by Nell Dixon
The sun was warm on her back as she sipped her tea. Her plans for the day no longer seemed as appealing as she sat there alone, surrounded by couples. She decided to head back to the cottage. There was a shady corner of the garden that she’d noticed where she could sit and read her magazines or sketch the roses that tumbled in rich, pink profusion over the rough, wooden arch.
She finished her drink and walked back up the hill to the cottage. Peace and quiet—that was what she needed. It must have been the stress of the previous day that had made her melt into Josh’s arms the way she had.
The sound of laughter drifted on the breeze as she put her key in the lock. Cassidy pursed her lips and carried the groceries through to the kitchen. The back door leading to the garden stood wide open and a large green, canopied gazebo covered the lawn.
Music hummed from a radio as Josh and his friends lounged around the garden. Surfboards of all colours rested on makeshift trestles and the group had clearly made themselves comfortable.
Cassidy shoved Josh’s milk cartons into the fridge with unnecessary force. Indignation built inside her. How dare he? She’d told him she wanted peace and quiet and now his surf-bum friends were all over her garden. To add insult to injury, when she checked in the pantry they had taken almost all her cans of cola and her crisps.
“Hey, Cass, I thought you’d gone out?” Josh wandered in through the back door.
“So I see! I came back to sit in the garden.”
She noticed him blink at the shrill note in her voice.
“No decent waves today, so the guys are just hanging.” Josh frowned. “I thought you’d said you were going to do some sketching?”
“It was busy in town, and I need peace and quiet.” Cassidy placed her hands on her hips. Her fury increased as Josh reached around her to take another can of her cola from the pantry.
“Loads of room in the garden. We can turn the radio down, if you want?” Josh offered.
“You don’t get it, do you?” Cassidy snapped. “I want to be alone. But I can’t, because you and your friends are sprawled all over the place, playing music, drinking my drinks and eating my food.”
Josh looked at the can in his hand as if he’d only just realized what he was holding. “I’ll restock the fridge if it’s bugging you so much.”
At that moment, one of the guys from the garden strolled up to the back door. “Josh, we’re going to head down the coast where the waves might be bigger. Are you coming?”
“Yeah, we’ll get out of here,” Josh replied, and within minutes the garden was empty and silent. Only the rearranged furniture and gazebo showed they had been there.
Cassidy picked up her magazines and wandered out on to the lawn. The grass felt cool against her feet as she made her way to the rose arbour. The solitude she’d craved was finally all hers. She took a seat on the rustic, wooden bench but instead of feeling victorious, she felt lonelier than she’d ever felt in her life.
Even the chocolate she’d bought at the supermarket didn’t help as she attempted to immerse herself in her magazines. The sound of the house phone ringing came as a welcome break.
“I need to speak to Josh Parker.” The female voice on the other end of the line was imperious.
“I’m sorry, he’s not here,” Cassidy panted, slightly breathless from her sprint across the lawn.
“Well, where is he, and who are you?” the woman demanded.
“May I ask who’s calling?”
“I need to speak to Josh.” The caller ignored her question.
“He’s out.” Cassidy took a perverse pleasure in repeating the information.
“Can you ask him to call me?”
“I might if you tell me who you are.” Cassidy wondered what the woman’s connection was to Josh.
“Tell him Angie called.” The woman sounded irritated.
“Does he have your number?”
The woman laughed. “Oh yes. Josh will know exactly how to get hold of me.”
Cassidy gritted her teeth. “I’ll let him know.”
After she’d hung up Cassidy wrote a note for Josh and stuck it on the fridge door. For some reason the woman had managed to get right under her skin. If she didn’t know better Cassidy could have sworn she felt jealous.
Which would have been ridiculous. How could she be jealous of a woman she didn’t know and a man she’d only kissed once, in a weak moment?
The day seemed to drag on forever and by the time evening came Cassidy felt out of sorts with everything and everybody. She decided to go for a bath before preparing supper.
This time she made sure her homemade sign was firmly attached to the bathroom door before taking the plunge. She didn’t think her nerves would take the strain of Josh blundering in on her again if he came back while she was still in the tub.
She must have dozed off while relaxing in the bath, for when she woke with a start, the water had cooled around her. Cassidy pulled one of the large fluffy towels from the rail and climbed out of the tub.
Her dreams while she had been napping had been disorientating. Images of Ethan waiting for her outside a church had been superimposed with pictures of Josh looking at her with his dark, melted-chocolate eyes. She finished drying herself and pulled on the jade green cotton lounging pajamas she’d chosen with such care for the honeymoon that wasn’t to be.
Aromas of food cooking filled the air as she opened the bathroom door. Josh must have returned. She wondered if he’d seen the note on the fridge door and if he’d called the obnoxious Angie.
“I’ve made supper for both of us,” Josh said as Cass entered the kitchen. “Call it a peace offering. I’ve restocked the cola and the snacks, too.”
“Thank you.” She felt quite shy as he gestured her toward the open door leading to the garden.
“Go and have a seat. Would you like some wine?”
