by Holly Martin
‘It’s very crude at the moment and there are a few technical glitches but it works. Given the time constraints we have on this, and that Easter weekend is just over two weeks away, I’m going to probably have to give it to SparkStar to finish it off and make it look all pretty. The eggs are just flat red eggs at the moment, but SparkStar will make it look 3D and give the eggs a bit of a makeover to make them look more interesting. They can also make the things the kids can find in the eggs look like actual objects, magnifying glasses, hammers, things like that, where at the moment all I have are stars. But the basic concept is here.’
He pressed play and a small map with a little flag over the Royal Oak Hotel to show their current location suddenly appeared on the screen. Bella used her fingers on the screen to zoom out and saw there were several eggs all over the island.
‘Oh my god, we can play this now; it’s ready?’
‘Well like I said, it’s not pretty but it works.’
‘How many eggs are there on the island?’
‘Six at the moment.’
Bella scrabbled out of bed. ‘Let’s go find them.’
‘Now? It’s four in the morning.’
‘Come on, I want to see how it works.’
Isaac sighed and got out of bed and started getting dressed. ‘Remind me again why I’m with you.’
Bella laughed as she found her clothes and got dressed, impressed by how quickly Isaac had caved. ‘Because you have a thing for red-heads.’
Isaac threw on a shirt. ‘Never been with a red-head before.’
‘Well probably, as Claudia said, I’m a novelty to you; I was never after you for your money. I liked you way before I knew you had any. I’m sure the novelty will wear off soon, especially when I keep making you leave the comfort of your bed at four in the morning.’
Isaac walked over to her, doing the buttons up on his shirt, his eyes furrowed with concern. ‘Is that what Claudia said?’
Bella stopped dressing for a moment, standing in her underwear and a t-shirt. ‘She didn’t mean it in a horrible way, just that it’s something different for you, which is what attracted you to me.’
‘You’re definitely not a novelty to me; you’re not something that I’m just trying on for size to see if you fit. I was attracted to your kindness, your brilliant smile, but it was the easy way that we could talk for hours that I fell for, that you made me laugh a lot, the fact that I just really enjoyed spending time with you. Those were the things that made me come back on the Sunday.’
She leaned up and kissed him on the mouth and he gathered her to him. As the kiss continued, his fingers snaked underneath her t-shirt and she pulled away laughing.
‘I know your game, ply me with compliments, kiss me until I can’t even remember my own name and then tempt me back to bed so we don’t have to go traipsing over the island at four o’clock in the morning. I’m not falling for it.’
He groaned. ‘You can’t blame me for trying.’
He grabbed a jumper and turned round and pulled it over her head. ‘You’ll get cold out there.’
She looked at it; it hung halfway down her thighs like a woollen dress. She looked up to see that Isaac was staring at her hungrily. ‘Does this turn you on, me wearing your clothes?’
‘You have no idea.’
Bella laughed and pulled her skirt on, shoving her feet into her red Converse.
‘Are you ready?’ she asked as she watched Isaac shove his feet into trainers too.
‘I’ll make you a deal. We find the three nearest ones and then we come back to bed for a few hours.’
‘Sounds like a good deal on the proviso that we find the other three tomorrow.’
‘That’s fine with me.’
Bella looked over at Alfie and Rocket who were curled up together in the dog bed. ‘Shall we take the dogs?’
‘Let’s not torture them with a four am walk. They haven’t done anything to deserve that. I, however, must have been very wicked in a former life.’
‘Or very blessed, depends how you want to look at it,’ Bella said, taking his hand.
They walked out the hotel and only the night porter was there to notice their departure.
Isaac passed her phone to her.
‘You’ve downloaded it to this?’
He nodded. ‘The tablet needs Wi-Fi to access GPS, the phone should be able to use its network provider to access the internet.’
