‘Who is it, then?’
Dusty began lightly brushing her face with the liquid. ‘Take a wild guess?’
Dare she even think it? A heavy thud pounded in her chest. What was she feeling? Dread? Hope? Panic?
Dusty lifted her chin. ‘Now, we could waste time discussing this, or you could stop overthinking and let me work my magic. And stop frowning, it wrinkles your skin.’
It was easier to obey, so she stopped resisting.
For the next twenty minutes whilst Dusty worked on her, she tried to unscramble the multitude of thoughts crowding her brain. None of them made sense. All she knew was that continuing to deny her feelings for Nate was stupid and self-destructive. Charlotte was right, she needed to take her own advice and let go a little. Take a risk. She was strong enough to deal with whatever happened … wasn’t she? God, she hoped so.
‘There you go. What do you think?’
She glanced up at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes no longer looked sunken, but benefited from Dusty’s clever smoky-effect shading. Her lips were dark red and her hair was loose and curled into waves. ‘You’re a miracle worker.’
‘I know.’ Dusty beamed, revealing recently whitened teeth. ‘Although to be fair, nature did most of the work for me.’
Lauren was handed an ivory-coloured bra and knicker set. ‘Put these on. The taxi will be here in five minutes.’
‘New underwear?’ The items were exquisite, delicate and feminine.
‘And shoes.’ Dusty picked up a pair of jewelled sandals, similar to the ones Charlotte owned and Lauren had often admired. ‘No point being half-hearted.’
‘All this must’ve cost a fortune. I have to give you some money.’
Dusty’s hands went to her hips, the red of her nails contrasting against the blue of her dress. ‘Don’t even think about it. What’s the point of owning a boutique if you can’t use it to spoil your friends? Now, I want no further mention of money. It’s my treat. You deserve it.’ Her stance softened into one of awkwardness. ‘It’s also my feeble attempt at an apology. I’m sorry for the whole Glenda thing.’
Lauren broke eye contact. ‘No apology necessary. It was my mess and my responsibility to sort it out.’ She still felt uncomfortable talking about Glenda.
‘I disagree. I think it was all our responsibility. The whole community. This was happening on our doorstep and we did nothing to stop it. Everyone suspected Glenda of shady dealings, but no one had the balls to confront her. We were all guilty of turning a blind eye.’ Dusty kissed her cheek. ‘All except Nate, of course.’ She wiped away a smudge of lipstick left on Lauren’s cheek. ‘Anyway, enough with the sentiment. The clock’s ticking. Underwear on, please.’
Five minutes later, wearing her gorgeous new outfit, Lauren was escorted to the waiting taxi, where Dusty instructed the driver to take them to Piskies café.
Lauren’s confusion increased when they pulled into the car park by the bay, and she could see a light flickering inside the wooden shack. She’d definitely turned off all the lights before she’d left. What was going on?
When they reached the door, Dusty tucked the label inside Lauren’s dress. ‘I’m off to take over childminding duties. Your dad and Sylvia will be here shortly to serve dinner. Enjoy.’ Blowing an air kiss, Dusty darted back to the waiting taxi before Lauren could assemble her thoughts and quiz her further. Her dad and Sylvia were cooking dinner? The evening was getting more surreal by the minute.
As she pushed open the door, she was greeted by music, candlelight and the scent of flowers. Each table was decorated with tea lights and scattered rose petals. Fairy lights hung from the ceiling. Lengths of white voile were draped across the room creating a soft canopy, drawing her eye to the centre table, which was covered in a white tablecloth. A display of red roses sat in the middle, surrounded by more tea lights. Next to the table stood Nate.
Her heart gave a little kick.
He smiled when she appeared in the doorway. It was tentative at first, as if unsure of her reaction to the overtly romantic staging. ‘You look beautiful.’ His voice cracked as he delivered his line. ‘I was worried you might not come.’
He was wearing a suit. Not a business suit, but a casual linen affair, teamed with a soft white shirt. It was unbuttoned at the neck, revealing a little chest hair. She’d never seen him in a suit before. He looked different. Not unattractive, just very un-Nate-like.
‘Would you like a drink?’ He lifted a bottle of champagne from an ice bucket, his hands shaking as he fumbled over the cork. He was nervous.
