Page 35 of An Ill Wind in Seabury
‘Nah… you’re safe,’ said George, grinning at her. ‘I’m pretty well house-trained.’
‘As long as there’s a sofa and a spare pillow, I’m pretty content,’ said Claudia.
‘I can do better than that,’ said George. ‘The spare room’s all made up. I thought I’d better make sure I was ready, just in case you decided to take me up on my offer.’
Claudia smiled as the tips of George’s ears went pink.
‘I guess we might as well grab my case on the way past the hotel?’ she said. ‘Then we’ll head to the cottage so you can change. Though it seems a bit of a shame… I rather like you in your uniform!’
George’s pink ears promptly turned into a full-blown blush.
‘Actually, when we get back to the cottage, can you remind me there’s something I want to give you?’ said George, clearing his throat as he shyly took her hand again.
‘Give me?’ Claudia grinned at him. ‘Well, this gets better and better!’
‘Not like that!’ spluttered George. ‘Blimey, you reallyarea bad girl! Man, I’m dreading the moment you and Jess are in the same room. I don’t stand a chance.’
A brief flare of discomfort hit Claudia in the chest, and she glanced at him.
‘You and Jess… anything I should know?’ she said, only just managing to stop herself from pulling her hand away from his.
George smiled and shook his head. ‘We’re just good mates. Doris and Ethel did their best to matchmake us a while back, and I have to admit, I did ask Jess out for a drink just to get them off our backs, but…’
‘It didn’t work out?’ said Claudia.
‘There’s not even that much to the story,’ laughed George. ‘I think I was three sips into my drink when I came clean and toldher that I didn’t see her like that. Jess’s look of relief would have been offensive if I wasn’t feeling exactly the same way!’
‘Blimey, you weren’t kidding when you said the town had been trying to pair you off, were you?’ said Claudia.
‘Nope,’ said George with a long-suffering sigh.
‘Well… can I just say that I’m relieved they failed?’ she said.
George’s face broke into a delighted grin, and Claudia had to resist the urge to jump on the guy there and then… just to see if he was as good a kisser as he’d been at eighteen.
‘There is one thing I should warn you about Jess, though,’ he said.
‘Uh oh,’ laughed Claudia.
‘She’s lovely, but she’s got no filter whatsoever,’ he said. ‘I guarantee you she’ll bombard you with a bunch of deeply personal questions within the first five minutes.’
‘Such as?’
‘Oh, you know… whether you’re planning to marry me, how many children you want… and what your intentions are regarding my virtue,’ he said cheerfully, as they headed towards Pebble Street.
‘Your virtue?!’ said Claudia, practically choking on a laugh.
‘I’m a delicate flower,’ said George, suddenly solemn. ‘I need protecting.’
‘I’ll try to restrain myself,’ she giggled.
‘Please don’t,’ said George. ‘Not on my account, anyway.’
He shot her a cheeky wink and disappeared inside the hotel to collect her case, narrowly missing her impression of a supernova.
‘Here we are,’ said George, turning the key in the lock and then standing back to let her lead the way into the cottage. ‘The living room’s through to your left there, and the kitchen’s straight ahead. Bathroom and bedrooms are upstairs. It’s small but perfectly formed.’
‘It’s really cute,’ said Claudia, keen to set his obvious nerves at ease.
