She was carrying some kind of large box or tin as she made her way up the lane towards them.
‘What’s she doing?’ Willow whispered.
‘I’m not sure,’ Andrew said.
They watched her walk up the little path to Eileen’s house, look around to make sure no one was watching and then leave the tin on the doorstep, before hurrying back the way she had come and disappearing up the alleyway again.
Willow looked up at Andrew with excitement. ‘She just left a mystery gift. Do you think she had anything to do with Kitty and Joseph’s presents last night?’
‘I don’t know, but shall we go and see what she left?’ Andrew said, more curious about that than anything else.
Willow looked around and then nodded. ‘But let’s be quick.’
They quickly moved over to Eileen’s doorstep, giving another look over their shoulders, and then Andrew carefully lifted the lid. It was a cake tin and inside was the most amazing-smelling apple pie.
Willow smiled at him, clearly bubbling over with excitement.
He carefully placed the lid back on and they hurried off back down the lane towards Willow’s cottage.
The sun was well and truly up now, this glittering golden orb in the cloudless sky blanketing the sea with ribbons of fire.
They walked into the lounge and Willow closed the door behind them and then turned to face him.
‘I love this, I love that the villagers have taken our lead and are now leaving each other gifts as well,’ she said.
‘I do too, we’ve inadvertently created something amazing,’ Andrew said, then gathered her in his arms. ‘This is all you, you know, this was your idea. You’ve given something wonderful to the village.’
She smiled and he kissed her and then the kiss quickly developed into something more.
‘No more sex,’ Willow said, pulling his t-shirt over his head.
‘But it’s morning,’ Andrew said, not really feeling the conviction of her words as she was already busily undressing him.
She smiled. ‘OK, fair point.’
He lifted her and carried her to the sofa where they fell in a tangle of kisses and arms and legs and discarded clothes. They didn’t move from there for a very long time after that.
Twenty-Three
Willow made her way up to the village entrance the next morning with a huge smile on her face. Everything seemed so completely perfect at the moment, nothing was going to ruin her mood today. She had spent the entire night with Andrew, kissing, cuddling, making love, sleeping in each other’s arms. It was safe to say she was completely smitten by him.
She couldn’t wait to see Ruby today and tell her all about him. Ruby had stayed in a hotel a few hours away the night before, halfway between St Octavia and Happiness, but she had phoned Willow not long before to say she was only half hour away now. It hadn’t been that long since Willow had seen her but she couldn’t wait to catch up with her again. She was up to speed with everything she needed to do in the shop so she could take the day off and spend it with Ruby. The sun was out so Willow thought they could spend a few hours down on the beach.
As she approached the village entrance Willow spotted a woman on her hands and knees as she painted a large screen just in front of the four old houses. This must be Morgan.
She hurried over to say hello to Andrew’s friend.
Although the screen was still in the initial stages of being completed, she could see how brilliant it was going to be when it was finished.
‘This looks amazing,’ Willow said and Morgan looked round and smiled.
‘Thanks, it will be. It’s not there yet, but thank you.’
Morgan turned back to her work but Willow wanted to introduce herself properly. ‘I’m Willow.’
‘Oh, Andrew’s girlfriend,’ Morgan said.
‘Yes.’
Morgan stood up, wiping her hands down her denim shorts. ‘It’s lovely to meet you.’
‘I wanted to come and say hello,’ Willow said. ‘I know you and Andrew are friends.’
‘Oh, you don’t need to worry about me and Andrew.’
‘Sorry?’ Willow was confused.
‘It’s fine, I get it.’ Morgan smiled as she waved her hand dismissively.
‘No, I’m not—’
‘We go way back,’ Morgan interrupted her. ‘We were friends growing up. I think for him, I was always someone he could talk to about being deaf because I understood. My brother is deaf too. I know how hard it was for Andrew sometimes and I was the only one who didn’t treat him differently. I think you’re naturally drawn to someone who understands the significant things in your life, that’s why work colleagues always end up together. Andrew has always had a bit of a soft spot for me, I get him like no else can.’
