New Bay

by Nell Dixon

  To her surprise, Josh was already downstairs in the kitchen. Like her, he’d pulled on a thick jumper although he still wore his board shorts. The morning paper was spread out on the kitchen table and a plate of buttered toast stood next to an open jar of chunky marmalade.

  “I just made a brew. Do you want a cup?” He pulled a mug from the shelf and picked up the teapot as she nodded. “Help yourself to toast.”

  Cassidy took a seat and picked up a slice of toast. Melted butter ran off the end of the slice and on to her hand so she was forced to quickly lick her hand before it could drip on to the table.

  “This is lovely.”

  Josh grinned at her as he slid a mug of tea across to her. “I got up early and had a jog down the seafront. The bakery had just opened up, and I got some proper Cornish butter from a little deli down one of the side streets.”

  “Real butter, yum, no wonder it tastes so good.” Cass couldn’t remember when she’d last had butter instead of low fat spread. She’d been so paranoid that she wouldn’t fit into her expensive designer wedding dress, she’d been living on salad and cereals for months.

  She finished her toast and tore a piece of kitchen towel from the roll to wipe her greasy fingers.

  “The weather’s changed,” Josh observed.

  “Yeah.” She stared out of the window behind him. The mist swirled eerily around the garden, making the trees appear and disappear.

  “What are your plans for today?” Josh picked up a knife and dipped it into the marmalade.

  Cass shrugged. “I hadn’t thought about it, to be honest.”

  His dark brown eyes surveyed her steadily from under his fringe of hair and her heart gave a funny little flip. “This mist probably is just on the coast. If we head inland it’ll be clear.”

  Cassidy swallowed. “We?”

  He rolled a shoulder in an offhand manner as he prepared to take a bite of his toast. “If you’ve no plans then why not come with me? We could head toward Bodmin, I know a great spot for your sketching.”

  “Okay, why not?” It wasn’t as if she had anything better to do, she told herself as she ran up the stairs to shower and change.

  She pulled on her jeans and a fitted blue shirt. Her mobile phone sat on the dresser next to her sketch pad. No new messages: Ethan must have left all the dirty work to Angie. Cass wondered if he planned to let her know about his new bride. After all, Ethan had no idea where she’d gone and he certainly wouldn’t know she was with Josh.

  Cassidy left her phone on the dresser. The only person likely to call was her mother, and she didn’t want to speak to her today, especially if she’d also heard about Ethan’s new bride.

  Josh was ready and waiting for her when she got downstairs.

  “The rain is tailing off, and I checked the forecast. If we head for the moors the mist should clear.”

  Cassidy slipped into the passenger seat of Josh’s estate car, feeling suddenly shy. It almost felt like a first date, going off with him like this. She pulled the seatbelt down, shaking her head at her foolishness.

  The kiss in the hallway yesterday had meant nothing. Neither had the tingle of electricity she’d felt last night when she’d kissed his cheek to thank him for being kind to her. She was just a bit vulnerable at the moment, that was all.

  The mist did clear the further inland they went, leaving behind a dull overcast sky through which the sun struggled to peep. Josh had put the radio on and Cassidy was glad she didn’t have to make conversation.

  Her emotions felt so jumbled she wasn’t sure if she was on her head or her heels. The resentment she’d felt at sharing her holiday with him had melted completely. In fact, after last night, she was glad he was with her.

  She took the opportunity to sneak glances at Josh as he drove along with his large capable hands on the wheel while he hummed in time to the music. Images of how those hands might feel on her body, holding her and caressing her, popped into her head.

  Flustered by the direction her thoughts had taken, she turned her head away quickly to stare out at the scenery.

  “Here we are.” Josh halted in a pull in at the side of the road. The moor stretched out before her, wild and desolate. Patches of gorse stood near to flat grey slabs of stone, and in the distance, she could see a couple of shaggy brown ponies grazing on the scrubby grass.

  “I haven’t been here for years. I’d forgotten how remote it feels,” Cass murmured.

