Ivy spread out her supplies on the counter, cracked open her tea, and began work. The fairy lights cast a soft glow across the shelves, and for the first time that day, she felt herself relax, sinking into the paper-folding rhythm. She didn’t have enough of the original colours and decided that these fish would have to be of the more exotic sort than those usually found in a Cornish sea – lime green, purple and fuchsia pink.
She’d barely folded six fish, though, when the bell over the door jangled. She looked up, startled.
Trip stood there, wind-tousled and flushed from the cold, holding two steaming paper parcels with ‘Cod Almighty’ emblazoned on them.
‘Hey. I thought you could use some fish,’ he said. ‘And chips. But mostly fish.’ He winced. ‘Sorry, that’s a bad joke. I brought fish because you’re folding fish and …’
Ivy let out a laugh. ‘Got it. That’s aterriblejoke. But, thank you,’ she added shyly. ‘I’m actually starving.’
‘Me too.’ He held out one of the bags. ‘Take a break?’
They sat in a fort made of beanbags and cushions in the kids’ section, legs crossed, paper crinkling between them. They ate in comfortable silence and Ivy couldn’t help wondering whether she had imagined the awkwardness of the past few days. It felt as easy as always between them – or almost. The warm light of the shop made everything look cosy – the stacks of books, the painted backdrops stacked against the walls that Ivy would take to the town hall in the morning, Josie’s array of crystals and the glinting bottles left over from last summer, when everything had changed for Fox Bay.
‘How are you feeling about tomorrow?’ Ivy asked at last. ‘Your big UK directorial debut.’
‘I’m nervous for all the kids,’ Trip said. ‘They’re so excited. I really hope they nail it. ButI’mexcited too. When I started this, I thought it would be fun …’
‘You thought putting on a show in a draughty town hall with a collection of Cornwall’s biggest divas – and I’m not talking about the kids – would befun?’
‘Yeah, I did. But I hadn’t realisedhow muchfun.’ Trip turned to her, eyes crinkling. ‘Is that lame?’
‘No,’ Ivy said, flushing under his gaze. She turned back to her food, rooting around for a big chip. ‘I don’t think that’s lame.’ She meant it, she realised. Trip’s enthusiasm for the Fox Bay show, his friendliness and kindness to everyone, his willingness to throw himself into the least likely projects – even his concern for Old Bill’s health – were all what made him so special.
They fell silent again, the distant sound of the waves barely audible through the shop walls. Ivy recalled Raye’s advice.Be brave.Which meant addressing the elephant in the room.
‘Listen,’ said Ivy, clearing her throat. ‘About the other day … what I said when you got back from London. I’m sorry. You weren’t meant to hear all that and I didn’t even mean it. But I still shouldn’t have said it.’
‘It’s okay,’ Trip said, staring at his chips, ‘you don’t need to apologise. I know I can get carried away. And talk a lot and be annoying. Brooke’s always telling me to chill out. It’s fine.’
‘No, it’s not. I was being mean, and childish, and—’ Ivy took a deep breath.Be brave, be brave, be brave.‘Well, honestly, I was kind of jealous.’
Trip looked up sharply. ‘Jealous?’
Ivy gave a half-laugh. She was embarrassed but determinedto plough on now she had started. ‘Yeah, I mean one minute we were texting loads and making jokes and then … suddenly it stopped. I knew you were busy but … well, then I saw a picture on Instagram.’ She risked a quick glance at him and saw he was looking utterly confused. ‘It was of you and a girl,’ she went on. ‘An incredibly pretty girl. Her hair was all …’ Ivy flapped her hand, ‘all shiny.’
There was another beat, in which Trip looked even more bewildered. Then his expression cleared. His eyes widened in realisation. His mouth opened slightly, then closed again.
‘Oh,’ he said at last. ‘Right.Thatincredibly pretty girl.’
Ivy hurried on. ‘I know you don’t owe me any explanation—’
‘The thing is …’ Trip rubbed the back of his neck, ‘the thing is, Ivy, I wasn’t telling you the whole truth about why Brooke and I went to London.’
‘You weren’t?’ said Ivy, startled. That wasn’t what she had been expecting Trip to say at all.
‘Yeah. We didn’t go there for sightseeing, you see. I mean, we saw some stuff, but we went for another reason – something I can’t tell you about yet.’
‘You … can’t tell me why you went to London?’ asked Ivy, now feeling increasingly bewildered herself.
‘No. I promised I wouldn’t.’ He looked sheepish. ‘But Icantell you that I wasn’t avoiding you.’
‘Wait,’ said Ivy. ‘You’re telling me that you and Brooke were doing somethingtop secretin London?’ Maybe Brooke reallywasa spy, she thought. ‘With that incredibly pretty girl? Comeon, Trip. You can just say if you have a girlfriend, rather than make up some—’
‘I don’t have a girlfriend!’ said Trip. ‘Me and that girl—’
‘That incredibly pretty girl,’ Ivy reminded him.
‘Right, me and that incredibly pretty girl only hung out for an hour or so and it definitely wasn’t whatever you were thinking it was.’ There was a flush on Trip’s cheekbones. Quietly, he added, ‘If I could’ve spent that whole weekend talking toanyone, Ivy, it would’ve been you.’
