Forever at Conwenna Cove

by Forever at Conwenna Cove (retail) (epub)

  And there were so many things competing for space in her mind right now. The dominant thought was of Nate and how sad she was that she’d had to push him away on Saturday evening. It had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done because it had meant going against her desire to fall into his arms and forget about everything else for a few blissful hours. Zoe could have asked him to stay at her cottage after their date, and she knew it would have been good, but she also knew she’d have been terrified afterwards. For Zoe, giving her body meant giving her heart too, and what if Nate hadn’t wanted that? What if he’d woken the next morning, still intent on leaving Conwenna? Zoe couldn’t have borne that. At least by not making love to him, she’d preserved something of herself, kept a part of her heart protected, and would hopefully be able to treat him kindly and respectfully when she next saw him.

  She sat on a grassy verge that gave her a panoramic view of the cove. It was still light enough to see the beach and the sea, and she watched the waves crashing onto the shore for a while as the tide came in. The push and pull of the water was calming from her vantage point because she was far enough away to be out of danger. She wished she could love the water as she used to but after she’d almost drowned, it was difficult to rekindle the love she’d developed for it. The sea could hurt her and falling in love could hurt her; this was why she’d had no intention of getting close to doing either again. Yet Nate was different to her ex in many ways; she was sure of it. He loved the sea and surfing, but he didn’t have the same, almost blasé attitude towards the water that Finn had shown. Finn was arrogantly convinced that he was in charge of the water, almost as if it was there for him, but Nate clearly respected the power of the sea. Nate had also admitted to her that he’d been a quiet and shy child; something which Zoe could empathize with, because she’d been the same growing up. This made her feel that she didn’t need to put on an act with Nate, whereas with Finn she’d been under pressure to be the woman she thought he wanted her to be, whether it was surfing, having a hairless body and a perfect tan, or just being perpetually cheerful, upbeat and nonchalant about everything. She couldn’t count the number of times he’d told her to ‘Be chill, babe’, whereas she couldn’t imagine Nate saying anything so damned insulting.

  A movement on the beach over to the right caught her eye and she watched as a figure ran towards the water, surfboard under arm. Her breath caught in her throat as she recognized the messy blond hair and broad shoulders encased in a black wetsuit. Soon, Nate was out beyond the smaller breakers, confident and calm as he waited for a good wave.

  Zoe wanted to get up and walk away because she didn’t want to watch him out on the water, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him as he spring into action, catching a wave then riding it expertly to the shore.

  She stayed where she was, her eyes glued to him as he repeated the process several times, his wetsuit shining with water and his hair flat to his head. If only she could run down there and join him, throw herself and all her cares and worries behind her and surf at his side. But the thought of being in the water, at the mercy of the sea, turned her cold inside.

  As Nate caught a large wave, Zoe got to her knees and her hands curled into fists that she pressed into her legs. It was so dangerous and she knew that even the most capable surfers could be thrown from their boards and into the depths.

  As the wave curled, Nate suddenly disappeared. His board bobbed up without him and Zoe heard a cry, which she realized had come from her own lips. Was he all right?

  She scanned the water, willing the waves to subside, but they kept rising and falling then crashing forwards. She held her breath as panic filled her and she pulled her mobile from her bag. Should she phone the coastguard? The lifeboat house? Nate’s aunt and uncle? What if he was gone and she never saw him again?

  Her heart fluttered at the thought and dread spread through her veins. She’d only just started to get to know him; if she lost him now it would be a cruel twist of fate, far too cruel for a man as lovely as him to be torn from life in his prime.

  She hurried across the cliff top, heading for the path. She paused for a second at the top to scroll through her contacts to find the number for the coastguard, then scanned the water one last time before calling for help.

  And there he was!

  She could see his head bobbing in between waves, his blond hair slick with water, then he had his arms around his board and he hauled himself out of the water and sat on the board while he caught his breath.

  ‘Thank goodness for that!’ Zoe muttered from between trembling lips.

  She stepped slowly backwards as Nate rode his surfboard to the shore, then hopped off and ran along the beach to his belongings.