Somehow this relaxed her a little. ‘That would be lovely.’ The table was laid out with cutlery for two. ‘Did you do all this?’
The cork shot from the bottle with a loud pop. ‘With a little help from Freddie and Florence.’
Freddie and …? She moved to the table. ‘But … how? I mean, they’re with their granddad … aren’t they?’
‘Cover story.’ He looked sheepish. ‘We were hiding in the car park waiting for you to leave. They wanted to make it special for you.’ Bubbles of fizz ran down the neck of the bottle and over his fingers.
She noticed cut-out hearts and stars attached to the fairy lights, recognising the handiwork of her daughter. A home-made menu lay on the table covered in glitter and her son’s wonky handwriting. Tears pooled in her eyes.
‘You’re not angry, are you?’ He handed her a glass of champagne.
She shook her head. ‘A little confused, but not angry.’
He looked relieved. ‘Here’s to … new beginnings?’ He raised his glass.
She clinked glasses with him. ‘New beginnings.’
An awkward silence followed, during which they both sipped champagne, looked anywhere but at each other, and fiddled with their glasses.
Eventually, Nate said, ‘How’s Charlotte getting on in London?’
‘Okay, of sorts. She won her tribunal case for unfair dismissal. She returned to her old job last week.’
‘That’s good.’
She offered him a napkin, his fingers were still dripping with champagne. ‘It should be, but it’s not without its problems.’
‘How come? Oh, thanks.’ He took the napkin, his eyes flickering with something unreadable when their hands touched.
‘I don’t think she realised quite how uncomfortable it would be returning to work for someone you’ve sued.’
‘Yeah, I guess that would be tricky.’ He looked around for somewhere to dispose of the soiled napkin.
‘Still, it’s only been a couple of weeks. Maybe things will improve.’
‘Let’s hope.’ He scrunched up the napkin and threw it, basketball-style, into the bin by the door.
More awkward silence, followed by more sipping of champagne and admiring the surroundings.
It was Lauren’s turn to make small talk. ‘How’s Barney getting on with his training?’
‘Miserable. He hates it.’
‘Oh, dear. That bad?’
‘He says it’s the long hours and depression of being stuck inside all day, and not being able to surf, but I think there’s more to it than that.’ He looked like he was debating whether to elaborate.
‘Do you think it has something to do with my sister?’
He seemed relieved that Lauren had been the one to mention Charlotte. ‘I think the only reason he agreed to return to London was so he could be with her.’
‘The things people do for love, eh?’ Lauren had meant it as a joke, but regretted her words the second they left her lips.
Nate raised an eyebrow. ‘Crazy, huh?’
A soft knock at the door came as a welcome interruption.
‘Okay to come in?’ Sylvia’s head appeared around the door. ‘Not disturbing anything, are we?’
Lauren felt her cheeks burn. Why, she wasn’t sure. It wasn’t like they’d been doing anything.
Nate’s face had coloured too, obviously sharing her discomfort. ‘Come in, Sylvia. Would you like some champagne?’
/> ‘No, dear. We don’t want to intrude. Ignore us, we’ll be in the kitchen. Carry on as you were.’ Head down, she marched into the kitchen, a woman on a mission.
Lauren’s dad followed, carrying a cool box. He nodded at Nate. For a moment, she wondered if he was going to ignore her, but thankfully he looked over and smiled. ‘Having a nice time, love?’
They’d barely spoken in the last three weeks, so this was something of a white flag. The uncomfortable stand-off had been broken. It hadn’t been a good feeling knowing she’d disappointed her father in such spectacular fashion.
Swallowing back the lump in her throat, she nodded. ‘Lovely, thank you. Where are the kids?’
‘Watching Harry Potter with Dusty. We’ll head back when we’re done here.’ He moved towards the kitchen, but not before turning back. ‘Can I have a quick word, love?’
Lauren glanced at Nate. It wasn’t the best timing for a heart-to-heart.
‘You go. I’m fine here,’ Nate said. He lifted his glass and gulped down a mouthful of champagne.
She followed her dad into the kitchen, her heels clicking on the wooden flooring.
