Page 67 of The Village of Lost and Found

‘Oh!’ Molly blushed. ‘Thanks. Anyway, Bridget said they suited her curvy figure better than mine when we tried them on so…’

As Molly’s voice trailed off, Lucy tried not to roll her eyes. She knew exactly what Bridget had thought. She’d thought that pretty Molly and her lovely figure would outshine brash Bridget, and with good reason.

‘Well, you can always try this on when I’ve washed it,’ she told Molly. ‘Maybe you’ll think differently.’

Lucy had never done anything like sharing clothes, but this was important. Molly was obviously totally lacking in self-confidence and her supposed best friend Bridget wasn’t helping. So it was up to her, Lucy, to empower her as much as she could.

‘That’s so kind, but I’m sure it won’t fit me,’ said Molly, still sounding unsure.

‘That’s rubbish,’ Lucy told her, going over to check her appearance in the long mirror next to the bookshelf of cats. ‘Anyway, you won’t know until you try it on.’

She nodded approvingly at herself before her eyes slid to the cats who appeared to be judging her somewhat differently by their grim expressions and so she quickly turned around.

‘Have fun,’ said Molly brightly.

‘Thanks,’ said Lucy. ‘What are you up to?’

‘Just chilling out watching Netflix until Gary comes over. And I may look at the new Twitter feed again,’ she said, with a grin. ‘By the way, I want to hear all the details in the morning.’

Again, this was totally new to Lucy. She didn’t do girl talk. So she just smiled and said, ‘OK. If there’s anything to tell, that is. Have a good evening,’ before heading out.

The sun was still beating down as she walked across the stone pedestrian bridge to the other side of the river.

As she entered The Black Swan, she slid her sunglasses onto her head so that she could see Henry in the gloom. However, the only people she found inside were Mike, the barman, and Tom, who turned around to see who had come into the pub.

‘Wow, you look great,’ said Tom, smiling appreciatively as he glanced up and down at her change of outfit. ‘Have you come to buy me a drink?’

‘Unfortunately you’ve already got one,’ she told him with a smile, nodding at his pint of Diet Coke before she walked past and out into the beer garden. The bright sunshine blinded her for a second before she saw Henry sitting at a table next to the river.

He got up as she walked over to him.

‘Hi,’ he said, smiling.

‘Hi,’ she said.

‘I’ll get the drinks in,’ he told her. ‘What would you like?’

‘Glass of white wine please,’ she replied.

As she waited, she realised she was a little nervous about going out on a date again. Although she’d dated various men over the years, none had gotten under her skin like Jamie Walsh.

Once more, she wondered what on earth she had been doing falling for someone like that. But sitting in the bright sunshine of the pub garden in the summertime felt like a lifetime away from the dark bars that she and Jamie had frequented. Perhaps Henry would be different. Perhaps being away from London the standard of single men would improve. She could only hope.

Henry returned with their drinks and sat down. He was looking very handsome in his short-sleeved shirt and cargo shorts.

‘How was your day?’ he asked.

‘Busy but good, thanks.’ She leant back in her seat after taking a sip of the chilled wine. ‘Mmm. I needed that. Oh and whilst I remember, your dog was here in the village again today. He seems to like waiting for me under the veranda of the shop.’

Henry rolled his eyes. ‘He’s a pain.’

‘He’s not that bad,’ she told him. ‘We’ve even given him a nickname. Keith!’

Henry frowned before picking up his beer. ‘Not sure about that,’ he said.

‘Well, he needs a name,’ said Lucy, who still felt sorry for the dog. ‘Why does he keep escaping?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Henry, with a shrug. ‘Anyway, I get the impression that you’re not exactly the animal or countryside type,’ he added, breaking into a knowing smile. ‘I mean, look at you. You look amazing. You’re the most glamorous person around here for miles.’