Willow found herself chewing on her lip. She hadn’t been worried about Andrew and Morgan before but she certainly was now. It sounded like Morgan was staking a claim on him, which was odd. They were just friends, weren’t they?
‘Andrew’s talked a lot about you, he says it’s something serious?’ Morgan went on.
‘You sound surprised.’
‘No, I mean… a little,’ Morgan laughed. ‘He doesn’t really do serious relationships.’
‘Yeah, I know he was hurt in the past,’ Willow said.
‘He was? I mean, yes he was. I’m surprised he told you about… that,’ Morgan said.
‘Well… yes, we’ve told each other everything,’ Willow said.
‘Oh, he just doesn’t really talk about that… Wait, are we talking about the same thing here?’ Morgan said.
‘I don’t know, I was talking about… Sophie.’
‘Oh that,’ Morgan waved her hands dismissively. ‘I thought you meant the other thing.’
‘What other thing?’ Willow asked.
‘Oh, nothing, I probably shouldn’t say. Andrew should probably tell you about the time he really had his heart broken.’
Willow frowned. Why hadn’t Andrew told her that when he’d told her about Sophie?
‘So things are going well between you?’ Morgan asked.
Willow smiled slightly to herself. Things were going very well between them for two people who had only known each other for around a week. ‘Yes they are. I don’t think either of us were looking for a relationship but when we met we just sort of clicked.’
Morgan nodded. ‘I’ve always thought Andrew would make a great boyfriend, he has all those wonderful qualities you would look for in a husband. That’s if he can stay with one woman longer than a few weeks, he has a very small attention span when it comes to women, he gets bored easily. But I’m sure that’s not the case for you two. How long have you been together?’
‘Umm, about a week.’
‘A week?!’ Morgan was incredulous. ‘From the way he was talking I thought you two had been together for a lifetime. Ah, you’re still in that lovely honeymoon period where you both think the other person is completely perfect. Soon enough you’ll start to get annoyed about him leaving his boots everywhere or that he never takes the rubbish out.’
Willow cleared her throat uncomfortably. ‘I’m sure there will be things we both do that will piss the other person off but I suppose as long as the good outweighs the bad that’s all that matters.’
‘Oh yes, totally. No one ends a relationship over smelly socks and bad breath.’
‘Andrew doesn’t have bad breath,’ Willow said.
‘Oh, I didn’t mean Andrew.’
Willow was mortified. Did Morgan mean she had bad breath?
‘I didn’t mean you either,’ Morgan quickly said. ‘I was just talking generally, you know. That’s not why people break up. There are much more serious reasons to break up with someone. Why am I talking about breaking up? You two are clearly head over heels for each other.’
‘Right,’ Willow said. This whole conversation was making her feel just a little uneasy.
‘Why would you break up with him over boots or socks when he is that amazi
ng in bed, who would ever walk away from that?’ Morgan nudged her with a wink. ‘I mean, I have never had multiple orgasms with anyone else, but Andrew… that man has a gift for them.’
Willow’s heart sank. ‘You and Andrew used to be a thing?’
‘Yes. Oh god!’ Morgan’s hands went to her mouth. ‘You didn’t know. I’m so sorry. I just assumed he would have told you, as you’ve told each other everything.’
Willow wondered why Andrew hadn’t told her.
‘It was nothing, just a casual fling,’ Morgan went on. ‘I mean, it didn’t last longer than six months, nine months tops, so it wasn’t anything serious.’
Willow stared at her. Nine months sounded pretty bloody serious to her.
‘It was just sex really,’ Morgan tried to rectify the situation but only succeeded in making it worse. ‘I guess you could say we’re friends with benefits.’
And why the hell was Morgan using the present tense?
Willow swallowed. ‘You mean you were?’
