A Summer to Remember

by Victoria Connelly

  ‘Don’t give up so easily,’ the man said. ‘Mind if I give it a go?’

  ‘Be my guest,’ Nina said.

  ‘Come on, Ziggy!’ the man cried and Nina watched in wonder as the dog’s ears immediately pricked up and his head cocked to one side as he acknowledged the man. And then something bizarre happened. Ziggy suddenly seemed to forget what he was doing in the middle of the field and tore across it at great speed, the force of his movement pushing his flappy ears behind him so that they looked like furry bunting.

  ‘Wow! You really have a way with animals,’ Nina said, impressed, as the dog lolloped towards them.

  ‘Oh, it’s nothing really,’ the man said with a grin as he bent down to ruffle Ziggy’s soft head as he collided into his legs.

  ‘Well, I wish he’d listen to me like he does you,’ Nina said, quickly grabbing the lead before Ziggy had a chance to run off again.

  ‘It just takes time,’ the man said, looking up at Nina as he continued to fuss Ziggy. ‘So, this is your dog?’ he said.

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘I’m just walking him for his owner.’

  ‘I see,’ he said.

  There was a pause and Nina suddenly felt awkward. ‘I’m sorry to have taken up your day like this. It’s the first time I’ve walked Ziggy and I guess I’m a little nervous.’

  ‘There’s no need to apologise,’ he said, giving her a smile that she found disturbingly attractive. Now was definitely not the time to bump into a handsome man, she thought, as she looked down at her scuffed shoes and dusty jeans. She pushed her hair out of her face and hoped she hadn’t just streaked that with dirt too.

  ‘I’m Nina,’ she said, remembering her manners.

  ‘Justin,’ he said, extending a large hand towards her. Nina shook it, marvelling at its warmth and strength, and gazing up into the blue eyes once more. He was, she had to admit, the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen.

  ‘Well, I’d better get back,’ she said a moment later, realising, rather embarrassingly, that she’d been staring at him for longer than was deemed polite. ‘They’re waiting for me,’ she added.

  ‘Sure,’ he said, giving an easy-going kind of smile that made Nina’s heart leap. ‘Maybe I’ll see you again. I often walk this way. About this time.’

  ‘Oh,’ she said, trying not to show that she was bothered either one way or another.

  ‘I could give you some tips on how to handle Ziggy, if you like,’ he added.

  ‘Right,’ Nina said.

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘We’ll see. I’m not sure what I’m doing,’ she said and then she gave a little smile to neutralise her statement.

  ‘Are you sure you don’t need any help getting back, with your ankle?’ He asked.

  ‘Oh, it’s not far. I’m just at the mill.’

  He nodded. ‘Well, if you’re sure—’

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ she assured him, quite determined not to play the weak heroine from some nineteenth-century novel.

  Ziggy gave a tug on the lead and Nina knew that it was time to go.

  ‘Don’t let him take charge,’ Justin said. ‘If he pulls, stop walking. He’ll soon learn.’

  Nina nodded. Was it really as simple as that? ‘Thanks,’ she said.

  ‘You’re welcome. Nina.’ The way he added her name at the end like that made her heart skip a beat, and his blue eyes fixed on her for a moment before he turned away, giving a low whistle that brought Bess the collie to heel immediately. She turned to go, too, willing herself not to look around as she hobbled down the footpath, but the temptation was too much for her as she reached the bend and she quickly glanced over her shoulder, watching as he walked away with his faithful collie by his side.

  Justin. She didn’t know his last name. In fact, she didn’t know anything else about him other than he was very tall with fair hair, bright blue eyes and a smile that could warm a girl’s heart on the coldest winter day. She stood there for a moment, just watching him, and then he turned around as if he’d felt her eyes on his back and gave a little wave.

  Nina felt her face flame with embarrassment at being caught and she turned quickly, forgetting the tip he’d told her about not letting Ziggy be the boss in her hurry to get back to the mill.

