The Holiday Cottage by the Sea: An utterly gorgeous feel-good romantic comedy

by Holly Martin

Tori grinned. ‘I’m so pleased you chose him, he’s my favourite too. This is Max. We can come up with different names for the berries if you don’t like Max, but naming them helped the characters to become more real in my head. And… I’ve already made a rough model of him.’

  She opened the box and pulled him out carefully, placing him on the table.

  ‘Oh, he’s brilliant, can I touch him?’

  Tori nodded, and he picked up the berry character and held him in his hands. It was quite a bit heavier than he thought it would be as he turned it round in his hands.

  ‘You’ve captured the shape of the heartberry perfectly and made him come to life,’ Aidan said. ‘He looks cheeky and friendly and endearing.’

  ‘Oh, I’m so happy you like him. So, I’ve been thinking about the story for the advert. I thought it could be a bit of a love story as the heartberry is famous for bringing people together. So maybe our Max could be looking for love.’

  ‘I like that.’

  She picked up a stack of paper with drawings in little boxes, kind of like a comic book.

  ‘These are storyboards which will help to give you a visual for the story. It’s a bit of a work in progress at the moment, but I thought it could be a bit like the Ugly Duckling, in that Max doesn’t know he’s a heartberry and he knows he doesn’t belong with the other fruit.’ She pointed out the relevant drawings for that part of the story and then moved on to the other drawings. ‘He tries to find friends with the strawberries, the raspberries and apples but they know he isn’t one of them. The heartberry is so unique he can’t find any fruit that is even similar to him. He travels far and wide and eventually comes to Heartberry Farm where he finds lots of berries just like him and even a female berry called Jenny, who he falls in love with.’

  He smiled at the last few pictures of Max, holding Jenny in one of those classic romantic dip poses and then winking at the camera and throwing his cap over the lens. It was fun and catchy and her enthusiasm for the project shone through it.

  ‘I love it,’ Aidan said.

  ‘Really?’ Her face lit up.

  ‘Yes, I really do, it’s perfect. I think people will really like it.’

  ‘Well, we can do some fantastic merchandising with it too. Make cuddly Max and Jenny toys. I can put you in contact with some great merchandising companies who will make all this stuff for you. It’s tricky because you don’t want to spend thousands on merchandise if no one buys it, but equally you want to have some stuff available to buy straight away if the advert proves a success. We can get the companies to provide some samples of a few popular products, like soft toys or t-shirts and mugs, and have them on your website to start off. If we start getting orders in for them, we can look at ordering more merchandise.’

  ‘Sounds like a great plan,’ Aidan said.

  Tori clapped her hands together excitedly. ‘I’m so happy you like it. Is there anything you want to change? I can make changes to Max or the story or—’

  ‘It’s perfect.’

  She smiled, and Aidan loved the way it filled her whole face. ‘Are you sure?’

  He glanced down at her purple wellies.

  ‘Maybe Max or Jenny could wear purple wellies.’

  Tori grinned. ‘I love it. I can do that, no problem. I can’t wait to get started on this. You’ll have to come round to Blossom Cottage when I start and see me shooting it. It gets a bit dull as we only make very tiny movements on the models. There are twenty-four frames in a second and we normally make around twenty-four to thirty frames a day, so it won’t look like the berries are moving at all, but you can at least pop by for a little while and see how it’s all done.’

  ‘I’d really like that.’ He glanced across at the clock and realised they needed to go down to the field. He sighed reluctantly. He could have sat and talked to her all night. ‘We better go, the villagers will be waiting.’

  ‘OK, no problem.’ She packed away her drawings and carefully put Max back in his box. ‘Let’s go, boss.’

  * * *

  Tori watched as Aidan put a Thermos flask and a blanket into a large rucksack which was already half filled with Tupperware boxes and foil parcels.

  ‘Are we having a moonlight picnic?’ she asked, excitedly. The thought of it was so romantic, lying on a blanket under the stars surrounded by candles. Maybe they might even share their first kiss.

