by Kate Ryder
Oliver’s gaze alights on Cara, chatting to Morwenna and Bethany. The love of his life. Even now, so many months on, she has the ability to take his breath away and turn his knees to jelly.
Aware of someone looking at her, Cara glances across the room and sees Oliver gazing at her in that special way of his. She catches her breath. Even now, he can turn her insides to liquid. She used to think he excited these emotions in women because he was such a consummate actor, but now she knows there’s nothing false about that special look he saves only for her. Taking Morwenna’s left hand in hers, she points to the enormous diamond ring sparkling on her friend’s third finger.
Oliver grins. ‘Well done, Tas. I knew you’d get there in the end,’ he says to his friend standing beside him.
‘Couldn’t let you be the only one to grab the limelight, Mr Fox,’ says the Tasmanian with a sheepish grin.
Oliver laughs. ‘Excuse me while I steal Cara away for a few moments.’
‘Steal away,’ says Tas with a smile.
Taking the opportunity to slip away from the party still in full swing, Oliver and Cara step out onto the recently installed balcony that wraps around two sides of the old coastguard cottages. Standing behind her, Oliver cradles Cara in his arms and protects her from the evening chill. In a sky full of stars, the moon rides high as it casts its light over Falmouth Bay and the blue-black silhouettes of the newly planted clifftop garden. On the far shore – on the Roseland Peninsula – the beam from St Anthony’s lighthouse winks at them from across the dark expanse of water.
Cara leans lovingly into his body and tilts her face up to the moon. The Milky Way stretches across a pollution-free sky and she remembers the time they witnessed a meteor shower together. It was during their life-changing summer, when Oliver first admitted his love for her. She follows the trajectory of a shooting star and knows it’s Christo gazing down upon them.
I’m so very sorry you had to leave to make way for Oliver in my life, she silently offers up to her late husband.
Warmth spreads across her chest and she covers her heart with her hand. She can hear his voice, soft and gentle. ‘No need for apologies, Gwynnie. It was forever written in the stars.’
In the unique, private atmosphere that graces Coastguards, Oliver and Cara gaze at the universe. Way below, a silvery light reflects off the surface of the sea as it gently ebbs. All is quiet, apart from the sudden haunting call of a curlew from Gillan Creek. In the distance, a cow lows in response.
Running the palms of his hands over Cara’s swollen belly – travelling the terrain they know so well – Oliver feels the antique lace of her wedding dress beneath his fingertips. A small, insistent kick halts their journey.
‘She’s active tonight,’ Cara says, turning her face towards him.
Resting one hand lightly over the little foot, Oliver swallows hard. A daughter… to join the son born of a love he thought would only ever find expression on film. As he lovingly cradles Cara’s beautiful body, made only the more desirable by her state of impending motherhood, her hand covers his. Lacing their fingers, together they take the weight of their baby.
‘You know, Cara,’ Oliver whispers, dropping a tender kiss on the soft skin beneath her ear, ‘by whatever magical act of alchemy it was that brought us together, from the very first moment I set eyes on you I knew you were the missing piece.’
In the moonlight Cara’s cheeks glisten with tears.
‘Thank you for showing up, beautiful girl of my dreams.’
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Acknowledgements
I am indebted to my understanding husband, Martin, who has helped and encouraged me throughout the writing of this book, despite having to share me with a cast of characters. I promise you will now have my undivided attention… until the next call to write.
To Claire Hainsworth and Katie Kirby (ladies of The Lizard) who inspire me with their enthusiasm for the landscape they are so fortunate to inhabit, and to Topsytail and Tinkerbelle (farm cats turned river cats) for not only allowing me to feature the exciting waterside property they know as home but also for their starring role!
The whole team at Aria are wonderful but special thanks must go to my editor, Lucy Gilmour, for her belief, patience and expertise, and for teasing the best out of me; Sue Smith for her invaluable copy-editing skills and for sorting out that pesky timeline; and Sue Lamprell for her magnificent proofreading.
Mention must also be made to the reviewers of Summer in a Cornish Cove who begged me to write a sequel and not leave them in limbo. Thank you for giving me focus and purpose.
And last, but most definitely not least, to my late mother who I have dedicated this book to. She was a great supporter of my writing and loved Oliver and Cara’s story but, very sadly, was called away before having the chance to find out what happened to them.
About Kate Ryder
KATE RYDER has worked in a number of industries including publishing, mainly as a proof-reader/copy editor and writer for a national newspaper, magazines and publishing houses. A member of the New Writers Scheme with the Romantic Novelists Association, in 2013 she published her debut novel, The Forgotten Promise, a timeslip romance and mysterious ghost story, which was shortlisted for Choc Lit’s 2016 Search for a Star and also honoured with a Chill with a Book Book of the Month Award. Kate lives in a renovated 200-year-old sawmill in the beautiful Tamar Valley with her husband and a collection of animals.
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Addictive Fiction
First published in the United Kingdom in 2018 by Aria, an imprint of Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © Kate Ryder, 2018
The moral right of Kate Ryder to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (E) 9781788541107
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Kate Ryder, Cottage on a Cornish Cliff