“Apparently, my aura’s in transition. Whatever that means.”
“Well, my aura’s thirsty and in need of pub therapy. And Jaymes is already there waiting for us.”
Mikey ambled over, having stacked the last of the chairs into the small storage room. “You two coming to The Arms? I’m meeting Dennis and Benny from the team.”
At the mention of Benny Cheung’s name, Mikey peered pointedly at Nathan. Polly had turned away to pick up her shoulder bag, and Nathan didn’t miss Mikey’s smirk and wink. Nathan sighed. He needed to be there. Mikey had invited Benny, knowing he had a thing for Polly, and he had a duty to be there to protect her in case she needed him. Without a moment’s hesitation, she would do the same for him.
“I’ll come for one.”
“Besides,” said Polly, oblivious to the exchange, “am I the only one who thought Arlene deflected the comment about local stores on the green? Seriously, guys, I don’t trust that woman. She’s up to something. And I, for one, intend to find out what.”
“Oh, heavens,” said Nathan. “Miss Marple rises from the grave.”
“Here’s an idea,” said Mikey cheerily. “Talk to Benny Cheung. As I said, he’ll be down the pub tonight. His mum runs theGazette. If anyone’s going to know anything, she will.”
“Perfect,” said Polly.
After a short stroll from the village hall across the frost-crusted village green, they were welcomed by a hug of toasty air inside The Crumbington Arms. Cheeks tingling, Nathan spotted Jaymes at their regular high table with three other people and a tableful of drinks. Jaymes’ gaze that transformed into a friendly grin on seeing Nathan stoked the warmth in him and, despite a moment of trepidation, had him smiling back.
Until something caught his eye.
Nathan knew two of the people standing with Jaymes, teammates Dennis and Benny. But the petite, attractive brunette on Jaymes’ right laughing at something he had said and resting a proprietary hand on his forearm, he did not. Unusual, too, because he thought he knew everyone in Crumbington. When Jaymes’ attention turned elsewhere, the woman stopped laughing and peered curiously in Nathan’s direction. A baffling annoyance unsettled him, which must have shown on his face because when Jaymes looked over at that moment, he tilted his head to one side and frowned quizzically. Caught off guard, Nathan forced a smile and raised a hand in greeting. When Polly excused herself to use the restroom, Nathan stood for a moment and trailed her departure across the bar until he had regained his composure. Only then did he join them.
“Nate. This is Kelly,” said Jaymes, nodding at the woman. “Kell-Bell, this is Nate, the town baker.”
“Don’t call me Kell-Bell, Jaymes,” she replied, laughing. There was a familiarity bordering on intimacy in the way they interacted. Maybe Kelly was an old girlfriend. Her attention turned to Nathan now. “A worthy profession, Nate. Nice to meet you.”
Nathan waited for Jaymes to explain how he knew Kelly, but no explanation came.
“Nice to meet you, too,” said Nathan.
Without removing her clutch on Jaymes’ forearm, Kelly carefully repositioned her glass of wine on the table and offered her free hand to Nathan. Her thin, chilled fingers clasped his own. When he released them, he wanted to wipe his palm on his coat but thought that might appear rude.
“How’d it go tonight?” asked Jaymes, probably out of politeness.
“You know. Usual boring stuff—”
“Sorry,” interrupted Mikey, grasping Nathan’s shoulder. “But we need to bend Nathan’s ear. Something important needs ironing out.”
Once out of earshot, Mikey explained the predicament. “For the shoot, the guys are asking if they’re going to be expected to do any poses together that might be suggestive or misconstrued.”
When he glanced back, Jaymes and his friend had their heads together again, deep in conversation, oblivious to everyone else around them.
“Not this again,” said Nathan, turning back and exhaling with irritation. “Come on, guys. No, of course not. Why are you even asking?”
“Arlene said the photographer wants to shoot Benny and Ken together.”
That made sense. Ken and Benny had to be the youngest, best-looking and fittest members of the team. The two of them pictured together would ensure the sale of a good number of calendars.
“And?”
“I didn’t request to be photographed with anyone else,” said Benny. “I’m just wondering why.”
“Fair point. If that idea makes you uncomfortable, I’ll talk to Jenny. I’m sure she’ll be happy to change things around.”
“Look, I don’t want to be a pain—”
“Benny, you’re doing us a favour here. For the committee and ultimately for charity. If you’re not comfortable, then Arlene can go to hell and I’ll change things around myself.”