  He paused for a moment. ‘I’d like to say I’d planned a nice romantic midnight picnic for us, but actually I was just bringing some snacks for later when we have a break.’

  Her little romantic bubble popped. She had to stop herself getting carried away.

  He must have seen her disappointment. ‘I mean, it is sort of a picnic, there’s a blanket and food…’ he trailed off. ‘I’m rubbish at romance stuff.’

  ‘A sort of picnic sounds lovely.’

  He swung the rucksack onto his back, grabbed his torch and took her hand again as he led her back out of the farmhouse. She smiled at how right it felt to be holding hands with him. He was doing just fine on the romance side of things.

  ‘The heartberry field is right down by the coast so we’ll take the jeep. That way we can load all our berries into the back when we’re done. It will be quite a big harvest as the fruit we get tonight will be used for the heartberry festival at the weekend, for the famous heartberry cake, jams, biscuits and other desserts. So tomorrow I’ll drive the berries round to all the local businesses and I expect I’ll sell out in a few hours. Many places have already put in a big order.’

  He opened the car door for her and she swung herself up into the seat, then he walked round to the other side and got in. He started the engine with a roar and they bumped down the track towards the moonlit sea.

  As they rounded the corner, a large field opened out in front of them filled with hundreds of lanterns glowing gold in the darkness.

  ‘Oh,’ Tori said, taking in the beauty of the night. ‘It’s a bit like Tangled.’

  He suddenly started singing, launching into, ‘I See the Light’, the big romantic number from the Disney film.

  She stared at him listening to his beautiful voice as he sang every word perfectly.

  ‘You know the songs from Tangled?’ Tori asked, in surprise, when he stopped.

  ‘The hazards of having a five-year-old niece. Marigold has made me watch it a hundred times.’

  There was something so lovely about the thought of this big man watching Disney films with his niece.

  Aidan pulled up to the field and Tori was surprised by the number of people standing around the edge.

  ‘OK, the way this ceremony works is that we will have to wait until midnight to pick the first berry. I’ll taste it and tell everybody how great it is and then they will all leave. We can both start picking berries then but, whatever you do, don’t eat any.’

  ‘I can’t try one?’ After hearing so much about the heartberries she was keen to sample them herself.

  ‘Of course, you can but not while anybody is there. The magic of the heartberries is supposed to be most potent at midnight on the first full moon, which is why the fruit we pick tonight will be used in the famous cake for the big festival at the weekend. If we tried them together I have no doubt that the whole village would be planning our wedding before sunrise. Just wait until they’ve all gone and then we can regroup and taste them together.’

  ‘Oh OK, we don’t want to give Agatha any more fuel,’ Tori said.

  ‘No, definitely not. She doesn’t need any more encouragement. So, we both have trolleys and I’ve already left stacks of empty punnets on them. Simply fill each punnet, put the lid on and put it on the trolley. When the trolley is full, load it into the car, and take a new stack of punnets.’

  ‘Sounds easy enough. What about this special picking method that you were going to show me?’

  ‘Yes, I can show you that, it’s very easy.’

  He got out and Tori climbed down into the field too. She followed him to the first row and smi
led as he exchanged pleasantries with everyone that he passed. Several people gave her winks or nudged each other and smiled as they walked past, clearly having decided that they were already together or that the heartberries would work their magic over them. A few were a lot more blatant, asking Aidan if she was his girlfriend, which he politely smiled at but didn’t answer.

  Aidan stood by the first bush and in the light of the lanterns she could see little gleaming red berries. The bushes were waist height which Tori was thankful for as it meant that she wouldn’t have to bend down a lot like she would if she was picking strawberries.

  She looked up at Aidan. ‘So, we just wait?’

  ‘Just another minute,’ Aidan said quietly, as he checked his watch.

  ‘Shall I start doing the naked dancing to entertain the troops?’

  Aidan laughed. ‘I’m sure they would appreciate that.’

  Down in the village, Tori heard the clock strike midnight and it seemed the villagers held their breath in anticipation of the first berry being picked.

