The Little Bookshop at Herring Cove

by Kellie Hailes

  Alexander ran his hand through his hair and blinked like he was trying to adjust from the bright sunshine outside to the relative gloom of the back of the shop. ‘Yeah, something like that. Just my father firing a million and one instructions at me. Nothing I can’t handle though.’

  Sophie dropped her gaze down to her bag again, but glanced up from under her eyelashes at Alexander, inspecting him closer.

  Something was off. He didn’t seem himself. Alexander had a way of filling the room with his presence, but right now he seemed… shrivelled. And his skin was tinged with green, like he was coming down with something. Or maybe he’d been out working in the sun for too long and was suffering heatstroke.

  ‘The kids and I were about to go down to the beach for a paddle. Do you want to come?’ Sophie mentally slapped her forehead. Smart move. Inviting a guy you thought had endured too much sun to the beach, where it was blazing with no shade to be found unless you were willing to lug down a sun shelter or golf umbrella to sit under, which was impossible since the path was too treacherous to be doing that while minding two little ones.

  Alexander rolled his shoulders back and tipped his neck from side to side. ‘You know, that might be a good idea. I need some air, and what better air is there than sea air?’

  ‘Indeed.’ Sophie nodded, surprised he’d accepted. Part of her had pegged him as a man who didn’t care much for children. But that was before she knew he was hands-on, that he loved creating. That he’d cared enough about people that he’d helped build a home for them. ‘You did hear the bit where I said I was taking the kids down? That pretty much means you’re going to be babysitting them with me.’

  A slow smile lifted Alexander’s lips, flushing away the unhealthy pallor, bringing a twinkle to his eyes. ‘You don’t think I’m any good with kids?’

  Sophie shut her beach bag with a snap of the magnetic closure. ‘I didn’t say that.’

  Alexander rose an eyebrow. ‘You kind of did. At the very least it was inferred.’

  ‘Well you can’t blame me for thinking it… I mean, that first day you came in here full of bluster and bravado, confidence and cockiness, all sexy suit and fancy shoes. You hardly looked like the kid-loving type.’ Heat flooded Sophie’s face and raced down her chest, spilling through her body.

  ‘Did you just say I was sexy?’ Alexander took a step towards her. His chin dipped down as she tilted hers up in defiance. Their eyes met, locked. His lips kicked up in a knowing smirk.

  Sophie crossed her arms over her chest, tried to create a barrier against the tension that had arisen between them. ‘No, I did not say you were sexy. I said the suit was sexy.’

  ‘But I was wearing said suit. Which means I made it look sexy. Which means you thought I looked sexy in the suit.’ Alexander’s head angled lower with each sentence until his lips were inches from hers.

  So close she could stand on tiptoe and kiss him should she want to.

  Not that she wanted to. That was the last thing on her mind. First thing on her mind? Get out of this situation.

  ‘It was the suit. Not you. We don’t get a lot of suits in Herring Cove, so when we do we appreciate them.’

  ‘Riiiiiiiight.’

  Sophie narrowed her eyes at his disbelieving tone. ‘Right indeed. I’m glad you’ve got the picture. Glad it’s sorted.’

  Alexander’s lips quirked to the side. ‘The thing is, Sophie, if it was just the suit, why have you gone such a charming shade of pink?’

  ‘It’s hot. And… and it’s time to go.’ Sophie skirted around the counter, putting a physical barrier between her and Alexander, scooped up her bag, shaped her hand into a cone and cupped it to her mouth. ‘Joe, Bella, beach time!’

  Quick steps told her the kids were heading her way, followed by the slower steps of Natalie who’d been reading to them in the kiddie corner.

  ‘You’re all ready?’ Natalie scanned Sophie, then took in Alexander. Her dimples puckered in amusement.

  Did she sense the standoff that had just happened? Sophie wondered. Had the flirtatious tension between her and Alexander left its mark? No, she was being silly.

  ‘We are. Alexander’s coming.’

  Natalie’s dimples deepened.

  ‘If that’s okay.’ Sophie half wished Natalie would say it wasn’t okay. That way she wouldn’t have to look at Alexander with his ridiculously gorgeous green eyes that twinkled whenever he looked her way, and his lush lips that she’d been tempted to kiss in a moment of madness.