The air in the garden was warm and still. She could hear the faint crashing sound of the waves on the cliffs and the drowsy hum of bees in the roses of the arbour. Josh had set the table on the patio with a linen cloth. A vase of sweetpeas stood in the centre, spilling pale lavender petals on to the tabletop.
“This is lovely.” Cassidy accepted the glass of chilled white wine he pressed into her hand and took a seat by the table.
“Dinner will be ready in two minutes.” Josh adjusted the tea towel he had draped over his arm and made a mock bow in her direction.
Cassidy giggled and took a sip of her wine as Josh disappeared back inside the kitchen. “Do you need a hand?” She felt a little guilty that he’d gone to so much trouble.
“No, it’s fine. I can manage.”
She heard the sound of pots clanging and a muttered curse. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Cassidy half-rose from her seat to go and help when Josh emerged once more from the back door and slid two plates on to the table.
“Ta-dah.” He sat down opposite her, an expectant expression on his lean face as he waited for her reaction.
“I’m impressed.”
Crisp, lightly browned potato wedges nestled next to some delicious looking fish and a fresh green salad.
Josh’s dark eyes lit up at her praise. “I’m really sorry I gate-crashed your holiday, Cass. I feel as if we’ve got off on the wrong foot, and I guess having Brad and the boys here this morning didn’t help. I know you’re going through a rough patch at the moment, and I wanted to make things better.”
“I shouldn’t have sounded off like that this morning. It was petty.” Butterflies danced in her stomach at the intensity in his expression.
Josh picked up his glass. “All the same, do you think we can start over, Cass?”
Her breath caught in her throat. “I don’t see why not.”
He chinked his glass against hers. “To us—and a great holiday.”
Her hand trembled as she responded.
“Better eat up before the food goes cold.” Josh waved his fork enthusiastically in her direction.
The garden grew darker around them as they ate. Josh lit the glass hurricane lamp that hung from a bracket above their heads. At the far end of the garden between the trees the sky turned orange and then pink as the sun disappeared below the horizon of the sea.
Josh poured the last of the wine into her glass and Cassidy stretched out legs that had grown stiff with cramp. She had been so intent on the conversation with Josh she hadn’t noticed time passing.
“We should clear away.” She stretched out a hand to take his empty plate at the same time as Josh did. His fingers connected, warm and intimate in the darkened garden, with hers. Cass wondered if her light-headed feeling could be put down to the wine she’d drunk.
“I’ll put some coffee on.”
Cassidy picked up her glass and finished the last dregs of her drink. If she was going to have a hangover, she might as well finish the glass, but coffee sounded like a good idea, nonetheless.
A moth batted fruitlessly against the ceiling light in the kitchen. Cassidy stacked the plates in the dishwasher and picked up the cloth to clean the counters. The note she’d left for Josh lay screwed up next to the fruit bowl.
“Did you see the message I left?” She picked up the paper.
“Yeah, thanks.” Josh was busy with the percolator, but Cass sensed he didn’t want to meet her gaze.
“Was everything all right?” She picked half-heartedly at something sticky on the worktop. Josh’s private life was something of a mystery to his employees. Even now, after spending an evening in his company, she realized he’d skilfully avoided talking about himself much. Instead, most of his questions had been about her.
He had his back to her, and his shoulder muscles bunched under his shirt as she asked her question. “Everything’s fine. She won’t be calling again.”
His voice was terse and Cassidy guessed she’d hit a nerve.
CHAPTER FOUR
“You can tell me to mind my own business, you know.” Cassidy leaned against the counter.
Josh’s shoulders dropped as he turned around to face her. “Angie’s my ex. I thought we had something serious going on, but I guess she had different goals in mind. She left me over a year ago.”
Cassidy swallowed at the sight of the pain in his eyes. “I’m sorry.” She thought about what he’d said. “If you split up a year ago, why is she calling you now?”
Josh shuffled awkwardly. “She’s met someone new and wanted to let me know about it before I heard from anyone else. She got married yesterday.”
Pain knotted in Cassidy’s chest. Yesterday should have been her special day, too.
“Cass, I think you should sit down.”
She blinked at him in bewilderment as he pulled out one of the pine chairs for her. “I don’t understand.”
“This isn’t easy to say.” Josh’s expression was hard to read.
“What is it?” A feeling of foreboding settled in the pit of her stomach.
Josh sighed. “In some bizarre twist of fate the new man Angie has married is Ethan. I’m so sorry.”
Cassidy sank down on to the chair, unable to believe her ears. It was impossible. Josh held her hand, his dark eyes sincere with sympathy.
“You’re telling me my fiancé married someone else on what should have been my wedding day?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier this evening?”
“I wasn’t sure what to say or how to say it. I was pretty shocked myself.”
Cassidy immediately felt bad. Poor Josh had to be suffering as much as she was. From the look on his face he hadn’t got over Angie even though it had been so long since their break-up. “Of course, I’m being thoughtless again.”
The percolator gave a loud gurgle and Josh released her fingers to attend to the machine. Left alone on the chair without the warm support of his hand, Cassidy hugged herself to ward off the chill that had crept over her.