  When she was certain that he was safe and not going back into the water that evening, she turned around and headed for home. But she left a piece of her heart behind, right there on the cliff top, watching over Nate.

  Chapter 9

  It was all well and good for Nate to tell himself he couldn’t have Zoe when he wasn’t around her, but when he arrived at the diner on Saturday evening, his palms were sweating and he was more agitated than he’d been in years.

  He’d taken ages to decide what to wear, which wasn’t like him, because he usually threw on whatever he thought would suffice, but this evening he wanted Zoe to think he looked good. Why, he had no idea, because she clearly wasn’t interested in him, but it was something he had to do.

  Strangely, on Wednesday evening, when he’d gone for a surf, he’d thought he’d seen Zoe on the cliff top watching him in the water, but he couldn’t be certain. The slim figure and brown hair blowing in the breeze made him think of her but when he’d been thrown from his board, then looked up again, the figure had disappeared. He’d hoped it had been Zoe and he’d even shown off a bit. But when he’d been thrown from him board, he’d felt like a bit of an idiot for behaving like that. That was what he got for trying to impress a woman, although he wasn’t sure if surfing would impress Zoe, as she had her reservations about the water.

  He entered the diner and found Oli and Grace just inside the doorway.

  ‘Nate, thanks for coming!’ Oli shook his hand.

  ‘Wouldn’t miss this for the world, man. Hi, Grace.’ Nate leant in and kissed Grace’s cheek.

  ‘Thanks for coming, lovely.’ She offered him a warm smile. ‘And don’t you look all dressed up.’

  ‘Do I?’ Nate frowned. ‘Too much?’

  ‘No, I love it!’ Grace touched the sleeve of his blue shirt. ‘It’s a fabulous colour and it matches your eyes.’

  ‘Don’t tell him that. He thinks he’s chocolate as it is.’ Oli laughed. ‘Just kidding, Nate. We’re simply not used to seeing you in anything other than jeans or shorts.’

  Nate nodded. He’d bought the beige chinos from Riding the Wave the previous day, not knowing if he’d wear them or not, but he’d decided that the occasion warranted something a bit smarter than his usual attire.

  ‘Have you done something with your hair, too?’ Grace asked, as she tilted her head to peer at him.

  Nate ran a hand over his head. ‘Had a trim, that’s all.’

  ‘Gosh, it’s much shorter, isn’t it? And you’ve shaved.’

  ‘Am I usually that scruffy, Grace?’

  ‘Not at all. You look nice that’s all… very nice.’

  ‘Thank you. I think…’ Suddenly, Nate delved a hand into his back pocket. ‘Ooh! Before I forget.’ He handed Grace the card he’d bought. ‘I didn’t know what you’d want or need, so I put some money in the card. Thought you could get what you wanted then.’

  ‘You didn’t need to get us anything, Nate.’ Oli shook his head. ‘We’re just glad you came. That’s what tonight is all about – celebrating with our friends and family.’

  ‘It’s not much and you can spend it on Amy and Tom if you like.’

  Nate pressed the card into Grace’s hand.

  ‘Nate!’

  Tom ran towards Nate and grabb
ed his leg. ‘You came to the party.’

  ‘Of course I came. Where else would I be?’

  Tom peered up at him. ‘Well, Daddy and Grace wanted to move the party sooner so you could come before you go on your big, long holiday and then Grace said to Daddy that she wasn’t sure you’d come after Saturday and what happened with Zoe.’

  Nate met Grace’s eyes and she blushed.

  ‘Tom! What have we told you about eavesdropping?’ She took Tom’s hand and crouched down close to him. ‘Do you remember?’

  The little boy chewed his bottom lip. ‘You said I mustn’t tell what I hear when I’m in bed.’

  ‘Well, words to that effect.’ Oli shook his head.

  ‘Yes… like when I hear you and Grace cuddling.’

  ‘What?’ Grace glanced up at Oli, and it was his turn to blush.

  ‘Tom… you don’t hear us cuddling.’

