Anyone But You: A BRAND NEW feel-good celebrity, second chance romance (Love is in the Air Book 2)

Chapter Twelve

They strolled along the seafront and Dylan took Scarlett’s hand, leading her down to the beach. It seemed a natural progression to take her hand here, whereas in London he’d have been too nervous.

He pushed at some stones on the sand with his foot, before bending down and picking a few up, hefting them in the palm of his hand. ‘I’m guessing you’ve skimmed stones before, but I have to tell you I’m a bit of a pro. My misspent youth mostly consisted of building dens, chucking stones into the sea, and sinking in homemade rafts with my brother.’

Scarlett pictured the scenes in her mind, wistfully imagining the young Dylan she never knew. Reluctantly, she had to admit that she didn’t know how to skim stones. ‘My parents were too busy arguing to take us anywhere, so my sister and I used to mostly play happy families with our dolls in the bedroom we shared.’

Dylan looked genuinely surprised as if he couldn’t imagine anyone having a less than idyllic childhood, by right. ‘Your sister never gives the impression that she’s had one sad day in her life. She’s always happy and upbeat when I see her in the park.’

Scarlett smiled fondly at the image of her sister and Elsa fooling around with the dog in the park. ‘That’s Louisa for you. Early on in life she vowed she would have a huge family and they would all get on like — well like a happy family. Sadly life doesn’t always turn out how you expect, but she is the best mum to Elsa.’

Dylan’s gaze softened, and he took a step towards her. ‘I can see that, but it makes me sad to think of you and your sister pretending with your dolls.’

She stepped back, wanting to stop him. She didn’t want to tread that particular, well-worn path, dredging up her memories for Dylan; it was not the way to cement their relationship — if that was what she wanted to do. ‘Deflecting my own tears, is all,’ she explained, holding up a hand.

Dylan inclined his head, understanding her reticence. Instead he held out the pebbles he’d collected, flat on his palm. ‘Okay, first lesson coming up. Choose your stone wisely.’

She picked up a thin, grey one, as smooth and round as a well-worn penny, glancing up at him for approval.

‘Great choice. Now, hold it between your thumb and finger and crouch down as low as you can, aiming to keep the pebble horizontal.’ He hunkered down, a pebble at the ready, and Scarlett followed suit.

‘The trick to a good skim is to spin it as you throw it. One, two, three.’ He swung his arm back and his stone bounced across the waves at least six times, before disappearing in a plume of sea foam. He automatically raised his arms and did a victory dance. ‘Yay!’

Scarlett straightened, scowling at her pathetic attempt as Dylan turned puzzled eyes on her.

‘What?’ He frowned. ‘Didn’t you throw yours?’

‘Yes,’ she said ruefully. ‘I think it sank.’

‘Aww, don’t worry! We’ll have another go, together.’ He picked up a large pebble, checking its edges for smoothness and suitability. Standing behind her, he took her hand, manipulating her fingers into the right position.

Behind her, his thigh, solid and steady, pressed against her leg as the warmth of his fingers seeped into her own. She had a moment to think about how cliché this was but as his breath breezed over her neck, she almost twisted around to kiss him. Suddenly she really wanted to kisshim.

‘Ready?’ He swung her arm backwards, level with his. On their forward flick, the stone flew across the water and bounced a couple of times before disappearing. ‘Yes!’ He held on to her hand, pumping her arm in the air as he danced her around in a circle.

‘I did it!’ She joined in with Dylan’s happy dance, jumping up and down until they were both breathless.

Dylan slung his arm around her. ‘Welcome to the Southwold initiation. You’ve passed part one with flying colours.’

Scarlett allowed herself to snuggle into the warmth of his chest. ‘How do I become a full member?’

‘You’ll find out when we get to the pier. There’s a rabid dog waiting for you.’ He winked, and she knew she didn’t need to worry about a rabid dog, or possibly anything at all, so long as Dylan was by her side. It was a comforting thought, an unfamiliar feeling.

The sky darkened as they walked, and a sudden jazz of lightning illuminated the dark clouds, right before fierce rain started to fall.

They made a run for the shelter of the beach huts, ducking under the canopy of one named Lady Luck.

In the shadows, Dylan turned Scarlett into his chest and held her close, and as she watched the rain bouncing off the sand, the same uprising of emotions surfaced again. With a sigh, she finally admitted to herself that it wasn’t just his warmth she was enjoying. She liked the sensations that washed over her whenever she was with him. Comfort. Safety. And, surprisingly, a bit of lust had crept in without her noticing.

He dropped a kiss on the top of her head, and she couldn’t stop herself from groaning. Whatever was happening between them was moving fast. Too fast?

Dylan drew away a little. ‘What is it?’ He peered into her eyes, the intensity of his stare pitched at the usual one hundred per cent wattage, something she was beginning to get used to. ‘Scarlett, you really confuse me. One minute, you appear to like me, and the next, you act like you’re suffering my presence under the sentence of death.’ He didn’t look upset, just puzzled.

‘I don’t know. I didn’t expect you to come into my life.’ She sighed and grasped a strand of her wayward hair, tucking it behind her ear. It immediately took flight again, and Dylan caught it, winding it around his fingers, drawing her closer.

‘What’s wrong with allowing me into your life?’

‘Nothing, really. I need to change my mindset.’ She shrugged. ‘It’s difficult though.’

