The Sunflower Cottage Breakfast Club (20 page)

‘I've been thinking,' he said, drawing his lips away for a moment. ‘We should make the most of the time you're here. I know you're probably worrying about what's going to happen after you leave, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Until then, we should just try and have the best time possible. What do you think?'

I felt a little embarrassed that he'd been able to read my mind so well. ‘You're right; I
am
worrying about that a little bit. It's just because we've only got a week left together and then… well, we don't know what's going to happen. I just don't want either of us to get hurt, that's all.'

Noah pulled me in closer and I rested my head on his chest. As I listened to the steady rhythm of his heart, my head began to compile a list of reasons why letting things go further with him was a bad idea and why I definitely shouldn't kiss him again. However, my heart told me to say bollocks to the list and go for it.

So that was exactly what I did.

Chapter 20

There comes a time in everyone's life where they throw off their cares and embrace what makes them truly happy. I'd always thought such a thing would never happen to me, mainly because I'd believed all I needed was my career.

Until, that is, I came to Luna Bay.

I wasn't sure what it was about the little seaside village, but it allowed me to open up and realise there was more to life than work. My laptop remained unopened under my bed, my inbox went unchecked and I ignored every phone call and voicemail from Paul. I finally felt as though I knew what it was like to be happy,
properly
happy. My old life in Glasgow seemed a million miles away; I certainly wasn't the same person who'd come to Luna Bay three weeks previously. Gone were the corporate suits and the high, tight buns; in were the floaty summer dresses and long, loose hair that blew about in the gentle breeze. Even the issue of my biological dad faded into the background. All I wanted to do was enjoy every moment of my remaining time in Luna Bay. The world and everything in it could wait.

And then there was Noah, who seemed to enjoy finding new ways to make me smile. We ran the B&B together, looked after Rose and went on various outings round Luna Bay. Oh, and there was kissing too. A
lot
of kissing. Both of us were aware we were on borrowed time, but it didn't seem to matter. We were far too wrapped up in each other to care.

Lucy and Jake were regular visitors to Sunflower Cottage. They'd come over early in the evening and the four of us sat out on the terrace, watching the waves roll by and feeling like the luckiest people in the world to be somewhere so beautiful.

‘I can't believe you go back to Glasgow in a week.' Lucy leaned forward and poured us some more ice-cold lemonade from the large glass jug. ‘Do you
really
have to go back?'

‘I'm afraid so,' I replied, taking a sip of my drink. ‘My whole life's there: my family, my job, my friends. OK,
most
of my friends.'

I revised my answer after receiving a dark look from Lucy.

‘What about Noah? Are you going to keep seeing him even though you're up in Scotland?'

The question made a pang of sadness stab at my heart. Of course I'd thought about what would happen after I went back to Glasgow, but I'd deliberately put it out of my head so I could enjoy my time in Luna Bay.

‘I don't know, Luce. We've touched on it a few times, but we're not sure. Two hundred miles is a hell of a distance, though, isn't it? He wants to focus on “enjoying the time we have”. Makes me sound like I'm about to pop my clogs or something!'

Lucy's laugh was partially drowned out by some seagulls crying nearby. ‘I'm sure he doesn't mean it like that! He'll be gutted when you leave, though. We all will.'

Feelings and thoughts I didn't want began to gnaw away at me. My head and heart clamoured for my attention, each trying to state their case for me to listen to.

Instead I ignored both of them, picked up my lemonade and said, ‘Well, a week's time is still a long way off. I've got one more breakfast club to do before then as well, so I have that to look forward to. I still haven't managed to find out any more about Alice. When I asked why she was sitting on her own, she snapped at me then went off to get some orange juice. Can't seem to figure her out. Anyway, any idea when Jake's going to propose? It'd better be before I head back!'

Lucy shook her head. ‘Nope, I don't have a clue. I'm beginning to think he's gone off the idea! I'm dying to ask him about it, but I can't do that without telling him I found the engagement ring. He'll be gutted if he finds out I know he's planning to propose. So I'll just have to sit tight and wait for him to get down on one knee!'