  ‘Sometimes I do and Grace giggles a lot when you’re cuddling.’ Tom looked back to Nate. ‘They don’t always hear me when I’m on my way to the toilet. And one time when I went to Daddy’s room—’

  ‘Tom! That’s enough.’ Oli ruffled his son’s hair. ‘Nothing’s sacred when you have kids, Nate. Honestly.’

  Grace stroked Tom’s cheek. ‘Tom, you must call in the night if you need us.’

  ‘I know. I’m teasing because it makes you and Daddy go red like tomatoes.’

  Oli grabbed his son under the arms and swung him up onto his shoulders. ‘Right, that’s it, I’m going to throw you into the sea.’

  ‘No, Daddy!’ Tom squealed with delight. ‘Not tonight! I have my very best clothes on that Louise and Simon bought for me. I can’t ruin them in the water.’

  ‘No excuses. You need to be dunked!’

  ‘No, Daddy! Noooo!’

  As Oli carried Tom to the door, Grace smiled at Nate. ‘Come on, there’s plenty of champagne. If I drink enough I can forget about how Tom just mortified me and Oli.’

  They went to the counter, where a young woman in a white blouse, checked red scarf and flared red skirt poured them two glasses of champagne.

  Nate glanced around but he couldn’t see Zoe anywhere.

  ‘Do you want to talk about it?’ Grace asked.

  ‘About you and Oli having noisy cuddles?’

  ‘God, no! Anyway, I’m sure Tom is winding us up. He’s only young but he has a wicked sense of humour and you don’t know what he picks up from the TV or from his friends at school. Probably heard a friend talking about catching his parents… you know… in the act, then decided it would make a good joke to use on me and Oli.’

  Nate nodded. ‘He’s precocious, that one.’

  ‘He’s bright and funny and sensitive, and I love him to bits, you know? I’m certain I couldn’t love him more if he was my own child. Amy, too.’

  ‘Where’s she this evening?’

  ‘Coming down soon with Mum and Dad. She was helping Dad with a surprise.’ Grace waggled her eyebrows then patted her red hair.

  ‘You were on about my hair, but that’s quite an “up do”, Grace.’

  ‘I know, right?’ Grace giggled. ‘Not my usual style, and I keep wondering where my hair is, but I thought I’d have something special done for this evening. I just have so much hair that it took about a million clips and two cans of hairspray to hold it in place.’

  ‘It looks lovely.’

  ‘Thank you.’ She smiled, then held up her champagne. ‘Cheers, Nate.’

  ‘Cheers.’

  ‘Now, do you want to tell me what happened on Saturday?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Well, you took Zoe out, didn’t you?’

  ‘How’d you know that?’

  ‘Oh, come on, love. It’s a small village. People talk. You were seen having a fabulous time at the wine bar… by more than one person. And I swear I haven’t been gossiping. Mum overheard some woman talking about it in the grocer’s. Apparently, they thought you and Zoe were getting on very well until some drunken woman turned up and created a scene at the harbour.’

  Nate sipped his drink then sighed.

  ‘Oh, Nate, I’m sorry. Was it one of your exes?’

  ‘No.’ He shook his head. ‘Not at all. I’d never had anything to do with her, barely know her, in fact. She turned up out of the blue, drunk… extremely drunk… and threw herself at me. Before that, I did have a lovely time with Zoe. She’s—’

  Grace put her hand on Nate’s arm. ‘Bloody hell, Nate! You’ve fallen for her, haven’t you?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You have, I can see it. You’ve got that look.’

  ‘What look?’

  ‘It’s not just the chinos and the hair, or the fact that you’ve shaved. There’s something different in your eyes.’

  Grace was beaming at him now, her eyes shining.

  ‘Are you getting emotional?’

  ‘Well, yes. I’m so happy for you.’

  ‘Look… don’t be. It’s nothing. Nothing’s happened. We kissed and it was… very nice, but then there was that scene and Zoe left. I went after her but she didn’t want to know.’

  He rubbed the small mark on his cheek left from where Zoe’s bag had caught him.

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘She hit me with her bag.’

  ‘She didn’t!’ Grace raised her eyebrows.

  ‘Not deliberately. When I chased her, I startled her and she reacted. The zip on her bag scratched me.’

