Page 13 of The Cornish Cream Tea Holiday
Thea nodded, but didn’t reach for her phone.
Ben’s gaze turned curious. ‘What is it?’
‘What if she thinks Iwasactually … jumping on it? That I caused it?’
‘Did you?’
‘No! I mean, technically, yes. I sat on it and it cracked: I heard and felt the moment it happened. But I haven’t been doing anything untoward on it.’
‘Double beds in holiday homes should be able to withstand a lot more than one person sitting on them,’ he said.
Thea’s mind immediately went to other, more vigorous, activities. ‘Yes. Well …’ She averted her gaze.
Ben cleared his throat. ‘Sorry. I wasn’t trying to imply—’
‘No, it’s fine.’
‘All I’m saying,’ Ben went on, ‘is that you shouldn’t feel guilty. Tell Mel the bed broke, and ask her what she wants me to do.’
‘Right. You’re right. Of course.’ She found the number, and waited while the phone rang and rang and was eventually answered by a harried-sounding Mel. She explained the situation, treading carefully over the words, ensuring the other woman knew shehadn’tbeen doing anything other than sitting and sleeping. She made the mistake of glancing at Ben while she spoke, and saw one side of his mouth lift again, even while he peered closely at the damaged slat.
To her relief, Mel apologised, and said that if Ben could do a temporary fix she’d try and track down a new slat from the bed manufacturer. It had been a recent-ishpurchase, and she prided herself on keeping her cottage to high standards. That led to her apologising again, and Thea saying not to worry, and apologising for having troubled her in the first place, until it turned into a circular conversation of sorries and reassurances, and when she finally said goodbye and hung up, Ben was leaning against the bed, watching her with an amused expression.
‘You have nothing to apologise for,’ he said.
Thea shrugged. ‘Saying sorry always seems like the easiest thing to do. That way everyone knows you’re not mad with them.’
‘I disagree.’
‘About which bit?’
‘About it being easiest,’ he said. ‘Especially if you don’t mean it or you’ve no need. It puts you on the back foot, gives the other person the wrong impression, tells them they can get away with whatever it is.’
‘I guess,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry, I just—’
He glared at her, and Thea laughed.
‘Right.’ She looked at her toes so he wouldn’t see her smiling. ‘No sorries.’
‘Mel wants me to fix it?’
‘She’s going to try and get a slat from the bed manufacturer, so it matches.’
Ben nodded and pushed himself to his feet. ‘I’ll go and get some wood to strengthen it in the meantime. I’ll be back in a jiffy.’
‘This is so kind of you.’
‘It’s no problem,’ he said, in the doorway. ‘Can’t have you worrying when youdoget to the bed-jumping stage of your holiday.’
Thea laughed again. ‘Is that a regular stage that I don’t know about? Do I need to add it to my bucket list?’
Ben shrugged. ‘Not sure. I haven’t ever thought about it, apart from in the last ten minutes. Now it seems like fun.’
She wouldn’t have immediately put Ben and the word ‘fun’ together. She tried to imagine him jumping up and down on the mattress, like an over-excited toddler. ‘You’d better do areallygood job of fixing the slat then,’ she said, to stop herself from grinning at the mental image she’d conjured.
‘Oh, I will,’ Ben replied, and she was treated to a moment of a real, unrestrained smile; she even saw a flash of white teeth before he schooled his features again. ‘Scooter, come on.’
Scooter responded by lying down in front of Thea, like a guard dog.
