‘What’s his name?’
‘Does it matter? It wasn’t meant to be, that’s all.’ Another wave crashed against the shore and fizzed away. ‘So, you’re seriously thinking you might move here permanently?’
Nice change of subject but he’d go with it. ‘It’s something to consider. I’m kind of hoping my dad might think about it too.’ The thought had only come into his head tonight, down here on the beach with thoughts of his dad coming for a visit and experiencing the Cove for himself.
‘Do you think he would?’
‘Possibly. He’s content where he is now but I know he’s missing company. He and Etna have got along better than I would’ve ever imagined these past few days.’ He began to chuckle. ‘Honestly, you should listen to them. When one is on the phone the other can’t shut up in the background, it’s as though they’re picking up from when they were little.’
‘That’s nice. It sounds like what I have with Celeste. I mean, going into business with a friend or a relation isn’t for everyone but it’s working out well for us. We have the odd run-in but on the whole it works well.’ She seemed way more relaxed talking about work than anything verging on personal.
‘And she’s happy with the direction you’re going in with the cake side of things?’
‘Very. I think the different parts of the business will help us have a little bit of it for ourselves.’
‘It sounds the perfect arrangement.’
He lay flat on his back on the sand and looked up at the sky. ‘I could fall asleep here.’ When she said nothing he added, ‘Try it. Lie down next to me and look at the stars. You keep going on about this place and how great it is at night, looking at the sky is all part of it.’
She relented and lay down, a waft of citrusy shampoo mixing with the salty tang of the sea as she settled mere inches from him. ‘I think this place has hidden powers.’ She nudged him when he sniggered. ‘Melissa was the one who put me onto it. It was apparently her go-to space over the years right from when she was young. I don’t often get to come down in the day with the business so busy.’
‘I might need to come down again, in the light next time. It’s way too dangerous otherwise.’
‘You get used to it.’ She sighed. ‘It’s different down here at night with only the sea to listen to.’ He could hear the smile in her voice. ‘And you, of course.’
‘And being here with me is a bad thing?’
She turned her head to face him, bringing them so close he could feel her breath on his cheek. ‘I’m not sure yet…’
Neither of them was looking at the sky anymore. He was looking deep into green eyes, at dilated pupils. He was taking in the elegant planes of her face, the way wisps of hair fell across high cheekbones and onto soft lips before lifting slightly every time the wind found them.
Jade was easy company, they talked properly, and despite some of her misgivings, he could feel a trust building between them. He almost felt ready to confide in her. The last girl he’d been involved with after the split with Orla had lost interest when he told her what he was doing, what he saw as a good deed and as helping. She’d not only thought he was a weirdo but told him as much when she said they could no longer see each other. She suggested he had psychological problems, even recommended he see a counsellor. The remarks had niggled him even though he knew them not to be true. He was doing a good thing, but not everyone would see it so clearly.
When he reached out a hand and moved the strands of hair from Jade’s cheek as the wind picked up, she caught her breath. His hand lingered against her skin and he moved a little bit closer. She didn’t back away. Their lips were almost there, almost touching.
But another wave crashed, her eyes flashed with doubt or fear, and she pulled away.
‘I need to get back.’ She’d jumped up and was brushing the sand off the bum of her jeans.
They made their way to the top of the beach in relative silence, back up the track and towards The Street, crossing opposite the bakery. And when they were level with the archway that led down the path behind the bakery to the sisters’ cottage, they walked down there together so he could take the adjacent path that would lead him to the entrance to the flat above the tea rooms.
‘Thanks for showing me the cove,’ he said, conversation strangely absent compared to not so long ago when she couldn’t stop talking about her travels. ‘Now you lot can stop looking so shocked at me never having ventured down there.’
She smiled up at him and he didn’t want tonight to be over. ‘Goodnight, Linc.’
She turned back once to smile at him briefly before she put the key in the lock at the cottage and disappeared inside.
It was much darker now the moon had hidden itself behind a thick cloud and didn’t seem to want to come out again, but Linc whistled all the way to the flat and up the stairs, and, once inside, he flung open the windows to let in some air. He downed a glass of ice-cold water and took out his guitar. He strummed out a few tunes, singing along to a couple of them, and when he’d lost himself in the music for long enough, he took out his laptop.
It was late but he was buzzing. And he wasn’t sure whether it was being included with the boys at the pub, or Jade and her company, or the cove with its tranquillity and seclusion and the claims it could clear your head in a way that nothing else could with the fresh sea breeze, but finally he’d do what he’d been asked to do some time ago. And once he began to write, he couldn’t stop. He’d been asked to put together a blog post about his experiences, almost a diary account of what it was like to do this good deed that so many people wouldn’t talk about, let alone approve of.
And the words flowed better than the first two times he’d tried to do this, his feelings pouring out onto the page in this personal account he hoped would help others, whatever part of the process they were involved in.
Chapter Eight
Jade and Celeste stood in the bakery’s kitchen taking it all in. They’d seen the job in progress of course and before Harvey and Linc had cleared out all their tools and finished the painting, but yesterday they’d been busy with their home baking and Harvey had told them it was probably a good idea to give them a chance to wipe everything down, for the paint to really be a good dry not just dry, whatever that meant, and for them to make sure everything was as perfect as it could be before the sisters made it back into their business by filling the kitchen with all their equipment and paraphernalia.
The moment the girls stepped inside the Twist and Turn Bakery now that it was completely finished and there was no sign of the renovations team was an experience unlike any other. It was morning and neither of them had been remotely tempted to sleep in today with so much to do. Both were dressed in shorts and T-shirts, ready to put in the work it was going to take to get this place ready for action, despite the cool outside as summer forgot its promise of long, lazy sunny days and instead acted as though it were autumn with a howling wind and blustery rain. They moved about switching on all the lights in the kitchen right through to the bakery and, standing together in the kitchen again, neither of them could stop smiling. The whole place held a sheen, an air of pride that it was ready for them, and they both knew it wouldn’t be long before the smell of fresh paint and carpentry was replaced with what should be there instead – the smell of delectable baked goods.
