Fully Booked – Part 2

They sat opposite each other at the long table, the golden cheese still fizzing on top of the toast, with pots of Robin’s homemade garlic mayonnaise on the side and large mugs of steaming tea.

‘It doesn’t work with anything else,’ Robin said. ‘Cheese on toast can’t be improved with wine or beer – or even coffee. It has to be tea.’

Will narrowed his eyes, cut a soldier off his toast and dipped it in the mayonnaise. ‘Did you say you made this mayonnaise? It’s delicious.’

Robin sat back, enjoying the compliment before she gave the game away. ‘It’s Hellmann’s mayo. I just added some crushed garlic cloves.’

Will nodded, a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth. ‘Classy move. Why go to the effort of making it from scratch when a couple of well-placed modifications will do?’

‘I am running a guesthouse, after all,’ Robin said. ‘I have to strike the right balance between quality and efficiency.’

‘It sounds like you’re already a pro.’ Will sipped his tea and glanced towards the sofas, where Darcy had chosen to snooze.

‘My parents ran the guesthouse before me,’ Robin said. ‘So I grew up in the environment, absorbing it all without ever considering that I would end up making my living this way.’

‘This wasn’t your plan all along, then?’

Robin shook her head. ‘I lived in London for a long time, and only moved back here last year. My parents wanted to move to France, and it seemed like the logical thing to do, taking over from them. I’ve restyled it completely, though. My parents didn’t go in for room names or themes.’

‘It’s a great idea. I saw the other rooms in your welcome pack, and I think I should be staying in Wilderness.’ He smiled at her, and Robin took a moment to get the joke.

‘Ah,’ she said, ‘Bear Grylls. Of course.’ Remembering how Will had compared himself to the celebrity adventurer when they’d first met. ‘Well, Starcrossis my favourite room, so in my opinion you’ve got the best deal.’ She glanced at the table, suddenly embarrassed that she’d admitted this to him.

‘I’m honoured. And a little bemused, if I’m honest.’ Will mopped the last of the mayonnaise up with his final piece of toast and rested his elbows on the table. He was wearing a navy jumper speckled with threads of different colours, the sleeves rolled up, exposing his forearms and reminding Robin – as if she was likely to forget – that she’d seen a lot more of him than that.

‘Why?’ Robin asked, wrapping her hands around her large mug and letting the steam hit her face.

‘Because – and don’t take this the wrong way – I hadn’t expected everyone to be so friendly.’

Robin felt a wave of discomfort. ‘You’ve come from London to the seaside. Everyone’s bound to be friendlier down here – we’re not all trying to live our lives at a hundred miles an hour.’

‘Yeah, but this is extreme. The guy from the teashop a few doors down – Ashley – brought me a box of cupcakes as a welcome present. And then he stayed and helped me bag up loads of rubbish. How did he know I was here? And does everyone go out of their way to help here – I mean, all the time? How do you live your own lives?’

Robin closed her eyes. Will is going to love it here. Molly must have asked Ashley to take those cakes round to him.

‘It … uh, Will?’

‘Yes?’ He looked directly at her, his face open and expectant, clearly pleased by the acts of kindness, and Robin found she couldn’t tell him. She should,but already, the thought that he might see her behaviour towards him – offering to help with Tabitha’s house, the cheese on toast – as something other than genuine, was too horrible. And if she told him about Tim’s plan for his aunt’s house, and of Molly and Mrs Harris’s concerns about the possible development, then that’s what he would think. It was inevitable that her kindness would be seen as part of Molly’s charm offensive, with the sole aim of stopping him from selling the house to Tim.

He gave her a questioning smile when she didn’t answer. ‘Are you OK?’

‘Yes, sure. Of course. What flavour cakes are they?’

‘Sorry?’

‘The cakes Ashley brought you? What flavour? They do an amazing lemon and poppy seed muffin down there, and their scones are the best I’ve tasted.’

‘I haven’t even looked, to be honest,’ Will said. ‘I was so busy sorting things out that I just took the box and put it down …’ His words faded away and his eyes widened. ‘Shit, I’ve left them at Tabitha’s house.’

‘Well, that’s OK, I don’t think the grime will be able to get inside the box.’

‘But what about the furry friend Darcy was so terrified of?’ Will was already standing. ‘After having to hunt out scraps in an abandoned house for the last six months, mice will home straight in on cake. I’ll be back in a few minutes, and if they’ve survived, we can have them for pudding – the cakes, not the mice.’ He grinned at her.

‘You don’t need to—’

‘You provided the first course, it’s only fair. Darcy, stay.’ He pointed at the little dog who, from what Robin could see, had no intention of leaving her cosy spot on the sofa, and hurried out of the room.

Robin couldn’t resist.

