Their friend had met a local farmer during a visit to the lavender farm which covered the sprawling hills above the bay and they’d hit it off. Still a bit raw from her separation with Martin, Eliza was feeling a bit uncertain about things, but it was clear from the way she’d glowed when talking about him there was more than a spark of attraction between them.
Libby was delighted for her, of course, but it only served to highlight her own lack of success on the romance front. And now the source of her own personal humiliation was back in town and she’d have to deal with it somehow. It wasn’t his lack of interest in her so much as her inability to brush it off and forget him that embarrassed her down to her marrow. That and those ridiculously hot dreams. Libby shuddered, and hoped to hell the man wasn’t some kind of mind-reader or else she’d die on the spot.
Squaring her shoulders, she took the hand Beth offered to her and tugged her from the stool into a quick hug. Eliza needed their moral support, and for that Libby could cope with a little discomfort. ‘I’m being ridiculous. I know how much the restaurant means to Sam, so I can grin and bear it. Let’s go and check out Eliza’s gorgeous farmer. I promise to be on my best behaviour.’
Beth made a beeline straight for Sam, who was sitting on his own. A quick glance around showed no sign of Owen’s close-cropped dark head. Maybe he’d changed his mind about the drink? Feeling hopeful, Libby scooted over to the bar towards where Eliza was positioned behind it. Head swivelling, Libby scanned the patrons looking for Jack. ‘He not here yet then?’
‘Not yet, but there’s a lot of work to do on the farm so it’s not exactly a nine-to-five job.’ Libby couldn’t miss the hint of uncertainty in her friend’s voice as she fished a bottle of white wine out of the fridge behind her, and resolved not to tease her. Eliza held up the wine. ‘You having a large one?’
‘Does the Pope shit in the woods?’ Libby grinned as Eliza shook her head at the deliberately crude comment, but she was laughing too, which was the point.
‘Charming as ever, I see.’ Oh, great. Of course, Owen would choose that moment to pitch up. Bracing herself, Libby turned and gave herself a mental high-five for not fainting dead away. Her fevered memory had done the man a serious misjustice. From the severe crew cut to the tattoo covering his upper arm from the edge of his T-shirt sleeve to his elbow, and the faded jeans clinging to his hips, he looked dangerous and utterly delicious.
Fury at her reaction combined with embarrassment, and all her good intentions flew out of the window. ‘You didn’t fall under a bus then? That’s a pity.’ Ignoring the pounding of her heart, she deliberately gave him her back. ‘If you’re going to let any old riff-raff in here, Eliza, I might have to start drinking somewhere else.’
She could sense him step up beside her, feel the heat of him like a stroke against her skin and it was all she could do to keep her eyes fixed on Eliza. ‘A pint of lager, and I’ll buy your friend a drink if you slip some arsenic in it for me.’
He was only giving back as good as she’d given, but the dig hurt more than it should’ve. Eliza giggling like he was the most hilarious man on the planet didn’t help. And when she slid the money he’d offered back with a simpering smile, Libby barely restrained a hiss at her friend’s traitorous behaviour. ‘What the bloody hell is that all about?’ Libby demanded the second Owen walked away to join Sam and Beth. ‘“It’s on the house.” God, you were practically drooling.’
The moment she’d snapped the words, she regretted them. She’d been the one in danger of needing a napkin whilst Eliza had been nothing more than polite to a man who was not only a paying guest, but who might hold the key to her brother’s future prospects. If she carried on projecting like this, she’d end up having to confess her messy feelings to her friends. The too-keen glint in Eliza’s eye said Libby’s dramatic reaction had already piqued her curiosity.
‘What’s the problem? You’ve barely exchanged more than two words with the guy and yet there’s all this animosity between you. Has he done something to upset you?’
Libby shrugged, knowing she was acting like a sulky teenager. There was nothing she could say without confessing she’d been dreaming about him like some love-sick schoolgirl. Having no boyfriend when her friends were getting cosy was bad enough without admitting the best she’d been able to do was dream about a bloke she didn’t even like! Feeling embarrassed and awkward, she couldn’t help but overreact to every mention of him.
It didn’t help that he looked better than ever tonight. The black T-shirt he’d teamed with a pair of faded jeans stretched across a set of surprisingly broad shoulders. She’d only ever seen him in a suit before, and the cut of his jacket hadn’t done justice to his physique. Libby ripped her gaze away before she did something ridiculous like climb him like a monkey. ‘He’s a stuck-up git, that’s all. Why are you and Sam so chummy with him all of a sudden?’
Eliza frowned. ‘I thought Beth would’ve mentioned it to you. Owen stumbled across Sam going over the plans for the restaurant and he offered to take a look. Having someone with his experience involved in the project can only strengthen Sam’s position, and he might even agree to invest because the bank have been dragging their heels apparently. You know how important this is to Sam—to Beth as well. This is their future in the balance. Owen told Sam he was still on the lookout for projects situated here in the bay to invest in.’ She took Libby’s hand. ‘If he’s bad news then we need to warn Sam.’
What a hash of things she was making thanks to a bit of singed pride and a ridiculous crush. Sam had been working so hard on his plans for Subterranean and Libby would be damned if she’d throw a spanner in the works. Owen seemed determined to find an investment opportunity in the area, why else would he be back down here after things had fallen through with his plan to buy up the emporium from Beth? And where better for his money to go than supporting her friends? ‘Ignore me, he…’ It was on the tip of her tongue to confess her embarrassment, but she couldn’t face Eliza’s sympathy just then. Eliza would be lovely and sympathetic and Libby would feel like even more of a failure on the romantic front. Why couldn’t she bump into a gorgeous farmer like Eliza had, or fall in love with the boy next door, like Beth? Libby snorted to herself; the ‘boy’ who lived next door to the chippy was 70 if he was a day. ‘He just winds me up for some reason.’ It sounded pathetic, but Libby was determined not to dig the hole she was in any deeper. Taking a sip of her wine to steady herself, she decided to shift the conversation onto more solid ground. ‘I wonder why he’s so fixated on our little town; you can’t get much further from the glamour of London than Lavender Bay.’
Eliza shrugged, her attention now on the small group across the room rather than on Libby, thank goodness. ‘Maybe that’s the point, who knows? Sam and I thought a friendly drink would help grease the wheels a bit.’ Which made perfect sense, much to Libby’s chagrin, and Eliza’s next words did nothing to make her feel any better about her ridiculous behaviour as she echoed Beth’s earlier sentiment. ‘If you really don’t like him then I don’t want to spoil your evening. We can probably just leave him and Sam to chat…’
Darling Eliza, always the mediator, even when she must have been beside herself with nerves over Jack coming to meet everyone. Libby gulped another mouthful of wine. ‘If it means that much to Sam then I can put up with Mr Full Of Himself for a few hours. But I’m not going to kiss up to him, so don’t expect me to.’
Eliza raised on tiptoe to give her a quick hug across the bar. ‘I’m not asking you to, just don’t shank him with a wooden spork from the chippy, all right?’ They both snorted at the idea and just like that, Libby’s bad mood evaporated.
Thankfully, Jack arrived not long afterwards and Libby’s conflicting emotions about Owen were pushed to the back of her mind as she did her best to make him feel welcome. It wasn’t exactly a chore—Jack went out of his way to be charming, and it was clear from the way they looked at each other that there was the potential for something special between him and Eliza. She could even forgive him for refusing an offer