  As the last chime of the bell rang out into the darkness, Aidan picked a berry off the bush and popped it in his mouth.

  ‘Tastes amazing,’ Aidan called out to the waiting villagers. ‘Even better than last year.’

  There were claps and cheers of approval from the crowd and then they placed their lanterns on the ground and slowly dispersed, disappearing off back in the direction of the village.

  As the villagers walked away, Aidan turned to Tori. ‘I say that every year. So, you don’t pull the berry off from the middle of the fruit, you put your fingers near the stem and gently tug it away from the stalk like this.’

  She watched him tease the berry off the bush.

  ‘Why don’t you have a go,’ Aidan said.

  He took her hand and with his fingers over hers he showed her the amount of pressure to apply to the berry. Her breath caught in her throat. She had never thought of berry-picking as something that was sexy before, but with his hand on hers, standing alone with him in the velvet darkness, it suddenly really was.

  She popped the berry off the stalk and held it in her hand.

  ‘Taste it,’ Aidan said softly.

  She checked the field and saw that they were now completely alone. She put the berry in her mouth, biting it and letting the juice slide over her tongue. Aidan was watching her the whole time, and for some reason it was sexy as hell.

  ‘Well, what do you think?’

  She had been so distracted by him watching her intently that she hadn’t really processed what it tasted like but now she could appreciate it. It was sweet and tangy and fresh and not like anything she had ever tasted before. She swallowed.

  ‘It’s wonderful,’ she said, unable to take her eyes from his. ‘So, if this berry is so magical, what happens now? We kiss and fall head over heels in love?’

  He didn’t say anything for a moment then he smiled. ‘Let’s see, shall we.’

  He bent his head and kissed her.

  14

  It was so unexpected that for a second or two Tori just stood in shock as his soft mouth brushed against hers. But as he moved away, clearly realising she wasn’t returning it, she grabbed hold of his jumper and pulled him back to her, kissing him too. He brought his hands to her face, cupping her gently. She slid her hands round his neck, stroking the back of his head and fingering his black curls. He moaned softly against her lips and it was such a turn-on to know she had this effect on him.

  He moved his hands down her back, holding her closer against him, and eased her mouth open, tasting her.

  His wonderful scent surrounded her, the feel of his stubble against her skin was incredible and he tasted amazing.

  He slid his arms around her, so he was hugging her tightly, his whole body wrapped around hers and the kiss continued.

  This kiss was everything. It was so gentle, so lovely. She had never been kissed like this before with so much adoration.

  She moved her hands down his back and then slipped them under his jumper and t-shirt, caressing his bare skin at the base of his spine. At her touch, the kiss changed to something more needful and urgent – the kiss suddenly wasn’t enough, she needed more.

  Aidan pulled back slightly, still holding her against him but leaning his head against hers, his breath unsteady.

  ‘I think if I was to kiss you for much longer, I’d be stripping you naked and taking you right here amongst the berries,’ he said.

  Tori laughed. ‘I think I’d be OK with that.’

  ‘Let’s go back to the farm,’ Aidan said. ‘Forget the berries.’

  She smiled, not entirely sure if he was joking. ‘And what would we tell the villagers when there are no berries in the morning?’

  ‘They’ll understand, the passion and the magic of the berries took over us.’

  She pulled back slightly to look at him. ‘Is that what this is?’

  ‘I have no idea what this is, but I’m loving it. What about you, have you fallen head over heels in love with me yet?’ he teased.

  Something pulled in her heart. ‘I think I could definitely fall in love with you, Aidan Jackson, if you keep kissing me like that.’

  He smiled. ‘I’ll keep that in mind. But we should get on with the berry-picking.’ He kissed her on the forehead and pulled away, out of her arms. ‘I’ll take this row and you take that one. I’d like to clear six rows tonight. There’s a head torch on your trolley, it’ll help you see the berries more easily.’

  Tori wasn’t sure what to make of this sudden about-turn. She knew the berries needed to be picked and maybe he needed to focus on that rather than what they could be doing if they were back at the farmhouse.