As soon as Will had gone she went over to the sofa and sat next to Darcy, putting her hands in the Cavapoo’s soft, springy fur. Darcy sniffed and moved her head forwards, licking Robin’s hand with her rough tongue. Robin bent and buried her nose in the dog’s coat, and then felt the lightest weight land on her lap. She sat up to find Eclipse looking at her, his kitten eyes too big for his face. He gave a squeak of a meow, and then put a paw out and tentatively tapped Darcy’s leg.

Robin held her breath, waiting for Darcy to spring to her feet and bark, but Eclipse kept pawing gently and Darcy just looked at the small cat, her eyes barely visible beneath curly eyebrows, and after a moment started whining, so quietly that Robin could only just hear.

‘Oh, Darcy,’ she said, stroking the dog with one hand and Eclipse with the other, ‘it’s OK. Eclipse won’t hurt you, he’s about a fifth of your size. You won’t, will you?’ She smiled at her cat and he blinked at her. ‘You could be great friends. It would be like Homeward Bound, only without the horrendous journey.’

The doorbell pealed and, thinking Will had forgotten his key, Robin put Eclipse in her space next to Darcy and went to answer it. When she opened the door, it wasn’t Will and some cupcakes smiling down at her.

‘Tim,’ she said, swallowing down the panic. ‘Hello.’

‘Robin. How are you?’ He stepped into the hallway before she had invited him. He was still wearing his suit, dark grey with a white shirt beneath. The tie had gone, the top button open, and he looked like a model doing post-work dishevelled for a magazine shoot. ‘How was your first night with a house full of holiday makers?’

‘Good,’ she said, and then remembered she hadn’t told Will about the incident with Eclipse in Rockpool, just as she realised she didn’t want to give Tim this anecdote. Even though it was harmless, revealing any signs of imperfection to Tim didn’t sit right with her. ‘I’ve actually got a full house. Someone booked into my last empty room yesterday evening, so it couldn’t have gone better.’

She gave him a bright smile and he nodded distractedly, surveying the hallway as if talking to her was bottom of his to-do list.

‘Can I help you with anything? Did you come round for a drink, or …?’

‘No,’ Tim said. ‘I came by with a question. You see, I’ve heard that—’

His words were cut off by a loud commotion coming from Sea Shanty,which Robin recognised as unhappy animals.

‘Oh no.’ She rushed into the room to find Eclipse standing on the arm of the sofa, his tail fluffed, squeaking down at Darcy, who had managed to fit herself under the piano stool. Anyone else would have found her kitten’s attempt at dominance hilarious, but she already knew that Darcy was lacking in the bravery department.

‘Eclipse,’ she said, pulling him into her arms. ‘What happened? What did she do to you? I’m sorry Darcy’s here; I shouldn’t have left you alone together so soon. I promise she’s lovely, and if you just give it time …’ She stroked him and eventually his body stopped shaking, his purrs much louder than his attempts at meowing. She kissed him on the forehead and put him gently on the sofa. He eyed Darcy warily.

Tim appeared in the doorway. ‘That’s a lot of commotion for such a small cat.’

‘It’s my fault,’ Robin said. ‘I should have prepared him for dogs.’ She crouched next to the piano stool, turning her back on Tim. ‘Come on, Darcy, you can come out now. I’m sorry about Eclipse. He’s just protecting his territory.’ She stroked her paw and the dog padded forward, whimpering, and allowed Robin to gather her on to her lap. ‘You’re a soft thing. You and Will are like chalk and cheese.’

‘Who’s Will?’ Tim asked. ‘And more to the point, who’s this? Are you opening a home for stray animals as well as a guesthouse? I’m not sure they’re the most harmonious businesses.’

‘This is Darcy,’ Robin said. ‘She belongs to a guest. And I shouldn’t have left her alone with Eclipse – not so soon.’ The dog was still whimpering, but Eclipse had calmed down and was curled into a ball, almost lost against the navy fabric of the sofa.

‘Right,’ Tim said, his pale brows knitting together, his voice laced with irritation. ‘Look, Robs, I just came round to ask about next door. Malcolm hasn’t had a chance to get in touch with Tabitha’s family yet – there’s a nephew he’s tracked down – but I heard that someone’s moved in. And the curtains were open as I passed.’

Robin focused on Darcy, rubbing the thick fur on her nose. ‘You’ve been driving past?’ She knew she sounded cross, but if she ended up being the reason Tim and Will met, and then Tim used his salesman tactics to secure a sale while Will was off guard and undecided, then she’d have let everyone on Goldcrest Road down, not to mention lost Will before she’d even got to know him properly. It was so hard to think with Tim standing over her.

‘I drove past just now,’ he said. ‘There’s a light on, too. If you don’t know anything, then that’s fine.’ Robin didn’t answer. He shrugged and turned towards the door, and Robin breathed a sigh of relief. But then his whole body stiffened and he rotated slowly, staring down at her. ‘Hang on. You mentioned someone called Will?’