by Hannah Ellis
“It also explains why he was angry about you buying the house – he must think you bought it with Phil.”
“Oh, my God! Of course.” She sighed. “Just one mystery left then: why isn’t he returning my call?”
“He will,” Josie said. “Don’t worry. Everything will work out perfectly.”
Elizabeth hoped so, but so far it really seemed like the universe didn’t want them to be together. “This is all your fault,” Elizabeth said grumpily.
“My fault?” Josie asked in surprise.
“Yes! You changed my Facebook. I bet that’s why he thinks I’m still with Phil.”
“Oh, come on,” Josie said. “You can take some responsibility here. You shouldn’t have had your account set up so the whole world can see everything about you!”
Elizabeth tried to interrupt, but Josie continued. “And when you left Max, didn’t you tell him you were going back to your fiancé? Maybe that has something to do with it!”
Elizabeth sank miserably into the couch. Why wasn’t he calling her?
“You’ll have to call him again tomorrow,” Josie said. “All this waiting for him to call is horrible. I can’t take it any more.”
“You can’t take it?” Elizabeth said. “How do you think I feel?”
They spent the rest of the evening watching TV, not that Elizabeth could concentrate on anything. She glanced at her phone constantly. But he didn’t call, and at ten she decided to put herself out of her misery and go to bed.
It took hours for her to fall asleep. Her phone lay on the bedside table and she kept willing it to ring. She would definitely call him again tomorrow, she decided, or just go and track him down. There was no way she could cope with another day of waiting.
Chapter 50
The first thing Elizabeth did when she woke was check her phone. No missed calls, no messages. Was he just not interested? Why was he ignoring her? She’d worked so hard to make a new life and feel good about her choices, and now everything felt so unsettled again. She’d been happy a week ago, but suddenly felt like her heart was about to be broken all over again.
She was surprised to hear Josie moving around so early. When Elizabeth called out a good morning, Josie appeared at her bedroom doorway.
“Jack messaged me,” Josie said, beaming. “He’s apologised. He says he made a big mistake and was an idiot. He wants to see me.”
It made Elizabeth want to make vomiting noises. He was clearly a player. Josie could do so much better.
“I knew he’d change his mind,” Josie said.
“Are you sure he isn’t just an idiot?” Elizabeth said with a pained expression. “Maybe he doesn’t deserve a second chance…”
“Don’t say that. He’s great. It was a stupid mistake. I’ll go and see him and we’ll sort it all out.”
“Okay,” Elizabeth agreed without enthusiasm.
“Will you be all right, though? I hate leaving you when there’s all this stuff with Max. You’ve still not heard from him?”
“Nope,” she said with a sigh. “But don’t feel that you’ve got to hang around and look after me. I’ve got work to be getting on with.”
“Okay. If you’re sure. I’m going to have a shower and I’ll leave after breakfast.”
“I’m going to take Tilly for a quick walk,” Elizabeth said. “Do you want to come?”
“No thanks. I think I’ll just get organised.”
“Okay. I won’t be long.”
Elizabeth made herself a coffee and wandered down the garden with Tilly at her side. She’d have to get out and do some gardening now the weather was getting better, she thought.
The sun was only just rising when she stepped through the hedge onto the path, and she was surprised to see someone sitting on the beach. She squinted through the half-light at the lone figure.
She stopped dead.
Her body seemed to forget all about the importance of breathing and pumping blood in a regular rhythm.
It was Max.
For a moment she stood watching him, then moved slowly towards him. Tilly barked and headed straight for him, bouncing around him and licking him. He laughed and made a big fuss of her.
“You stole my sunrise spot,” Elizabeth said, surprised by how calm she sounded.
His gaze travelled slowly up to her. “I was just going to call you about the coffee situation,” he said, showing her the phone in his hand.
“Really?” she asked suspiciously. “I was starting to think you were never going to return my call.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, with a pained expression. “I was up at Oakbrook and the phone signal is terrible. Your message only came through this morning. I was going to call you straight back but decided I’d rather talk to you in person.”
She sat beside him and took a sip of coffee before passing him the mug. Adrenalin pumped through her body. She was so excited but, unlike Tilly, she kept it bottled up inside, remembering Josie’s advice about not rushing things and scaring him away.
They’d only spent a week together. She shouldn’t get carried away.
All she wanted to do was kiss him, but instead she looked out at the hazy sun emerging over the horizon, and tried to gather her thoughts.
“You’re really not married?” she asked, after getting Tilly to settle down. She lay happily on the beach in front of them.
“No,” he said. “Of course not.”
“I thought it was you with the last-minute wedding,” she said.
“No. That would be Dan.”
“I didn’t know you had two brothers…” She shook her head sadly. “And you thought I was still with Phil?”
“Yes. I can’t believe you were looking for me.” Idly, he stroked Tilly’s back as he spoke. “I tried to find you too. As soon as you left, I went and called everything off with Jessica. Then I got in touch with the owners of Seaview Cottage and begged them to give me your details…” He chuckled at the memory. “When they threatened to call the police on me I gave up on them. In the end I found you on Facebook.”
“I’m gonna kill Josie! She messed with my profile and put the stuff about Phil. You saw that?”
“It definitely seemed like you were still engaged,” he said. “And you looked so happy with your fiancé. I remembered how adamant you were that it was just a holiday romance between us and nothing more.”
Her shoulders sagged as she sighed. “I’m never on Facebook. I didn’t even know everyone could see my page. I wish you’d got in touch.”
“Me too.”
