Page 12 of The Village Inn of Secret Dream

Pete looked up at her, his green eyes bright against his golden skin. ‘Here too?’ he asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. ‘Has it ever been anything else?’ she told him.

He nodded thoughtfully before taking a sip of his beer. ‘Mmm, that’s good.’

At that moment, one of the group of women came up to order a round of drinks. She shot Pete a look with a flirty smile to go with it.

‘I’ll bring them over,’ said Belle, her tone a tad rougher than she had hoped for.

‘Thanks,’ said the woman.

She and Pete exchanged one more long glance of unspoken questions before she walked, or rather sashayed, away.

Pete turned to look at Belle with a smile on his face.

‘Don’t even think about it,’ Belle told him. ‘She’s married to a guy who’s a gym fanatic. He’d knock you into the river if you tried anything with his wife.’

Pete held up a hand in defence. ‘I’m just here for the drink, not to make any trouble.’

‘That would be a first,’ said Belle, before turning to pour the drinks.

So that wasn’t so bad, she thought as she measured out a gin and tonic. She was still able to talk to Pete and make light conversation, even after all this time.

Maybe, just maybe, their long-lasting friendship would be enough to survive something as insignificant as one mistaken kiss.

It felt as if he had never left, thought Pete.

The inn hadn’t changed, of course. It was as run-down and dismal as always. But, in a way, he found that familiarity comforting.

And then there was Belle. Had she changed? Her smart wit was still evident, as was the gleam in her dark brown eyes. Despite her normal dark clothes, her pretty face was still the highlight of the inn.

‘By the way, you’re back just in time for Uncle Mick’s birthday party,’ she told him. pointing to a nearby poster in bright lettering.

Pete grinned. ‘Well, your aunt and uncle did always throw a good party,’ he said, laughing.

She rolled her eyes. ‘Good and loud normally,’ she replied. ‘And it’s fancy dress, just so you’re forewarned.’

‘That’s a shame,’ he told her. ‘I threw away my Batman cape before I moved back here.’

‘I thought your mum had banned you wearing that when you tried to jump from the bridge into the river that time,’ she said.

He grinned at her. ‘I wasn’t jumping, I was learning to fly, if you remember.’

‘I only remember the bruises from your busted ankle when you crashed,’ she said.

He nodded at the memory and smiled to himself.

When he looked up, he found Belle watching him. She seemed almost embarrassed about having been caught.

She appeared to hesitate before saying, ‘It’s good to see you, city boy.’

He smiled. ‘You too. But, you know, there’s still some country left in me,’ he told her.

She raised an eyebrow at him before placing the drinks on a tray. ‘Not in those fancy trainers. Don’t think they’d survive the mud around here.’

As she walked away, he was reminded what an attractive woman she had grown into. It was such a marked difference to the twelve-year-old girl who had arrived in Cranbridge all those years ago. Belle had appeared almost broken in those days, such was the unhappiness of her life up until that point. It had taken many weeks of cajoling and shy teasing by both Pete and Josh to get her to smile and open up to them.

But now she was a confident woman. He watched as she chatted to the group of women who she obviously knew. Her long dark hair swung around her shoulders as she made them all laugh with some funny tale. Her skin remained pale, with only a few freckles here and there to indicate that it was the end of a long, hot summer.