Page 39 of Match Point in Crumbleton
‘I know,’ yawned Cath, wishing she had time to nip into the café and beg Mabel for a large cup of Earl Grey to keep her going. ‘I didn’t sleep a wink last night!’
‘I’m not surprised,’ said Andy. ‘You’ve been working too hard.’
‘Erm… no, that’d be you!’ laughed Cath. ‘I’ve just been along for the ride.’
‘That’s rubbish and you know it,’ said Andy.
‘Fine. But it’s been fun, not work. And… thank you, by the way.’ Cath swallowed. She was suddenly feeling weirdly emotional as well as completely knackered. ‘I couldn’t have done this without you.’
‘Yes you could,’ said Andy, sounding matter of fact. ‘I’ve got a feeling you could do pretty much anything once you’ve set your mind to it.’
‘Are you saying I’m stubborn?’ said Cath, shooting a sideways grin at him. It was far easier to make a joke than take the compliment.
‘No—just one of the most capable people I’ve ever come across,’ he said. ‘And by the way, that’s basically the highest compliment I can come up with.’
‘Well… thanks,’ said Cath, coming to a halt next to him in front of the Pottingers’ front door.
‘You’re welcome,’ he said.
‘And… just for the record,’ said Cath as Andy knocked on the door, ‘even if I could have done it without you, I wouldn’t have wanted to.’
Cath watched as Andy’s entire face creased into a delighted smile, and it felt like the sun had just come up.
‘Well well well,’ said Annie Pottinger, as she threw the door open and beamed out at them, ‘if it isn’t Crumbleton’s new lovebirds!’
‘I…’ said Andy.
‘We…’ started Cath, feeling like she’d just been winded.
‘There isn’t…’ said Andy.
‘We’re not together,’ said Cath. She instantly wanted to kick herself—she could swear Andy had just winced when she’d said that!
‘No,’ he said quietly, ‘we’re not. Just friends… here for the strawberries.’
‘Hmm,’ muttered Annie. ‘We’ll see about that. Come on in then, those strawberries aren’t going to pick themselves!’
CHAPTER 16
ANDY
Andy trailed after the two women, glad that he was carrying the stack of cardboard boxes. They gave him something to hide his face behind. Not that he really needed to—Cath didn’t glance back at him once as they followed Annie down the hallway and through to the kitchen. He wondered if she was feeling as discombobulated as he was from Annie’s good-natured prodding.
Swallowing hard, Andy gave his head a little shake, trying to get his thoughts back in order. Today wasn’t the day for exploring what was—or wasn’t—there between them. Nor was it the day for awkward silences and longing glances. Cath had worked so hard to pull this event together in such a short amount of time, and there was no way a bit of good-natured town gossip was going to throw a spanner in the works… at least, not if he had anything to do with it!
‘Ah! The strawberry pickers!’ cheered Harold from his perch at the kitchen table.
Andy smiled at him over the boxes. ‘Present and correct.’
‘Wow, it looks different in here!’ said Cath staring around the kitchen.
Andy knew what she meant… something had definitely changed since their last visit. He just couldn’t put his finger on what.
‘No jam on show,’ said Annie, somewhat morosely. ‘We brought the car up last night while the high street was quiet and loaded it all up, ready to bring down to the Dolphin and Anchor for today’s stall.’
Andy nodded. Yep, that would explain it. There were several hundred jars missing and all the nooks and crannies were empty. The old dresser looked practically naked without them.
‘Thank you so much,’ said Cath. ‘It’s incredibly generous of you.’