  “I made a flask of coffee and some sandwiches.” Josh reached behind the back seat to haul out a small cool-bag. “There’s a folding chair in the boot if you wanted to set yourself up to do some sketching.”

  “What about you?” Cassidy was amazed at his thoughtfulness.

  He opened the dashboard to take out a map. “There’s a circular walk which goes from here. I’ve done it quite a few times before, it takes about two hours to complete.”

  “Oh.” It hadn’t occurred to her that he might have plans for the day that didn’t include her. Suddenly the chance to be alone didn’t seem very attractive.

  Her feelings must have shown on her face as Josh added: “You can walk with me if you like. It’s quite a gentle walk and you’re wearing trainers.”

  “Sounds like it should be fun.” Cassidy told herself that she didn’t want to stay on her own with the car while Josh was gone because it would be lonely.

  Josh transferred the flask and pack of sandwiches into a small rucksack and they set off along a narrow path between the gorse. Watery sunshine broke through the cloud cover and Cassidy’s spirits rose as Josh smiled down at her.

  She suspected he had adjusted his pace so she could keep up with him. Even at work, he was known for the way he hurtled around the building from department from department like a rather shaggy human whirlwind. Now, though, she found she could match her pace to his as they strolled along the stony footpath towards a small tor.

  “You seem to know this area really well.”

  Josh slowed his pace and extended his hand to help her scramble up the side of the hill. “I grew up not far from here, and I spent all my holidays in New Bay.”

  Her hand tingled at his touch as he helped her up the steep slope. “I hadn’t realised. I guess I assumed you were a city boy.” As she spoke, though, she realised that wasn’t strictly true.

  The clues had been there all along if she’d opened her eyes. The knotted leather wrist bracelet Josh always wore, the chunky diver’s watch and his unkempt hair—none of those fit the suited and booted executive image.

  They reached the top of the tor and Cassidy realised Josh still held her hand. The moor was spread out in front of them, lit by thin shafts of yellow light from above.

  “It’s beautiful.” She breathed in the soft clean air and felt the unhappiness of the past few weeks fall away from her.

  “Yeah, beautiful,” Josh agreed, but he looked at her as he spoke.

  Cassidy’s heart thumped as she stretched up to kiss him, relishing the feel of his lips against hers as he released her hand only to take her in his arms.

  The sun broke through the cloud above them and illuminated the top of the hill where they stood in warm, bright light. For a brief moment everything felt perfect. Then Josh let her go, leaving her desolate.

  “We need to keep walking if we’re to get back to the car before the mist rolls back in.” He adjusted the backpack on his shoulders and turned away from her.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Josh walked away quickly leaving Cassidy to scramble after him. Her kiss had released emotions deep inside that he needed time to analyse. The feel and touch of her lips on his had stunned him.

  He’d had to break the contact and walk away before she could realise what effect she had on him. Cass was on the rebound from Ethan. She was vulnerable. He couldn’t take advantage of her while she was like this— it wouldn’t be fair.

  He heard the sound of her trainers on the gravel and slowed his steps to allow her to catch up. The last thing he’d expected to
happen when he’d found he would be sharing the cottage with Cassidy was that he might start to fall in love with her.

  She fell into step beside him and he longed to peep at her face to try and read her expression. He had a feeling she would be mad at him. Her unspoken hurt seemed to crackle in the air between them like static as they continued to walk.

  The silence continued all the way back to the car. Josh wished she’d speak, but eventually it was he who made the first move.

  “It looks as if we beat the rain.” He opened the car boot to drop the backpack inside. The mist had closed in around them on the last part of the walk. The sun had gone, leaving behind drizzle to dampen the ground and cling to their clothes and hair.

  “Yes. Although it seems as if this weather has set in for the rest of the day.” Cassidy climbed gracefully into the passenger seat. Josh shot her a quick glance but her features, like her voice, appeared neutral.

  “Better hope that it improves for tomorrow.” He got into the car next to her and noticed her stiffen as he shuffled in his seat.

