Page 23 of The Seaside Supper Club

‘Sounds great … and more than a little intriguing,’ added Nikki.

‘Tell us more. Where is it?’ Lily was curious.

‘Now don’t go getting yourselves too excited. It is in a beautiful spot on the coast. In the dunes over at Low Newton, but the building has been left empty for a while, so it’s rather shabby and neglected,’ explained Will. ‘It’s not really habitable just yet.’

‘Think ramshackle,’ added Cath. ‘We went over to have a look. And, put it this way, the only guests of late have been mice and spiders. So, we won’t be staying there any time soon.’

‘Sounds lush,’ Lily noted sarcastically, raising a neatly drawn eyebrow.

‘Yep, there’ll be lots of work to do to get it shipshape,’ confirmed Will. ‘But it certainly has potential.’

‘Oh, it does sound exciting, though,’ said Dan. ‘And that’s such a beautiful spot.’

‘Yeah, it is. Once we’ve had a chance to get the main structure sound and rainproofed, you’ll have to all come over and see it sometime,’ offered Will, the sense of excitement apparent in his tone, despite all the work to come. And that was lovely, thought Cath.

‘Oh, a supper club trip to the coast. I can feel a picnic coming on …’ Andreas grinned.

‘A picnic sounds like the way forward. The kitchen facility is limited, let’s put it that way,’ added Cath.

‘Cool,’ said Lily. ‘But oh, please, don’t clash with my exams …’

‘It’ll take a while to get the initial work done, I’m sure,’ responded Will. ‘But of course we’ll bear that in mind, Lily.’

‘Yeah, that sounds great, we’ll give it a few weeks – a supper club gathering by the sea to look forward to. But back to the mission in hand, we’ve an afternoon tea to organise, don’t forget. I’ll contact Julie at the home in the morning, and try and get a date for early August fixed in the diary.’ Cath felt a tingle of anticipation.

Reggie and his fellow residents would love this idea for sure. Oh, and she might even look to organise a live band, though she realised that might prove expensive. Finances had yet to be considered. But how wonderful would a proper 50s-style tea dance be?

‘A Tilldale Afternoon Tea’ was in the making!

Chapter 8

Though they’d had the most wonderful afternoon with Lily, since the two of them had been back at Cath’s, Will hadn’t quite seemed himself.

‘Will, are you okay?’ Cath couldn’t help but feel a little concerned about him. Surely, he hadn’t been scared off by Andreas’s wedding bells jibe?

After saying their farewells and thank yous at The Barn, Cath had wondered if he’d like to come back to hers for a glass of wine and to chill out for the evening. It seemed a shame to go their separate ways after having had such a gorgeous time. She’d explained that she had a couple of online tutorials to take from 5 p.m., and had left him in the living room. After an hour and a half, when she’d come back down from her upstairs study, she’d found him fast asleep on the sofa. That in itself wasn’t so bad, an early afternoon glass of fizz could easily do that to her, too. But he’d looked a bit pale in the face when he’d woken, and had gone straight off to the bathroom. He’d been tired last week, too. It was all minor stuff, so she wasn’t sure why she felt uneasy.

‘Yeah, I think so.’ He gave a small yawn, then admitted, ‘I still haven’t quite got my usual energy levels back.’

‘Hmm.’ So, maybe her instinct was right. ‘Perhaps it’s something viral hanging around in your system? That can take it out of you.’ Cath hazarded a guess. She took a sip of the white wine that she’d just poured out for them.

‘Maybe.’

‘Just take it steady, hey. Give yourself a bit of a break,’ Cath spoke softly, caringly. ‘You do seem to push yourself on these long bike rides, and there’s your work to keep up with, as well as everything else you’ve had to deal with …’

He’d been through so much. Grief could do strange things to you. Will’s body and mind had been put through the mill these past couple of years. Constantly worrying about his girls, no doubt burying his own sorrow deep down in the process. He’d been trying to hold everything together for so long. Bless him, was it affecting his health? It wouldn’t be surprising.

She felt a tug of emotion within. Her love for Will was growing daily. However much she’d tried to keep those feelings down and listen to the voice of ‘been there, done that, got the T-shirt and ripped it off again’ experience, and however weary her heart had become over Trevor’s devastating betrayal, believe it or not, it was all revved up again and ready to go. There seemed to be no stopping it.

‘Yeah, I’ll try,’ he responded.

She lay her hand over Will’s in a silent gesture of support. Leaning in close beside him on the sofa, his arm wrapped around her, she felt his wonderfully solid warmth. They hadn’t made any rash promises, nor said too much, too soon. There was an element of caution at this midlife stage, leaving you wary of making those bold statements that you might not finally be able to keep. No one was yet talking about moving in together, or anything as close to plunging into a commitment as that. They were taking their relationship day by day. It seemed to be the best way. But oh, did she feel it, that love. It seemed to have a tender language all of its own, a language that she treasured deep within.

She took a slow breath, taking in the scent of his woody-citrus aftershave. Sitting so close, she could feel the beat of his heart below her other palm where it now lay on his chest. She wanted so much for him to stay over tonight, to be able to sleep in his arms. That felt like the very best place to be, just now. She’d never imagined she might feel like this again. But love wasn’t exclusive to youth. And how wonderful was that revelation.

Might this second chance at love really last? Dare she hope as much?

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