Page 34 of The Cornish Cream Tea Holiday
Chapter Ten
By the time Thea and Meredith got back to Port Karadow, they had formed a plan. Or, at least, Meredith had suggested it, and Thea had readily agreed to it, because it meant exploring a new part of the town and spending more time with people she was already starting to see as friends.
‘Excellent,’ Meredith said, hanging up the phone. ‘Finn’s on board, as I knew he would be. Now we just need to convince Ben.’
‘You don’t think that’s going to be easy?’
Meredith shrugged. ‘He’s taking this cook-off on Friday seriously, so he’ll probably want to spend the night before practising his dish. I think he needs the break, though. To empty his mind of it. I remember my favourite teacher at school, Mrs Sanders, saying just that before exams. You have to stop revising at lunchtime on the day before, give your brain time to rest before the real deal.’
‘And you think Ben will see it as a rest, if we’re going to the restaurant run by one of the judges for the cook-off?’
‘It’s had rave reviews since it opened, it’s undoubtedly one of the best places to eat in town, and I think it will inspire him more than anything. A night away from his building site and his beef ribs will set him up for Friday better than any more practising could. If he’s not ready now, then he never will be.’
‘It sounds like you’re rehearsing all the things you want to say to him,’ Thea observed, turning onto the cottages’ driveway.
‘I don’t need to, because you’re here to charm him into agreeing,’ Meredith said. ‘I have faith in you.’ She got out of the car when Thea cut the engine, not giving her a chance to protest.
Meredith knocked on Ben’s door and he opened it, pink-cheeked and slightly out of breath. The neck of his old Beastie Boys tour T-shirt was loose, and there was a rip in the fabric near the hem, but somehow that scruffiness just added to his overall hotness. Thea dragged her eyes up to his face. How was it fair that he looked so amazing when he’d spent the day doing strenuous, sweaty work? She thought back to her state after her first walk, and resisted rolling her eyes.
‘I’ve been moving cabinets,’ he said, by way of explanation.
‘On your own?’ Thea asked, as Meredith thrust a paper bag containing a rhubarb and custard pastie into his hands.
‘You need this, then,’ she said.
‘Thanks.’ He opened the bag and glanced inside. ‘I missed lunch.’
‘And I got you something,’ Thea added. Was it a step too far, buying him a present? It was a large serving dish they’dfound in a quaint, backstreet gift shop in Padstow, where the soft, dove grey interior made every glossy item on display call out to her. The dish was white and blue ceramic, with a map of Cornwall in the middle and the names of the most well-known beaches around the edge. As soon as she’d seen it, she realised nothing else would do. She had imagined Ben serving up his beef ribs in it, or a giant portion of potato salad, or a Christmas roast. It would work for any occasion.
‘What is it?’ he asked, as she handed him the tissue-wrapped package.
‘It’s to say thank you, for all you’ve done for me.’
‘I haven’t done anything.’
‘We both know that’s not true,’ she said. She glanced at Meredith, knowing her new friend would be intrigued about what that meant. ‘I saw this, and I thought – once your kitchen’s sorted – it might be useful.’
Ben unwrapped the paper slowly, revealing the glossy blue and white ceramic beneath. ‘Shit, Thea,’ he murmured, turning it over. He held it as if it weighed nothing, whereas when she had taken it from the display stand to the counter, she’d been terrified of dropping it. ‘This is too much.’
‘It’s not. I wanted to get it for you, so you can’t give it back.’
‘But this—’
‘Please accept it,’ she said. ‘And come out to dinner with us tomorrow.’
‘What?’ He looked up.
‘Great manoeuvre,’ Meredith murmured to her, then said, ‘I’ve booked a table at the Happy Shack for tomorrow night.For the four of us. And you know how hard it is to wrangle one, so you can’t turn it down.’
Ben looked between them, and Meredith clasped her hands in front of her, a picture of sweetness now she’d said her piece. ‘OK,’ he said. ‘Sounds good. Thanks for going to the trouble, Meredith.’
‘It was my pleasure.’ She gave him a wide smile. ‘See you there, just before seven. Thanks for today, Thea,’ she added, then hurried to her car, calling over her shoulder, ‘I’d better take Finn his pastie before it becomes a soggy mush.’
When she and Crumble had gone, Scooter came to join Ben and Thea, sprawling on the doorstep and closing his eyes against the sun.
‘Did you have a good time?’ Ben asked. ‘And do what you wanted for your project?’
‘It was useful,’ she admitted. ‘It gave me some encouragement, which I really needed. And I got a new book, too.’ She grinned.
