Spring on the Little Cornish Isles: Flower Farm

by Phillipa Ashley

  Everyone burst out laughing.

  ‘You asked for that, Len,’ said Robbie. ‘I’ll have a whisky, as you’re paying.’

  Muttering curses, Len scuttled off to the bar.

  ‘I hate to spoil the party, but won’t we be two rowers short on the way home if we can’t locate Jess?’ Gaby said to Will and Maisie, while Natalia went to the bar with Len.

  Will winced. ‘Maybe she’s decided she won’t get in the same boat as me. I could hardly blame her. I don’t know what came over me asking Adam to row with us.’

  ‘Ruthless determination to beat the rest of us at all costs?’ Patrick chipped in.

  ‘Ha ha,’ said Will. ‘The truth is I didn’t want our hard work to go to waste and it seemed like a good idea at the time.’

  ‘A lot of things seem like a good idea at the time, mate,’ said Patrick, winking and kissing Maisie.

  Will pulled a face. ‘I do worry about Jess, though. Adam made himself scarce as soon as we’d got back to shore … I know asking him put Jess in a spot, but I didn’t know what else to do. Although they were friendly enough just after we’d won.’

  ‘At least they weren’t arguing, which is a step forward, and no matter what happens, you can’t solve Jess’s problems for her,’ said Maisie. ‘But perhaps we should call her after we’ve had this next drink. We all need to make a move soon anyway. The state of some of you, it could be dark before you get those gigs back to their sheds and I’m not towing you home in the Puffin, that’s for sure.’ Maisie hesitated. ‘I’ve been wondering whether to go after Jess myself but she probably needs some time to herself.’

  ‘Luca made himself scarce too. He was nowhere to be seen at the prize-giving,’ said Will. ‘Typical.’

  Maisie rolled her eyes. ‘Hold on a minute. We don’t know if Jess is with Luca. I’ll give her a bit longer and then I’ll try to call her myself.’

  In the end, Gaby only managed half her drink before she decided she’d had enough booze, mindful of the prospect of the journey to St Saviour’s. She could tell Will was growing genuinely worried about Jess. She was concerned herself but she couldn’t help feeling a real pang when they all squeezed out from behind the table and she was parted from Will.

  ‘I won’t let you go until I find out …’ His words echoed in her head. It had been a delicious hour and she hoped the spark that had been had kindled in the post-race euphoria wouldn’t fizzle out on the journey home.

  Chapter 31

  After Adam had left her at the fort, Jess had stayed alone for a few minutes, trying to calm down after hearing his devastating news. He’d told her that she should forget him. That was impossible … she had to try and speak to him again, but how and when? The sound of laughter and voices disturbed her and a group of rowers clambered up to the ruins with cool boxes and a disposable barbecue. Jess recognised them and had to feign a smile when they congratulated her on the victory.

  Their presence made her decision and she walked down the path to go and find Luca and the rest of her crew. She needed to let them know she was OK before she decided what she could possibly do about Adam.

  To her surprise, he was sitting on a rock at the bottom of the path. He jumped up as soon as he saw her and Jess joined him.

  ‘I thought you’d gone to meet Keri,’ she said.

  ‘I need to soon, but I didn’t want to leave you like that …’ Uncertainty clouded his eyes. ‘God, Jess, you’ll have to forgive me. I don’t know where I am at the moment.’

  She touched his arm. ‘I’m glad you waited for me.’

  He smiled at her tenderly. ‘Me too. Come on, people will be wondering where we’ve got to.’

  They walked side by side onto the road that led into town. If it had been tough not knowing why Adam had taken off, knowing why was even harder. Adam did love her. He always had and that should have made her float on air, but the revelation that he might carry the gene for this terrible disease eclipsed any happiness. She’d rather have never seen him again and never known as long as he’d only take the test and it prove negative, but now she knew all she wanted to do was be by his side.

  He didn’t look at her as they walked and they didn’t say anything. Every time Jess thought of something to say, it seemed trivial or hopeless.

  They passed the boat shed bistro and the streets were still very busy even though the last race had finished. Jess stopped when she saw a figure detach itself from the crowds and head straight for her.