Bella glanced down at the map and saw there was an egg down by the harbour. She grabbed his hand and started walking in that direction. They walked along the deserted streets, the orbs of the streetlights sending puddles of gold across the wet roads. There was not a soul to be seen and there was something magical about that. It was chilly without the warmth of the sunlight yet, but it wasn’t too cold.
‘Hurry,’ Bella said when Isaac seemed to be dawdling.
‘Five minutes ago, I was sitting in a comfy bed, with the most beautiful woman in the world curled up by my side. I thought to myself, I’ll just finish this one thing and then I’m going to wake my girlfriend up with gentle kisses and persuade her to let me make love to her. Then she wakes up before I get that far and my cosy night is gone forever.’
Bella laughed. ‘I do feel sorry for you.’
‘Besides, that egg isn’t going anywhere. There’s no rush.’
‘The quicker we find these eggs, the quicker we can get back to the hotel where you can make love to me again.’
Isaac started running towards the harbour, dragging her behind him, and she laughed again.
There were a few more people down by the harbour, fishermen coming back from a night’s fishing. A few of them stared at Isaac and Bella as they walked past – it must be fairly unusual to see anyone other than fishermen at this time of the day – but most didn’t give them a second glance.
‘It’s just up ahead,’ Bella said and Isaac leaned over and pressed the button which changed the game to the augmented reality. Now, using the camera on her phone, she could see the egg sitting on one of the docks just a bit ahead. She ran towards it until, according to the phone, it was sitting right in front of her.
‘Now what?’
‘You smash it,’ Isaac said, leaning over the phone. ‘I’ve given you a full complement of tools to use, whereas the children will have to earn points to buy these tools. Choose whichever one you want. This egg is wooden, so you’ll need something that will break apart wood.’
‘An axe?’ Bella said, looking down the choice of tools.
‘Sure, that will do it.’
She selected the axe and tapped the screen several times over the egg and watched the axe chop against the wood. Finally the egg smashed open and a gold star popped out.
Bella laughed. ‘I love this game so much. Will this egg still be here for other people to find though once I’ve smashed it?’
‘Yes, your game isn’t linked to other people’s so it will always be here, but once you’ve smashed it, you can’t come back at a later stage and find it and smash it again.’
‘Let’s find another one.’
Isaac smiled. ‘Let’s go to the one at Rosa’s. If she’s open we can get a coffee and a pastry.’
‘Sounds like a good plan.’
They walked through the streets and there were a couple more people around now, many of them heading towards the ferry terminal to make the early ferry over to St Mary’s. There were a few others that worked in some of the shops, clearly going in early to get ready for the day even if the shops wouldn’t be open for hours yet.
Rosa’s was open. It didn’t seem to matter what time of day it was, it was always open. Rosa and her two daughters worked shifts to cover all times of the day and there were several other people that worked a few hours here and there. There were quite a few people sitting inside at tables when they arrived outside.
Bella switched on the camera screen and saw the egg, sitting right outside the door.
‘This one is a chocolate egg so how would you
like to break it?’ Isaac asked.
‘Umm.’ Bella scrolled through the tools; everything seemed a bit too savage to destroy a chocolate egg with. ‘I normally just use my hand to smash my Easter eggs.’
Isaac scrolled to the bottom of the list of tools and pointed at the hand. Bella laughed and used the hand tool to smash the egg and out popped another star. ‘I really love this game.’
‘Let’s have a pit stop before we find the last one,’ Isaac said, pushing open the door to Rosa’s.
The warmth of the shop leaned out and pulled them in with its delicious smells drifting around them. A few people looked their way; it was obvious the shop had regulars even at that time in the morning and they weren’t among them. Bella was gratified that Isaac didn’t relinquish her hand though. Maybe he had come to the conclusion that there was no point hiding it too.
‘Crap, I didn’t bring my purse.’
‘It’s OK, I got this. I don’t think you’ll be earning a gold-digger reputation from letting me buy you a coffee and a croissant.’
Bella grinned. ‘Maybe not, but what about a hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows? That’s a whole extra fifty pence more than a coffee.’
