Chapter Eighteen
Sylvie was jolted by the sound of a text coming through.
She saw as she looked at her phone that it was just past four which meant she had been sitting there for nearly an hour – she must’ve fallen asleep after Tom had left.
He was a funny old thing – fancy thinking she had any intention of hurling him out of Lovage Farm!
Sitting here was not helping get on with the afternoon; she couldn’t remember the last time she had dozed during the day.
She hit play on the voice note she had received and heard the voices of Sam, Alex and Ellie singing, ‘We’re all going to the beach right now, beach right now,’ pretty tunelessly.
Sam managed to fit in a properly hideous crescendo at the end that made her grin.
He was her future, there was no way she would be selling the farm off when it was the security she had for Sam, the one thing she knew she could give him, even when he was but a twinkle.
Shaking her head, hoping it would get rid of the sleepiness, she got to her feet and headed to grab the beach bag by the back door.
She boiled the kettle and made herself a coffee to take in the car with her – maybe that would also help clear the fug.
A quick check in the hallway mirror, and she decided to slosh some cold water on her face just to make sure.
It took a mere ten minutes before she was parked in Penmenna village and walking to the beach, the sun beating on her face and the pink Fowey Pride still in bloom and poking out of the walls.
As she turned the corner by the ice-cream shop she could hear the squeaks of Ellie and Sam before she saw them tiptoeing by the water’s edge, playing the racing-the-tideline game and deliberately losing.
Alex was down there with them, their giggles occasionally interspersed with his deep rumbly laugh.
An orchestra of sound when combined with the crash of the waves and the noisy caw of circling gulls.
It brought a smile to her face for the second time and she felt her pace pick up as she headed towards them.
For some reason, the very shape of Alex struck her today.
She had experienced that flutter yesterday when he had put his arm around her, but today she was deeply aware of his sheer physicality.
The way the T-shirt shaped his abs, and the way the top of his arms filled the sleeves to bursting was possibly her favourite bit.
She was used to beautifully toned young men – after all she had been dancing with them her whole career – but there was something even stronger about Alex, something that made her tummy flip when she studied him, butterflies not merely fluttering their wings flirtatiously but practically colliding and bouncing off the wall of her stomach.
Why was this hitting her today? Did she not have enough to deal with in her life right now?
Could her brain not just give her a break for a bit?
She had managed to accept that they had a great friendship and she had no intention of rocking the boat with lustful imaginings about a man who could only ever see her as a friend.
A man like Alex dated Glamazons, women like Claudia or those who dashed from continent to continent with a camera slung around their neck looking effortlessly glamorous whilst still engaging in danger day to day.
Not a single mum who lived in jeans and Converse and barely brushed her hair.
And definitely not the single mum whose child Ellie was best friends with.
Neither of them were stupid enough to rock this particular boat, not with both their children so dependent upon each other. That way madness lay. Fabulous madness, but dangerous delusional destructive madness all the same.
She walked across the beach reminding herself of this fact. Alex is off limits. It will explode your life and ultimately break Sam’s heart.
Alex looked up as she approached and she watched the grin spread across his face.
‘Hey, all good?’
Three simple words. She felt herself suddenly strong, cocooned in the warmth of his support.
Knowing she had someone who cared how things went, who was in her corner, made her feel that the world wasn’t entirely gloomy and impossible and complicated.
She had been a bit hurt that Tom thought so poorly of her, so the simple act of someone caring how talking to him had gone made her feel protected and a bit less vulnerable, a little less misjudged.
Yes, this afternoon with Tom was a surprise but now she felt infused with spirit.
She could handle other people’s misperceptions, she could handle anything life threw at her; she had done so before and would not be beaten down by this.
She took a deep breath and gave Alex the biggest smile she could muster.
‘All good,’ she said as she beamed like a lunatic.
Alex arched his brow and nodded slowly.
‘Great,’ he responded. ‘We’ve had a busy old morning.
I had thought they might be tired after their five o’clock start but apparently not.
We went to do a food shop when we left you and before we hit the beach and I suggested I could put them in the trolley seats if they were sleepy.
It was like unleashing the dogs of hell.
They informed me they weren’t babies and had no intention of riding in baby seats and instead took it in turns to push the trolley to prove it.
And my own darling daughter decided she was in charge of what went in.
You have no idea how many chocolate bars and crisps I had to put back on the shelves.
I had to allow the popcorn just to prevent a full-on floor-bashing tantrum whilst your son very impressively put in things like hummus and satsumas.
I’d quite like to keep him. You wanted Ellie this morning so we can swap if you want.
Ellie pretended to cry when I point-blank refused to buy these things she had seen on the TV.
Sam was almost as mortified as me and told her to stop.
What was really impressive was that she listened, which was a miracle I was more than grateful for.
You have no idea the sort of looks that women in supermarkets can give you when your child misbehaves. ’
‘Oh, I do. Trust me. Some women just dish them out.’ She was so grateful for this torrent of babble; it further grounded her, cushioning her from earlier.
‘Of course you do. You got one from Marion yesterday, didn’t you?’
‘I certainly did. I didn’t know you had noticed!’
‘Not notice? It was virtually a scarlet-red laser of disapproval beaming from each eye. Hilarious. However, this morning I was on the receiving end of quite a lot of them. Most times I go shopping women give me these misty-eyed smiles and coo at Ellie, but not today.’
‘Oh, it’s a hard life being a dishy single dad.’
‘That’s the second time you’ve said that you think I’m gorgeous.’
‘Dishy isn’t gorgeous, and neither is ego. You want to watch that.’ There was no way in the world she was going to let him know what she actually thought.
‘How kind you are.’
‘Known for it. They’re having an amazing time.’ She nodded at the children and used them to change the conversational subject.
‘They are. Sam guided us to your spot. I didn’t realize we had stolen it last time, however he has given us permission to use it whenever we want.’
‘Oh, that’s sweet.’
‘Right. And you were so on the money about this being a great time of year to go in the water. I’ve only dipped a toe in but it’s really not bad.’
‘Do you know what? A swim is exactly what I need. If it’s not that bad does that mean you’re going to join me?’
‘Do you know what, I might. But I’m definitely going in my wetsuit.’
‘I’d tease, but truth is I’ve got my shorty on under this. I’ll keep an eye on the kids if you wanna go and get changed.’
‘Aha, I too have it on under my clothes.’
‘Hmm, that sounds like deliberate planning.’
‘A gentleman is always prepared.’ Alex smirked as he quickly undressed in front of her, dropping his clothes to the sand.
‘Really? I think I’ve just gone off you.’ Sylvie matched him, item for item, trying really hard not to look too closely. But dear God, the man was stripping off in front of her!
She quickly summoned a picture of Marion in an attempt to slow her rapidly pounding heart, hoping it was as effective as a cold shower and might prevent her from panting out loud.
‘Oh, hush your fuss. Last one in has a face like a turnip. Go!’
‘Aaah… Sam… Ellie… come on in and join us… aaah…’ and Sylvie and Alex pelted into the sea at high speed.