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“That’s not my favourite.”
“I don’t know then.” Lifting her onto his lap, they looked through the pictures together until Ellie decided on one.
“Can you move closer to the table?” she asked him.
“There’s another chair there.” Beth pointed. “Sit on that one.”
“No. I want to sit on Trystan’s knee.”
“I’m afraid I have to go,” Trystan said, lifting her as he stood and setting her back in his vacated seat.
“We’re going on Kit’s train later,” Ellie told him.
Beth raised an eyebrow. “Are we?”
“Yes.” Ellie smiled up at Trystan. “Do you want to come with us?”
“I’d love to but I have to work today. Maybe I can do something fun with you another day.” He flashed Beth a smile before calling to his mum that he was leaving.
“I’m just about to make sandwiches,” she called back. “Why don’t you stay for lunch?”
“I have to work,” he told her, then turned to Beth. “I’ll see you later.”
Her disappointment at his leaving was ridiculous. She was forty years old and getting butterflies over a guy she barely knew.
CHAPTERELEVEN
If overthinking was an Olympic sport, Beth would be in line for a gold medal. She couldn’t stop thinking about the situation with Trystan – wondering if their night together had been a one off, or if there was more to it. The connection she felt to him was intense and she suspected he felt the same.
While she and Ellie rode the train around the island that afternoon her mind kept flicking to the previous evening. It made her stomach flip just remembering their evening together – and not just the time spent in his bedroom, but the entire night, from their conversations over dinner, to walking home arm in arm, to their kisses on the beach.
After the train trip, Beth and Ellie spent a couple of hours on Porthcressa Beach, then bought ice creams to eat on the walk back to the house. There was no sign of Trystan when they passed his cottage, and Beth felt slightly on edge for the rest of the afternoon, wondering if he might come over to the house and pondering the fact that he’d said he’d see them later and what that might mean.
By the time she’d put Ellie to bed she’d just about given up on seeing him again that day. As per her usual routine, she poured herself a glass of wine and took it onto the patio with her book, wondering if she’d even be able to concentrate on the words.
She hadn’t even bothered to open it when she caught sight of the figure walking up to the house in the fading daylight.
“I’d intended to come over earlier,” Trystan said, pulling a chair close to hers. “I got caught up in work and lost track of time.”
“Did you get everything done?”
“Yes.” Tentatively, he reached for her hand. “Took me way longer than it should have done. I was pretty distracted all day.”
“Really?” she asked, trying her best to temper her smile.
“Yeah.” He glanced furtively at the back door. “My mind kept replaying last night. It was difficult to focus on work.”
“I hope you’re not expecting an apology,” she said lightly. Goosebumps rippled up her arm as his fingers traced a pattern on the back of her hand.
“Definitely not.” His left eyebrow twitched. “I wanted to ask you something earlier … I’m pretty slammed with work for the next couple of days, but after that I can take some time off. Since you said you haven’t seen much of the other islands, I thought maybe I could show you around a bit.”
“That sounds nice.” She interlinked her fingers with his, enjoying how tactile he was.
“We could go over to Tresco one day. I think Ellie would like to see the gardens there. And there are good beaches too.”
“I’d like that.” Tresco had been on her mum’s itinerary. Going alone hadn’t been appealing, but it’d be fun to go with Trystan.
“How about Wednesday?” His brows pulled together and his eyes darkened. “Or Thursday?”
