She laughed again, nodding at something the barista said.Felix wished he could hear what they were talking about. He hoped to hell it wasn’t him. He’d only witnessed her full smile when she’d emerged from her car, pleased with herself after splashing through the puddle. Since then, she’d only thrown him a couple of scathing sneers, perhaps a mocking smirk, but not a genuine grin. No. She’d been too busy, almost running him over.
With a last nod to her friends, Thea turned and walked towards him. At her approach, Felix took a breath and sucked in his stomach. Why he felt the need, he couldn’t say.
As she came closer, her expression shifted, and her smile disappeared. The skin on his nape prickled. For the sake of the dinner dance, couldn’t they just get along? Tolerate one another? Overoptimism wasn’t his style, but in this case, he was guilty as charged.
Felix straightened up in his seat. Two could play her game. He could be equally businesslike.
Thea sat down at the table. “Good morning,” she said, glancing at the phone he still held in his hand. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
Felix shifted, a stiff smile on his face. “Not at all. I’m just doing a bit of research. For the dinner dance.”
He placed his cell onto the checked tablecloth, and Thea’s eyes fell on the screen. The corners of her mouth danced. “I see. Are you planning your outfit? Organising your date? I’m not sure red is your colour.”
Felix frowned, then followed her gaze down. There on the screen, the two scantily clad models lay draped across a sports car, lascivious smiles on their lips, red lace barely covering anything. Heat rushed through his body, and his fingers raced to find the button on the side to shut the phone off. Her dimples had distracted him, and he’d forgotten to delete the window.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to see that,” he mumbled.Damn, damn, damn! Viewing soft porn on his phone was hardly business-like. Lucas was going to get a very early bedtime tonight—withnodevices.
“I appreciate you sparing my blushes, but I think the whole café saw your friends and their lovely new Porsche.”
Felix looked around and spotted a pair of teenage boys at the next table, nudging each other and giggling.
“They should be at school,” he mumbled, turning his phone face-down on the table.
“Why, when they can get quite the education here, instead?”
Felix put his phone face down on the table, but before he could defend himself or explain about Lucas and his “research,” the pâtissier came over, bearing two small plates and a steaming espresso. She placed them on the table and gave Felix a dazzling smile.
“Oh, Holly, this is Felix…” Thea hung on the last sound in his name like a snake. Had she forgotten his surname?
“Walsh,” he finished.
“Yes, Walsh. Felix, this is Holly Hope, one of our more talented Tottenbridge residents.”
“Talented?” Felix asked, offering his hand in greeting.
“Holly keeps the entire village on the overweight side with her baking. I think last year, there was talk of hiring a communal personal trainer to counteract the effect of her croissants.”
Holly’s cheeks infused with a bright pink. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Walsh,” she said, looking on the verge of curtseying.Sheknew his name.
“And I you, Miss Hope. I had the pleasure of eating one of your delicious pastries when I was last in the village. I wouldn’t mind getting the recipe.” There.Thatwas businesslike.Andfriendly.
Thea shot her eyebrows skyward. “Careful Holly. You bestget a non-disclosure agreement drawn up. We don’t want Mr. Walsh here to pass on any of your secrets to his chef. It might not be the first time he’s double-crossed someone.”
Felix ignored her remark. Based on her behaviour at the school, the barb was an attempt to rattle him.
After smoothing out an invisible crease in the tablecloth, Holly left, and Felix turned back to Thea. “You seem to know each other well.”
Thea waved a hand around the café. “Tottenbridge is a small village. We all grew up together. We’ve no secrets.”
As she spoke, her eyes tightened, her expression a little menacing. Before he could respond, however, she pointed down to the plate Holly had placed in front of him.
“I ordered you something to eat. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” She unfolded a napkin from the stack in the middle of the table.
On his plate sat a solitary doughnut. Deep-fried to a perfect caramel colour and coated in sugar.
“A doughnut?”
Thea’s lips curled. “Ah, but it’s not justanydoughnut. Holly’s doughnuts are legendary. People queue up from miles around. You won’t find a better breakfast.”
