Travis made a beeline for Freya as she was hovering by the breakfast buffet in the community hall.
‘Morning!’ he chirped, an annoyingly cocky grin splashed across his face.
‘Mmm.’ Cough. ‘M-morning,’ she spluttered after hastily swallowing a piece of croissant.
He grabbed a mug of coffee from the table next to her. ‘This is yours, I presume? It looks like your shade of lipstick.’
She raised her eyebrows. ‘I’m amazed you noticed.’
‘I’m a photographer. It’s my job to notice detail.’
With a roll of her eyes, Freya sipped her Americano, though she too had noticed details … The untamed curls and stubble hinted that he’d just fallen out of bed.
She affected a bored tone. ‘I didn’t expect to see you here.’
‘Sorry to disappoint you, but I got a last-minute invite because I’m launching the gallery at the Christmas Fair.’ He grimaced. ‘That’s the plan, though judging by the state of the gallery premises, I might not be ready until Christmas. I almost didn’t make it this morning. Me and Hamza were up late trying to sort the place out.’
So that accounted for the ‘just rolled out of bed’ look, Freya concluded. ‘Are the premises that bad?’ she asked, abandoning the pretence at boredom. She really was interested to know about the gallery, and it seemed a much safer topic than the colour of her lips.
‘It’s been empty for months and it needs a lot of work.’ He sighed then said briskly, ‘That’s my problem. I thought it was a good idea to come along to do some networking and find out as much as I can about the fair. Actually, it was Jos Beresford who suggested I come along.’
‘Jos invited you?’ Freya slid a glance at the suited, upright blond man chatting with some of the fair organisers on the other side of the room. She’d rather hoped he might be too busy doing conveyancing and wills to bother with the breakfast meeting. With Jos and Travis together, the place was becoming rather crowded with her old flames, not, thank God, that either was fully aware of the other’s connection to her.
‘Kind of. He called in while Hamza and me were setting up the place yesterday. You know his office is only three doors down … he claimed he was there to see if I’d like to join the traders’ association as a full member but I think he was just being nosy.’
‘He might have been genuine. He is deputy chair,’ she replied haughtily.
Travis smirked. ‘Of course. Excuse me for being cynical.’
‘Why change the habit of a lifetime?’ she flashed back, then regretted her sharpness. ‘Um – how’s Squirrel Cabin? Nothing you need, is there? The owners sent us an email saying we’re your emergency contact while you’re staying.’
‘Nothing to complain of, unless you can do something about turning the tawny owls down. They’re keeping me and Hamza awake at night with their courting.’
‘Want me to come up and have a word with the local wildlife?’ she said sarcastically.
‘Not really. I love it, actually. We had three roe deer and a red squirrel in the garden the night we moved in.’
‘I wouldn’t have thought they were exotic enough for you.’
‘Once a photographer, always a photographer. Wildlife doesn’t have to be exotic to be interesting. I’d forgotten how fascinating it can be observing the creatures on your own doorstep.’ He delivered the comment with a glint in his eyes that implied he’d been observing her – or was she imagining it? He rubbed his hands together. ‘I’ll grab a coffee and one of these pastries. I’m starving.’
Freya finished the croissant while Travis devoured a cinnamon bun and a pain au chocolat in quick succession. She was in the middle of refilling her coffee mug when Brian, the head of the traders’ association, called everyone to order.
An adult version of musical chairs commenced, catching both her and Travis off-guard and resulting in them squeezing onto the two end chairs in the front row.
From his seat on the dais next to Brian, Jos Beresford gave Freya a curt nod, which she returned with a brief smile – and which he duly ignored.
She sighed inwardly. She could hardly expect to be his favourite person but, after eighteen months, she might have thought he’d have thawed a little towards her and started to forgive.
The meeting started, with final instructions for the Christmas Fair intoned at length by Brian, followed by lots of questions and some grumbling from a few of the traders.
Next to her, Travis took a quick glance at his watch.
‘Pitches must all be the same size. I’ll be going round with my tape measure to double check. Mrs Bickerstaff from the flower shop was very upset by an unwelcome intrusion into her area last year.’
