Page 44 of The Wedding Proposal
Going hungry wasn’t going to improve her disposition so, swinging the fridge door shut, she started the little coffee machine, grabbed her purse, hopped ashore and, the kiosk not being open for breakfast, ran across to a cafe on the other side of the road. Here, she sat herself at one of the small round tables on the pavement and, succumbing to the mouth-watering smell, ordered a bacon roll.
A battered green pick-up truck racketed onto the garage forecourt nearby, pausing only long enough to disgorge a man from the passenger side before it rejoined the stream of traffic.
Elle started to realise that the man was Lucas, and that he’d spotted her and was waiting for a gap in the traffic so that he could cross towards her. His hair was tangled, he needed to shave, his T-shirt looked as if he’d slept in it, but somehow the overall effect was that he’d just stepped out of an advert for something adventurous.
‘What have you ordered?’ He yawned.
‘Bacon roll.’
‘Mind if I join you? After the night dive I stayed over at Vern’s and I need something to soak up the alcohol.’ He yawned again.
‘I’m taking mine back to the boat.’
‘Good idea.’ He poked his head into the cafe and added two rolls to the order; then he turned back to Elle. ‘Shall I go put the coffee on and you bring these over?’
‘The coffee’s on.’
‘Fantastic. I feel as if I could drink pints of it.’ He smiled lazily, apparently unaffected by the terseness of her responses.
Nettled by him intruding on her bad mood, for an instant she was tempted to change her plans and eat in the gardens. Then she sighed. Under the weight of her gloomy waking thoughts she’d pretty much reached the conclusion that she needed to talk to Lucas about the Kayleigh situation. Might as well be now.
So, ‘You bring the food, I’ll pour the coffee,’ she said.
‘Wonderful.’ His attention was on counting out euros from his pocket.
Elle crossed back to the Shady Lady, white and gorgeous in morning sun already hot enough to make her shoulders tingle. She poured the coffee and carried the mugs up to the dinette in the saloon. Two plates, two sheets of kitchen roll in lieu of napkins, one bottle of tomato ketchup, and the table dressing was done.
In five minutes, Lucas appeared, a white takeaway container in his hands. ‘Breakfast is served.’ He put everything down and stretched tiredly. ‘What’s up? Your smile fallen overboard?’
She chose a roll and squirted ketchup neatly on the side of her plate. ‘Yesterday, Kayleigh hinted that she suspects there’s still something between us.’ Then, honestly, ‘More than hinted. I don’t think she’s happy.’
Lucas put down the roll he’d been holding. His eyes shone black. ‘Why should she be unhappy?’
Elle stared. ‘Seriously?’
He shook his head. ‘I mean . . . I don’t know what I mean. You took me by surprise.’
‘Seriously?’ Elle said again. ‘She’s living in the Sea Creek Hotel, and you’re living here on the boat with me, and you’re surprised she’s not happy?’
Frowning, Lucas took a huge bite of his breakfast, gazing out of the window at Fallen Star, one of the vessels lying between them and the bridge.
Elle waited for him to chew and swallow. But when he took another bite without responding, she put her roll down. ‘Maybe she should come and live on the boat with you.’
Lucas swallowed. ‘She doesn’t want to.’
‘Or you go and share with her.’
‘She doesn’t want that, either.’
‘Then,’ Elle took a deep breath, ‘Loz and Davie said I could live on Seadancer. Maybe I’d better do that. While Kayleigh’s visiting, anyway.’
‘So our living arrangements only matter to Kayleigh when she’s around to see them? If you move to Seadancer, logically it should be until one or other of us leaves the island.’ He raised his eyebrows. When he did that, he looked a little like his mother when she felt it necessary to be particularly direct about something, and Elle’s memories of Fiona in that mode were not fond.
‘Then maybe I should,’ she snapped. ‘I’m not comfortable with upsetting Kayleigh.’
His eyes flashed. ‘Bullshit. If you don’t want to share the boat with me, don’t, but at least be honest about it.’
‘You and your honesty!’ Elle found herself suddenly on her feet, banging her thigh on the table, knocking the ketchup bottle noisily on its side. ‘Honestly, I’m not comfortable with upsetting Kayleigh.’
