Chapter 21
Lochlan was due back from his work trip on Friday and Bea couldn’t wait to see him. They’d been messaging while he’d been away, but it wasn’t the same, and she was looking forward to spending the day with him on Saturday.
She’d persuaded Archie to help her create a Shopify store, in exchange for doing his ironing for a month, and she’d ordered some stock from the wholesaler Anya had recommended to add to her product lines. She just needed to make a few final tweaks to the site before it was ready to launch.
She’d spent hours taking photos for the website and her Instagram grid, and bought some props for the shop: more fairy lights and candles.
She’d found some cute vintage teacups at the market and brought home some leftover pastries from her shift at the café, too, just for decorative purposes, of course.
Bea had watched loads of ‘how to take the perfect flat lay’ videos and scrolled through Bookstagram for inspiration, and she’d taken dozens of photos of book stacks, organized by size, colour, genre, author and title, incorporating every theme she could think of.
She’d even bribed Wordsworth with treats to model next to a shelfie with Marley and Me, Lily and the Octopus, and a personal favourite, Erika Waller’s Dog Days.
Concentrating on building a bank of images she could use helped pass the time quickly and, before she knew it, it was Saturday morning and she could get ready to meet Lochlan.
She’d told him to leave the planning of their day out to her – she wanted it to be a surprise – and she was looking forward to taking him to her favourite beach for a picnic, followed by a shopping trip to all her favourite spots in Rye.
She pictured them walking hand in hand through the cobbled streets… so romantic.
Bea hadn’t been to Lochlan’s place before, so when she pulled up outside an exclusive gated development with just four houses, each of which could have fitted Archie’s house inside it ten times over at least, she’d had to check her satnav to make sure she was in the right place.
Was this really where he lived?
When she pressed the buzzer and Lochlan’s voice sounded through the speaker, she still couldn’t quite believe it.
‘Hey, babe, I’ll buzz you through,’ he said, and the wrought-iron gates in front of her swung open.
Before Bea had time to climb out of her car, Lochlan had already shut his front door behind him and was leaning down to kiss her on the cheek.
‘I’ve missed you,’ he murmured in her ear.
‘You too,’ said Bea, feeling a warm glow in the pit of her stomach. ‘This place is… wow,’ she said, lost for words.
‘Yeah, it’s not bad, is it?’ he replied, smiling.
God that smile.
‘I’d invite you in, but the cleaner’s just arrived,’ he added.
‘Oh, yeah, sure,’ said Bea, hiding her disappointment. She’d have loved to have had a look around… next time, hopefully.
‘We can take my car if you like? I don’t mind driving,’ he said, eyeing Archie’s Nissan Micra suspiciously.
‘No, it’s fine,’ said Bea, ‘we’re going a bit off the beaten track, and I know the way.’
‘Are you sure? We’d be more comfortable in mine—’
‘Honestly, it’s fine,’ she said. ‘Come on, jump in and we can get going!’
‘So, where are we heading?’ he asked, climbing into the passenger’s seat, his aftershave wafting through the car.
‘It’s a surprise,’ said Bea, ‘but I think you’re going to love it!’
‘Are we going back to Canteen 64?’ he asked, pulling on his seatbelt.
‘Er… afraid not,’ she laughed. Was she imagining it, or did his face fall a little?
‘But we are going for lunch, though?’
‘Oh, absolutely,’ said Bea, driving back through the metal gates slowly.
‘Great, I’m starving,’ said Lochlan, reaching out to squeeze her hand. She felt her stomach do a little flip. She’d almost forgotten how utterly gorgeous he was.
On their drive to the beach, Lochlan told her all about his time in London.
He was working on a big new project with some foreign investors.
If everything went through, the deal would be worth millions, apparently.
He’d stayed in a luxurious boutique hotel in Mayfair – she’d have loved it, he told her.
In fact, he said she should come up for the night the next time he had a client dinner, so she could see for herself.
‘That sounds wonderful,’ she said, excited by the prospect of a mini break in London with the hot guy sat next to her.
‘We’ll sort out a date,’ said Lochlan.
‘Definitely! Ah, we’re here!’ said Bea, as she pulled into a tiny car park at the top of Fairlight cliffs.
‘Is that France?’ asked Lochlan, climbing out of the car and walking towards the edge of the cliffs.
‘Uh-huh,’ Bea replied. ‘On a clear day, you can see for miles.’
‘What have you got there?’ he asked, as Bea hauled a wicker hamper out of the boot.
‘We’re having a picnic on the beach!’ Bea announced.
‘On the beach?’ said Lochlan, looking horrified.
‘Yes…’ Bea faltered.
‘But we’ll get covered in sand,’ he replied. ‘I thought we were going to a restaurant. You know, somewhere nice?’