Freya made the mistake of a side glance at Travis. He was sitting bolt upright in his chair, staring at Brian, with eyes wide in astonishment and mouth agog.
She knew that look: it heralded mischief.
‘And before I forget,’ Brian went on. ‘Dave from the cobblers has asked me to remind you all that his back passage must be kept clear at all times. Someone saw fit to store their generator in it last year and none of us want to see a repeat of that, do we?’
Brian eyed everyone sternly. Freya sensed Travis shift in his seat and stiffen his posture, as if he was trying to suppress the urge to erupt. She didn’t dare catch his eye or even glance in his direction or risk bursting into giggles. It was like being back in their biology class during the human reproduction module.
‘Now, onto the subject of stall erection and dismantling …’ Brian intoned. ‘Stalls must – and I repeat must – be erected by Friday evening at seven p.m. and dismantled by nine a.m. sharp on Sunday morning so the roads can be reopened.’
Muffled snorts broke out across the room. On the podium, Jos was stony-faced beside Brian.
With his arms folded tightly and his thighs taut with tension, Travis was like a coiled spring. She knew he was about to explode and if he did, she didn’t think she could restrain herself either.
‘So, are there any questions before I close the meeting?’ Brian asked with a glare at the room.
Travis raised his hand, his face composed into a picture of innocence. Freya gripped the edges of her chair, fighting down the tidal wave of mirth building in her chest.
‘Thank you, Brian,’ Travis said. ‘I’d like to ask something, as a new business owner. What would be the consequences if my erection isn’t down by the specified time?’
Jos folded his arms tighter, his firm jaw tight with disapproval.
Brian glared at Travis. ‘If it isn’t down by nine, lad,’ he declared, ‘you can expect a visit from me.’
The room erupted, and along with it, Freya. Tears streamed from her eyes and her stomach hurt.
Poor Brian looked bemused and furious, and Jos rose imperiously to his feet.
‘OK. OK. That’s enough! You all know what to do on Friday and personally, I want to thank Brian for his hard work in making the Christmas Fair happen. It’s down to him and the committee that we have this event at all! This is a critical period for the town’s traders and I hope you all realise that – new and old.’
He glared at Freya and Travis, just like a head teacher spotting two particularly disruptive pupils, which set Freya off again. She slapped her palm over her mouth, feeling guilty but unable to stop her giggles.
There were murmurings of assent, shouts of ‘Thank you, Brian’ and muted applause before the meeting broke up.
Freya sprang out of her seat and hissed in Travis’s ear.
‘How could you do that? I thought I might explode.’
‘You did explode,’ he said with a wicked gleam. ‘I just couldn’t resist. It’s all so deadly serious.’
‘It is serious! Oh, poor Brian. He does such a lot of work for the traders, I feel terrible.’
‘I know.’ Travis gave a dramatic sigh. ‘But he would keep going on about back passages and erections. I couldn’t help myself.’
‘If you came here to make friends and influence people, you’ve got a funny way of doing it. You really are very wicked …’ Freya said, dabbing at her damp cheeks with a tissue.
‘Not as wicked as I’d like to be,’ he murmured.
Before Freya had time to digest or respond to his comment, she spotted Brian making a beeline for them.
‘Sorry, have to go to the ladies’. Redo my face,’ she gabbled and escaped. Her mascara must be smeared all over her eyes. Bloody Travis, he’d only been back two days and they were sniggering like schoolkids, sharing in-jokes, and ganging up against the rest of the stuffy old world. She shook herself. They weren’t kids now and it had been wrong to laugh at Brian. Should she apologise or would that make it worse?
She walked out of the ladies’ to find Jos waiting in the foyer of the community hall.
‘Freya!’
He bore down on her, glaring at her from ice-blue eyes. His ‘classically handsome’ (according to her mother) face wore a thunderous expression.
‘You two should grow up,’ he snapped. ‘This isn’t the back row of the classroom.’
Freya’s hackles rose. ‘It was a joke, Jos.’
‘At Brian’s expense.’
‘Yes, well I’m sorry. It wasn’t me who said it and Brian was rather asking for trouble.’
‘You encouraged him.’