Sylvia was busy lighting the oven and unpacking the cool box. ‘Leave this to me. Talk to your daughter,’ she said, pushing him in Lauren’s direction.
Her dad coughed, as if trying to clear his throat. ‘Nice dress.’
Sylvia tied a floral apron around her middle. ‘Stop procrastinating. Lauren has a date to get back to.’
‘I’m not procrastinating,’ he said, looking flustered. ‘But this is hard.’ He turned to his youngest daughter. ‘I’ve never offered you advice before, not about matters of the heart.’
‘It’s a little late for the “birds and bees”, Dad. That horse bolted nine years ago.’ Her attempt to lighten the mood fell flat.
He looked serious as he took her hand. ‘When Iris – your mum – died, I vowed never to love again. It devastated me. I was afraid of getting hurt. I didn’t think I could cope with the pain of losing anyone else.’
A quiet sound escaped Sylvia, but she hid it by rattling a saucepan.
‘I now realise that life hurts either way, whether you love someone or not. You can’t protect yourself from getting hurt. You’re better off loving someone and losing them than never loving them in the first place. Does that make sense?’
This was quite a turnaround. Her dad had always maintained that being alone suited him, it was his choice. Who knew he was as insecure as both his daughters? She glanced at Sylvia, who was doing a terrible impersonation of someone pretending not to listen. ‘Does this mean you and Sylvia are, you know, together …?’
A beat passed before he nodded.
‘Took his bleeding time,’ Sylvia said, looking miffed, as she grated a lemon.
Her dad smiled. ‘Sometimes the person we want is right in front of us, and we don’t see it. Or maybe we do, but we mistakenly believe that having them as a friend is safer than loving them and risking losing them.’
Sylvia gave him a reproachful look. ‘How dumb is that? No logic, some people.’
Lauren sensed Sylvia’s words were directed at the both of them, not just her dad. She braced herself for a lecture about love, but her dad surprised her by switching topics. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t give you money when you asked for it. I should’ve done more to help you. I feel terrible you had to carry that burden for so long.’ He took her hand. ‘And I’m sorry I didn’t believe you when you told me about Glenda. I was wrong. I’ve not been a good father.’
A tightness contracted in her chest. ‘Oh, Dad, don’t say that. Glenda fooled us all. Of course you’re a good father. You help me out with the kids all the time.’
He shook his head. ‘Only when it suits. I don’t exactly put myself out to make myself available. It’s always been on my terms. I’ve been so preoccupied with trying to recover from my grief that I’ve become insular and selfish.’
This was shocking to hear. And untrue – for the most part, at least. ‘Nonsense. You volunteer for the RNLI. You risk your life every time you get a shout, to save others. That’s not selfish. That’s incredibly brave.’
‘But I do more to help strangers than I do my own flesh and blood.’ There was a smidgeon of truth to this statement. ‘And I’m sorry for that. I thought encouraging you to become independent, and stand on your own two feet, was helping. I now realise it’s made you afraid of sharing your life with someone. If it didn’t work out, and the fella left, you were scared I’d judge you and blame you for making a mistake.’
Her sharp intake of breath made her dizzy. It was the sudden realisation. It hadn’t occurred to her until that moment, but that was exactly how she felt. When Joe had left, she’d felt like a failure. She’d believed her dad felt that way too, that he thought her irresponsible and stupid. That’s why she’d been so afraid of letting someone else get close.
Her dad looked tortured. ‘But that wasn’t my intention. I’m so sorry, sweetheart. You’re a fantastic mother, and I’m very proud of you.’ He kissed her forehead.
‘Stop it, Dad, you’ll ruin my make-up.’ She wiped away the tears threatening to smudge her mascara.
‘From now on, I’m going to help out more with the kids, so you have the opportunity to have a life of your own. You deserve to be happy. And you deserve to be loved.’ He glanced at the door, where, on the other side, Nate was waiting. ‘Can you forgive me?’
‘There’s nothing to forgive. But thank you for opening up like this, I know it can’t have been easy.’
He glanced at Sylvia. ‘I had a little help.’
Sylvia feigned innocence. ‘Who, me? Interfere? Never.’