‘I thought this would be a bit different; something a bit more fun,’ said Bea, feeling a little stung. ‘It’s a gorgeous day, we should make the most of it.’ She’d thought her plan had been romantic, but from the look on Lochlan’s face, he clearly thought it was anything but.
‘I wish you’d said, I wouldn’t have worn these shoes,’ said Lochlan, looking down at what looked like a very expensive pair of leather loafers on his feet.
‘Sorry,’ said Bea, shaking her head. ‘I didn’t think.’
‘Don’t worry,’ he said, more brightly, the clouds disappearing from his face as quickly as they had formed. ‘I’ve got others. You’re right, it is a gorgeous day.’
‘Great!’
‘Here, let me,’ said Lochlan, taking the basket from her. ‘How do we get down?’
‘Over there,’ she said, pointing to a set of wooden steps at the edge of the car park. ‘It’s steep, so be careful.’
‘I will,’ Lochlan called behind him, descending the steps at speed. Bea gripped the handrail tightly, she’d never had much of a head for heights.
‘Phew,’ said Bea, finally stepping onto the beach a few minutes after him. ‘Good. There’s no one else here,’ she said, taking in the empty golden sand and clear blue water.
‘I can see why you like it here,’ said Lochlan, setting down the hamper and stopping to admire the view.
‘Every time I’m here it’s deserted, I love it. Everywhere gets so busy, especially in the summer.’
‘Let’s eat,’ said Lochlan, impatiently, opening up the picnic basket and pulling out a tartan blanket.
Bea had carefully packed all her favourite picnic food: sausage rolls, scotch eggs, a fancy quiche, salads, chips and dips and even some cupcakes from the café.
‘Fizz!’ said Lochlan, unpacking the bottle of champagne she’d snuck in at the last minute, cold from the fridge. ‘Now this really is a decent spread,’ he said, popping the cork with a bang.
‘Here,’ said Bea, ‘we’ve got strawberries too,’ she said, popping one into her mouth, followed by a glug of champagne.
‘Hey, what about me?’
‘Here you go,’ she said, feeding him one in a way she hoped was seductive.
‘Fancy a spot of skinny dipping?’ he asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
‘Do you know how cold that water is?’ Bea laughed.
‘I’m sure we’d warm up pretty quickly—’
‘Knowing my luck someone would steal our clothes.’
‘But there’s no one else here, Bea, it’s just us two.’
‘We haven’t got any towels or anything.’
‘Spoil sport,’ he joked, before reaching for a sausage roll. ‘God, these are spectacular,’ he laughed.
‘I got them from the café, Joyce is an excellent cook.’
‘You’re not wrong,’ said Lochlan. ‘So, what have you been up to? How’s business?’
‘Good,’ said Bea, taking another sip of her champagne. ‘I did an event at the WI, I’m starting a book club on the village green and my online store is nearly ready to launch. Oh, and I’ve got a book speed-dating event at the pub on Monday night.’
‘Wow, you have been busy,’ said Lochlan, through a mouthful of pastry.
‘I’ve got a few more events booked in for the summer as well; you’ll have to come along, see for yourself, you’ve not seen the wagon yet, I’d love to show you one—’
‘I’m going to be pretty busy for the next few months, this deal in London is big, if I can pull it off—’
‘You’re going back to London?’
‘Back and forth. Don’t worry, I’ll be around some weekends, we can still hang out.’
‘Oh, okay . . ,’ said Bea. Hang out? Is that what they were doing? Admittedly they’d not had a conversation about whether this was going anywhere, but she’d thought, hoped, it was leading somewhere.
‘So, have you made any plans for the rest of the day, if skinny dipping is definitely off the agenda?’ he asked, his eyes sparkling mischievously.
‘Yes, I thought we could head into Rye to look at—’
‘Actually, I’ve booked a slot for us to visit Lamb House, up in the Citadel there. I’m sure you’ve been before, but I haven’t, and I thought it might be nice to go together?’
‘Oh, I’d love to!’ said Bea, reaching over the remains of their picnic to squeeze his hand and pushing aside a flicker of annoyance that he’d gone ahead and booked something when she’d asked him to leave the plans for today to her. ‘It’s one of my favourite places.’
Tucked away in a narrow, cobbled street, Lamb House is a beautiful Georgian property with a strong literary history.
Now a National Trust property, the house was once home to Henry James, as well as a string of other literary greats, including E.
F. Benson and Rumer Godden. Bea had spent many hours wandering around the walled gardens and wood-panelled rooms, taking in the atmosphere.
It was no wonder it had inspired so many writers to produce some of their greatest works there.
‘I’m guessing we won’t be needing a tour guide then?’ Lochlan teased. ‘Shall we make a move?’ he said, starting to collect the empty Tupperware and plastic glasses. ‘I’ve booked us in for two, so that should give us plenty of time to have a wander first.’