‘Yes, yes, that’s what I meant,’ Morgan quickly reassured her. ‘I’m making a right balls-up of this. Andrew really likes you, please don’t pay any attention to my inane ramblings.’
Willow had no idea what to say. Knowing Andrew had kissed Morgan, touched her where he had touched Willow, whispered things in Morgan’s ear as they made love made her insanely jealous. Which was ridiculous, Andrew was thirty-one. Of course he had a history, they both did. But why hadn’t he told her that Morgan was one of his exes?
Fortunately Willow was saved from having to think of something to say by the arrival of Ruby’s custard-yellow Mini and Ruby tooting cheerfully on the horn as she spotted Willow.
‘That’s my friend, she’s here to stay for a few days so, umm… I’ll guess I’ll see you later.’
‘Yes, look forward to it,’ Morgan said, smiling before returning her attention to her painting.
Willow moved away from her to greet Ruby, a million thoughts swirling through her mind. She tried to push them all away to concentrate on her friend.
Ruby scrambled out of the car and threw herself at Willow, wrapping her in a big hug. Willow felt the lump in her throat as she held her friend tight.
‘I’ve missed you,’ Willow said.
‘You daft lump, it’s only been a week,’ Ruby said.
‘I know, but I’ve got so much to tell you.’
Not least that she had stupidly fallen for someone who she probably didn’t know at all.
‘Well, let’s get all this stuff stowed at the pub and then you can tell me all about it,’ Ruby said.
* * *
‘This Morgan sounds like a complete bitch if you ask me,’ Ruby said after Willow had told her everything about her and Andrew and her conversation with Morgan.
Willow wiggled her toes in the sand as she stared out over the gold-crested waves.
‘I don’t think that Morgan was saying those things to be mean. We were just chatting about Andrew and of course it would come up in conversation that she used to date him or whatever kind of arrangement they had that involved him giving her multiple orgasms.’
Willow swallowed the bitter taste in her mouth.
‘You’re right, it would come up in conversation that they dated, but not that she had amazing sex with him. Who would say that to their ex’s current partner? Morgan was deliberately trying to stir up trouble,’ Ruby said.
Willow knew Ruby was right. That was not a normal conversation topic.
‘And what about all that other stuff about you having bad breath?’ Ruby said, slathering sun cream onto her shoulders.
‘She didn’t say I had bad breath.’
‘You were just chatting about people in general having bad breath?’ Ruby said, sceptically.
‘Yes,’ Willow said, although now she was starting to doubt herself. She cupped her hand in front of her mouth and breathed into it.
‘Oh my god, you do not have bad breath,’ Ruby said. ‘Believe me, I would tell you if you had.’
Willow sighed. Why was she suddenly doubting everything?
‘And what about that stuff about Andrew having a short attention span when it comes to women? It was almost like she was telling you this thing between you two wouldn’t last.’
Ruby was right, about everything. The whole conversation had made Willow feel uneasy. She had wanted so much to like Andrew’s friend that she had tried not to see what was staring her in the face. Morgan was a bitch and for reasons Willow wasn’t entirely sure about, Morgan wanted to cause trouble between her and Andrew.
But Willow wasn’t only angry at Morgan.
‘I just feel a bit let down by Andrew more than anything else,’ Willow said. ‘Why did he invite his ex here in the first place? I wouldn’t want to invite any of my exes to come and do a job for me. That’s a little weird, right?’
Ruby shrugged. ‘I suppose it depends how well you get on with them.’
‘Is it wrong that I don’t want him to get on well with someone he gave multiple orgasms to?’
‘I think there would be something wrong with you if you weren’t bothered by that.’
‘I think the thing that bothers me the most is that he didn’t tell me that he and Morgan had history. I mean, it’s not something you can forget.’
‘No, quite.’
‘So did he deliberately hide that from me? And what is the big thing that broke his heart if it wasn’t Sophie? We lay together and talked about our life and he told me how devastated he was over what happened with Sophie but Morgan said there was something far bigger than that, so why didn’t he tell me about it? I mean, I don’t need to know all of his romantic history, just like he doesn’t know all of mine, but if it was as significant as Morgan says, do you not think he would have mentioned it to me then?’