Josh carried two mugs across to the table. Mingled with the aroma of the coffee, she could smell something stronger.
“I poured us a shot of brandy into these. I thought we could use them,” Josh said. “Let’s take them through to the lounge.”
Cassidy accepted her mug and followed him, warming her hands against the china as she walked along. Josh’s news had left her feeling completely numb.
In the lounge, a standard lamp cast a mellow glow over the grey stones of the inglenook fireplace, empty now for the summer with only a simple brass screen filling the hearth.
* * * *
Josh dropped into the armchair nearest the fireplace. He, too, nursed his mug as he stared gloomily into the depths of his drink. Cassidy took the chair opposite him, curling her long legs elegantly beneath her as she sat down.
“The other news she gave me was that Ethan has resigned from the company.” Josh surveyed Cassidy over the top of his mug. She didn’t respond at first, and he wondered if she’d heard him.
“Are you okay, Cass?”
She nodded. “I guess that takes some of the pressure off me having to look for another job.”
“You were definitely going to leave? I thought we’d discussed that.” Josh stared at her.
Colour crept over her face. “It would have been difficult having to face Ethan every day, with people talking. You know what work is like.” She stopped abruptly as if she’d said too much.
Josh wasn’t sure he did know what his company was like. After all, he was the boss, so only a filtered level of gossip and rumour ever reached him. He was usually too engrossed in the actual business of running the place to take much notice of who was dating who and what was said.
“But you’re going to stay now, right?” It suddenly felt important to him that Cassidy remained with his company.
She shuffled on her seat and the colour in her cheeks deepened. “I don’t know. I haven’t anywhere to live. I’d given up my flat ready to move in with Ethan. I don’t know if perhaps I should make a fresh start somewhere else. I know you said I could find another flat, but maybe I should start over somewhere new.”
“What if I offered you a raise and promotion? Seriously, Cass, you’re one of my key workers, I don’t want to lose you.” Even as he made the offer, he wasn’t one hundred percent certain that keeping her because she was a valuable worker was his only motivation.
Cassidy was a beautiful woman and the more time he spent with her, the more he began to appreciate how special she was.
“That’s kind of you, Josh, and I do appreciate the offer.”
“But?” he prompted. He knew there was a but— he could see it in her eyes.
Cassidy sighed and set down her drink on the small oak side-table. “I need to think about it. I haven’t anywhere to live unless I stay with my mother, and trust me, that is not a favourite option.”
“You could stay with me.” He blurted his idea out before he had time to think through the consequences of his offer. Although he should have thought of it before, when she’d said she had nowhere to live. It made perfect sense, since he had a huge house with loads of space.
He saw her blink in surprise. “Stay with you,” she repeated.
“Hey, I’ve a big house, and if we can share a small cottage like this, then why not share my place? At least until you get yourself sorted out?”
She tucked her hair back behind her ears as if the action would help clear her thoughts. “Josh, I appreciate that you’re trying to help me, but think about it. The gossips will have a field day anyway. It’ll be bad enough if they find we’ve shared this cottage. If I move in with you…” She shook her head.
“Just promise you’ll consider it over the next few days. The offer’s there if you want to take me up on it.”
Cassidy uncurled herself from her seat and picked up her mug. “Thank you.” She crossed the few feet that separated them and stooped to kiss his cheek. The soft sweep of her lips on his face warmed his soul. She continued on past him into the kitchen leaving the faint rose scent of her bath oil behind her.
He finished his drink as Cassidy tidied up the kitchen then called goodnight as she headed off upstairs. The floorboards creaked overhead as he heard her moving around. It had seemed a logical idea to offer Cass a place to stay until she sorted out a new place to live.
Angie’s phone call had come as a bolt from the blue. He’d had no idea she had been seeing Ethan. He suspected that she’d made the call partly to wind him up and partly to gloat that his human resources manager was now going to work for her father’s company.
Josh sighed as he cradled his empty mug. It hadn’t hurt as much as he’d thought it would to hear Angie’s voice again after all this time. Instead, he’d been more annoyed that Ethan was too gutless to resign his post himself, and he’d been angry on Cass’s behalf.
Poor Cass. She’d visibly flinched when he’d broken the news to her. She deserved someone better than Ethan. If he could just persuade her to take him up on his offer of promotion and lodgings, perhaps he’d be able to convince her of that, too.
* * * *
Cassidy woke the next morning to the sound of rain drumming against the leaded panes of her bedroom window. Through the gap in her curtains she could see a mist had rolled in from the sea, enveloping half of the garden in a soft, grey blanket.
She sat up in bed and hugged her knees as she stared out into the fog. The weather matched her spirits. It had been kind of Josh last night to offer his home as a temporary place to stay, but she didn’t want charity. She still had a job and the offer of a promotion would mean she could look at some accommodation that previously would have been out of her reach.
The house was silent, and she wondered if Josh was still asleep. The tops of her arms felt chilly and she shivered. It might be summer but the sea mist had cooled the temperature down considerably. Cassidy grabbed a chunky knitted sweater from the dresser and slipped it on over her pajamas. A cup of tea would warm her up before she braved the shower.