‘Who? Travis? Or Brian?’
‘Travis! Just like at school.’
She bridled. ‘Now look here. Travis has only been back a few days. I haven’t spoken to him for years and I am not his keeper. He can say what he likes. Half the room was in hysterics.’
Jos snorted in derision. ‘The juvenile half. You didn’t need to join in but I guess it’s what I should have expected. You never did take anything seriously, did you?’
Freya’s reply momentarily stuck in her throat. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ she murmured.
‘Life’s a game to you, isn’t it? A lark and a laugh? And now he’s back, Jack the Lad, I expect you’ll be thick as thieves again.’
Jos glared down at her, handsome, upright and stiff, like an angry marble sculpture come to life and brimming with reproach.
Freya drew herself up too, but she was still a foot below him. ‘That’s hardly fair, Jos and as you well know, my life hasn’t been “a lark”. As for Travis, he’s nothing to do with me and even if he was, frankly it’s none of your business.’
Jos’s eyes blazed then he slumped. ‘I apologise for the “lark” comment. It was unworthy of me but you know, Freya … I find it hard to stand by and see you led astray. I do still care.’
‘Thanks for your concern but I’m not a Herdwick sheep. I am an independent businesswoman who was on her way back from the ladies’ when you hijacked me. If you could step aside, I’d really like to go back to work.’
He nodded and Freya sallied past him, not looking back but feeling his reproachful gaze burning into her back. She didn’t know where Travis had got to and she certainly wasn’t going to give Jos the satisfaction of trotting after him.
After fixing her face, Freya walked out of the community centre to find Travis leaning against the wall, scrolling through his phone. She would have to be more careful in case people started seeing them ‘ganging up’ or God forbid, as a couple, which they very much weren’t.
Travis hurried to meet her. ‘Hi. I waited for you. Wanted to see if you were OK?’
‘Why wouldn’t I be?’
‘I saw Jos haranguing you. He didn’t look too friendly. I do hope it wasn’t anything to do with me.’
‘Actually, it had everything to do with you,’ Freya said sharply.
He grimaced. ‘Shit.’
‘He didn’t take kindly to us – you – winding up Brian.’
‘I don’t know how Jos could sit there and not laugh himself.’
‘Probably the poker face he’s developed when he’s in court,’ Freya said.
Travis sniffed. ‘Probably due to the poker up his arse, more like.’
‘He’s OK,’ she said, feeling sorry for Jos and determined to play devil’s advocate. Jos was so obviously still hurt after they’d split up. ‘He’s a good guy and he can’t help being so intense. Solicitors have to be serious. It goes with the job.’
‘Well, he’d no business hassling you for something I did. I have apologised to Brian, by the way, and said I’d join the traders’ association as I was so impressed by how well run it is.’
‘You are incorrigible!’
‘Hopefully,’ he flung back. ‘Though I agree, I don’t want to be making enemies as soon as I’m back, now do I?’ He became serious. ‘Should I have a word with Jos? Take the blame?’
‘Absolutely not,’ she burst out, then lowered her voice. ‘I can fight my own battles. Jos is a – well, he’s not easy to handle. He’ll simmer down though it’s unlikely he’ll ever forgive you for taking the piss out of the association.’
‘Hmm. He always was an intense kind of guy. I expect he’s settled down with a glamorous wife and a brood of perfect kids now.’
She ignored the ripple of unease in her stomach. ‘He’s not married but I’ve no idea about his current love life. We don’t really speak unless it’s to do with business.’
Travis nodded. ‘Hmm. Well, I should get back to the gallery … Hamza will be wondering where I’ve got to and there’s a mountain of stuff to do to get ready for the launch.’
‘I need to get to work too. Mimi’s holding the fort on her own.’
Yet he couldn’t seem to actually leave and neither could she. For a moment, he seemed as if he was about to say more – to ask her something. He shoved his hands deep in his jeans’ pockets, his signature sign of nerves.
‘See you around, then?’ he said gruffly.
Freya lifted her chin. ‘I can hardly fail to, can I?’
He nodded and she watched him saunter off up the street, the winter sunlight shining around his tousled curls like a halo on a fallen angel.