‘I think you need to talk to Andrew about all of this,’ Ruby said.
‘I’m such an idiot Rubes, I’ve fallen for this man after one week and I really don’t know him at all.’
‘You’re not an idiot, you’re just… rose-tinted. There’s nothing wrong with seeing or hoping for the good in this world.’
‘But then there’s always the disappointment when you’re wrong.’
‘I think I’d much rather hope for the good than expect the bad, it’s a much nicer way to live your life,’ Ruby said.
Willow sat up and took a swig from her water bottle. She decided to change the subject as this whole conversation was making her a little bit fed up.
‘Tell me something about St Octavia to cheer me up,’ Willow said.
‘Why, are you missing us?’
Willow thought about that for a moment as she lay back down. She had only moved there after she had left university and her parents had split up and moved to opposite ends of the country, but for a while St Octavia had been her home. Although beyond Ruby she hadn’t made any lasting connections. Many of her friends had been Garry’s friends and, when they broke up, their mutual friends hadn’t really known how to act around her. She didn’t really miss any of them.
‘Not really. I know I rushed into this decision to move here, but I don’t regret it. Regardless of what happens with Andrew, I do love it here.’
Ruby paused for the longest time before she spoke. ‘There is something. I didn’t know whether to tell you or not.’
‘Just tell me.’
‘St Octavia is such a small town and I know you’re still Facebook friends with a lot of people there, and many of them would take great pleasure in telling you all the gory details. And I kind of wanted you to hear it from me first.’
‘God Ruby, what is it?’
‘Do you want the bullet points or the unabridged version?’
‘I guess the unabridged.’
‘Garry’s engaged.’
‘What?’ It was safe to say Willow hadn’t been expecting that.
‘To that new girl who moved into the town six months ago.’
‘Imogen?’ Willow asked.
‘Yes. Apparently they’ve been seeing each other for around four or five months now, not long after you two broke up. Garry wanted to keep it quiet out of respect for you. He said he didn’t want to rub it in your face after he’d broken your heart by turning down your proposal—’
‘Wait, he didn’t break my heart,’ Willow said. ‘I was more relieved than anything.’
‘I did try to say that to everyone, but as you did propose to him, no one believes me.’
Willow rolled her eyes in defeat. ‘I can’t believe he’s engaged.’
‘He’s really excited, I’ve never seen him excited about anything. I didn’t even know he had that emotion as part of his repertoire. He’s head over heels for her too. He’s giddy. Now you’re gone he wants to tell everyone he meets how much he’s in love. He’s even been caught a few times around town having sex outdoors. He can’t keep his hands off her.’
Willow thought about this for a moment. Garry didn’t do excited and giddy, or at least he never did with her. They’d never had sex anywhere but the bedroom and he certainly hadn’t been the touchy-feely tactile type. God that was depressing. When they had broken up, she had felt like she had escaped from four years of mundane hell, but had he been bored out of his mind too? He had never proposed to her, never wanted to, she hadn’t been enough for him, but four months of going out with Imogen had made him a changed man. The kind of man who wanted to shout his love from the rooftops.
Ruby watched her for a moment. ‘Ah Willow, I should have done the bullet-points version. Are you OK? What are you thinking?’
‘Just feeling a little bit inadequate. Garry never did any of that for me.’
‘Would you have wanted him to? Would you really want to be married to him?’
‘No of course not, but clearly I wasn’t the sort of person that invoked those kinds of feelings in a person.’
‘Not in Garry maybe, because you two were completely wrong for each other in every way, but when you meet the right person you will. And even if Andrew isn’t that person, it sounds like things got pretty passionate between the two of you, that Andrew got pretty excited about being with you.’
The Little Village of Happiness: A gorgeous uplifting romantic comedy to escape with this summer Page 19