  ‘That’s Luca. I’d arranged to meet him at the deli café and I’m late.’

  ‘You should go to him.’ Adam touched her arm briefly.

  ‘I don’t want to leave you on your own.’

  Jess was still torn.

  ‘He’ll be worried if you don’t show up at all but please, don’t tell him what we’ve talked about.’

  ‘I won’t, I promise, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of.’

  ‘It shouldn’t be but that’s how I do feel. Ashamed that I might have it and that I’m too scared to find out. Ashamed of how me being cowardly has hurt you.’

  ‘Please don’t torture yourself any more than you have. I’ll stand by you. If you need me, you know where I am whatever you decide.’

  Luca spotted them and jogged towards them before Jess could cut him off. His smile faded briefly but was back in place quickly enough. He was used to hiding his feelings, thought Jess, who suspected he was jealous but didn’t want to let on.

  ‘Hello, Jess. I was starting to worry, but I now I know why you’re late. Congratulations, Adam.’

  Adam’s brow furrowed. ‘Congratulations?’

  ‘On winning the race. We handed it to you on a plate, eh?’

  ‘Yeah. Thanks.’

  Jess flashed him a hasty smile to cut off a conversation that was turning awkward. ‘Sorry I was late.’

  Luca kissed her on the cheek. She felt as if she’d been branded. It was agony in front of Adam, knowing what she knew now, even if he’d insisted that nothing had changed between the two of them.

  ‘I’ll go and find Keri and Emmy,’ Adam muttered.

  ‘Family comes first, eh?’ said Luca.

  He exchanged a momentary glance with Jess and in that split second, she shared his agony. ‘Yes. It does. See you around, Jess.’

  Jess wasn’t sure if that was a question or a dismissal but daren’t say any more to him in front of Luca. He turned away and strode off towards an alley that led to the pottery café.

  ‘Bet you wondered where I was,’ said Jess, struggling to inject some chirpiness into her voice while every cell screamed at her to run after Adam.

  Luca smiled. ‘It’s OK. I guessed where you were.’

  ‘Really? How could you?’

  He put his arm around her. ‘Just an instinct. I suppose you two have things to work out.’

  ‘It’s not what you think.’

  He smiled wryly. ‘Sure.’

  Jess stopped dead in the street. ‘It really isn’t.’

  His expression softened. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’

  ‘I c-can’t. Adam told me something in confidence. It’s private, and it doesn’t make a difference to us.’ As much as she wanted to believe her statement, what Adam had told her had turned everything on its head. How on earth was she supposed to carry on as if nothing had happened?

  He frowned but Jess could see he knew she was serious. ‘OK. I won’t push you,’ he said.

  With Luca’s arm around her, once more Jess was conscious of envious glances from some of the other rowers. Of course Adam’s confession made a difference but Jess didn’t know exactly how yet. While she’d thought Adam didn’t care about her, she’d made the decision to move on. Now, she was caught in some terrible limbo.

  ‘I’ve been thinking hard about the future and Hugo’s offer of a job here for me.’ Luca’s voice brought her out of her reverie. ‘If I don’t accept it, have you thought of an alternative? I won’t be on Scilly forever, but you needn’t be, either. While all y
our memories, good and bad, are so rooted in this place and Adam is here, how will you ever leave them behind? Isn’t it time you saw the big wide world and let go?’

  ‘That’s …’ Jess was too stunned to respond.

  ‘I can see I’ve surprised you.’ Luca moved smoothly on while she tried to process what he’d said. ‘And of course, I’m not suggesting you move in with me in any formal way. We hardly know each other, but if you wanted to make a fresh start or even have a long break, you’d be welcome to stay in my apartment on any terms you feel happy with.’

  Jess laughed in disbelief. ‘That sounds very exciting, but what would I do in London? I’m a flower farmer.’

  ‘I don’t know. Study? Work? Travel?’

  ‘Wow …’ His intense expression showed her that he was serious. Jess allowed herself to imagine the possibilities for a moment, then shook her head. ‘I know we have a good time, but as you say we’ve only known each other a short time.’

  ‘Long enough to know you’re a breath of fresh air. This is a no-strings offer. No promises. No expectations.’

