Page 85 of The Summer That Changed Us

‘It is, isn’t it?’ She leaned against him, feeling his taut muscles under his T-shirt. She felt giddy with success and they hadn’t even started collecting sea glass yet. ‘And thanks for coming with me to help.’

He squeezed her to him. ‘Of course. Wouldn’t have missed it for the world. But I still think you should have charged everyone to take part. Not just for the refreshments.’

She shook her head.

‘These are women who’ve had a crap time and probably a financially hard time, too. Besides, it’s all part of the master plan.’ She waggled her eyebrows. ‘Once they’ve collected the sea glass, I’m hoping I’ll persuade them to book onto a creative workshop to make things with it.’

Finn grinned. ‘Good thinking, Batman.’

‘I want to make a go of this, Finn.’ She turned to face him. ‘I really hope I can make a business out of sea glass: workshops, making things and selling them online. I feel so bad that I haven’t been able to contribute financially.’

‘Hey, you’ve been investing in your health.’ He cupped a hand to her cheek. ‘And that’s more precious to me than anything.’

Her heart swelled with love for him. She was so grateful to have him by her side, but at the same time, she felt as restless as a caged bird. She wasn’t a patient anymore; she didn’t want handling with kid gloves. She wanted him to not simply love her but to desire her.

She untangled herself from him gently. ‘I am back on my feet, Finn. I just want life to go back to how it was before my surgery.’ She trailed her fingertips down the front of his T-shirt and held his gaze. ‘You and me.’

The smile faded from his eyes and discomfort appeared in its place. ‘Yeah, me too.’

And just like that, the happy mood between them vanished; Robyn could have kicked herself. Instead of looking ahead, Finn was probably now thinking back to the time of choosing baby names and reading up on ovulation and conception.

‘How much are the brown paper bags, please?’ a voice interrupted them. A girl smiled at them; she wore a vest top and denim shorts and had a pink paisley scarf wrapped tightly around her head. ‘I never thought to bring a bucket.’

‘No charge. Help yourself!’ Robyn glanced apologetically at Finn and darted to the table where all their things were laid out: bags to put the sea glass in; cool boxes full of ice lollies and cold drinks; some giant thermos jugs for hot water, and several tins containing a variety of Finn’s cakes.

‘Thanks.’ The girl beamed. ‘And thanks for doing this. I heard about it through an online forum I’m a member of. I’ve been looking for something creative to do.’

‘If you leave your email address,’ Robyn said, pointing to a sheet of paper attached to a clipboard, ‘I’ll let you know what else we’ve got coming up.’

‘Cool.’ She filled in her details and wandered back to join her friend.

People were milling around, chatting and looking at their watches. Robyn felt a spike of nerves; Katie had left a message on the WhatsApp group telling them about her dad, poor thing, so she knew she wouldn’t make it. She hoped Grace wouldn’t have to bail out too; there was no sign of her so far.

‘Hi everyone!’ Robyn raised her voice. ‘Would you all like to find a space in the circle? We’ll be starting in a second.’

The kids bounced onto the picnic blankets, buckets in hand, followed by their mothers. The chairs filled up quickly; some people choosing the shade of the parasols, others unfurling in the sun and tilting their faces to the sky.

Sadie touched her arm as she passed by. ‘This is beyond exciting! I’ve already told the regional director about this initiative; it ticks all the boxes. You’ve done wonders for the profile of the north-east group. Anything I can help with, you must let me know.’

‘There is something,’ Robyn said. ‘You could introduce me, like you introduced Pam, at the meeting.’

Sadie’s hands fluttered. ‘Of course! Now?’

Above her on the path, Robyn heard laughter and voices. She looked up to see Grace and her sister on their way down. ‘In two minutes?’

Sadie gave a thumbs-up and went to hover near the tables where Finn was selling ice lollies to Tess and her children.

‘For a small human she certainly has a lot of kit,’ Grace sounded out of breath. ‘And I’m sure this pushchair weighs the same as a small car.’

‘I know,’ said another voice, ‘sorry about that. I’d have brought her in the papoose but I’m hoping she’ll have a sleep.’

‘I’ll go and help.’ Finn opened the gate at the bottom of Grace’s beach steps and ran up the hill.

Several of the women turned and watched him, admiring glances on their faces. Robyn smiled to herself. Hands off, she thought.

‘Help yourself to bags,’ she announced, ‘if you need somewhere to put your sea glass.’

Seconds later, there were several gasps as Finn reappeared holding a ginormous pushchair over his head. He trotted down the last few steps and plonked it roughly on the shingle.