Page 60 of The Little Island Flower Stall
‘Maybe not,’ he said. ‘Actually,really, maybe not.’
Bella realised instantly he meant his DNA results. They hadn’t talked about that since he’d first told her, and she wondered if she ought to have asked. Of course they would have been on his mind, given the reasons he’d come to Jersey in the first place. But the celebrations were in full swing around them, and it didn’t seem like the time or place to have a soul-baring chat. ‘You’ve been to a barbeque, though. Please tell me you’ve at least done that.’
‘Of course I have! Still haven’t had Pimm’s, though.’
‘You haven’t lived. I love Pimm’s! It’s the best on a summer’s day. Come on – I’ll buy you one. And if you don’t like it, I’ll just have to drink yours too.’
‘I imagine that would be a real hardship.’
‘You have no idea…’
Bella grinned and reached for his hand before stopping herself. The action had been so unconscious and natural she’d hardly realised she was doing it until the last moment. Hadn’t he done exactly the same an hour earlier? She tried not to think that it meant something, but she couldn’t quite let go of the idea as they joined the queue for drinks.
‘You know…’ Rory looked at his glass after taking a first sip. ‘I must admit, it doesn’t taste as bad as I thought it would.’
‘You thought it would taste bad?’
He held up the glass, overloaded with fruit and ice. ‘You’ve got to admit, there’s a lot going on here. I thought it might besickly. I’m happy to report I was wrong. It wouldn’t be my go-to, but it’s all right. I could drink it again.’
‘Get another four down you and you’ll love it.’
‘Another four and I’d probably love anything.’
Bella giggled and then noticed the sound of guitars coming from where they’d heard sound-checking earlier. ‘Shall we grab some food and then go and find that stage, see if there are any seats?’
‘OK.’
The crowds were denser than they had been an hour before. It seemed that the day’s polite celebrations had given way to more raucous evening entertainment. People were well behaved, but there was more drink flowing and more of a sense of abandonment in the air. The people of Jersey were ready for a party. There was loud chat and laughter, and Bella had to raise her voice to make Rory hear her.
‘Over there! Can you see? A couple of seats on the back row!’
‘I’m on it!’
Bella had to laugh as she watched him dash off and plonk himself down onto one of the seats and then turn with a grin and a thumbs up.
‘Seat-snatcher victorious!’ he said as she joined him.
‘My hero!’
They turned to watch the band. The atmosphere was good here. They were young musicians playing a selection of covers of well-known pop songs, and everyone seemed to be really into it. Although they were good, Bella found herself frequently distracted by the thought of Rory sitting next to her. In between the songs, she picked up snippets of other conversations too – or rather, odd words and the accents they were spoken in. For as many that sounded local, there were two that sounded foreign.That was no surprise – not only was Jersey a popular holiday destination but any event like this was bound to draw people in too. She wondered how Celestine was getting on in the pub. She had to wonder if Celestine was even in the pub. Maybe she’d already gone home, saying she would be out with company just so Bella wouldn’t fuss.
Rory leaned in. ‘They’re not bad.’
‘Yeah.’ Bella drained her glass, and Rory gestured to it.
‘Want another?’
‘Maybe later.’
‘You’re all right?’
‘Oh, of course, it’s just that I thought we might move on in a bit.’
‘You don’t like this band?’
‘I like them, but…’ She shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I feel like I could see a band like this anywhere, you know? It doesn’t seem quite like the right sort of vibe for the day. Does that sound weird? I’m sure it only makes sense in my head.’
‘It’s fine; I’m happy to go wherever you fancy. You want to move on now then? Come on – let’s see what else we can find.’