‘I think my budget will stretch to it,’ Isaac said, dropping a kiss on her forehead, making her smile.
Rosa was serving behind the counter and she couldn’t disguise her pleasure at seeing them together.
‘You’re up early this morning, Bella. Are you both catching the early ferry somewhere?’
‘No, just out for a walk,’ Bella said and she couldn’t help grinning at Isaac. The Easter egg hunt was their little secret for now. Rosa didn’t need to know that there’d be people coming from all over the island to smash a virtual egg outside her shop door.
‘What can I get you two?’
‘Hot chocolate with all the trimmings for Bella and I’ll just take a latte,’ Isaac said. ‘Would you like something to eat?’
Despite the fact that Bella was never up at this time, her stomach gurgled appreciatively at all the wonderful smells. ‘Can I have a pain au raisin please?’
‘I’ll have a chocolate one,’ Isaac said.
Rosa left them alone for a few minutes while the hiss of the coffee machine and billows of steam indicated their drinks were being made.
‘I feel a bit disloyal to Eden coming here, she makes wonderful breakfast pastries,’ Bella murmured as her thoughts strayed to her sister. She wondered if she knew that Dougie was back.
‘We can go and get some later for breakfast if you want, then she need never know.’
‘OK, but I’m treating you to that.’
Isaac smiled. ‘I’m just going to pop to the bathroom.’
Bella released his hand and he disappeared into the back of the shop.
Rosa returned with their pastries in a bag and their steaming drinks. ‘I heard the two of you were seeing each other, I think it’s wonderful.’
Bella blinked. She knew they had hardly been discreet and the islanders loved a good bit of gossip, but was it really that interesting that she was dating Isaac Scott?
Rosa registered her surprise. ‘Well Cynthia from Blossom Grove said he stayed the night on Saturday night and Sally’s husband is in the fire brigade and he was there when that awful business happened at Isaac’s house – he saw the two of you together. And I’ve heard a few people talk about it in here.’
Bella frowned, remembering what Claudia had said about what people would think about them dating.
‘And what have they said?’
‘Oh nothing bad,’ Rosa reassured her so quickly it made Bella think that there had been a few things that had been bad. Rosa obviously saw her sceptical face. ‘Well, obviously a few people think that’s how you got the job. You know a few people are still bitter about this whole embezzlement farce and they didn’t think that the Umbrella Foundation would hire you based on your past so some think that you got round that by…’ she gestured with her hand to imply all that was left unsaid. ‘But anyone who has seen you together knows it’s the real thing and I told them that you’re not the type to do that sort of thing, although a few people have said how desperate you were for a job so maybe you were willing to do anything to get it.’
Bella was stunned. This was why she mostly kept to herself. Although most people on the island were lovely and looked out for one another, there were some that could be very unkind.
Rosa clearly realised that she had said something to upset Bella so she quickly changed the subject. ‘I hear you’re bringing the fair back to the island,’ Rosa said. ‘Everyone is so excited for it.’
‘I just hope people come,’ Bella said.
Rosa looked confused. ‘Why wouldn’t they?’
Bella shrugged. ‘Well if they know I’m organising it, they might boycott it.’ That thought hadn’t really occurred to her before, that Isaac’s charity might suffer because of her involvement, but now the fair was booked she couldn’t help but worry that it was going to be a big disaster because of her. This was her first event for him and she wanted to get it right.
‘Everyone knows you’re organising it,’ Rosa said, still confused.
Bella sighed. She had hoped that people would know it was for the Umbrella Foundation and not associate that with her. But of course the islanders knew everything. Rosa’s face cleared with sudden recognition. ‘Almost everyone on this island knows you had nothing to do with the embezzlement saga at Magic Wishes. We all felt so sorry for you when all that nonsense was going on. And you don’t need to worry about those that do, they will find fault with everything no matter what you do. If they want to live their life being bitter and angry, let them get on with it. Everyone will be there, I can promise you that,’ Rosa said with such determination that Bella wouldn’t be surprised if she intended to go round to every single house on the island and force everyone to attend.