  “Why tomorrow?”

  “Party.” He started the engine.

  “Oh yes, your party.”

  He’d been looking forward to the party for weeks. All through the long hours of work, the meetings and the paperwork, the thought of it had kept him going. Time to hang with his oldest friends, chill out with a beer and chat up pretty surf-bunnies— that had been the plan. Now he would scrap it all in an instant if he could spend that time alone with Cass.

  He sighed and concentrated on the road. Patience. He needed to be patient and give her time to get over Ethan. Plus, he still had to convince her to carry on working for him. If he responded too eagerly to her now she was liable to get cold feet and take flight. However much it killed him, he had to bide his time and slow the pace with her.

  “I’ll probably go out while your party’s on. I don’t think I can face being with a crowd of people. Not yet.”

  Josh felt a snatch of disappointment at her words, but he wasn’t surprised.

  “You know you’re welcome to be there. It won’t be that big a deal, it’s just some old friends of mine and a few girls they know.” He wanted her to be there, to meet his friends.

  “I don’t think so.” Her lips compressed into a thin line and her arms were folded across her chest.

  Josh frowned and turned the steering wheel to pull to a stop at the side of the road.

  “What’s the matter? Is something wrong with the car?” Cassidy sat forward, her eyes large with alarm at his sudden halt.

  Josh raked his hands through his hair. “Cass, I hate you being upset with me. This isn’t about the party, is it? It’s to do with you and me.”

  The colour that rose in her cheeks confirmed his suspicions.

  “Okay.” She blew out a breath. “My head is kind of all over the place at the moment. Until a few days ago, I was miserable because the man I thought I loved had left me. Then you appeared and I— ” She glanced at him for a second, then fixed her gaze on the view through the windscreen. “I started having feelings for you which I didn’t anticipate and when we kissed…” She broke off and raised her hand to her forehead as if to shield her face from him.

  “When we kissed, it blew me away,” Josh added quietly.

  Cassidy moved her hand to stare at him. “Then why?”

  “Why didn’t I respond when you kissed me at the moor?”

  She nodded, dropping her eyes once again so he couldn’t read her emotions.

  Josh’s heart beat a little faster. He knew he had to get this right, or he would blow it for good with her. “I really like you, Cass, but with Ethan and everything I didn’t know if maybe you were just hurting over the wedding being called off.”

  “It’s funny, but I think I was simply wrapped up in the idea of the wedding. You know, the dress, the flowers, the food— everything being perfect. The man I was set to marry kind of got lost in the details. I really thought I loved Ethan.” Cassidy shook her head. “I didn’t notice we didn’t have anything in common or that he just wanted to take me to places, impress people. We never did anything together like you and I have done today. Walking in the rain and just hanging out.”

  Josh’s heart beat faster. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m trying to say that I like you. I’ve been trying to work out my feelings, and I think my ego got hurt more than my heart when Ethan dumped me. I’ve been more concerned about what people would think than mourning the end of my engagement.” Cass turned to meet his eyes.

  “Does that mean there’s a chance for me?” Josh hardly dared to ask the question that had been at the front of his mind ever since he’d stopped the car.

  * * * *

  Cassidy couldn’t look at Josh for a moment. Her heart thumped hard against her ribcage. His brown eyes had been so hopeful when he’d asked the question.

  The tingle of excitement that had started to fizz inside her ever since he’d admitted his true feelings made her pulse race with anticipation. Was she brave enough to put it to the test?

  She took a deep breath for courage and lifted her face to look Josh square in the eyes. The feelings she saw there made her heart melt and leaning forward she brushed her lips against his by way of an answer.

  Cassidy was almost afraid to open her eyes as she drew back from Josh. The touch of his hand smoothing her hair back from her cheek startled her.

  “Cass.” His voice sounded low and sexy.

  For a split second, her confidence faltered, and she wondered if she’d misread the signals he’d been giving her. She’d been so wrong about Ethan, perhaps she was about to make another mistake.

