The Beach Hut by Veronica Henry

Author:Veronica Henry [Henry, Veronica]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
ISBN: 9781409119951
Amazon: 1445007126
Publisher: Orion
Published: 2010-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

She put down the letter. Tears stung her eyelids, and she wept again, quietly, for the girl who had wasted her life, for the true love she had never found. She stuffed the letter back in the envelope and put it in her handbag, astonished that the pain could have lasted so many years, could still eviscerate her. She didn’t know whether the fact he had longed for her all that time made it better or worse. Of course, it could have been written for effect - Terence Shaw was more than capable of spinning a pretty tale, dropping empty words onto a page to salve his conscience, recasting himself as the hero of the tale.

Oh well, she decided. At least she had been able to share the experience with her grandson, and perhaps spare him the same pain she had suffered. Although she suspected not. Words of wisdom were all very well, but they couldn’t force you to make your head rule your heart. Love, no matter which way it came upon you, was usually painful in the end.

There was a knock on the door. Hastily she brushed what was left of her tears away. She could see through the glass that it was Roy, and she hurried to answer.

He looked a little bashful.

‘I’ve got more sea bass than I know what to do with,’ he told her. ‘My freezer’s full to bursting. I wondered . . . if you would like to help me out?’ He paused, then gave a shy smile. ‘Come for supper, I mean.’

Jane couldn’t help looking surprised. She and Roy had always been friends, but it had never been any more than sharing a cup of coffee. She felt a rush of pleasure at his invitation.

‘I’d love to.’

‘Tonight? Eight o’clockish?’

‘Fantastic.’

He raised a hand in a salute of farewell and made his way back up the beach. Jane watched him disappear into the crowds, past the ice-cream kiosk - the very same one Roy used to work in. If she cast her mind back, she could smell the sweet vanilla, feel the warmth of the sun, hear the tunes on the wireless. She felt as if she could step back into yesterday.

What if she’d kissed him in the kiosk, like she had known he wanted her to, in between customers? What if the kiss had been as sweet as the ice cream they were selling, making her heart pound? He would have inoculated her against Terence Shaw. She would have shown no interest in her employer. She would have been eager to finish her day’s work and rush back to her new-found love. A sweet, innocent, rite-of-passage love, a relationship that was entirely appropriate.

Of course, it would never have come to anything. Even then, Jane had wanted more than Roy would have had to offer, and would have left him at the end of the summer. But at least she would have emerged unscathed, bright-eyed and optimistic after a summer romance. Not bruised and damaged, internally scarred.

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