Page 92 of The Village of Lost and Found

Lucy was instantly aware of looking even more of a mess than usual. ‘You like it?’ she asked.

He nodded. ‘I do. In fact, it looks bigger than before.’ He frowned. ‘I’m not sure what we’re going to do with all this space now that you’ve cleared so much of the rubbish.’

‘Actually I wanted to ask you something,’ she said, putting down her paintbrush on top of a tall bookcase where Keith couldn’t reach it. As it happened, the dog was currently sprawled out in a sunny patch by the front door.

‘Ask away,’ he said, laughing gently at her as she turned to face him.

‘What?’ she asked, puzzled.

He reached out to touch a lock of her hair which had escaped from her ponytail. ‘You look like an explosion in a paint factory,’ he told her gently.

‘Oh God, do I?’ she said, grabbing her phone and looking at her reflection. She was horrified to see that she was splattered with paint. She looked terrible! She groaned, feeling embarrassed that Tom could see her like that.

‘It’s fine,’ he said, pushing the phone away from her face. ‘Now, what did you want to ask me?’

She hesitated. ‘Well, it was like you said about the amount of space we’ve got now. There’s a lady who comes into the shop next door. She’s struggling because the builders they’ve got in are making a right mess and she works from home. I wondered whether you would mind if she used one of the desks to work at in here for a week or so until the builders have finished. I haven’t offered it to her yet. I wanted to talk to you first.’

He looked astonished. ‘I don’t see why not,’ he eventually said with a shrug. ‘More the merrier, in fact. It’s not like we can’t spare a desk or three.’

‘That’s great,’ she said, her face lighting up. ‘Thanks.’

‘It’s me who should be thanking you,’ he told her. ‘You’ve worked so hard since you got here, sorting out paperwork and now all this.’ He waved his hand around the space. ‘How about I buy you a drink and an inedible dinner at the pub to show you my appreciation.’

Lucy could feel her cheeks going pink with pleasure. ‘I’d love to,’ she said.

‘Great.’

‘Just let me go and get showered first,’ she told him, glancing down at herself and rolling her eyes. ‘I’m not sure you want to be seen in public with me looking like this.’

‘I don’t care what you look like,’ he said. ‘Besides, you always look great to me.’

She blushed, despite his words pleasing her. So many men had only bothered with her looks and had never really wanted to get to know her.

‘Well, remind me to book you an eye examination,’ she drawled, looking down at her paint-splattered self. ‘I’ll see you over at the pub in, what, half an hour or so?’

‘It’s a date,’ he said with a nod before walking away.

A date? Lucy blinked a few times. He didn’t mean that, she told herself. It was just two friends meeting at the pub, that was all.

But she found herself rushing up the stairs, her heart thumping as she dashed into the shower to wash off all the paint.

Back in her bedroom, she tried to calm herself down. It was definitely not a date, she told herself. So why did she spend such a long time making sure her make-up was just right? Why couldn’t she decide what to wear until five minutes before they were due to meet?

‘Is this OK?’ she asked Molly, as she headed out into the lounge area of the apartment.

‘You look amazing,’ said Molly, looking up from her phone and beaming. ‘Really lovely.’

Lucy glanced down at her outfit. It was a dark purple halter-neck top, high at the front, but it left her shoulders and the top of her back bare as she had washed her hair but it was still wet so she had tied it in a messy bun. ‘You don’t think I should wear a bra? Or shall I get changed?’ She spun around to show Molly the back. ‘Too sexy?’

‘Rubbish,’ said Molly, laughing. ‘And since when did you care what anyone thought about you?’

‘I know, but it’s only the pub,’ said Lucy, still not sure. ‘I don’t want to look overdressed.’

‘You look great,’ said Molly. ‘That denim skirt shows off your legs too. Stop worrying.’

Lucy blew out a sigh as she slipped on her flip-flops. ‘OK,’ she said, still not sure. She glanced at the kitchen clock. ‘Well, it’ll have to do otherwise I’m going to be late,’ she said. ‘See you later.’

‘Have fun!’ called out Molly.