Page 99 of The Sunrise Sisterhood

‘Then I can take Ivy to paddle, and you’ll still be able to watch us.’

‘Or maybe I’ll come and paddle too.’

He sucked in a breath, looking dubious. ‘What if a wave knocked you over? Or your feet sank in the sand, and you lost your balance. Or one of those kids playing frisbee ran into you.’

She snorted. ‘Looking on the bright side.’

‘I just feel, you know, responsible for you.’ Adam unrolled the blanket, spread it out for Clare to sit on and then piled the bags around the edge. ‘And I want you to enjoy yourself.’

‘I always do when I’m …’ when I’m with you, she’d been about to say, but changed it to ‘on the beach. It’s my happy place.’

‘And let’s keep it that way.’ He pulled his T-shirt over his head.

That ought to do it, she thought, unable to drag her eyes from his naked torso. She could vividly remember the feel of his taut body, the touch of his skin on the night they’d spent together in his hotel room. The lights had been turned off then, but now, under the summer sun, she could see every muscle, every contour. His body was even more beautiful than she remembered.

‘Clare?’

‘Yes, sorry?’ She snapped herself out of her thoughts and watched him unstrap Ivy from the buggy.

‘Does she need sunscreen on?’

She shook her head. ‘Already done. Just her hat from the bag.’

Hat on, Ivy crawled over to her, and Clare automatically shifted position to cuddle her to her side, kissing the little girl’s cheek. She smelled of baby shampoo and sunshine.

‘Mummy loves you,’ she murmured before Ivy wriggled away and onto the sand.

Adam tipped out the bag of beach toys and Ivy picked up the spade and started scraping it backwards and forwards across the sand.

‘What are you thinking about?’ Clare asked Adam, trying to decipher the distant look in Adam’s eyes.

‘My dad, I miss him,’ he replied. ‘The beach was his happy place too. He was like a big kid. He’d start building boats or elaborate castles in the sand. Angel and I would help in, but before long, he’d got all the other kids on the beach joining in too. Or he’d get us to bury him with just his face sticking out and then when he finally broke out of his coffin, as we called it, he’d roar like a monster and chase us all into the sea. Children were drawn to him, you know. Days like today were his favourite. He’d have loved this.’

‘He sounds like the best sort of father,’ said Clare, softly, thinking that she had very few memories of her own dad doing anything like that.

‘I know there’s no point in having regrets,’ said Adam, turning over the bucket to make a sandcastle. ‘But I do wish he’d lived long enough to have grandkids. I know my mum will throw herself into the role, but he’d have been a great grandad.’

‘That’s exactly how I feel about my mum,’ said Clare, tugging her sundress down with one hand over her chest. Thank goodness for shirred bodices, she’d never have been able to get in or out of her clothes without Adam’s help otherwise. ‘I’d love her to see this.’

Adam glanced at her and then shielded his eyes. ‘Um, Clare, I think something has come adrift.’

Clare looked down. Her bikini top had come loose at the back and was hanging down between her boobs. She flattened her arm across her chest, but had no way of doing it up by herself. ‘Don’t look,’ she yelped.

‘Not looking. But, as you know, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.’

‘It was dark then. And it was a lifetime ago,’ she muttered, mortified.

‘Maybe, but I still remember it well.’ Clare felt a pang of longing. So did she. But this was neither the time nor the place to take a trip down memory lane, however much she wanted to.

Ivy had no idea what was going on but scooted back over to join in the drama, her eyes trained hopefully on Clare’s boobs. She was definitely giving up that last breastfeed, thought Clare, trying to fend the baby off.

‘Biscuit!’ she cried.

‘What. Now?’ said Adam uncertainly.

‘No, not me, Ivy. One look at my boobs and she thinks it’s snack time.’

Adam said nothing, for which she was very grateful. He rummaged in the bag as directed by Clare and produced a pink wafer biscuit. Ivy couldn’t get over to him fast enough.