  ‘So you tried to talk to her?’

  ‘To be honest, Grace, I think I did. But we’d had wine and a kiss that… made me feel feelings…’ He flashed her a rueful smile. ‘Then that horrible Calista turned up and ruined it all. I went after Zoe but she was… different. I think I tried to explain my feelings but I can’t be sure that I articulated my thoughts clearly enough.’

  ‘What happened then?’

  ‘I left. Or she threw me out. I’m not quite sure how it went to be honest, because I was a bit… dazed.’

  ‘Have you seen her since?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘And how does that feel?’

  He shook his head. ‘Pretty awful.’

  Just then, Nate looked up and it was as if he’d been struck by lightning. Because Zoe was standing at the entrance to the kitchen, staring at him. He stared back, taking in how good she looked in a short-sleeved, black lace dress with a black satin slip underneath, black wedge sandals and with a sparkly clip in her hair holding the one side back from her cheek. Her hair shone and her eyes were dark and deep. Drawing him in. Making him long to hold her again.

  Nate was frozen to the spot, unable to speak or move.

  Then Zoe walked towards him and he thought his heart was going to burst out of his chest.

  Chapter 10

  ‘Hello, Nate.’

  Zoe thought it would be better to get this over and done with. After all, the party was in her diner and she could hardly avoid Nate all evening, as she’d need to mix with the guests and to be the perfect host.

  ‘Evening.’

  ‘Excuse me,’ Grace said, ‘I need to check where Oli and Tom have gone.’

  Zoe saw Grace flash Nate a look of encouragement before she walked away.

  ‘You look incredible, Zoe.’ Nate smiled at her but his eyes were wary.

  ‘Thank you. So do you.’

  ‘What, in these old things?’ He did a jokey swagger and her heart went out to him. He seemed nervous, wounded almost, as if their last exchange had left him bruised. His face did bear the mark of the zip from her bag.

  ‘Is your cheek okay?’

  He nodded. ‘It’s fine. I’ll never be as handsome as I once was, but I can live with that.’

  In spite of her own nerves, Zoe smiled. ‘Always joking.’

  ‘It’s my way of dealing with difficult situations.’

  ‘Is this difficult then, Nate?’

  ‘How’re you finding it?’

  She sighed. ‘It’s a bit awkward.’

 
A bit?

  ‘Can we start over?’

  She gazed into his azure eyes and tried to settle her heart beat by slowing her breathing. She was inexplicably drawn to him and it was more than a physical attraction. For the past few days she’d tried to forget him, to remind herself that he was representative of everything she couldn’t deal with in a man, but her foolish heart had refused to be swayed. Seeing him surfing, then being thrown from his board, had made her fear for him but also for herself. If there was something special about him, as she thought there was, then she wanted to get to know him better and find out if there was the possibility of anything ever happening between them. Yet she knew he was going away and that she couldn’t take things further between them, because it would break her when he left.

  But she did want the chance to be his friend. There was no point fostering animosity between them as an alternative to romance, as a way to drown out her desire for him, when they knew the same people and would undoubtedly be thrown together in a few situations over the coming weeks, so it would be better for both of them if they could agree to get on.

  ‘I’d like that.’

  She held out her hand and he shook it.

  ‘Friends.’

  The next hour of the party passed in an enjoyable haze of greeting guests, serving drinks and socializing. Zoe found herself smiling as she circulated; she really did live in a lovely village with a lot of lovely people. She knew she didn’t always appreciate exactly how friendly the locals were, but perhaps it was time to get to know everyone better and to integrate more into the village. If she was going to move on from her past and allow herself to heal properly, then she’d have to let her guard down and learn to trust people. She wasn’t sure how easy that would be, but she hoped she’d be able to try. Perhaps then the nightmares would vanish completely and she would find peace of mind. Well, one step at a time was the way to begin…

  At just gone eight, the door opened and Amy sashayed in, followed by Louise and Simon – Grace’s parents – who were carrying a large white box between them.

  ‘Make way! Make way!’ Amy called.

  Zoe directed them to a centre table and they placed the box on it.