‘What?’
‘Why did you tell Joe Upton that we had an after-hours snog?’
I fixed him with my best death-stare, ignoring the confusion I could see clouding his usually bright green eyes.
‘You know as well as I do, that nothing happened,’ I said, lowering my voice a little, but not enough to make it too difficult for everyone else to hear, ‘so why lie?’
Sam sighed and looked over the top of my head to where everyone was still holding their breath, waiting for his explanation and, hopefully, heartfelt apology.
‘I haven’t seen Joe Upton,’ he said.
His volume matched mine, but he sounded angry and not, as I had hoped, at all contrite.
‘The last I heard he’d left again,’ he hissed.
‘So,’ I said, feeling more indignant than ever, ‘how do you explain the fact that he’s just turned up at the cottage and told me that he called in here earlier and heard straight from the horse’s mouth all about what happened Saturday night.’
There was a low-level murmuring breaking out behind me, but I didn’t take my eyes off Sam.
‘I have absolutely no idea,’ he said, looking right back at me, ‘because I’ve been at the cash-and-carry all afternoon. I only got back about ten minutes ago.’
That rather took the wind out of my sails and I could hear a titter as well as muttering coming from the rapt crowd of listeners.
‘What?’
‘I haven’t been here since lunchtime,’ Sam said. ‘Not that I need to explain my movements to you as you seem to think you know them already. I haven’t seen Joe, I haven’t heard Joe and quite frankly, I can’t believe that you would think that I’d tell anyone about what happened Saturday night, especially as it was something and nothing.’
I swallowed, my eyes stinging with tears.
‘Perhaps you should ask Patrick over there if he knows anything about it,’ he said, pointing. ‘He’s one of Joe’s farmhands and he was hanging on in here until I turfed him out Saturday night. Maybe he saw something and had a word with his boss.’
I slowly turned to find a guy with scruffy shoulder-length hair, nursing a pint and looking sheepish.
‘Well?’ I demanded.
‘I was having a smoke out front earlier when I saw the boss,’ he explained, ‘and I might have mentioned that I had seen you and Sam having a bit of a moment.’
I felt my misplaced anger oozing away and puddling around my feet.
‘I’d had a pint or two that night,’ he admitted, ‘so I might not have quite got all the details right, but the pair of you were definitely in some sort of clinch.’
Sam shook his head in disbelief and let out a guttural growl.
‘She’d had a pint or two as well, you prat,’ he growled at Patrick, as he pointed at me. ‘She fell over and I caught her.’
It had been wine rather than beer, but that was a minor detail and not worth mentioning.
‘Oh,’ said Patrick.
‘It was a reflex action,’ Sam went on, ‘nothing more. And besides, I could hardly risk her bloody suing me if she took a knock on the way down, could I?’
I didn’t think it would be helpful either to mention that when I had ended up in his arms, he had started to say something very interesting to me about his head and his heart, but it was all clear as a bell in my head now.
‘I suppose not,’ Patrick muttered.
Sam turned his attention back to me and shook his head.
‘The show’s over, folks,’ he announced, trying to draw a line under the completely unnecessary scene I had just instigated.
It took a few seconds, but eventually everyone went back to their drinks and their own conversations, which were no doubt about me and my big mouth, and I bet a few of them were keener to still believe the fiction rather than the facts.
‘Well,’ said Sam, ‘that was unpleasant, wasn’t it?’
‘I’m so sorry,’ I said, feeling every bit as bad as I deserved to. ‘Joe said—’
‘I don’t care what he said,’ Sam interrupted. ‘I’m more upset that you thought I would break the promise I’d made.’
‘I’m sorry,’ I said again.
‘Words spread like wildfire around here,’ he reminded me. ‘This will be all over Wynmouth by closing time tonight.’
‘But what about Patrick,’ I reminded him. ‘I daresay he’d already told everyone anyway.’
‘No, he hadn’t,’ said Sam. ‘You only had to see the look on everyone’s faces. This was completely fresh news. The only person Patrick told was his boss and that was because he no doubt wanted to curry favour.’
The implications of what I had just done were beginning to hit home and I rather wished I’d ordered a stiff one when asked.
‘And it won’t matter that nothing happened and I’ve told everyone that nothing happened,’ Sam went on, ‘not when the alternative is so much more appealing.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, which version of this do you reckon will have the most mileage?’ he asked. ‘The landlord catches a drunk punter as she stumbles, or, the landlord who happens to be renting his cottage to an attractive holidaymaker is caught in a steamy embrace with her after hours.’
‘The one with the most sex in it,’ grinned the lad serving as he reached behind Sam for a bottle of tonic mixer.
‘Oh god,’ I said, snatching up my keys and ignoring how flattered I’d felt that Sam had said I was attractive. ‘I need to speak to Hope.’
I dashed out of the pub before he could stop me and ran down to the café, hoping to catch her before she closed up for the day.
‘Hope!’ I called, spotting her as she was just about to leave.
‘Hey, Tess,’ she smiled.
‘Hey,’ I puffed, as I bent to nurse the stitch in my side and catch my breath.
‘What’s going on?’
‘I need to talk to you,’ I panted. ‘Have you got a minute?’
I was more than mildly confused by Hope’s reaction when I described what had happened between Sam and I. Obviously, I didn’t share that he had made mention of his head and heart, or the fact that I had really wanted to kiss him and have him kiss me back. Neither did I mention the role Joe had played in the whole debacle, nor the total arse I had just made of myself in the pub having taken his words at face value.
I stuck to the simple facts, i.e. that there was now a rumour going around that Sam and I had kissed, but we absolutely hadn’t. It was all a silly misunderstanding and the person who had thought he’d seen us in an embrace had actually seen me fall and Sam catch me.
‘Okay,’ Hope shrugged.
She seemed completely unconcerned.
‘You do believe me, don’t you?’
‘Of course, I do,’ she laughed. ‘Why wouldn’t I? Stop looking so worried,’ she insisted. ‘Folk are always happiest when they’re gossiping, Tess, and this will only run until the next thing comes along. Honestly, just let it go.’
‘All right.’
‘I need to head home,’ she said walking over to her car. ‘I told Mum I was on my way ages ago. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?’