“I tried getting in touch with Annette and Wendy,” she said, “but at the time, the phone wasn’t working and there was no one there when I visited.”
“That must have been when Wendy was in hospital,” Max said. “Annette closed the kennels for a while, and when she got annoyed with people ringing to make bookings, she unplugged the phone.”
“Everything was against us, wasn’t it?”
Max smiled. “I thought you’d bought the house with your fiancé.” His brow furrowed. “Which seemed like a really weird thing to do!”
“I’ve had my crazy moments over the last six months, but thankfully nothing that bad.”
“So, just to make sure I’ve got this right…” He reached for her hand. “Since last summer, you’ve split up with your fiancé, moved here and got a dog?”
“I also quit my job and joined a knitting club,” she said proudly as she laced her fingers with his. “It’s been an eventful six months!”
“It sounds like it.” He paused, then gazed at her intensely. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw you at Oakbrook. I thought I was finally getting over you and then there you were – ruining my life again.” He smiled. “And why did you freak out when I kissed you?”
“I thought you were married,” she said defensively. “And it was you who freaked out.”
“I thought you were engaged!”
She laughed at how ridiculous it was, then dipped her eyebrows quizzically. “W
hat did you mean when you said you’d made a huge mistake? I thought you were talking about your marriage.”
“I was talking about letting you go,” he said, moving closer to her. “I should’ve fought harder for you. I should’ve convinced you that we should be together.”
“I’m convinced now,” she said quietly.
He cupped her face as he kissed her, and her whole body tingled. It felt amazing.
“What happens now?” he asked when they broke apart.
“I think we’re supposed to go on a date or something.”
“Really? After all this I get a measly date?”
“You don’t want to?”
“Not really,” he said, smirking. “Dating sounds so casual. Usually people date to see if they want to be in a relationship … and I’m already in love with you.”
She felt the heat in her cheeks and grinned like an idiot. “Really?”
“Yes!”
“But we only spent a week together.”
He pushed her hair from her face. “It took me a lot less than a week to fall in love with you.”
When he kissed her again she pulled away abruptly. “What will we do, though? You live in London and I live here.”
“I’ve been considering spending more time at the coast…”
Her smile was starting to make her face ache. “Really?”
“I know that we should probably take things slowly, but I don’t want to waste any more time. What do you think?”
“I think I love you too! I don’t want to waste any time either.” Now that he was finally there with her, she hated the thought of him leaving. “How about you stay for the weekend and we take it from there?”
“I like the sound of that.”
His lips brushed hers once more, then he drew back. “So we’re not dating?”
“No,” she said, beaming as she pulled him closer, “we’re definitely not dating.”
THE END
Escape to Oakbrook Farm
(Hope Cove Book 2)
Josie Beaumont is a free spirit. She changes jobs about as often as she changes her relationship status. Frequently! The only constant in her life is the pair of comfy old shoes that she refuses to part with.
When unemployment looms again, she’s intrigued by a job opportunity at a dog kennels in rural Devon. As someone who thrives on change, a move to the sticks doesn’t faze her at all. She’s expecting life in the country to be quiet and uneventful.
What she’s not expecting is Sam.
The charming sensitive neighbour makes life much more interesting. In fact, when she gets involved in the local community, things really aren’t as dull as she anticipated. But just when she finally feels settled, she’s offered the job of her dreams back in London. It’s time to move on.
Or is it?
Being part of a small community has stirred something in Josie and she begins to question what she really wants. Can she turn her back on her new life and say goodbye to Sam? Or is she ready to hang up her running shoes and stay put? Maybe she’s finally found something worth sticking around for…
Available here: http://mybook.to/OakbrookFarm
Other books by Hannah Ellis
Escape to Oakbrook Farm (Hope Cove book 2)
Summer at The Old Boathouse (Hope Cove book 3)
Whispers at the Bluebell Inn (Hope Cove book 4)
The House on Lavender Lane (Hope Cove book 5)
The Bookshop of Hopes and Dreams (Hope Cove book 6)
Coming Home to the Loch (Loch Lannick book 1)
The Castle by the Loch (Loch Lannick book 2)
Fireworks over the Loch (Loch Lannick book 3)
The Cafe at the Loch (Loch Lannick book 4)
Always With You
Friends Like These
Christmas with Friends (Friends Like These book 2)
My Kind of Perfect (Friends Like These book 3)
A Friend in Need (Friends Like These book 4)
Beyond the Lens (Lucy Mitchell Book 1)
Beneath These Stars (Lucy Mitchell Book 2)
All of Hannah’s books can be found here:
http://Author.to/HannahEllis
A note from the author
Dear Reader,
Thanks so much for choosing to read The Cottage at Hope Cove. If you enjoyed it, you’ll be happy to know there are plenty more books in the series.
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Acknowledgments
As always I have many people to thank for helping me get this book finished.
My husband, Mario, is top of the list. I really couldn’t do this without your unwavering support. Love you!
Next are the wonderful people who read and gave feedback at the various stages. A huge thank you to: Anthea Kirk, Stephen Ellis, Sarah-Jane Fraser, Meghan Driscoll, Dua Roberts, Fay Sallaba, Emma Smith, Sarah Walker, Kathy Robinson, Sue Oxley, Hazel Baxter, Ki Anglesea, Nikkita Blake, Michele Morgan Salls, Chantal Bérubé and Anne Jagger.
Thanks so much Aimee Coveney for yet another fantastic cover. I love it!
Many thanks to my editor Jane Hammett.
And to all my amazing readers. You guys are the best!