The Cornish Cream Tea Bus: Part Two – The Éclair Affair. Cressida McLaughlin

      ‘Oh my God!’

      ‘What the hell?’

      ‘Whose dog is that?’

      The last exclamation, from the man in the navy suit, was surely unnecessary, Charlie thought as she raced forward and scooped Marmite into her arms, trying not to look at the pod’s now less-than-elegant display. Marmite licked her face, his tail wagging, as if he’d just achieved something magnificent. Navy Suit Woman stared at what was left of the dinner table, while the man, having found the answer to his question, strode towards her.

      Charlie shrank back, covering Marmite with her arms, but before the man could reach her, Daniel placed a hand on his chest and spoke to him in a low voice that didn’t carry. She scuttled back to Oliver’s side and saw that he was laughing silently, his hands over his mouth, his head bowed.

      ‘Not helping,’ she whispered, and had to bite down on her bottom lip so as not to be infected by his laughter.

      Navy Suit Man retreated, and Daniel approached her. His fingers were flexing at his sides and she wondered if that was some kind of calming technique, the same way Juliette had taught her how to take deep, even breaths that expanded her entire torso before reacting to a situation. She could do with a few deep breaths right now.

      ‘Daniel, I am so sorry,’ she said instead. ‘I’ll pay for any damages, of course.’ She prayed that they amounted to tablecloths and a couple of plates, and that Marmite hadn’t smashed any of the cut-glass crystal or the glass of the pod itself.

      Daniel looked from her to Marmite, then Oliver. He frowned. ‘I know you’re determined, but I hadn’t expected sabotage. I can see I’m going to have to be on my guard from now on.’

      ‘Daniel, I honestly didn’t mean for that to happen.’

      His serious expression cracked into a grin.

      ‘Wait, you’re not—?’

      ‘We’re covered for accidents at these shows,’ he said. ‘It’s probably a good idea to have one pod empty anyway, so customers can imagine something that’s more to their style. Not everyone goes in for silver cutlery and Royal Doulton.’

      ‘Royal Doulton?’ Charlie murmured. ‘Shit.’

      ‘I know. Didn’t take that into consideration when you were planning to set your dog on me, did you? You should always budget properly for attacks of vandalism. You’re lucky I’m such a generous guy.’ He glanced at Oliver, his smile slipping, and held out his hand. ‘I’m Daniel Harper, owner of The Crystal Waters Spa Hotel.’

      ‘Ollie, The Marauding Mojito.’ Oliver shook his hand. ‘This all looks pretty swanky.’

      ‘It did, until Charlie came along.’ Daniel ruffled Marmite’s ears. ‘Are you and your dog always this accident prone?’

      ‘No,’ Charlie said quickly. ‘And just because my dog’s a tearaway, doesn’t mean I’m clumsy.’

      ‘The first time I met her, the bus had had a bit of an accident,’ Oliver said. ‘It was actually pretty spectacular, the way—’

      ‘We don’t need to get into that,’ Charlie said, grabbing his arm. ‘I’m sure Daniel doesn’t have time to stand here gossiping.’

      ‘I just came to see how Mark and Ali were doing. I left Jasper in the car because I thought he might cause trouble.’ He glanced behind him, where Ali was crouched inside the pod, retrieving bits of broken crockery. ‘Clearly a precaution I needn’t have taken.’

      ‘Maybe our dogs should get together for a doggy date.’ She didn’t know why she’d said it – maybe to distract him from what Oliver had said about Gertie’s accident. She couldn’t cope with the two of them ganging up on her.

      ‘Doggy date?’ Daniel laughed, and Charlie felt her cheeks burn.

      ‘God, is that the time?’ she said. ‘I’ve left Juliette and Lawrence for far too long. Nice to see you, Daniel, sorry again about Marmite. Your pods are beautiful, by the way. I didn’t see them in the garden that time.’

      ‘They’re new,’ Daniel said. ‘Been installed a week.’

      ‘Great. Lovely. I’ll have to … drop in.’ She started to pull Oliver away.

      ‘I’m looking forward to your festival even more now,’ Daniel called, giving her a wave when she glanced behind her. She was unable to stop herself from waving back.

      ‘He’s in the village where you’re staying?’ Oliver asked, when they were out of sight of the Crystal Waters stand.

      ‘Yes, he is,’ Charlie said. ‘And he’s infuriating. He’s clearly only looking forward to my event because he thinks it’s going to be a disaster and he can watch me make a fool of myself.’

      Oliver’s brows knitted together. ‘Or because he wants to pay you back for destroying his beautifully laid-out display?’

      ‘Oh God, I hadn’t thought of that. Do you really think he’d act out some kind of retribution? He said he was insured!’

      Oliver shook his head. ‘I have no idea, but I’m glad that I’m going to be there.’

      ‘You are?’

      He gave her a warm smile. ‘If you’re having a festival in this idyllic seaside village, The Marauding Mojito needs to be a part of it. And you need to watch your back around that Daniel guy. There was something about him I didn’t trust.’

      ‘Are you really coming to my festival?’ Charlie asked.

      He nodded.

      She had her first official booking. It might actually happen: instead of her and her bus and an empty marquee that she’d forced Lawrence to promise to put up to make it look busy, she might actually have other food stalls there. One down, only about twenty more to go. ‘Thank you, Oliver,’ she said. ‘You won’t regret it, I promise.’

      She waved cheerily at Juliette as they approached the bus, and wondered what Oliver had seen in Daniel that made him wary. He was undoubtedly annoying, and he spoke his mind regardless of who it might offend. But untrustworthy? She didn’t know him well enough to determine that, so how could Oliver pass judgement? And she couldn’t ignore the skip of happiness she’d felt when Daniel had said he was looking forward to her festival. He was coming, so she needed to try even harder to make it a success. She couldn’t look like an idiot in front of Daniel Harper twice.

      Charlie poured a generous measure of wine into her and Juliette’s glasses. ‘Here’s to a first successful fair for The Cornish Cream Tea Bus. Thank you so much for helping me today, you and Lawrence. I wouldn’t have managed a whole day by myself. Or, I would have, but—’

      ‘But you wouldn’t have been able to skive off with that delicious Oliver bloke.’ Juliette clinked her glass against Charlie’s.

      ‘Delicious?’ Charlie frowned. ‘He’s not unattractive, but …’

      ‘But?’

      ‘He seems too chirpy, somehow. As if he’s a cartoon character rather than a real person.’

      ‘Says Charlie Quilter, queen of Glass Half-Full. You don’t have the right to say that anyone’s too chirpy.’

      ‘Hey! I can be miserable. I was a mess after I found out about Stuart. And then, with Hal …’ She glanced out of the pub window, watching the waves, distorted by the warped glass.

      ‘But you make the best out of everything,’ Juliette said. ‘You’ve had some horrible stuff happen recently, but you’re not in your pyjamas watching Friends reruns, you’ve started up your own business. If you and Oliver got together you’d be a positive force to be reckoned with. If he asks you out for a drink,