Page 32 of Winter Wishes at Pennycress Inn

‘Haha, I’m good, thanks. I actually came to pop these by. Jackson ordered them before he left.’ Rowan patted two large bags of ground coffee he’d popped on the work surface.

‘Oh, nice.’ Placing the tray down, she picked up one of the bags and held it to her nose. She could smell the bitter, earthy aroma through the packet. ‘We’re almost out of the sample packs you dropped by before they went on their honeymoon.’

‘Hopefully these will keep you going for a while then.’ Rowan glanced down at the floor before looking across at Nicola.

‘Did you fancy a coffee whilst you’re here, Rowan? Me and Scarlett are just about to take a break.’ Nicola walked across to the cafetiere and grabbed an extra mug. ‘I say “take a break”, what I mean is Scarlett is taking a break and I’m having my first coffee of the morning before starting work.’

Scarlett watched as he glanced across at her, his eyes briefly meeting hers, before he turned his attention to Nicola.

‘No, thank you, I’d better get off. I’ve got to set up the coffee cart. Thank you, though.’ Picking up his bag, Rowan began heading towards the kitchen door.

‘Okay, no worries. Another time.’ Following him, Nicola continued. ‘I’ll see you out.’

Taking another deep breath and inhaling the aroma from the bag of ground coffee again, Scarlett slumped her shoulders. It had been awkward, hadn’t it? They’d both agreed to stay just friends, so why hadn’t he stayed for coffee?

As Nicola walked back into the kitchen, she held her arms out by her sides and raised her eyebrows. ‘Are you going to tell me what that was all about?’

Frowning, Scarlett tried her best to feign ignorance. ‘What was all what about?’

‘That.’ Nicola nodded towards the door before picking up the two mugs and sitting at the table.

Following Nicola’s gaze, Scarlett let her gaze linger on the space Rowan had just deserted.

‘Well? Are you going to stand there all day cradling a bag of coffee or come and sit down and spill?’ Nicola indicated the chair opposite her and the extra mug.

Shaking herself, Scarlett looked down at her hands, feeling a flicker of surprise that she hadn’t realised she was still holding the coffee Rowan had dropped off. Putting it back on the work surface, she slipped into the chair opposite Nicola and pulled her mug towards her. ‘There’s nothing to tell.’

‘Umm, I don’t believe you.’ Nicola stabbed her finger in the direction of the O’Sullivan family, who were still talking amongst themselves and eating a second round of pastries. ‘I’m surprised the poor O’Sullivans haven’t suffocated; the atmosphere was that thick.’

‘It wasn’t that bad.’ Scarlett lifted her mug to her lips, breathing in the strong fragrance before taking a long sip.

‘I beg to differ.’ Reaching out, Nicola placed her hand briefly on Scarlett’s arm. ‘Don’t worry though, we can change the subject and I won’t mention it again.’

Shaking her head, Scarlett took a deep breath. Truth be told, it would probably do her good to talk it out. Nicola would likely be able to make more sense of the situation than she herself could. A lot more sense if the stability and strength of her and Charlie’s relationship was anything to go by. ‘We kissed. Once we’d got the sheep we thought was Claudette in the van, we kissed.’

‘Ooh, okay, so Claudette point two brought you both together?’ Leaning back in her chair, Nicola grinned. ‘That’ll be such a cute story to tell your grandkids someday.’

‘Ha, we’d have to be together to get to that point.’ Scarlett shook her head. ‘No, we agreed to just stay friends. And things had felt okay when I’d driven Rowan back to Meadowfield after dropping the sheep off at Little Mead, but now, just then… They didn’t. You’re right, things were awkward.’ Super awkward. Things had always been so easy between her and Rowan. Even from the moment she’d walked back into his coffee cart the day they’d met and broken so many of his mugs, things had been good, and now they’d ruined it. She’d ruined it.

‘You’re staying friends?’ Nicola leaned forward again, hunching over her mug as she lowered her voice.

‘Yes, supposedly. We kissed and then I pulled away, told him I didn’t want to get into a relationship with him.’ Scarlett shrugged. Had that been the right decision? As much as her head was screaming at her not to let him in, not to trust another person since Tyler, her heart was telling her a very different story, and she was torn.

Sighing, Nicola nodded her head. ‘I see. Well, it might take a bit of time to get back to the way you were before, but Rowan’s a good guy, so I’m sure you will. Just let the awkwardness pass and things will be just like they were before.’

‘That’s what I’m afraid of.’ Scarlett’s voice was quiet, barely a whisper, and she wasn’t sure Nicola had even heard her. Perhaps it would be best if she hadn’t. At least then she could continue to pretend she was okay with her decision.

‘You are?’ Nicola glanced behind her as the sound of chairs scraping against the floorboards sounded and the O’Sullivan family headed in their direction. Standing up, she smiled, ‘Was everything okay?’

‘It was lovely, thank you.’ Zoe beamed as Bill ushered the children towards the door.

‘Great. Well, if you need a coffee or a slice of cake or anything during the day you know where to find me.’ Stepping forward, Nicola wrapped a couple of pains au chocolat in a napkin and passed them to Zoe. ‘If the little ones need something else before lunch.’

‘Thank you.’ Grinning, Zoe waved towards Scarlett. ‘We’ll see you at the Christmas market.’

‘Yes, see you.’ Scarlett waved as she forced a smile. She’d almost forgotten about the market.

Once they’d left, Nicola sank back into her chair. ‘You’re worried you’ve done the wrong thing? Are you saying you do want a relationship with him?’