Noah and Jake coming out to the terrace with steaming hot plates of food cut our conversation short.

‘I've got some good news for you,' said Noah, placing a large bowl of pasta in front of me. ‘Cilla the Clio's finally back! One of my mates from the garage brought her up to Sunflower Cottage; she's in the drive for you.'

I smiled and began twirling some of the thick pappardelle pasta round my fork. It seemed as though my departure from Luna Bay was imminent; my car was back and there was nothing to stop me from going back to Glasgow.

Well, maybe
one
thing…

*

The day everything fell apart started off well enough.

I woke up next to Noah's gently snoring frame and turned over to cuddle into him. He stirred for a brief moment then allowed an arm to lazily drape over me. I let myself relax into his warm, inviting body and listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. While the whole world carried on around us, we were tucked away in our own little cocoon, away from everything. I couldn't imagine being alone with anybody else.

Unfortunately, the incessant beeping of the alarm ruined the moment. I turned and gave it a whack to stop the noise, but the fact still remained: we had to get up.

I tapped Noah's shoulder. ‘Come on, we have to get up and do the breakfast.'

‘Do we have to?' he murmured as he made himself comfortable. ‘Why don't we let them sort it themselves for once? We can call it a self-service breakfast.'

‘I'm afraid not.' I pulled back the duvet and swung my legs out. ‘Come on, they'll be starving!'

I went to get up but an arm round my waist pulled me back down onto the bed. Noah blew a raspberry onto my neck then hauled me onto his lap so he could kiss me.

‘Are you absolutely sure there's nothing I can do to persuade you to stay in bed with me all day? I'm willing to do pretty much anything.'

The grin on his face was irresistible and, for a second, I contemplated giving in to him. In our little valley of pillows and blankets, we'd found a heaven neither of us had ever experienced before. The world that lay beyond the bedroom door, full of responsibilities and worries and cares, felt like it was a million miles away.

‘We can come back later, I promise.' I put my hand on the back of his neck and pulled him in for another kiss. ‘Come on; hop to it, Hartley.'

Noah was in the shower and I was halfway down the stairs when the doorbell rang. I froze for a moment, unsure whether to answer it or not. It was still really early in the morning and new guests weren't allowed to check in until ten. For a second, I thought about shouting for Noah to go and answer the door, but decided not to. I was all the woman I'd ever be and had a bloody loud scream on me if things went pear-shaped.

I opened the door to find my mother standing on the doorstep. She walked up to me, arms outstretched and a bright, beaming grin on her face. I stood, mouth open, watching her approach, with no idea how I was going to react. She was the last person I'd expected to see in Luna Bay, given her history with the place.

‘There's my wee girl!' Her Scottish accent sounded stronger in Luna Bay and somewhat out of place. ‘Come here and give me a hug!'

She didn't give me a choice in the matter and pulled me in close to her, squeezing me so tight I felt like my lungs were being crushed.

‘Mum, what the hell are you doing here? Where's Dad?'

The mention of the word ‘dad' made her megawatt smile shrink a little, but only to the trained eye.

‘Oh, he's at home! You know you can't tear him away from the golf course. Anyway, enough about him. How are
you
? I see you took my advice and got yourself some decent clothes! And who's this handsome young man?'

She turned her attentions to Noah, who was looking for a convenient hole in the ground to swallow him up.

‘I'm Noah Hartley,' he said, shaking her hand. ‘Nice to meet you.'

‘What a
gorgeous
name! I'm Pamela, Emily's mum. Call me Pam; I won't have any of that Mrs Reed nonsense. She was my mother-in-law and an old dragon at that!'

I stood aghast, scarcely able to believe my mum had shown up in Luna Bay.

‘What are you doing here?' I repeated. ‘I'm down here on
business
, Mum, and to try and find out about my
biological father.
Now's not a great time to tip up and visit me.'

Mum smiled and patted my cheeks. ‘I missed my wee girl! Is that such a crime? Which way's the B&B? I could do with a cuppa and some place to put my feet up. What a bloody time it took to get here!'

She picked up her tiny little suitcase and marched towards Sunflower Cottage, a noticeable spring in her step.