Lauren’s dad laughed. ‘Sylvia told me a few home truths. Thanks for listening, love. I wouldn’t normally interrupt an evening like this, but I – or rather, we – felt that it needed to be said, so you didn’t react negatively to—’
‘Shut up, Tony.’ Sylvia waved a spoon at him. ‘Let them sort it out themselves.’
The last thing that Lauren saw as she exited the kitchen was the sight of her dad kissing Sylvia. Awkward as it was to see your parent smooching, it also showed that it was never too late to make a leap of faith.
Inspired by such a public display of affection, she returned to where Nate was waiting, and when he greeted her with, ‘Everything okay?’ she kissed him. It was a clumsy attempt, involving a clash of noses, treading on his foot, and knocking into the table as she tried to make an impression – something she was pretty sure she hadn’t done. Not in a good way, at least. Mortified, she pulled away, scolding herself for believing it was as easy as they made it look in the movies.
Nate caught her as she stumbled backwards. ‘Hey, where are you going?’
‘I’m sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking.’
‘I don’t care. Come here and do it again. You caught me by surprise, that’s all. I wasn’t ready.’ Typical Nate: caring, sweet, trying to spare her feelings.
‘You’re just saying that. You don’t really want me to—’
Her objections were cut short. Unlike her pathetic attempt, he didn’t make a hash of it at all. Far from it. Quiet, shy, and sometimes insecure, Nate Jones, proved he was anything but, when it came to kissing. His arms held her close, his beard was both rough and smooth against her skin, making her dormant senses jump to life, and her heart fizz like a wayward sparkler, leaving her breathless and struggling to keep pace.
And then he let go, and dropped to one knee. ‘Lauren Saunders, will you marry me?’
Music and lust still filled her head, creating a buzzing in her ears, her body reluctant to let go. But as the sensations lulled, and the realisation of what he’d said dawned, she backed away. ‘What …? No. Of course not. Are you crazy?’
He held her hand, preventing her escaping. ‘Not quite the answer I was hoping for.’ He stood up, his smile rueful. ‘Hear me out, okay?’
‘There’s nothing you can say …’
‘I love you.’
<
br /> That shut her up.
‘I’ve loved you ever since you came to Penmullion. There’s never been anyone else. I’ve only ever wanted you.’
The buzzing in her ears returned.
The intensity in his gaze was alarming, like the night at the play when he’d scolded her for not standing up to Glenda. It made her skin tingle. ‘No other girlfriends. Only you. I’ve been waiting all this time. Hoping if I was patient, you’d see I was serious and trustworthy, and you’d give me a chance.’ His hand gripped hers, as though he was afraid that if he let go, she’d run. ‘You don’t need to tell me proposing is crazy. It’s rash and naive, but I needed a big gesture. Something to show you this is the real deal. That I’m in it for the long haul. That I won’t ever leave you, or let you down, and that your heart is safe with me.’ His free hand settled on her chest, covering her heart.
‘But we haven’t even been on a date. Let alone … you know?’ She felt it was necessary to point this out, however obvious.
He nodded. ‘I know, but that’s the easy stuff.’
You could’ve fooled her. Sex had always been a bit of a clumsy affair.
‘What I mean is, we already know we like each other. We’re attracted to each other, and we have common interests. We make each other laugh, we’ve even argued and pissed each other off. And yet we’re still here, drawn to each other.’ The warmth of his hand penetrated the thin fabric of her dress. ‘I love your kids as if they were my own, and I’m crazy about you. So, from my perspective, the other stuff isn’t what’s important, not in isolation, anyway. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to … you know?’ He blushed, looking much more like the Nate she knew. ‘So, the only real question is, whether you want me? Whether I’m who you want to have a relationship with? And I think I can answer that for you.’
‘You can?’
He sucked in a long breath, the same movement he did when he was preparing to walk out on stage. She sensed a speech was coming. She was right.
‘I think you want someone who isn’t afraid to admit they miss you. Someone who knows you’re not perfect, but treats you as if you are. Someone whose biggest fear is losing you. Someone who’ll give you their heart completely. Someone who’ll say I love you, and mean it. And someone who’ll wake up with you every morning, and fall in love with you all over again.’ He waited a beat, pausing for effect. ‘And in case I haven’t made it clear, that someone is me.’
The Summer Theatre by the Sea Page 30