‘Sorry,’ she said, and caught her breath as she found herself looking into the most striking blue eyes she’d ever seen. Tommy had blue eyes, but this man’s were ice-coloured and rimmed with black eyelashes.

‘That’s all right, love. You must be Sarah?’

‘Er … erm … yes …’ she managed to stutter, feeling like an absolute idiot. She thought the man was gorgeous, and could feel her heart rate quicken as butterflies flitted in her stomach.

‘I’m Roger. George has told me all about you. Nice to meet you.’

Sarah found herself unable to speak, and instead just gazed at him. She heard Tommy call her, and was pleased to realise that hearing her little brother had brought her back down to earth. She spun around and saw her brother with water dripping off his oversized coat and flat cap, holding a cone in each hand. The rain had washed away the ice-cream. He must have been disappointed, yet still had a huge smile on his face.

Sarah, George and Roger all chortled at the lad, which in turn gave Tommy the giggles. This is nice, thought Sarah. It had been a long time since she’d laughed so hard and she wasn’t going to let a thunderstorm dampen her spirits. George had agreed to her business proposition, and at last her future looked brighter.

Chapter 13

Two weeks passed, and George hadn’t seen Sarah. He was beginning to worry about her. She’d appeared very keen to purchase stock and have him sell it, so he wondered why she’d not been back.

‘Why are you sitting there looking like you’re chewing a bee?’ his mother asked as she dished up a plate of sausages and mashed potatoes.

George folded his arms across the kitchen table. ‘I’m all right, Mum, just thinking.’

‘What you thinking about?’

‘That girl, Sarah. I said I’d sell some gear for her on my stall, but that was a few days ago and I ain’t seen her since.’

‘Oh, well, son, it’s her loss. Now stop being so blinkin’ maudlin and eat your tea before it goes cold. I haven’t stood over that hot stove for you to waste good food.’

‘Yep, sorry, Mum,’ George said, then scooped up a large forkful of mash. ‘This is lovely, got any more gravy?’

‘In the pan,’ she answered. ‘So this Sarah, is it purely business between you two, or do I need to be buying meself a new hat?’

‘Pack it in, Mum. It’s business, that’s all. I’m just helping her out, though I would like it to be more. Thing is, I think I’m barking up the wrong tree. I saw the way she looked at Roger and she ain’t never gonna look at me like that.’