  Trying to put all sorts of handsome strangers out of her mind after giving Ziggy a quick groom and making sure he was settled in his basket, Nina got to work clearing some space on Dudley’s shelves for the box files he was going to bring back from his trip into town. She’d soon have everything tidied away and then she could start to help Dudley with the research for his novel. She knew that Olivia had lots of things planned for the anniversary party that she was hoping for Nina’s help with, too. It seemed she was going to be very busy.

  She returned to her desk and pulled out the heavy wooden chair, dragging it over to the shelves and standing on it before grabbing a handful of the papers that were taking up an inordinate amount of space.

  It was then that she noticed what she thought was a ream of paper, but which she soon discovered to be pages and pages of double-line-spaced typing.

  ‘It’s the novel!’ she said triumphantly, jumping down off the chair and returning to her desk with it. Her eyes quickly scanned the first page, then the second, third and fourth and, before she knew it, it was late into the afternoon and Nina was just about to clock off after her first very long day. When she finished the last page she scoured the room for more, desperate to know how the story continued. But there was no sign of anything.

  She scratched her head and frowned. She never would have thought it. When Olivia had said Dudley was writing a novel she’d thought – European spy novel, American-style thriller, perhaps even science-fiction. But nothing had prepared her for this.

  Dudley Milton was writing a historical romance.

  Chapter Eleven

  When Nina left the study, it was with the knowledge that it was in a much better state now, but there was still a long way to go. However, she could do no more before a well-earned cup of tea, and so she took herself off to the kitchen. Dominic was there, standing over the sink, the kettle in hand and his back to the door.

  ‘Make one for me too, please,’ she said cheerfully, batting down an excitable Ziggy who had been dozing by the Aga before she’d entered the room.

  Dominic turned around and gave her a warm, sunny smile that lit up his face. He was quite cute really; she could see why Faye was still so crazy about him. His hair was incredibly short at the back – in that way that encouraged girls to brush their fingers against it – but it was longer at the front, thick and very dark. His eyebrows were dark, too, and his face was slim and beautiful.

  ‘How do you like it?’ Dominic asked.

  ‘What?’ Nina asked, confused by his question.

  ‘Your tea?’

  ‘Oh! Milk, no sugar,’ Nina said.

  ‘Sweet enough?’ Dominic suggested, a twinkle in his dark eyes as he smiled. He bent down to find the milk in the fridge, and Nina drew a chair out and sat down.

  ‘So, what brings you up to the house?’ she began, wondering if he’d come to get a glimpse of Faye.

  ‘Oh you know – ran out of food at my place.’

  Nina nodded. ‘And where is your place exactly?’

  ‘The Folly.’ He turned to look at her expectantly. ‘It’s one of the old buildings, don’t you remember?’

  ‘Yes! I do,’ Nina was suddenly blasted by an image from her past. ‘We once ended up there on a walk, didn’t we? That evening when the day seemed to stretch on forever. We’d been paddling further up the river in the shallows and decided that a walk would be the best way to dry off. Remember?’

  ‘I remember,’ Dominic said with a smile. ‘You were wearing that big straw hat with the red ribbon.’

  ‘Gosh!’ Nina said. ‘Yes.’

  ‘Have you still got it?’

  ‘No. I’m afraid my boyfriend’s dog ate it.’

  ‘Your boyfriend?’

  ‘We’re no longer
together,’ she said quickly.

  ‘Maybe it’s just as well,’ he said.

  Nina looked perplexed. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Well, you don’t want some mad dog eating its way through your wardrobe, do you?’

  ‘Oh, I suppose,’ she said. ‘So, tell me about The Folly. You can’t actually live in it, can you?’

  ‘Oh, yeah! A few mates and I did it up. It’s great – although I haven’t spent a winter in it yet. I’ve got to get some money together before then so I can afford to heat the old place. You’ll have to come and have a look some time. I’m sure you’d love it,’ Dominic said, sloshing milk enthusiastically into the mugs and adding two sugars into his own.

  ‘I’d love to. Thanks!’ Nina took the mug he offered and watched as he screeched a chair out from under the table and sat down opposite her.

  ‘You know,’ he began, ‘I was racking my brains, trying to remember the last time you babysat here.’

  ‘Were you?’ Nina grinned.