  Josh moved his hand from her hair to stroke the back of her neck before moving forward to kiss her. A shiver of pleasure ran through her. Being with Josh felt so right, it scared her.

  “We should go. The mist is getting worse and the traffic will be hell.”

  She nodded her head in dumb agreement since the power of rational speech appeared to have deserted her. Josh switched on the car radio and turned on the traffic alert. In front of them, the fog swirled yellow-grey in the headlights.

  Cassidy kept quiet as Josh concentrated. The silent drive back to the cottage gave her time to think. Her thoughts had been so scattered ever since Ethan’s defection, she felt as if she’d been riding some mad, out-of-control rollercoaster.

  Angie was welcome to Ethan, she decided as they drove through the countryside and back towards the coast. Why had she been so stupid not to have noticed the signs that her engagement had been in trouble earlier?

  Cassidy’s conscience bucked, and she realized guiltily that the warnings had been there. Like she had told Josh, she’d buried her head in the wedding arrangements. She’d ignored Ethan returning home late from his gym and his rounds of golf.

  His attitude towards her had cooled, too. The little gestures of affection, a kiss on her cheek and a hug when the office had been empty— all of that had ceased. Instead he had been more critical, advising her to lose weight so her dress would fit, and commenting unfavourably on her hair.

  Their love life had ceased completely. Cassidy had assumed it was pre-wedding stress and had been so exhausted herself that she had been glad of Ethan’s lack of interest. Her body heated as she remembered the piles of silky lingerie she’d purchased for the honeymoon that never was when she’d hoped to regain his affections.

  “Almost home.” Josh’s voice cut across her thoughts.

  The seafront was deserted as they drove along towards the cottage. Even the café had closed early, its tables stacked forlornly to one side and the bright umbrellas furled against the mist.

  Josh brought the car to a stop in the small gravel car park that belonged to the cottages. “The weather forecast wasn’t very accurate, was it? What a journey!”

  Cass unclipped her seatbelt while Josh scrambled out to collect their belongings from the rear of the car. He hauled out the cool box and waited for her t
o join him on the short walk to the front door of the cottage.

  Inside, the hall felt cool and Cassidy shivered.

  “I’ll get a fire going in the lounge.” Josh slipped his arm around her shoulders to give her a quick hug before loping away to collect some logs from outside the back door. Cassidy made her way to the kitchen and put the kettle on, her body warmed from the temporary contact.

  She made them both a mug of tea and carried the drinks back to where Josh had carefully laid a small fire in the inglenook hearth. Cassidy took a seat in the armchair nearest the fireplace as Josh coaxed the flames into life.

  The sound of the phone ringing in the kitchen startled her. Josh hurried through to the other room to take the call and Cass wondered if it was Angie calling once again. Jealousy stabbed through her at the thought.

  Josh popped his head round the doorframe. “Cass, it’s for you. A lady who says she’s your mother.”

  Cassidy sighed as she put her mug down on the coffee table. Her peace and quiet was well and truly shattered if her mother had managed to track her down. She took the phone from Josh, and he left her to take the call in private.

  “Hello, Mummy.”

  “I’ve called everyone in my address book trying to trace you. Haven’t you seen all the messages I’ve left on your phone?” Her mother’s cultured accusative voice bit into Cassidy’s ear.

  “I didn’t have my phone with me today. Is something wrong?” There was always something wrong according to her mother, and it was usually all Cass’s fault.

  “How can you ask that? Honestly, Cassidy, you have no idea of the humiliation I’ve suffered with this wedding fiasco. Then to get to bridge club today to find your fiancé has married someone else already. Well! Words fail me.”

  Cassidy closed her eyes and counted to ten. “Mummy, you already knew Ethan had left me for someone else.”

  “And who was that man who answered the phone just now? What have you been up to, young lady?”

  Cassidy tried to control her temper. “Josh is my employer, he’s holidaying here.” She could almost hear her mother’s brain digesting this latest piece of information.