Meet Me at Pebble Beach by Bella Osborne

Author:Bella Osborne [Osborne, Bella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2020-02-24T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Penny lived in a small, modern estate house, but Regan hadn’t noticed much in the way of detail. After forcing her to have a warm brandy, Penny had tucked her up in a cosy bed and threatened her with all sorts of torture if she was to sneak out.

What with the trauma of the previous night, and a day spent wandering the seafront, she had at last been ready for sleep.

When she drifted back to consciousness, she could hear mumbled voices outside the room. She stretched her stiff body and strained her ears to try to hear what was being said. She recognised the timbre of Charlie’s voice and her initial excitement was dampened by a dose of reality. She waited and, when it went quiet, she pulled on her clothes and slunk out of the bedroom.

‘Morning. How did you sleep?’ Penny must have been hovering outside. ‘Coffee?’ She held a large mug under Regan’s nose.

‘Good, thanks,’ said Regan, taking the proffered mug and glancing surreptitiously around the landing.

Penny followed her gaze. ‘Oh. He’s downstairs.’ Her expression changed. ‘He’s really worried about you.’ She lowered her voice. ‘I think he’s a keeper.’ Penny beamed a smile at her and she so wished she could mirror it.

‘If only,’ said Regan, the fear of losing him already a constant presence. She wandered downstairs. For a brief moment, she considered asking Penny to send him away – but what good would that do? They were in a rubbish situation, but at least they were now both on the same page.

‘Hi,’ she said, entering the living room.

‘Hey,’ he replied, twisting in her direction. ‘You look rough.’

‘Cheers.’ She gave his head a nudge with her elbow as she walked past and immediately froze. ‘I’m so sorry.’ Could she do him damage doing that? She didn’t know.

‘It’s all right. You don’t have to wrap me in cotton wool … although I do have a bit of a thing about bubble wrap.’ His eyebrows danced cheekily.

‘Are you stalking me?’ she asked, curling herself into the chair opposite.

‘Oh yeah. One hundred per cent. Penny spotted me lurking outside, felt sorry for me and gave me coffee.’

‘Okay. As long as you two aren’t fussing.’

‘Noooo,’ said Penny, overacting as she joined them.

‘I thought maybe we could check in on Elvis.’ Charlie seemed cautious.

‘I’d like that,’ said Regan, taking a sip of the coffee.

‘Once you’ve had a shower and done something with your hair.’ Charlie peered forward for a better look. ‘Do you backcomb it in your sleep?’

‘It’s the work of evil pixies,’ said Regan.

‘That explains it.’ He smiled a warm what might have been smile at her and her insides melted. This was going to be so hard. He was like a giant magnet drawing her close, and she a tiny iron filing.

‘How come you’re not working?’ asked Regan. Her mind was ticking; she knew he’d been off work since Wednesday – he’d told her that in the pub when he’d once again tried to explain his shift pattern. He’d spent all yesterday searching for her, and now he was off again.

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