Page 25 of Love from Pretty Beach

Darby shifted in her seat, acutely aware that her kitchen table confession had gone around the world quite quickly.

The boredom continued for another twenty minutes, with Margaret reading a brief excerpt from her latest novel and then Lotta opening the floor for questions.

It was clear that everyone else in the audience was a lot more generous than Darby.

Someone asked about plot development and the man next to her questioned the character’s motivation.

'How do you develop your characters? Do you base them on real people, or do they come from your imagination?'

The questions continued until Darby was hallucinating about making a run for it. Or standing getting another four glasses of mulled wine and just so happening to find herself next to Archie as she drank her drinks. As if time was crawling by, eventually Lotta wrapped it up.

'Thank you all so much for coming. I hope you'll consider picking up one of my books.'

Not a chance, get me out of here PDQ.

As Darby shuffled out of the row, chatting to Maggie, and they made their way towards the drinks, Suntanned Pete came from the other direction, and Archie was right behind him. He clocked her right away and smiled. ‘Oh, hi.’

Darby smiled. He’d irritated her by bluntly ending the text conversation, but that all went out the window as she swooned. ‘Hi. Nice to see you. Did you enjoy that?’

Archie widened his eyes just enough to let on that he was thinking the same as Darby. ‘Yeah.’

Suntanned Pete smiled. ‘Oh, you know each other? Shall I get us all a wine?’

‘I’d love one, thanks, Pete.’ Darby nodded.

'We've run into each other a few times. I’m working on a house in the Old Town.’

Pete smiled and passed Darby and Archie glasses of mulled wine. ‘Right.’

Archie glanced around the bookshop as the crowd began to thin. 'Well, that was certainly something.'

'Something is one word for it,' Darby was unable to keep the amusement out of her voice. 'I have to admit, werewolves on Mars don’t float my boat. Not really my cup of tea.'

'No?' Archie widened his eyes. 'And here I was thinking you looked like someone who'd be right into interplanetary lycanthropy.'

Darby laughed. 'I didn’t even know what that word meant before this evening.'

Around them, the bookshop hummed with conversation and Darby realised that she was full-on flirting.

Her head was to the side, her stomach sucked in, her right leg was at a strange angle and she was doing a smile which hadn't made an appearance on her face in about ten years, if not more. Candles flickered on shelves, someone had opened one of the tall windows to let in a bit of air and the scent of mulled wine and books made everything feel a little bit dreamy, spaced-out, floaty, very lovely. She could also smell Archie’s aftershave; it reminded her of good soap, ironed shirts, well-formed muscles.

'So, what do you actually read? When you're not attending lectures about space werewolves, I mean.'

'Oh, all sorts really. Thrillers, romcoms, novels, biographies of people I've never heard of. I love reading about people who have lived completely different lives from me. It stops me from wondering what I'm doing with my life, whether I've made terrible decisions, that sort of thing.'

‘Ha, right.’

A couple of other people joined the conversation and as Darby sipped her wine and chatted, she was glad she’d made the effort.

However, it was clear that the Archie thing was going nowhere.

He was jovial enough, but she’d obviously built up the drink in the pub to be something it wasn’t.

A little bit jaded, she kept a smile on her face and chatted.

About half an hour later, still in the same little group of people, Darby was pondering whether or not to get another drink when Maggie approached, jingling her car keys. 'Right then, Darby, ready when you are.’

Maggie had mentioned when they’d been chatting before the talk had begun that she’d give Darby a lift. Darby smiled. ‘Thanks, yep I’m ready.’

Smiling Maggie raised her eyebrows at Archie. ‘Hey! How's that job you're doing coming along? Mum said your lot are lined up to sort out the wall at the back of her place there.'

'Slowly, but surely. We have months booked out for there and the lads have a big job down in Cornwall. Yeah, then my other crew are coming to your mum’s.'

'Lovely. These old places take time, don't they? But they're worth it in the end.'

Darby pulled her enormous coat around herself and picked up her handbag.

The mulled wine had left her feeling warm and she was somewhat reluctant to leave, but the offer of the lift up the hill was too much to refuse.

The shop felt magical in the candlelight, with its bookshop smell and lovely community, but her sofa was looking attractive, too.

Maggie turned her head in the direction of the back of the shop. ‘I’ll just go and say goodbye to Miles properly. I’ll be back in a sec.’

Archie put his drink on a table. 'I should get going, too. I’ve got a super early start tomorrow.’

Darby smiled. ‘I bet it will be chilly in the morning.’

‘Actually, I was wondering if you might fancy dinner?’

Talk about floored. Darby was taken aback. Not only had it been a long time since anyone had asked her out, but she’d convinced herself he wasn’t interested. She could barely get three words out. 'I'd love that.'

'Brilliant. I’m away this weekend with my boys. How about next Saturday evening?’

‘Yes, that would be great.’

‘Where do you fancy going?’

Anywhere. ‘How about the pub again? I love it there.’

‘Done, I could pick you up around seven? I’ll message you anyway.'

‘No, no. I’ll just see you in there. It’s literally a two-minute walk for me.’

‘Okay, no dramas.’

'Perfect.’

'See you next Saturday, then, if not before. I’ll message you.'

'Looking forward to it.'