Page 19 of Could It Be Magic?
‘Oh, bless you, Nick,’ Thea teased. ‘Ever since I’ve known you you’ve tended to shy away when things got a little, um, busy for you.’
‘What can I say?’ Nick grinned. ‘I’m a simple country boy at heart.’
Thea grinned back. ‘You always were a sentimental fool, Nick Saint.’
‘Oy!’ Nick protested. ‘Don’t cheek your boss or I’ll cancel your tea break.’
‘No, you won’t,’ Thea shot back playfully. ‘You’d never hear the end of it from your mum if you treated the staff badly.’
‘Fair point.’ There it was again, his heartbreakingly lovely smile, complemented by the twinkle of his gorgeous blue eyes. Thea gave herself a mental shake. What was wrong with her tonight? Putting it down to tiredness and the near hysteria of a day coaxing her Year 4 class into word-perfect harmony for the nativity play, she moved away from the counter and took the break Nick had offered her. Perhaps a little wander around the market would help her to order her thoughts. Goodness knew, there’d been little enough time for that lately.
As she walked out into the car park where the stallholders were in full swing, she caught sight of Tally, clipboard in hand, directing the camera crew to catch a few cover shots of the market. She really was quite stunning. If Nick decided to have a fling with Tally while she was here, she’d feel more than a little jealous, whether she had any right to be or not.
17
The festive evening had been a success. The weather, while cold, had remained dry and ready refills of both coffee and mulled cider from the Carters concession had ensured Christmas spirit was in good supply all round. It was the first time that Nick had been left in sole charge of the evening; Annabelle usually masterminded the whole thing, but from the tone of the WhatsApp she’d sent the family group, just before kick-off tonight, she wasn’t missing the responsibility and, to his surprise, Nick had found managing the evening more of a pleasure than he’d anticipated.
Even the antics of the camera crew with an enthusiastic Tally at the helm couldn’t disrupt his mood for long. They managed to get some gorgeous shots of both of the market and the shop itself, and Nick knew how valuable this publicity would be in the coming months for a business such as Saints’ Farm. Tally was excellent at her job, and he knew the end product, Santa suit or no Santa suit, was going to be a success.
As the evening drew to a close, and weary stall holders packed up a great deal less of what they’d arrived with, Nick circulated the shopping area which was gradually returning to its original purpose as a car park. He smiled and shook hands with a few of the regulars, including Mollie Wakefield, who’d somehow managed to transport what looked like the entire contents of the Purrfect Paws Rescue charity shop and arrange it beautifully onto a couple of tables. Mollie was never one to resist a challenge and the micro concession of the charity shop had done well tonight with its selection of preloved books, toys and a small rack of clothing as well as beautifully designed merchandise with the charity’s logo strategically placed to ensure maximum exposure for the good work that Purrfect Paws did in rescuing and rehoming the feline residents of the county.
Nick felt tired though: he was used to being on his feet all day but carrying out the requests of the film crew had added an extra layer of stress, and he very much felt in need of a drink and a debrief. He had breezily assured Annabelle and Jamie that they shouldn’t worry about the business in their absence and for the most part that had been true, but this had been a long few days and, with a sinking heart, he reminded himself that it was only Tuesday!
For a second, his mind drifted back to Thea who’d also had a busy day at her proper job and yet had been helping him out like an absolute trooper all evening. Thea didn’t often let things slip about the stresses in her life, at least not to him, despite the fact they’d been friends for such a long time, but tonight he got a glimpse. She was clearly very worried about her financial circumstances, and he was desperate to try to make things better for her. Any good friend would want to help, wouldn’t they?
Nick wandered back towards the entrance of the shop, and began to move the produce inside the entrance once again. The routine nature of this job was such that most evenings he did it on auto pilot, but he couldn’t help glancing towards the counter where Thea was still standing, serving the last of the customers before the shop closed. She had such a great way with people, he thought as he observed her ready smile and the way people really responded to her. He could imagine that gentle, approachable manner of hers being a real winner with both children and parents alike. It was her warmth and empathy that he’d always loved about her, he realised. Then, as that unguarded thought registered in his brain, he nearly dropped the tray of parsnips he’d been bringing in.
Loved?
Where the hell had that come from? Shaking his head, as if trying to rid himself of those treacherous thoughts, he focussed his attention on bringing in the rest of the baskets and trays. It didn’t help that his eyes seemed constantly drawn back to the shop counter every time he walked back through the front door. He realised if he didn’t stop staring soon, Thea was going to accuse him of being some kind of stalker.
‘Well, that all went rather swimmingly.’ Tally’s unmistakeable voice broke into his thoughts as he paused just to the right of the front door. There was one more tray of carrots to bring in and he was reaching for it as she approached.
‘I’m glad,’ Nick replied.
‘Would’ve been better if I’d managed to wrangle you into that Santa suit though!’ Tally teased.
‘Never in a millennium of Sundays!’ Nick shot back.
‘Oh well,’ Tally replied, ‘a girl can dream.’ She looked coyly at him from under her lashes. In the soft light that emanated from the strings of tiny amber bulbs that hung from the low rafters of the front of the shop, Tally’s eyes looked gentler, and more sincere.
‘So is that a wrap?’ Nick asked, unsure why Tally was still hanging about. The film crew had had even longer days than he had, and most of them didn’t stick around when they’d stopped filming.
‘I believe so.’ Tally smiled at him. ‘And as ever, it’s been a real pleasure to be back here, Nick. Thank you for your hospitality.’
‘You’re welcome.’ Nick smiled back. Despite Tally’s continuous flirting, he had quite enjoyed having her and the rest of the crew here. It didn’t hurt to step out of your comfort zone once in a while.
Tally didn’t seem as though she was going to be the one to call it a night before he did, and she still hovered near the doorway, shuffling a little closer to Nick as the last customers departed with a cheery ‘goodnight’.
‘So how about that drink?’ she said, still staring at him. ‘It’s my last night here… it would be lovely to spend the rest of the evening catching up with you.’ The look in her eyes suggested that a drink would just be the start of it. Nick felt flattered by the attention, and he couldn’t help thinking back to the last time they’d gone for a drink together, and where it had ended. But, it had been a long day, and he wasn’t really sure he wanted a repeat performance.
‘I’ve got a lot to finish up here,’ he replied. ‘Some other time, perhaps.’
‘You really do play hard to get, don’t you?’ Tally tilted her face towards his. ‘I’m going back to London in the morning. This is our last chance…’
Nick opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, Tally had planted a firm kiss on it. Her lips were warm, and as she kissed him, he could taste the somewhat strange combination of a synthetic, overly sweet raspberry lip balm and a very bitter coffee. It was a nice kiss, and took him back to the last time Tally had been in Somerset, but somehow it didn’t feel quite right this time.
‘Merry Christmas, Saint Nick,’ Tally murmured as she moved away from him. ‘I’ll see you again next year.’