  ‘Yes boss,’ Tori said.

  He laughed and caught her hand, pulling her back towards him. ‘We’ll take a break at one and I plan to use it doing more of this.’ He kissed her briefly on the lips, lingering that moment too long as if savouring her.

  He released her, and she smiled as she moved into the next row, spotting the trolley that was waiting for her. She slipped on her head torch and picked a berry. Holding it in her hand, she had her first proper look at it. It was about the size of a blueberry but had a definite heart shape to it. Now, having had a chance to study it, her ideas for Max started solidifying in her head. She could see exactly where the eyes would be and even where the hands and feet would go.

  ‘Oi, Graham, I’m going to need a faster picking rate than one an hour,’ Aidan called over and Tori laughed.

  She popped the berry into the punnet and started picking some more, quickly filling the punnet, pressing the lid on and then moving on to the next punnet. She looked at the berries, all red, juicy and shiny in the punnet, and then glanced over at Aidan who smiled at her. Was there really something in these berries that could make people fall in love with each other? Because something was definitely happening between them, something wonderful, and she didn’t know whether to be delighted or terrified by it.

  She moved down the row, methodically clearing each bush before moving on to the next. It was quite therapeutic in that way that doing something repetitive and easy helped to clear the mind. But every time that she glanced over at Aidan, he seemed to be watching her with a big smile on his face. It made her feel all warm inside.

  She had bent over to pick another handful of berries when something large skimmed over her head, and straight into the back of her hood. She quickly tried to flap her hood around to remove whatever it was, but the thing was struggling so much she couldn’t free it. A second later the thing fell down the neck of her hoodie and down her back and as she wiggled around she heard the distinctive squeal of a bat.

  * * *

  Aidan had reached the end of his row when he heard a shriek of terror from Tori. He looked over and in the light from the lanterns he saw her running around in a weird kind of dance, her arms flailing, seemingly being attacked by invisible forces. He dropped his punnet and ran over to help her.

  She was d
esperately trying to get her top off, screaming and wailing like she was possessed. He grabbed at her hoodie and yanked it off, inadvertently taking her t-shirt with it so she was standing in only her bra and shorts. But as he did something small and black zoomed out from the inside of her clothes and he realised she had been accidentally attacked by a bat.

  ‘Oh God, are you OK?’ Aidan asked, watching her drop her hands to her knees and bend over as she tried to catch her breath. She didn’t seem fazed at all that she was half naked.

  ‘Yes, I think so,’ she panted. ‘I’ve never had an issue with bats before, but I think I’ve just developed a new phobia. God, the bloody thing was all over me.’

  ‘They have quite sharp teeth and claws; did he scratch you?’

  ‘He might have done, it does feel a bit sore,’ Tori said.

  ‘Let me have a look.’ Aidan moved round to her back and she straightened and turned slightly so she stood more in the light and he could see more clearly. He ran his hands gently over her back. There were a few small scratches but nothing serious.

  ‘I think you’re OK.’ His eyes suddenly fell on the tattoo and his heart stopped as he stared at it. What the hell was this? Yes, they’d joked about marriage and they’d just been talking about falling in love, and if he was honest his feelings for her had grown very quickly, beyond something that could be considered casual. But this was a little creepy.

  ‘So, you got your tattoo?’ he said, touching it with his fingertips.

  ‘Oh god.’ Tori turned around, so he could no longer see it. ‘Is it OK, do you like it?’

  ‘It’s…’ he trailed off, because really, he had no words to describe what he’d just seen. ‘Nice.’

  It wasn’t really nice, although it had obviously been done by somebody with a lot of talent. But he could hardly tell her that he found it a bit freaky. It was flattering, he supposed, in a kind of stalkery bunny-boiler type of way.

  ‘Oh God, you don’t like it, do you?’

  ‘It’s just a bit… much. I mean, I saw your drawing in your notebook when it fell out on my kitchen floor last night and I thought that was quite sweet but this…’ He really didn’t want to upset her, but she must know that this was a bit weird. They’d known each other for three days.