‘Brilliant,' I muttered to Noah. ‘That's all we need:
her
here with her “inspirational pep talks” and “helpful suggestions”. Before we know it, she'll be doing feng-shui all over the place and complaining about the décor!'

Noah grinned and put an arm round my shoulder. ‘She doesn't seem that bad! Oh, that reminds me; are you still OK to come for lunch with my mum later?'

I nodded. ‘Yup, can't wait!'

That was a lie – I was still sure there was something off about Susan – but what Noah didn't know couldn't hurt him. He'd been enjoying reconnecting with her and I didn't want my doubts about her to ruin things.

‘Oh and…' Noah stopped for a second. ‘I was thinking; we should probably talk about what happens after next week. You know, with us.'

My stomach lurched. I wanted to avoid that conversation for as long as possible, but with only a week to go until I left it was pretty inevitable.

‘Sure,' I said, swallowing hard. ‘We can do that after lunch.'

*

While Mum took a tour of the B&B, throwing words like ‘quaint' and ‘bijou' around, I broke my own rule and retreated to my room to work. Although I'd resolved to keep away from my laptop during my time in Luna Bay, my mum's arrival had stressed me out to the point where I needed an escape only working could provide.

There was a lot to catch up on after my halcyon days with Noah. For one thing, Paul had sent through the contracts for Rose to sign, handing Sunflower Cottage over to Walter Marshall Hotels. I printed them off using the dodgy-looking printer downstairs and resolved to look at them later. He'd mentioned a few changes had been made, so I'd need to see exactly what they were before I let Rose sign them. That way, if she didn't like them, we could ask for them to be amended.

Noah, meanwhile, was laughing and chatting with my mum. I saw them together in the sitting room when I'd finished printing off the contracts, and flew into a panic. Knowing my mother, she'd be filling them in on my less-than-desirable qualities, like the snorting noise I made when I laughed too much or the embarrassing rash I got whenever I ate cucumbers.

‘Everything OK?' I asked with a tight smile.

‘Absolutely fine. I was just telling Noah about the time you threw up in front of everyone when you were on stage in
The Wizard of Oz
!'

I looked across at Noah, who was bent in half with laughter. ‘Thanks, Mum, that's
really
helpful.'

I stormed off to the kitchen and found Rose pottering around. It looked very much like baking was taking place.

‘What are you making?' I asked.

‘I quite fancied a Victoria sponge and there's nothing quite like making your own.' She smiled as she dragged a wooden spoon through her mixture, wobbling unsteadily as she tried to balance on the counter.

‘Rose, you shouldn't be baking a bloody cake while you're on crutches!' I chuckled and put the wad of paper I was carrying on the kitchen table. ‘Here, let me help you.'

I took the mixing bowl from her and hoped my limited pancake-making skills would transfer over to cake baking. I highly doubted it, but it was worth a try.

‘I see you've become a dab hand in the kitchen over the last couple of weeks.' She sat down and threw a smile my way. ‘I'm very impressed! You've come a long way from the girl who only wanted green smoothies.'

I screwed my eyes shut and shook my head as I continued to mix the batter. ‘Don't remind me! If I never see one of those again, it'll be too soon. I think I might actually start having a proper breakfast when I go home.'

‘That's what I like to hear! All that green muck might be healthy, but it doesn't make you happy in the long run. Give me a stack of chocolate chip pancakes any day!'

I put the bowl down on the counter and joined her at the table. ‘You know, I think I'm going to have to agree with you on that.' I stopped for a minute. ‘So, my mum turned up out of the blue…'

Rose nodded with a wry smile. ‘I noticed. Couldn't really fail to, could I? She's very… full-on, isn't she?'

‘If that's a nice way of saying loud and brash, then yeah, she's about as full-on as they come! Things haven't been easy for us lately, you see. Before I got here, I learnt something… something really big that she kept a secret from me for a long time. I came here hoping to find out a bit more about it all, but haven't got very far yet. I know she meant well, but I don't want to listen to all her empty excuses for why she did what she did. She's the queen of excuses, my mum.'