  ‘Except I’ll have left Will and my mother to run the farm on their own. I can’t do that to them.’ I’m not sure I can do that to me, thought Jess. Or Adam. Yet it sounded so glamorous and exciting, so far from what she’d ever imagined for herself. So far away from the simple life she and Adam had once hoped for but which was now never going to happen. Was Luca’s idea so far-fetched? It might be the best thing she could do: leave all the bad memories behind and explore all the opportunities out there. Then she thought back to Adam, his head in his hands, and her stomach lurched. Why did life have to hurl these huge great curveballs at them all?

  ‘The offer stands. No pressure, but I know we’d have a great time.’

  ‘Jess!’ Will ran up, waving frantically. Her shoulders slumped in relief at the interruption. She needed time to tame her raging emotions. ‘Thank God we found you. We have to leave in the next ten minutes. Unless you’re staying here?’ Will looked pointedly at Luca. ‘But if you don’t come, there will only be four of us rowing and I don’t think Gaby will make it. We’ll have to leave the gig and hitch a ride with someone – if there are any boats free in this chaos.’

  ‘You’d better go.’ Luca kissed her. ‘I’ll come and see you at the farm tomorrow afternoon and we can talk more about it?’

  Jess was frozen, her mind was so full of Adam’s confession and Luca’s offer that she could barely think, let alone speak.

  ‘Jess,’ Will hissed at her.

  She snapped out of her trance. ‘See you tomorrow,’ she said to Luca and then to Will, ‘OK. Calm down. I’m coming.’

  After the tumult of the past few hours, she was desperate to get back to the flower farm and have some peace and quiet – if that could ever be possible again.

  Chapter 32

  Twilight was falling when Gaby, Will and the victorious Mixed crew finally wheeled the Athene into the gig shed on St Saviour’s beach, where the Men’s and Women’s crews were holding a barbecue. The other members greeted them with cheers, although Len had complained that they’d rowed home like ‘a bunch of drunken snails’. Gaby was just relieved to have made it back before dark and discover if the electrifying frisson she and Will shared at the pub was still alive. It certainly was for her and the prospect of taking things further with him was the only thing that had got her through the exhausting journey home.

  Will hung back with her while everyone else headed off to the farm for a shower, followed by more partying. A few yards away a fire glowed in the dusky light, and flickering flames lit an intense and hungry gleam in his eyes that told her all she needed to know. She looked into his face and a shiver of desire made goosebumps pop up all over her skin.

  ‘I might be about to crash and burn, but I can’t stand this any longer,’ he said.

  ‘Stand what?’ she asked innocently, fizzing like a bottle of champagne.

  ‘All this teasing and sparring. It might be post-race endorphins or the beer that’s taken hold of me. I don’t know, but I think I’ll go mad if we don’t get together. I thought you felt the same way in the pub. I could hardly bear to be that close to you without … Arghh. This is so difficult to say, but I really want you and it has to be now.’

  ‘Right now? Here on the beach?’ She pointed to the sand, buzzing with nervous anticipation. ‘There are a lot of people around who might object.’

  ‘Back at the farm. Where else?’ His smile melted away. ‘Or have I misread the signals completely, because if so, I’m an absolute tit and I’ll never trust my instincts again.’

  Gaby couldn’t stand it any longer either. She raised herself up on tiptoes and whispered in his ear, ‘For once, your instincts are spot on, Mr Godrevy. Let’s both grab a shower and I’ll wait for you in my room.’

  Despite their exhaustion, they almost sprinted back to the farm. After her shower, Gaby lay on her bed, waiting … Under her fluffy purple bathrobe, hardly the sexiest thing she owned, she didn’t have a lot on.

  A soft knock on her door and a low voice saying, ‘Gaby,’ sent her into meltdown.

  She was so sore and exhausted, she could hardly get off the bed to open the door, but nothing would have stopped her from letting Will in.

  ‘Hi …’ His face appeared around the crack in the door.

  She giggled and closed the door behind him as quietly as she could. ‘You realise that everyone will know what’s going on with you coming to my room?’

  ‘I don’t give a fuck.’ He pulled her into his arms and almost before she had the chance to breathe, he kissed her.