  Natalie’s hand went to her mouth as she let out a long yawn. The act releasing the grin. ‘Yeah, it’s fine. You’re right, Soph. I need a rest. A break. Here…’ She reached into her denim skirt’s pocket and pulled out some money. ‘Take this for an ice cream later on.’

  ‘No, you don’t have to—‘

  ‘I want to.’ Natalie took Sophie’s hand and pressed the money into it. ‘Have a good time.’ Natalie hugged and kissed the kids goodbye, then left, but not before shooting a meaningful wink in Sophie’s direction.

  Sophie replied with a glare. She’d have to pull her girlfriends aside for a chat. Their matchmaking, while coming from a kind place, was a waste of time. Her focus was on rebuilding her business, not on a well-built businessman.

  ‘So, we have kids, we have me, we have you. Off to the beach then?’ Alexander’s lips by her ear startled her from her reverie.

  ‘Sorry. Yes. Absolutely. Come on, kids, let’s go.’ She locked up the shop, then fished about in her bag for her bucket hat.

  ‘Looking for this?’ Alexander held it up. ‘It fell out of your bag when you got the keys out.’ He turned it round in his hands. ‘Cute hat.’

  ‘It keeps the sun off my face. That’s the important thing.’ She held out her hand. ‘Pass it.’

  Alexander shook his head and with one long stride was standing in front of her. ‘Here.’ He set it on her head and gave it a tug to ensure it was on properly, tucked his fingers under her chin and tipped her head back a touch. ‘Cuter on you than not on you. You suit bright pink.’

  Sophie swatted his fingers away. ‘It was all they had at the shop,’ she muttered while trying to ignore the bloom of pleasure the compliment gave her.

  ‘Speaking of the shop. I haven’t had anything to eat since breakfast, can we pop in there so I can grab a few things to nosh on while we’re at the beach? The kids might want something other than ice cream, too. You know, something healthy.’

  Sophie pressed her lips together to keep the smug smile that threatened at bay. Alexander may have made out he might actually be good with kids, but he can’t have spent any time around them – not if he thought they’d want to eat anything other than sugar and cream. ‘Hey Belles, Joe, quick question.’ She squatted down to the kids’ height. ‘Do you want anything to eat that isn’t ice cream?’

  ‘Chocolate.’ Bella said with a serious nod.

  ‘And crisps.’ Joe put his finger to his chin, his gaze drifted to the sky in thought. ‘Maybe a fizzy drink.’

  Sophie ruffled their hair. ‘We’ll see what we can do, hey?’ She pushed herself up and placed her hands on her hips. ‘Don’t think they want anything healthy.’ Alexander looked disapproving. ‘They’re kids, Alexander. And it’s summer. And they’ve not had it easy lately. Let’s get them what they want.’

  Alexander’s disapproval was replaced by a grin. ‘I wish you’d been my nanny when I was growing up. She was all about the healthy life. I still can’t bring myself to eat carrot sticks. And Brussels sprouts?’ He mimed gagging, which set Bella and Joe off.

  Sophie shook her head as the kids followed Alexander into the store chocking and fake-vomiting. What had she gotten herself into? And why was she so glad she’d gotten herself into it?

  What was meant to be a two-minute trip ended up taking fifteen as Bella, Joe and Alexander weighed up the pros and cons of each and every item of junk food in the little shop that kept the villagers in milk, bread and essentials.

  ‘Right? Do we have e
verything?’ Sophie took one bag of groceries, while Alexander took the other two. ‘Oooph, this is heavy. Anyone would think we were going to the beach for a week.’

  ‘If only we could abandon our jobs and do just that.’ Alexander nodded to the bag in her hand. ‘Give me those, I can handle them all.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Sophie transferred her bags to Alexander, then shook her arms, which had begun to ache from the weight of the food. ‘The path down to the beach can get a little steep and I’d like to have both hands free to help Joe and Bella.’

  ‘Then I’m doubly glad to help. We can’t have anything happening to these two little scallywags.’ He turned his smile on Joe and Bella who grinned up at him. Affection shone in their eyes.

