AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Right.’ Adam looked doubtful.
‘You’d be amazed how much money he collects from the tourists. He’s one of our most lucrative fundraising tactics. That might be worth thinking about.’
Adam smiled politely. ‘Maybe.’
She burst out laughing. ‘I’m only teasing. The kids all take it in turn to be Sammy over the summer. Even if you wanted to don the seal suit, you’d have to fight them for it.’
‘I’m going to pay you back for that.’ He reached out to try to poke her in the ribs with a finger. She squeaked, and tried to dodge out of his way, but he was too quick for her, making contact, a teasing gesture of reproach. She gasped slightly at his touch, but turned it into a laugh, letting her hair fall over her face to hide her blush.
Was this neighbourly banter, or were they flirting?
‘Come on, then,’ she said, draining the last of her glass. As they headed over to the lifeboat station, she felt light-headed, from the wine, the sun, his lingering cologne, the bubbly thrill of their badinage that was so light and so easy. It felt completely natural. Was there some sort of chemistry between them, or was it because Adam was so effortlessly charming? Was she special, or did he make everyone feel that way?
She felt proud as she showed him around the station. The all-weather lifeboat sitting in the middle of the boathouse, splendid in its royal blue and orange paintwork, its high-tech equipment gleaming. Next to her, the inshore boat seemed almost insignificant, but Nikki explained how nimble it was, how it was often used to reach locations impossible for the bigger boat to get to.
‘They want me to train as helm,’ she told him. ‘But I’m worried I’d be taking on too much.’
She still hadn’t decided what she was going to do. She had to make up her mind, because Archie Fowler wouldn’t wait forever.
‘It’s part of who you are, though, isn’t it?’ Adam was looking at the photographic displays on the wall, of all the rescues they’d done since the station was opened in 1860, and the boards carrying the names of lifeboatmen who’d been given awards for bravery over the years. ‘Don’t you want to do it for your dad?’
‘Of course.’ How perceptive he was, thought Nikki. ‘But the weddings are taking over my life. I could book myself three times over in the summer. And it’s all year round now. I’m booked up all the way through, except November. That’s when I’m going away to Bali, to see Bill.’
‘Maybe it’s time to take a look at how you run things? Take on someone to help? You must have people working for you already?’
‘Yes, but mostly I take people on for the day itself, or to help set up or take down. I don’t trust anyone to do the other stuff.’
‘Ah,’ he said. ‘Well, that’s a mistake. You’ll be a slave to your business until the end of time if you can’t find someone you can rely on. I always thought like you. That no one could make decisions or run things like I could. But, of course, they can.’
‘Really?’ Nikki shuddered at the thought.
‘It was the only way I could move down here. I had to get someone in London running things for me. It took me a long time to find the courage to do it, and to find the right person, but it’s been a real game changer. The business is more efficient, I’m not tied up with minutiae, we keep in close contact and everything runs really well.’
‘I can’t imagine delegating. I guess I’m a control freak. I have to know that everything’s been done my way. That it’s all perfect. I can’t afford an unhappy client.’
‘Nor me. And that’s what I used to think. You have to train them to think like you. But also listen to their ideas, because it’s very easy to get stuck in your ways. Honestly, it’s been a revelation. My clients love Marina. Almost more than they love me.’ He grinned. ‘Almost.’
They were in the kit room, where rows and rows of yellow waterproof gear and boots and helmets were lined up, ready to be jumped into at a moment’s notice. Nikki wondered how many times she had clambered into the heavy kit, either for training or on a shout. She remembered coming here with her dad as a tiny girl and putting on a pair of boots. They’d come halfway up her thighs and she’d clumped about proudly to much raucous laughter. ‘She’s born to the lifeboat, that maid,’ one of the crew had shouted.
‘I think I’m going to do it,’ she said.
Adam nodded his approval. ‘You’ve got to make room for what you want to do in life,’ he told her. ‘And not get weighed down by the stuff you don’t need to do.’
He was right. She supposed over the years she’d always had her mum to bounce off, or to help out when everything got too much. But it wasn’t fair to expect Helen to share the burden now. The cakes were enough responsibility, and it was time for her to put herself first now, with the online dating. She didn’t begrudge her mum a romance for a millisecond. But who could step up? She’d have to advertise and train someone.
On the drive home, she reflected on how much she had valued Adam’s advice, and how useful it had been to have someone to discuss her options with. If she spoke to Graham, or her mum, or even Jess, about Archie’s proposition, they would have views that didn’t necessarily take her into consideration. Not that they’d force her into anything, but there might have been an underlying pressure – a sense of family loyalty, maybe even sentimentality.
‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘For your advice. I really appreciate it.’
‘Any time,’ he said. ‘It’s always easy for someone else to see the big picture, though, isn’t it? It’s tough getting the balance right in life. Work. Home. Love.’
Love. The word resonated inside the car. Hung heavy in the air.
‘And dogs,’ he added.
‘I’d love a dog,’ sighed Nikki. ‘But that really would be a step too far. Even with Juno to help me out.’
‘Gatsby was the saving of me,’ said Adam. ‘I had to keep going because of him. Even on the days I didn’t want to.’
