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Abigail didn’t ask what was wrong with him. Frankly, she didn’t much care.
‘Well, I’d better take the shopping inside and get an earful.’ He smiled at Abigail.
She returned his smile.
He lingered a moment. ‘Everything … okay?’
Her smile faltered. She knew what he was thinking about – the previous week. He’d phoned Lili because he was worried about Abigail. Knocking on her door, seeing if she needed anything, was a ploy to find out if she was all right. It made her wonder how much Lili had told him. She was still a little peeved with Lili for asking him to keep an eye on her. Abigail glanced at her stepdad, worried that Joss might mention the previous week. ‘Yes, everything’s fine.’
He stared at her, as if deciding for himself if she really was all right. ‘Okay, then.’ He heaved a sigh, threw Abigail another one of those cheeky grins, and turned towards the lighthouse. ‘Well, here goes …’
‘He seems nice,’ commented Gerald, watching the young man cross the gravel drive towards the lighthouse.
Abigail frowned at her stepdad. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Just what I said. He seems a nice, personable young man. Why – did I say something wrong?’
‘No, sorry. It’s me.’ Abigail didn’t want anybody thinking they could set her up with someone else. It wouldn’t cross her stepdad’s mind, but Lili, on the other hand … Abigail was starting to regret showing her Toby’s last home movie. Her friend now had an agenda. She’d given her some work, a purpose; next on her list would be finding that soulmate.
Abigail watched Joss making his way towards the lighthouse. Dressed in cropped trousers, with his trademark flip-flops that she didn’t think it was legal to drive in, it made a change to see him in a long-sleeved hoodie. So far, she had only seen him in tee-shirts. Even though it was a mild autumn, it wasn’t tee-shirt weather. She looked at the beaded bracelets he had around one wrist, and thought about how he wouldn’t have looked out of place camping on a beach in Thailand. In fact, she wouldn’t be surprised if that was where he’d been the last few months; his deep tan suggested something more exotic than a winter package holiday to Benidorm.
He stopped at the door to the lighthouse. She saw him hesitate before he knocked. He turned her way and waved.
Abigail averted her gaze. He was about as opposite to Toby as he could get, with his laid back, drop-out hippy look. She realised who he reminded her of: the famous late frontman of Nirvana.
Gerald turned to the wooden shed-like structure. So did Abigail.
He said, ‘Why don’t we see what’s under that tarpaulin?’