  Two minutes with the man and they were already enamoured. Not that Sophie could blame them. When Alexander was being himself, being Alex – as Ginny had rechristened him – he was likeable. Very much so.

  Perhaps too much so for her own liking.

  She tore her eyes away from Alexander and took the kids’ hands. ‘Right then. To the beach.’

  The trip down the zig-zagging cliff was uneventful. If you called shouting ‘be careful’, ‘watch out’ and ‘wait for me’ every five seconds uneventful. The kids, sugared up on sweets given to them by Alexander, had decided they were old enough to get down themselves, and Sophie had found herself having half a dozen minor heart attacks as they loped and tottered, tripped and skidded down the basic gravel path.

  ‘Oh, thank God.’ Sophie collapsed onto the golden sand, stretched her aching legs out and began to massage her calves. ‘That path never gets any easier.’ She watched the kids run down to the water’s edge. ‘Joe, you and Bella aren’t to go into the water without us, okay? Be a good big brother and look after your sister while we catch our breath.’

  Joe flashed her the thumbs up.

  Safe in the knowledge the kids weren’t going to get themselves in any trouble, Sophie sat back on her elbows and kicked off her sandals, digging her heels into the warm sand until she found the cool damp sand beneath.

  Alexander set the bags on the ground and sat beside her. ‘You’re right. The path needs a lot of work. It’s doable though.’

  ‘And you’ll be the one to do it, when Fletcher’s builds its resort and transforms the town into the hottest new tourist mecca?’ Sophie didn’t even bother hiding her contempt – Alexander knew where she stood on the subject.

  Alexander riffled through a bag and pulled out an apple. ‘We’d have to. It’s part of the agreement we have with the council. Besides, the last thing we want is for one of our guests to fall down and hurt themselves. It would be terrible press.’ He pulled out another apple. ‘Want one?’

  Sophie looked at the shiny, red fruit. To take it was tempting. But she was beginning to wonder that if she took too much from Alexander she’d feel she’d owe him something in return. Something she wasn’t willing to give. ‘No, I’m good.’

  He shrugged and took a bite, sending a fine spray of juice in her direction. Its sweet, fresh scent reminding her she’d not eaten and that she was, in fact, starving – more so after the traipse down to the beach.

  ‘Must you make it look so good?’ She leaned over and grabbed an apple from the bag.

  ‘There you go complimenting me again.’ Alexander tipped his head to the sun.

  Sophie went to bite back, but decided saying nothing was the best retort and sunk her teeth into the apple. As good as it looked. Better.

  They sat in silence, eating their apples and watching Bella and Joe draw pictures in the sand with long, thin pieces of driftwood.

  The scene triggered a memory from long ago. A similar scene, but of only one child drawing pictures in the sand. An abandoned row of sandcastles behind her. A mother and father sitting on the sand, as she and Alexander were, but nestled beside each other. Her head on his shoulder, their hands tangled together. A happy family.

  ‘Sophie? You okay?’

  Sophie blinked and realised her lashes were damp. She swiped them away and hoped Alexander hadn’t noticed them. ‘Yeah, just… had a moment. Sorry.’

  ‘Must’ve been quite a moment,’ he murmured.

  Of course he’d seen her tears. Alexander wasn’t the kind of person to miss anything.

  Sophie turned to him, expecting to see pity in his eyes, relieved to see simple curiosity. ‘Do you ever wish you could change something?’ The words were tentative, but she wanted to ask, wanted to know. Needed to know she wasn’t alone. That she wasn’t the only person who wished she could rewrite history.

  Alexander transferred groceries from one bag to another and placed his apple core in the empty bag. ‘Of course. All the time.’

  Sophie waited for Alexander to ask her why she’d teared up, what all this talk of changing things was about. But no question came. No prying. No asking for elaboration. She should have been grateful, yet the longer they sat in silence the larger, the more pressing the tension in her chest grew. Hardening with every second until she felt like she might burst.

  ‘My parents used to bring me here when I was a little girl.’ The words came out in a rush; the pain in her chest lessened, but didn’t disappear. ‘I don’t have many memories of them, of us, but our beach visits are something I hold onto, that I treasure. I was just remembering one of our trips. It’s funny how a happy moment can make you tear up.’