  ‘And I couldn’t think when it was.’

  ‘Well, there were so many occasions—’

  ‘We missed you,’ he said suddenly. Nina looked up from her mug. ‘Nobody could ever replace you.’

  ‘Oh, I’m sure that’s nonsense,’ she said.

  ‘No, really – you were a one-off!’ his eyes widened as he spoke, making Nina feel almost uncomfortable.

  ‘The girl Mum got in after you was a real bitch.’

  ‘Dommie!’ Nina cried, shocked at his choice of words. She still couldn’t help but think of him as an innocent little boy who didn’t have a bad bone or a bad word in him.

  ‘Sorry!’ he said quickly, ‘but she was. She used to march us to bed and then cavort on the sofa with her boyfriend.’

  ‘How do you know that?’ Nina’s eyebrows disappeared into her blonde fringe.

  Dominic blushed slightly and his cheeks dimpled. ‘Because Alex and I used to sneak down the stairs and watch.’

  ‘Oh, you didn’t!’

  ‘Before you say anything, it had nothing to do with me!’ He leant back in his chair and held his hands up in a gesture of innocence.

  ‘Oh, I suppose it was all your big bad brother’s idea?’ Nina teased. Dominic just grinned at her.

  She took a sip of tea as she tried not to imagine what exactly the young boys had witnessed in the front room. Then something occurred to her. If they had spied on one babysitter, why not another? Had they spied on her? Had she been the victim of schoolboy curiosity? Had they witnessed her as she’d nosied through the family photo albums and rifled through their parents’ CD and book collections? God almighty – had they spied on her the night she’d decided to give a one-woman show to Olivia’s Barbra Streisand album?

  ‘And how do you know I didn’t have boyfriends over?’ she ventured. Dominic almost spluttered a mouthful of tea across the table. ‘Did you spy on me, too? Dominic?’

  He looked at her, his brown eyes crinkling at the edges. ‘How about later then?’ he said. ‘Come over to The Folly this evening?’’

  ‘Dominic – you haven’t answered my question!’ Nina said.

  ‘Come on – you want to see The Folly, don’t you?’ His face was positively rosy from trying to suppress what Nina guessed was a confession.

  ‘Er – well …’ she hesitated, her mind clouded with confusion.

  ‘We could walk along the river – like we used to.’

  Nina couldn’t help smiling at the memory. But, back then, she had been a babysitter and Alex and Dominic had worn bright woollen hats and matching gloves, and had played hide-and-seek in the old Folly. An invitation to the now-private home of a young man, via a riverside walk, had quite different connotations – especially if he had romance in mind. That wouldn’t fit in at all with Nina’s plans to get him back together with Faye. Which reminded her – she really did have to get moving with that little idea.

  But Nina didn’t have time to answer as the front door suddenly crashed open.

  ‘Anyone home?’ a male voice cried.

  Nina looked at Dominic. His mouth had dropped open and his face had set in a frown.

  ‘Hullo there, bruv!’ A tall, fair-haired young man breezed into the kitchen and gave Dominic a sound slap on the back. ‘How are you? Good to see me?’

  ‘Hello, Alex.’

  ‘And who do we have here? Latest girl, Dom?’ His eyes flicked back up to Nina as he raked a hand through his tousled hair.

  ‘Erm, w— well—’ Dominic stuttered.

  ‘I must say, your taste’s improving with age.’

  Nina felt his eyes raking quickly up and down the length of her.

  ‘No, Alex – this is Dad’s new secretary. I thought you’d remember her.’

  ‘Don’t tell me!’ Alex put a hand up and he looked at Nina again, his brown eyes narrowing. There was a moment’s pause. ‘Nina Elliot,’ he said suddenly, causing her to blush. ‘Didn’t you think I’d remember?

  ‘No,’ she said quietly, staring into eyes that seemed to wink at her.

  ‘Who wouldn’t remember you?’ He took a step closer and held his hand out. Nina reached out to shake it and gasped when he took it up to his mouth to kiss it.

  ‘Welcome back,’ he said, a grin stretching across his face, making Nina’s heart somersault. It’s really great to see you again.’

  ‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘You too.’

  ‘So, how have you been? What have you been up to all these years?’

  Nina smiled. ‘Nothing much, I’m afraid. A bit of this and that. A few awful jobs and a few dreadful boyfriends – you know how it goes.’ She gave a nervous laugh.

  ‘I’m sure you’ve been breaking hearts left, right and centre,’ Alex said and Nina felt herself blushing.

  ‘Oh, I don’t know about that,’ she said.

  ‘You always were a heartbreaker,’ he told her.

  ‘What?’ Nina said in surprise. ‘I was not!’

  ‘The worst sort, too,’ Alex added, ‘because you don’t know when you’re doing it.’

  ‘Oh, Alex!’ Nina said, hoping he was teasing her. There was definitely a twinkle in his eye that she seemed to remember from all those years ago. He always had been a terrible tease.

  ‘So, what are you doing this evening?’ he suddenly asked her.

  ‘Well, I—’

  ‘Only I thought you might like a spin in the new car – out to the Broads? Find a nice little pub by the water? What do you say?’

  Nina felt that her head was nodding quite independently of any thought inside it.

  ‘Good. Will you be ready in about an hour? That should give us plenty of time to find somewhere, shouldn’t it?’

  ‘Fine,’ Nina said, her mouth strangely dry.

  ‘Great!’ Alex said, clapping his hands together. ‘I have a feeling this is going to be one hell of a summer!’

  Dominic was furious. Just who did Alex think he was – marching in like that and snatching Nina from right under his nose, just as they’d been getting along so well? But wasn’t it absolutely typical of him? It was just the sort of behaviour he’d come to expect from his brother over the years. He’d been sure Nina would have spent the evening with him. She’d been on the verge of accepting his invitation when Alex had barged in.

  Alex really was the limit when it came to women. Bring a pretty girl within a one-mile circumference of him and he’d track her down and hound her until she’d promised to go out with him. It had always been the same. Ever since they were boys, he’d had to get in there first, make an impression and prove he was the best.

  Dominic sighed, knowing that if Nina was to stay the duration of the summer, he’d better warn her about Alex before it was too late.

  Chapter Twelve

  Nina didn’t know why she felt so guilty about saying yes to going out with Alex. She’d finished work for the day and they hadn’t seen each other for years. What harm would there be in having a quiet meal together and catching up on old times?

&nb
sp; Having been just that little bit older than Dominic when she’d babysat them, she’d been able to talk to him and it would be great to catch up with him tonight.

  It felt like ages since she’d been taken out to dinner but, she reasoned, this was not a date. It was nothing more than a get-together with somebody from her past whom she felt great affection for. That was all. Besides, she was curious to get to know the grown-up Alex and wanted to see the young man he’d become.

  She looked in the mirror that leant against the wall, and straightened her dress. Perhaps it was because Dominic had asked her first, and she hadn’t actually said yes or no before Alex had made her an offer of his own. Maybe that’s what was worrying her. Anyway, she’d sort things out with Dominic another time. She only hoped that she hadn’t upset him by agreeing to take off with Alex so spontaneously.

  A couple of years older than Dominic, Alex had always been the confident one. He was always pushing boundaries, whether it was to do with his school homework or their strictly imposed bedtimes.

  ‘Oh, Neeenah!’ he’d cry as if in physical agony. ‘It’s not fair.’

  That was it with Alex – if the world didn’t revolve around him all the time then it just wasn’t fair. But, even though he’d tried her patience on occasion, they’d had so many happy times together. Nina remembered watching him swimming in the river, practicing his guitar in the living room and showing her the best way to make toast – if she remembered correctly, it had something to do with raspberry jam and marshmallow fluff.

  ‘Mum makes it for us all the time,’ he’d assured her when she’d expressed some concern over the sickly sweet mess he’d made.

  Nina smiled. As a child, Alex had liked to get his own way and, from what she’d seen of him so far today, that hadn’t changed at all. She grabbed her brush and ran it quickly through her hair, biting her lip as she wondered why it was so important to look nice. She shook her head, dismissing the thought that she was doing this for Alex, because it was time to go.