‘So you said.’ Dylan’s exasperation was clear in his voice. He closed his eyes briefly. ‘So, once again, can I assume that it’s not me, but outside influences stopping us from being together?’ He raised his hands then let them drop to his sides. ‘Oh, crap. Why am I talking in riddles? Scarlett — I want us to have a good time here. Together. I want us to walk along the beach, be silly together. Feed each other food. Kiss. Make out. You need to tell me now if you’re not up for this, because—’ His voice lowered as he said, ‘Because, I’m seriously falling for you.’

His eyes, when he finally looked at her, seemed troubled and pained. Scarlett’s stomach twisted at his words, and she closed her eyes as the past, that she was sick of, rushed at her.

Reaching out to Dylan, she let her fingers brush his arm. He was worth the risk to start again.

Dylan seemed to sense her turmoil and curled an arm around her shoulder. ‘Come on. We can talk about this when you’re ready. I’ll show you the wee-wee man.’

‘The wee-wee man?’

‘That’s what Rob used to call him, and the name stuck, but don’t worry, they’re statues, not real men.’

‘Pleased to hear it.’ She breathed freely again, relieved that they were back on a normal footing. But he wanted her in his life — that much had sunk in. And she wanted him. But was she ready for this?

She thought she just might be.

* * *

The rain stopped as quickly as it’d started, and Scarlett and Dylan jumped back onto the sand. Squinting in the gathering darkness, Scarlett read out some random names of the beach huts as they passed them. ‘Catnap, Jack’s Hut, Moon Coin. What a lovely name.’

‘One day, I’m going to own one of these.’ Dylan swept his arm grandly towards the huts. ‘I’m going to paint it bright red and call it Scarlett.’

Scarlett lifted her face to the sky, trying to work out what to say to such a statement. She needed to deflect his intensity away from her, not wanting to be put on a pedestal, especially as she had so spectacularly fallen off the last one she’d ventured to climb. In the end, Mother Nature saved her finding the words.

Surf sprayed over their feet, having ventured too close to the edge and a particularly strong wave broke over their legs. Scarlett squealed and ran behind Dylan, who put his arm protectively around her shoulder. She liked the way that felt.

They stood gazing out over the stormy sea, lightning crackled overhead, highlighting the frenetic waves and a distant crack of thunder promised an inland storm.

‘This is wonderful, Dylan,’ she said, watching the show. ‘Why would you ever want to leave such a place?’

He shrugged. ‘When you live your whole life somewhere like this, you start to wonder if there’s a bigger picture out there.’

‘And do you think you’ve found the bigger picture?’

‘Well, yeah, of course. I’ve almost landed a recording contract. You can’t get much better than that, can you?’

Scarlett sucked in her cheeks. There were many, many things that were better than landing a recording contract, but Dylan would need to find that out for himself.

He glanced at her, as if waiting for her opinion. When she didn’t offer one, he said, ‘I’ve just thought, the pier will be closed by now. We’ll have to do it tomorrow. It’s worth it, though. We can read some of the dedications on the railings — they’re wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time.’

‘Dedications?’

‘When part of the pier was rebuilt, visitors and locals were invited to dedicate a plaque to their loved ones, stating things like how much they loved to stroll around Southwold, and stuff like that. Some of them are really touching tributes to people who’ve died.’

Scarlett’s eyes filled at the thought of so many messages; so much love declared within a few simple words.

Dylan peered down at her. ‘Scarlett, don’t be sad. Wait, are you crying?’ He framed her face in his hands, his eyes sad and troubled. ‘I really need to understand the bigger picture here.’

He pulled her tightly into his chest and hugged her as she softly cried.

When she sniffed and smiled up at him, he asked, ‘Shall we go back?’

‘Yes. Thank you. I’m sorry if I’m all over the place. I’m trying to get sorted out, and I . . .’ She dashed a final tear away. ‘Sorry.’

‘Don’t apologise. It’s fine. It’s why we’re here, right?’ Tightening his arm across her shoulders, he walked her back along the beach, with the rolling black sky above and wild sweeping waves ahead.

When his mobile rang, he answered it, excusing himself. After speaking briefly to whoever was on the line, he returned to Scarlett. ‘I’m having a bit of a jam session with my old mates at the pub tomorrow lunchtime. I texted one of them to say I was back for a few days. Are you okay with that? We’ve been jamming for most of our lives. I think we were about fifteen when we started gigging there. We thought we were the best thing that had ever happened to Southwold.’

‘Brilliant. Can’t wait.’ Scarlett gave him a watery but determined smile.

‘Great.’ Dylan beamed in return. ‘We must have looked a right bunch of buffoons back then, but they’re wonderful guys and I’m looking forward to seeing them.’

‘You must miss them, if they’re here and you’re not?’

‘Yes, but I’ve only been in London for a year.’

‘When you went off to seek fame and fortune?’ She smiled.

‘Absolutely And I met you too so . . .’ He let the sentence trail away. ‘I’ve also realised that I can live without the bigger picture; my heart is in Southwold — once I’m famous, of course.’ He smiled as he cast his eyes over the view in front of him; maybe the idea wasn’t too outlandish; he was halfway there, at least. ‘Come on, we can watch the storm from the roof and I can fix us something to eat.’

Scarlett’s smile told him how good an idea that was, and they walked slowly back to the house, climbing the stairs once more.

Above them, the sky pitched into blackness. White pinpoints of light danced across the waterline as boats headed homewards, or anchored up for the night. And Dylan and Scarlett had the whole night ahead of them cocooned together, to discover each other.