‘I told you this was a good idea,’ I smiled back at him. ‘Those extra customers you said you wouldn’t mind drawing in have just been waiting for a reason, aside from your wonderfully kept beer, to come along.’
‘I think you might be right,’ he said, looking about him.
‘Of course, I am.’
Sam rolled his eyes and, spotting the arrival of the first, slightly nervous-looking musician, rushed off to help him carry in his equipment. The poor lad looked even greener around the gills when he realized how many people were waiting to hear him, but I had a feeling he’d feel more confident once he’d sung his first few lines.
‘How are things in here?’ I asked Sophie when I popped through to the kitchen to check she had everything she needed. ‘It smells divine!’
For the first time ever, I thought she looked a little flustered, or at least she seemed to appear so when she spotted me.
‘Tess,’ she said, her eyes trained on the huge pan she was stirring, ‘I didn’t hear you come in.’
‘Is everything all right?’
‘Yes,’ she said, although I wasn’t sure I believed her. ‘Everything’s fine.’
‘And you’ve got everything you need.’
‘I think so.’
I waited for her to carry on, but she didn’t and I was just about to ask her again if all was well, when Sam poked his head around the door.
‘Tess, can you spare a sec?’ he asked. ‘I could do with a hand behind the bar.’
Now it was my turn to look flustered. Earlier in the week, I had told Sam about my stint working in the union bar at university and he had made me pull or pint or two to see if my skills were still up to scratch, just in case he ended up needing them. They hadn’t been to begin with, but as with most things in life, the more I’d practised, the better I’d got and Sam had said it was good to know that I would be able to help the others keep up if the evening got as busy as he thought it might.
‘What, already?’ I squeaked, following him out of the kitchen.
I hadn’t scheduled the extra bar support to show up until later.
‘Already,’ he said, pointing at the quickly forming queue.
It was all hands on deck after that. There were a couple of brief lulls while the young singers were giving a rendition of their rather accomplished repertoires, but the till rang long and loud all afternoon and the evening looked set to be an even bigger draw.
‘Thank you so much for this, Sam,’ said Harry, the lad who had ended the afternoon together with Delilah, the other performer, singing a moving acoustic version of an Ed Sheeran track.
I had thought there was a spark between the pair and having had the opportunity to sing together now, they looked like starstruck lovers. It was really very sweet.
‘My pleasure,’ said Sam, handing an envelope to each of them. ‘This isn’t much,’ he said, ‘but you’ve both done such a great job, and I know you said you just wanted the experience of singing in front of a crowd, but you deserve to be paid after such fantastic performances.’
They looked delighted.
‘And I’d love you both to come back,’ Sam carried on. ‘If you’d like to?’
They nodded in perfect synchronicity, looking more dumbstruck than loved up.
‘Tess and I will be having a talk about how the evening has gone at some point, so come back next week and I’ll let you know what we’ve decided.’
‘Wow,’ grinned Delilah, her cat-like features lighting up. ‘Thanks, Sam.’
They wandered off looking far happier than they had when they arrived and now I was the dumbstruck one.
‘That is all right, isn’t it?’ Sam asked, turning his green gaze back on me. ‘I probably shouldn’t have just assumed, but it would be great if you could spare the time to talk it all through with me.’
‘Of course,’ I said. I’d felt rather a thrill when I heard him refer to the two of us as the decision-makers about potential future events, even though I wasn’t going to be around all that long to see them happening. ‘I’m more than happy to do that.’
‘Great,’ he said, squeezing my arm and making my heart race again as he held my gaze. ‘You know, Tess . . .’
He stopped and let out a long breath. I could tell he was gearing up to say something really important, and not about the pub either.
‘What?’ I nudged, ‘what do I know?’
‘Well . . .’ he began.
‘Sam!’
He closed his eyes and took another breath. I was desperate to find out what he was trying to say, but he wasn’t going to get the chance to enlighten me.
‘Sam!’
‘Yeah!’ he called back, ‘I’m coming now.’
The Sea Dogs were everything you could hope for from a traditional sea-shanty group. From the spotted neckerchief to the abundance of beards and big boots, they fitted my expectations to a T. They even had the obligatory scruffy terrier, wearing his own little necktie, who stalked in with an air of superiority and sent Skipper’s hackles soaring. The pair took their time sizing each other up and then, thankfully, decided to ignore each other completely, assuming ownership of opposite ends of the room.
‘Here,’ said Sophie, popping up behind the bar with a tray, just before the group began to play, ‘stop and have something to eat, Tess. You’ve been on the go for hours. I’ll take over here if anyone needs serving.’
‘Oh, thank you, Sophie,’ I said gratefully. We had almost sold out of food and I hadn’t had so much as a bite. ‘I thought I was going to miss out.’
‘Not a chance,’ she smiled. I was pleased to see her looking and sounding more like her usual self again. ‘I told Mike to save you a couple of these.’
‘What exactly are these?’ I asked, looking at the sizzling shells.
‘Fresh cooked scallops and chorizo,’ Sophie said proudly. ‘There’s a little chilli too and some honey to balance out the heat.’
They looked fantastic served in the scallop shells and I hungrily dived in, dipping buttered crusty bread into the spicy sauce.
‘Oh Sophie,’ I groaned, after the first delectable mouthful, ‘they’re orgasmic.’
‘Well,’ she laughed. ‘I don’t know about that, but we thought they were pretty good.’
‘What’s orgasmic?’ Sam asked throatily, leaning over my shoulder.
‘These scallops,’ I said, blushing. I hadn’t realized he was behind me.
He reached around and pinched one of the shells, dithering as the heat scolded the ends of his fingers. I spun around just in time to see him pop it into his mouth.
‘Hey,’ I protested, as he looked down at me and raised his eyebrows, his mouth working appreciatively. ‘Hands off, they’re mine.’
I wasn’t sure if his pupils had widened because of the food-heaven ecstasy the combination of flavours had unleashed or because of our close proximity.
‘You’re right, Tess,’ he smiled, licking his lips, ‘utterly orgasmic.’
‘Sam,’ said Sophie, clearing her throat, ‘I think the musicians are waiting for you to introduce them.’
‘On my way,’ he said, his eyes never leaving my face.