Page 107 of Best Summer Ever

‘That’s further proof,’ Josh smiled, ‘not that I think you needed it, that you’re in exactly the right place.’

‘As are you,’ I sighed contentedly.

‘Do you mean in your bed or on the estate?’

‘Both,’ I giggled, pulling him on top of me. ‘You’re of value everywhere.’

A while later, we shared breakfast on the veranda, in the company of Luna, who seemed to be getting bolder by the day, and a thought occurred to me.

‘Josh…’

‘Um,’ he said, looking up from the book he was reading.

Is there anything sexier than a man reading? Especially when it’s one of your childhood favourites. It was my hardback copy ofAnne of Green Gablesthat he’d chosen from the bookshelf and been immersed in.

‘I was just wondering where your mum featured in your father’s cruel plan to keep you and Algy apart?’

Josh put the book down on the table and sat back in the rocking chair. I noticed he’d neither cracked the spine nor turned down the page, which was another big tick in his box.

‘I honestly don’t know,’ he said, with a small shrug. ‘The letters Algy wrote were sent via Mum’s parents’ address, so I’m wondering if she had known something about them.’

‘That’s what I was thinking,’ I mused.

‘But I’m certain she would have passed them on to me if she had been aware of their significance,’ he said, frowning. ‘Because she’s absolutely nothing like Dad. He’s hard-nosed and materialistic, whereas she’s a much gentler soul. I think Dad only married her because of her family’s success and the helping hand my grandfather was willing to offer when Dad cut ties here. I’m certain that connection to the money is the only thing that’s ensured Dad’s never left Mum…’

‘Perhaps you should call her,’ I suggested, noting the conflict in Josh’s expression that the not knowing had prompted. ‘Or email.’

‘And say what?’ he sighed. ‘How do I even begin to broach what I unearthed in Dad’s office and as a result, where I am now? If it turns out that she had no prior knowledge of the letters, it’s going to be quite a shock.’

‘I agree,’ I grimaced, thinking it wasn’t a conversation I would want to have. It had the potential to change her entire opinion of the man she was married to. ‘But if your father discovers you’ve taken the letters and then accuses her of being involved…’

Thomas Alford struck me as the kind of man who wouldn’t think twice about throwing his weight around. He didn’t sound like a good match for Josh’s mum at all. I had a sudden vision of a woman who had never lived the life she had dreamed of. Rather she was someone who had bobbed along in her husband’s wake. I hoped the image was wrong.

‘You’re right,’ Josh said gloomily as he distractedly ran a hand through his hair. ‘I know you are. I’ll talk to Mum as soon as I can.’

‘And can I talk to my parents too?’ I asked. ‘They’re still,’ I chose my next words with care, ‘keen to protect Algy, but if they knew the reason why you hadn’t come straight here when you arrived in Wynmouth, I’m sure they’d… stand down.’

Josh gave a wry smile and I guessed the subtlety I’d aimed for hadn’t quite hit its mark.

‘I agree that they, and everyone else who still thinks I’m on the make, should at least know that I’m planning to stay and work alongside Algy.’ I winced at the way he’d described what the doubters were thinking, even though the definition was right. ‘But I think it should come from me, rather than you.’

‘If you’re sure?’

‘I am,’ he said with a nod, sounding resolute. ‘Let me talk to Algy and we’ll come up with a plan for where and when.’

‘Are you here to help?’ I asked Dad when he appeared in the walled garden later that morning, as a queue of bloom seekers was beginning to form.

‘I’m not actually,’ he said. ‘I’m here to issue an invitation.’

‘Ooh, you sound like Alan Rickman playing Colonel Brandon,’ gushed the woman at the front of the line as she fanned herself with her sunhat.

‘Who?’ Dad frowned.

‘Never mind,’ I laughed, knowing exactly the scene inSense and Sensibilityshe was referring to.

While the woman and her friend discussed the merits of Alan Rickman versus David Morrissey in the role of Colonel Brandon on screen, I quickly carried on talking to Dad.

‘To lunch or dinner?’ I guessed.

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