Chapter 13
CLAUDIA
‘ I ’ve got a favour to ask,’ said George as they stepped out of the little shop.
‘Name it!’ said Claudia, blinking in the sunshine. Had that really just happened? Had she just agreed to stay here in Seabury… to stay with George?! ‘I mean, I have just invited myself to stay for a few nights.’
Hardly,’ said George with a good-natured tut. ‘I invited you. And I’m chuffed you’re staying!’
Claudia couldn’t help but beam at him. ‘Thank you. So… what can I do for you in return?’
‘Well, I was wondering if you’d mind if we nip to the cottage before continuing with the tour? I’d quite like to change out of my work gear before we head up to see Charlie, and if I turn up at Hillside still wearing my postie uniform, Jess will never let me live it down!’
‘I’m up for that,’ said Claudia with a little shrug.
‘Thanks,’ said George. ‘Anyway, it’s probably best that you see the place before it’s too late for you to catch the train if you change your mind!’
‘Uh oh,’ said Claudia, wrinkling her nose. ‘That sounds ominous.’
‘Nah… you’re safe,’ said George, grinning at her. ‘I’m pretty well house-trained.’
‘As long as there’s a sofa and a spare pillow, I’m pretty content,’ said Claudia.
‘I can do better than that,’ said George. ‘The spare room’s all made up. I thought I’d better make sure I was ready, just in case you decided to take me up on my offer.’
Claudia smiled as the tips of George’s ears went pink.
‘I guess we might as well grab my case on the way past the hotel?’ she said. ‘Then we’ll head to the cottage so you can change. Though it seems a bit of a shame… I rather like you in your uniform!’
George’s pink ears promptly turned into a full-blown blush.
‘Actually, when we get back to the cottage, can you remind me there’s something I want to give you?’ said George, clearing his throat as he shyly took her hand again.
‘Give me?’ Claudia grinned at him. ‘Well, this gets better and better!’
‘Not like that!’ spluttered George. ‘Blimey, you really are a bad girl! Man, I’m dreading the moment you and Jess are in the same room. I don’t stand a chance.’
A brief flare of discomfort hit Claudia in the chest, and she glanced at him.
‘You and Jess… anything I should know?’ she said, only just managing to stop herself from pulling her hand away from his.
George smiled and shook his head. ‘We’re just good mates. Doris and Ethel did their best to matchmake us a while back, and I have to admit, I did ask Jess out for a drink just to get them off our backs, but…’
‘It didn’t work out?’ said Claudia.
‘There’s not even that much to the story,’ laughed George. ‘I think I was three sips into my drink when I came clean and told her that I didn’t see her like that. Jess’s look of relief would have been offensive if I wasn’t feeling exactly the same way!’
‘Blimey, you weren’t kidding when you said the town had been trying to pair you off, were you?’ said Claudia.
‘Nope,’ said George with a long-suffering sigh.
‘Well… can I just say that I’m relieved they failed?’ she said.
George’s face broke into a delighted grin, and Claudia had to resist the urge to jump on the guy there and then… just to see if he was as good a kisser as he’d been at eighteen.
‘There is one thing I should warn you about Jess, though,’ he said.
‘Uh oh,’ laughed Claudia.
‘She’s lovely, but she’s got no filter whatsoever,’ he said. ‘I guarantee you she’ll bombard you with a bunch of deeply personal questions within the first five minutes.’
‘Such as?’
‘Oh, you know… whether you’re planning to marry me, how many children you want… and what your intentions are regarding my virtue,’ he said cheerfully, as they headed towards Pebble Street.
‘Your virtue?!’ said Claudia, practically choking on a laugh.
‘I’m a delicate flower,’ said George, suddenly solemn. ‘I need protecting.’
‘I’ll try to restrain myself,’ she giggled.
‘Please don’t,’ said George. ‘Not on my account, anyway.’
He shot her a cheeky wink and disappeared inside the hotel to collect her case, narrowly missing her impression of a supernova.
‘Here we are,’ said George, turning the key in the lock and then standing back to let her lead the way into the cottage. ‘The living room’s through to your left there, and the kitchen’s straight ahead. Bathroom and bedrooms are upstairs. It’s small but perfectly formed.’
‘It’s really cute,’ said Claudia, keen to set his obvious nerves at ease.
She wasn’t telling porkies either. The front garden was full of late summer colour, and the small patch of grass was clearly carefully mown. The minute she stepped into the warmth of the little cottage, it was obvious she’d just arrived somewhere that was very much loved.
