A Perfect Cornish Summer by Phillipa Ashley

Author:Phillipa Ashley [Phillipa Ashley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2019-03-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Reluctantly, Gabe left Sam at the door of Wavecrest Cottage and headed the short distance towards Clifftop House. He’d tried to leave her on a happier note by saying he was looking forward to Chloe’s party. She’d nodded and said ‘me too’, but obviously, her mind was still on her van.

Maybe her mind was on other things too. For a while back in the pub he’d thought they were making progress. He’d made her laugh and he could almost kid himself that nothing bad had ever happened between them.

What exactly had he expected her to be like? She might have been in a relationship for all he knew. She might still be, and he simply didn’t know about it.

Gabe was too restless to go home yet so he headed for the coastal path and made his way towards the sea. The coconut scent of the gorse filled the air as he traced the little ‘rabbit run’ through the prickly plant, the yellow flowers catching the final rays of light. When he was a youngster, on a summer night like this, he’d sometimes come up to the cliff after the chip shop had closed to catch the final tinge of sunlight on the horizon as it changed to the blue of night. He’d imagine what lay beyond the horizon, the people waking up in other parts of the world, and dream of travelling there.

He’d been lucky and seen quite a bit of that world now, from New Zealand to Sri Lanka, the States. Whereas Sam … she’d stayed here and devoted herself to her family.

A melancholy settled on his shoulders and suddenly the evening night felt cold. Earlier in the pub, he’d felt the old spark between them was back, but even more intense. He thought that peace had broken out for a while when they were talking about the festival, right up until she’d received that call. He had immediately regretted offering to pay for the van damage.

Big mistake, Sam seemed to have taken his offer the wrong way and assumed he was trying to undermine her independence. She guarded that fiercely, and he didn’t blame her, having succeeded on her own for so long. She didn’t need some guy charging in and playing Lord Bountiful – especially when that guy was him. The man who’d let her down and hurt her.

She’d had a shit night, though. Stargazey was her livelihood and the vandalism was petty and vicious. Then bonkers Bryony had added to her woes by admitting to ripping the posters down and bringing up Ryan again. Ryan had upset and hurt a lot of people in Porthmellow and from what Gabe could see since he’d been back, the wounds were still raw.

Sam had said she was a different person now and she was right.

‘Fuck!’ Lost in his throughs, Gabe hadn’t been looking where he was going. He stopped just in time, then took a step backwards, his heart was beating like mad.

The turf a few inches ahead fell away sharply in a broad V shape to a narrow ledge a few feet below him.

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