  ‘Tell me about it?’ Alexander sucked in his bottom lip, released it. ‘If you want. No pressure if you’d rather not.’

  She paused to consider whether she could share the moment. Whether she should. Then remembered how much Alexander had opened up to her. How it hadn’t made him appear weak. If anything, his honesty gave him a quiet strength.

  A strength she would like to embrace. To experience.

  She closed her eyes, drew the memory close, the rich, cloudless blue of the sky, the swish-swash of the water drawing in then slipping away from the sand, the echoes of gulls squawking above as they circled the small wharf further down the way, hoping for scraps from the few fishing boats that called Herring Cove home.

  ‘It was a day like today but with not even a hint of a cloud, and the sea was still, calm. We’d packed a picnic. Not a junk food-fest like what you’ve bought, but old-school sandwiches wrapped in paper, a bit of fruit, biscuits for dessert. After we’d eaten, Mum insisted we wait thirty minutes before going in for a swim, and during that time we made sandcastles and I tried my best to bury my parents in sand. Failed abysmally.’

  A warm laugh lit up the warm air. Sophie was surprised to realise it was hers. Usually her memories of her parents were bittersweet, even this memory. But today? Today the recollection brought her joy. Perhaps because she was sharing it with someone else. Spreading the happiness instead of clutching it tight.

  ‘I managed to cover them from ankles to knees, but then I got bored. By then it was time to go swimming… well, paddling. It felt like we were out there for hours. Jumping over the tiddly waves. Lying in the shallows, letting the water wash over us. Standing and scrunching our feet into the wet sand until we felt like we were about to be sucked into it.’

  ‘Sounds fun.’

  There was a bereft quality to Alexander’s voice. Like he’d never done such a thing, never felt the sand threatening to steal him away to the sea-side netherworld.

  Sophie opened her eyes, let the memory go, and turned to him. ‘You’ve never done that? Just… stood in the water and let the sand pull you down?’

  ‘No. I’ve never done any of it.’ His face was still. Not giving anything more away. ‘My father is one for building seaside hotels and resorts, he’s not one for the actual seaside.’

  ‘And your mother? Did she not take you?’

  ‘My mother was too busy supporting my father. When she paid attention to me it was to teach me a lesson in manners, etiquette, something that would benefit me as an adult once I began to work with my father. I asked my nanny if we could go once, but it was a kind but firm no
from her. She was so fair that even stepping out in the watery winter sun for ten minutes would see her turn pink. Going to the beach was her idea of a nightmare.’ Alexander shrugged, like it was no big deal.

  Sophie suspected it was. Alexander may have had a family, but it sounded like it was in name only. That, like her, he’d missed the touches, the affection, the memories of joyful times spent together. Perhaps even more so than she had, because while her dreams of being part of a happy family could never happen due to her parents’ accident, Alexander’s family was right there, alive and well, but every bit as out of reach as her mother and father.

  ‘Anyway, it all added up to me not going to the beach as a child, and I’ve not had the time to indulge such things in my adult years. My secret building projects were all I could manage to fit in.’ Alexander’s brows knitted together, his chest rose. Held. ‘Tell me more about your day at the beach.’ He managed a half-smile that did nothing to break the solemness that surrounded him whenever he spoke of his family. Of his perfect-on-the-outside, but seemingly cloistered, life.

  Sophie checked on Joe and Bella, who had abandoned their sticks in favour of collecting seashells, then closed her eyes once more, the memory playing like an old film. Fragmented, flickering, but clear enough to tell the story.

  ‘Well, we played in the water. Then, eventually, once we were covered in goose pimples and our teeth were chattering, we dragged ourselves out, flopped on the sand and let the sun dry us off. Then Mum and Dad sat together and let me roam free for a while. When the sun began to set they called me to them and we huddled together – arms around each other, warding off the chill in the evening air – until it dropped beneath the horizon. Then we packed up and went home. Dad carrying me on his shoulders the whole way because I was too tired to walk. Mum made us hot chocolates and then we fell into bed. Me in the middle, snuggled up between them. It was perfect. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so safe, so secure.’