  Her whole body fizzed like a bath melt in hot water. Shaky already, the warmth of his body against hers turned her limbs to liquid. She kissed him back, greedily, and started to pull his T-shirt up.

  He tugged the belt of the robe.

  ‘Oh my God.’ He rested his palm on her bare bottom. ‘A thong? I don’t think I can stand it.’

  ‘I wondered if you’d think it was a bit of a cliché, a lacy bra and a thong.’

  ‘A cliché?’ He let out a huge sigh. ‘You are absolutely bloody going to kill me. I don’t know how I’ve survived this long.’

  ‘What’s changed?’ she asked, warming her hands on the smooth skin of his back.

  ‘I have. I realised today that I’ve wasted far too much time already. Sitting behind you in that boat, and next to you in that pub, I thought: I can’t keep this up a moment longer.’ His face became serious. ‘If you’ve changed your mind about this, please say now.’

  Gaby put her finger to his lips. ‘If I didn’t want it to happen, you’d have known about it long ago.’

  Will opened his mouth and gently drew the tip of her finger in. Wow. He ran his tongue along the underside of her finger. She nearly took off through the roof.

  He slipped the robe down her shoulders. ‘Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me?’

  ‘S-so y- you keep saying.’ His touch stole her breath away.

  ‘Because it’s true,’ he said. His eyes had an intensity she hadn’t seen before.

  Every nerve tingled and she stood on tiptoes to kiss him. The cool air whispered over her bare skin as the robe fell to her feet. Will ran the back of his hand down her spine and kissed her again, exploring her mouth with his tongue, his hands on her waist. She could feel the imprint of every finger, and warmth radiated from his body to her own skin. His hand caressed her back, as he deepened the kiss. She scrunched up the robe between her toes as she kissed him back.

  ‘Who’d have thought it?’ she whispered, looking up into his face.

  Holding her close with one hand, he trailed his hand deliciously along her spine. Gaby shivered. ‘Who’d have thought what?’ he said, his eyes unsure, expecting to be teased. She loved the way he didn’t know what she might say or do next. It made her feel powerful.

  ‘That the farmer was such a great kisser,’ she said.

  He frowned. ‘Are you being sarcastic?’

&
nbsp; ‘Would I?’

  ‘Always,’ he said and unexpectedly swept her up into his arms.

  ‘Whoa!’ she cried, holding onto his neck.

  He dropped her gently on the bed and knelt beside her. ‘You’re beautiful,’ he said.

  A lump formed in her throat. She believed him completely. She smiled up at his rugged handsome face, at the brown eyes flecked with amber, and the tiny lines around them. He was real, no-bullshit sincere and she might possibly love him for it. She reached up and touched his cheek, the rasp of stubble making her fingertips tingle, a buzz that radiated through her whole body.

  ‘You might laugh, but I think the same about you,’ she said.

  He kissed her again and lay beside her. ‘Actually, I don’t mind.’

  And before she could say any more, Will was showing her just how much he didn’t mind.

  *

  It was completely dark when Gaby woke up and a dim glow from the radio alarm on the bedside table told her it was almost midnight. After they’d had sex, they did it again and finally, the exhaustion and wine took its toll. She was still lying with her head across his arm. Will was breathing softly with his lips slightly parted, as innocent as a lamb.

  Gaby smiled to herself, recalling the languid, delicious sex they’d enjoyed after the first febrile round. Will had been everything she’d hoped: considerate but confident. She’d surprised him too, and had worried that everyone would hear when he cried out. As for that single bed, the way the headboard had clattered against the partition wall must have left her housemates in no doubt of what was happening. Will had said he didn’t care who knew what they were doing. Would he feel that way in the cold light of day – or night?

  With a snuffle, he threw out an arm and the photo of Stevie on the bedside table fell with a clatter onto the floor. She flinched.

  ‘Whaaaa?’ he muttered, blinking awake with a start.

  Gaby turned on the lamp and he screwed up his eyes.

  ‘What was that?’ he said, again, wincing in the light.

  Extricating herself from beneath his limbs, Gaby clambered over him and lowered her feet to the floor. ‘Ouch!’