bring her home.
‘I’ll, er, see if I can find those forms, shall I?’ she said, making a move for the house.
‘Thanks. Gran’s probably locked up her side though, so I’d better use my key.’
Lorelai was obviously still up and about as there was a warm, cosy light emanating from the small sitting room at the front of the house, and the flickering glow of the television.
‘Gran’s probably binge-watchingOzark.’ Tristan glanced over his shoulder with a grin in Charlotte’s direction. ‘She loves a bit of drug heist drama.’
‘Really?’ Charlotte tried not to sound surprised. Nothing about Lorelai suggested a liking for fictional drug cartels, but the thought of it amused Charlotte.
‘Oh, sure – she bookends it with episodes ofAntiques Road Trip. Best thing I ever did, getting her a Netflix subscription.’ Tristan reached Lorelai’s kitchen door and fumbled to get the key in the lock. Charlotte, unsure whether or not she should follow him through to Lorelai’s side of the house, hovered awkwardly on her side of the partitioned wall.
‘It’s all right, I’ll look where you told me they were, and if I can’t find them, I’ll let you know.’ Tristan finally unlocked the door and then paused. ‘I’ll give Gran a shout, too, so she knows she’s not being burgled.’
