Page 54 of Courting Trouble
Delilah tilted her head, trying to peer over the box. ‘What are you even—’
Cassie shifted her weight, and the lid shifted too, just enough for Delilah to glimpse a bright yellow, suspiciously familiar packet.
‘Oh my God,’ Delilah whispered. She put a hand over her mouth. ‘Are those… Jelly Babies?’
Cassie winced like she’d been caught red-handed. ‘It’s nothing! Just, just a thing. Just… supplies.’
‘Supplies?’ Delilah stepped forward, tugging at the edge of the box until Cassie, panicked, let her look inside. The sight nearly made Delilah burst out laughing: a teetering, jam-packed stack of Jelly Babies bags.
‘Yes?’ Cassie’s voice wobbled. ‘I mean, it’s too much, isn’t it? I was just trying to make sure you didn’t run out again. The village shop had a surprising amount. They didn’t want to sell me all of them; I had to haggle for them. I’m pretty sure I got shafted.’
Delilah turned to her, eyebrows raised. ‘Cassie. What is this?’
‘I thought—’ Cassie looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole. ‘I know you ran out. And you know, I just… wanted to… do something nice.’ She trailed off, shifting from foot to foot, clearly mortified.
It hit Delilah then: this wasn’t about Jelly Babies. It was abouther. Cassie had lugged this ridiculous, enormous box all the way up here because she wanted to make her happy.
This was an unignorable gesture.
Delilah’s pulse jumped. She could feel the fear rising in her chest, nudging at an instinct to laugh it off, to play dumb. But she forced herself to stand steady. To not run.
‘Cassie,’ she said softly.
Cassie grimaced. ‘I know, it’s stupid. I should’ve just—’
‘It’s not stupid.’ Delilah put her hand lightly on the box, steadying it. She could feel Cassie’s fingers tense beneath the cardboard. ‘It’s… perfect.’
Cassie blinked at her, wide-eyed. ‘It is?’
Delilah swallowed. Then, with a shaky laugh, she said, ‘Look, if you’re going to bring me the village’s entire supply of Jelly Babies, the least I can do is buy you dinner. Properly. Not here.’
For a second, Cassie just gaped at her. ‘Really?’ she managed to say eventually.
‘Really.’
Cassie let out a disbelieving laugh, her whole body relaxing against the weight of the box. ‘OK. Yeah. That sounds fine. Good, I mean. Nice.’
Delilah grinned, nerves fizzing like Jelly Babies dropped into Coke. She reached down, scooped up Cassie’s dropped keys, and pushed the door open wider. ‘But first, let’s get this giant box inside before your arms fall off.’
Cassie laughed again, following her in, and for once, Delilah didn’t feel like she was competing with anyone.
Fifty-Four
It was just past eight, and they were parking up outside The Mare & Foal, the low-lit pub Cassie knew from her early training days, a place the players used to sneak to for an off-diet drink.
Delilah was already out of the car.
‘This is the spot?’ she asked, looking up at the timber-framed building with its battered sign.
‘It’s not glamorous,’ Cassie said apologetically.
‘Neither am I,’ Delilah said.
They’d both changed and showered and were in, if not date clothes, fresh ones. Neither had packed in the expectation of any kind of a date, so the effort showed in small, telling ways: Cassie had swapped her usual scuffed trainers for clean boots, Delilah’s eyeliner was sharper than usual.
Cassie held the door for her, and Delilah gave her a brief look. Not teasing exactly, more an acknowledgement.I see you dating me, and I like it.
Inside, the pub was warm and cosily lit. Cassie steered them toward a corner booth half-hidden by a wooden beam, and they slipped into the seats.
