Page 45 of Best Summer Ever

‘No,’ I said rather loudly, making him wince.

‘I’m sorry,’ he apologised, after a moment had passed. ‘I’m so sorry, Daisy. That comment, and the offer of the book, was insensitive. I should have realised…’

I felt even worse then. I should have just taken the book and hidden it away, then given it back once enough time had passed for him to believe I’d read it. Re-read it.

‘It’s all right,’ I started to say, wanting to make amends for upsetting my dear friend, who obviously hadn’t meant to upset me.

‘No, it isn’t,’ he tutted. ‘And I am truly sorry. But, do you ever wonder—’

‘No,’ I cut in again, suddenly feeling less forgiving. ‘Never.’

Though, in recent days, I had started to…

Chapter 11

The next morning, Penny’s last day of the summer term and the day she needed me to take in the Sunshine Café deliveries, dawned sunny and bright with warm sun streaming through the gap in my bedroom curtains.

I kicked off the sheet I had been sleeping under, with a strong desire to make the most of the hours I had before I needed to become a helpful friend. I was also determined to push the painful memories that had been dredged up the day before further to the back of my mind.

I hadn’t appreciated Algy’s misguided deep dive into the past and considered the best way to forget what it had flagged was to focus entirely on the present. I knew he hadn’t meant any harm, but it didn’t follow that none had been done.

With it all still bubbling away, I didn’t want to talk to Mum or Dad and ducked out early, having left them a note explaining my absence before heading into Wynmouth.

‘I know you’re in there, Josh!’ I called through the cottage letterbox, feeling frustratingly thwarted in my determination to make amends. ‘Come on, open up!’

‘Actually, he isn’t,’ said a voice behind me and I yelped as Itrapped the ends of my fingers in the letterbox as it snapped shut.

‘George…’

‘Hello, my dear. You’re about early, aren’t you?’

‘Lots to do,’ I said briskly. ‘Is Josh really not at home?’

‘No, he’s not,’ he confirmed, looking at me questioningly as Skipper tugged on his lead. ‘He’s in the sea, swimming like he’s competing in an Olympic final. My guess is he’s got something on his mind.’

I would have guessed that, too.

‘Thanks, George,’ I said, abandoning the cottage, ignoring the pain in my fingers and striding off down to the beach.

I soon found Josh’s towel and clothes, and sat crossed-legged on the sand, waiting for him to emerge as I more clearly formulated what it was that I was going to say.

‘Here goes,’ I breathed, when he eventually strode out of the sea like Neptune on a good day.

He halted when he saw me, a frown knitting his brows, and I ran my sweaty palms down my shorts. Clearly, the sting of my blunder in the pub hadn’t subsided.

‘Hey,’ I brightly said, when he was close enough to hear, the word catching in my throat.

‘Hey,’ he responded dully, reaching around me for his towel.

‘Did you enjoy your swim?’ I asked as I jumped up.

‘What do you want, Daisy?’ he shot back as he rubbed his hair.

‘To apologise, of course.’ I swallowed. ‘To say how sorry I am for assuming that you had told Sam that we’d spent the night together and for putting you in the same dickhead pigeonhole that I’ve recently shoved my ex in.’

It was hardly an eloquent apology, but it was the truth. I had assumed that because the last man in my life had treated me with such little respect, the next one might too, and that had been a mistake.

‘Anything else?’ Josh asked, swiping the towel over his chest and down his arms.

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