Claudia glanced into the living room, and for a moment she longed to cancel their plans for the apology tour and just curl up on one of the squashy sofas with George… preferably under a blanket, with the woodburner burbling away in the background.
Then again, that could be very dangerous, couldn’t it?! If they stayed here, she couldn’t be held responsible for her actions. It was much safer if they were out and about… at least in public, she’d have to behave a bit!
‘You want to hang out down here while I get changed, or would you like to see your room?’ said George, still looking decidedly cute in his work uniform.
‘I’ll take my bag upstairs and stash it out of the way, if that’s okay?’ said Claudia. She had to admit, she was curious to see the rest of the cottage and get a glimpse of where she’d agreed to spend the night.
‘Sure. Let me leave these here,’ he said, popping the bag of cakes down on the hallway table. Then, without a word, he picked up her little pink case and led the way up the narrow stairs.
Claudia followed slowly, doing her best not to stare at his decidedly cute bum just a couple of steps ahead of her.
‘Here we go!’ he said, leading the way into a gorgeous little room.
It was decorated with fresh whites and deep blues and had a bit of a seaside theme going on.
A large glass bottle full of bits of sea glass sat on the windowsill, and the curtains boasted a nautical print.
Most importantly, there was a comfy-looking double bed with fresh white linen, and a couple of fluffy towels sat folded at the foot.
‘Blimey George,’ she gasped, staring around. ‘You weren’t joking—talk about house-trained!’
‘Yeah, well, I didn’t want you to have to put up with my piles of unfolded laundry and stacks of books that outgrew the shelves downstairs.’
Claudia sniggered. ‘So, the truth comes out!’
‘Something like that,’ he laughed. ‘Anyway, the loo is just across the hallway, and my bedroom’s right next door. I’ll let you land a sec while I go and change, then we can start with Charlie at the allotments, and go to Jess at Hillside Farm afterwards?’
‘Sounds like a plan,’ said Claudia, suddenly very aware that she was standing close to a double bed… and George was within grabbing distance. She watched him leave the room and let out a sigh of relief… or maybe it was longing?!
‘Be cool, weirdo!’ she muttered, flopping down onto the bed the minute he pulled the door closed behind him.
‘What was that?’
‘Nothing!’ she squeaked.
Claudia turned and buried her face in the pillow, willing the coolness of the fresh linen to ease her blush. Unfortunately, it didn’t work because a second later, she heard the undeniable sounds of George stripping out of his uniform.
‘Oh blimey,’ she whispered.
Nope - she’d end up a jellified mess if she stayed put and listened to that!
Jumping back off the bed as if it had burned her, Claudia grabbed her phone and hotfooted it back down the stairs without a backwards glance.
‘There, much better!’ she muttered, heading into the little living room and sinking onto one of the well-worn sofas. She strained her ears but couldn’t catch any hint of the postal striptease going on upstairs.
Good.
As enticing as that had been, she needed to calm down before she terrified the poor guy!
Claudia swiped at her phone screen and promptly let out a quiet groan. There was another missed call from her mother.
Nope, she wasn’t about to call her back yet.
Claudia had a plan, and she was going to stick to it. She’d wait until after she’d had dinner at Seabury House, and only then would she call her mother back. She’d keep it brief and to the point—a short but glowing report that would hopefully put an end to any further ridiculous shenanigans.
Glancing up again to make sure there still wasn’t any sign of George, Claudia swiped to a different screen and pulled up the link to her digital portfolio. She hadn’t looked at it in ages, but sure enough, the minute she typed in her password, her screen was filled with her designs.
As she swiped from one image to the next, Claudia cast a critical eye over the years of hard work she’d simply abandoned.
She had to admit, she’d forgotten quite how many projects she’d completed…
all to her clients’ exacting demands, but with that hint of style that marked them as hers and tied her portfolio together.
Blowing out a long breath, Claudia shook her head.
Looking at these now, without the poisonous whispers of ex-husband number two telling her that she didn’t really have what it took, Claudia couldn’t help but feel a hint of pride.
But the feeling was mixed with a strange dollop of grief, too…
because she’d let it all go, hadn’t she?
There was nothing stopping her now, though, was there?
With another glance at the door, Claudia pulled up the search bar on her phone. She couldn’t remember the name of the company that Kate and George had been talking about earlier, but a quick search for “Design Agency” and “Seabury, Devon” quickly led her in the right direction.
Graphika - that was it!