Isaac came back to Bella’s side then and she offered him his drink. Bella smiled and waved goodbye to Rosa and they left the shop.
‘Where to now?’ Bella said, taking a big bite of her pastry and consulting the app again. She wanted to distract herself from the thought that everyone on the island was talking about her. ‘There’s two we could go for, there’s one in Blueberry Bay or there’s one in the park.’
‘Let’s go to Blueberry Bay, it’s closer to the hotel and I’m still holding you to your promise.’
Bella laughed and they took off in the direction of the sea. She slipped the phone into her pocket and finished her pastry so she could hold Isaac’s hand again. It felt so natural, so right, as if they had been together for years, not just a few days.
Blueberry Bay wasn’t a formal public beach like the nearby Buttercup Beach. There were no steps or proper paths and it lacked any kind of facilities, which meant that it was largely deserted most times of the year, but there was a path of sorts that wound down through the trees and out on to the beach. It was very small, only twenty metres wide, but with the rosy glow of pre-dawn lighting up the waves over the sea, it was beautiful.
The phone vibrated in her pocket to let her know she was near to the egg and she pulled it out to see that the egg was resting on a rock just in front of them.
‘This one is made from sand so…’
‘A sandcastle egg?’
Isaac laughed. ‘Yes, exactly.’
Bella quickly scrolled through the tools, looking for anything that could be water, but there didn’t appear to be anything.
‘How do you normally get water when you’re on a beach?’
‘A bucket,’ Bella said, scrolling back up the list of tools and finding what looked like a child’s bucket and spade set. She clicked on it and watched as water splashed on the egg and dissolved it. A gold star appeared on the screen.
She slipped the phone back into her pocket and slung her arms round Isaac’s neck.
‘Thank you for this. It’s so brilliant. The children are going to get such a kick out of it. I can’t wa
it to see it when it’s all finished.’
He slipped his hands around her waist. ‘You’re very welcome. I really did enjoy doing it so I have you to thank for that.’
He kissed her sweetly and then she leaned her head against his heart as he wrapped his arms tightly around her, making her feel safe and adored all at once.
The waves were lapping gently onto the shore and out over the horizon the first slash of gold appeared over the sea. Bella had never felt so utterly contented before.
‘You make me so happy,’ Bella whispered.
Isaac tipped her chin up to face him and kissed her, slowly.
He pulled back slightly. ‘I could make you happier.’
She caught the dark look of intent in his eyes and laughed.
‘Here?’
He shrugged. ‘There’s nobody here, it’s just you and me.’
She looked around and it was very clear they were secluded from anyone unless they were on a boat and the sea was completely empty.
Before she could voice any further objections Isaac shuffled her back against the rocks, and a few minutes later he proved just how very happy he could make her.
Chapter Nineteen
Isaac watched Bella sleeping in the bed next to him. After they had made love on the beach as the sun rose above the waves, they’d come back to the hotel where they’d made love again before Bella fell asleep. He simply could not get enough of her.
The sun had well and truly risen in the sky now, a burning ball of gold in a cloudless blanket of periwinkle blue. He would have to wake Bella up soon but right now he was content to watch her.
He was in trouble.
He was in love with her, he knew that. He wasn’t sure at what point it had turned into love for him or if he really had been in love from the very beginning. It filled every inch of him, his heart felt too big for his chest. He had never felt like this before and he wanted to shout it from the rooftops. But he couldn’t. She would run a mile if he suddenly declared his feelings for her after a week. She would probably still run a mile if he told her he loved her after a year. She was scared of love and for good reason. Although her aunt, uncle and Rome and Eden had showed her love, she had also had really bad examples of love too. For both her parents to abandon her, it showed her how fickle love could be, how ultimately the people that were supposed to love you more than anything in the world could let you down.