Page 33 of The Bookshop at the Cornish Cove

‘You have got to be kidding me.’

‘Nope, you said I could do with you what I wanted.’

‘Yeah, but that didn’t include this.’

‘Ah, you promised, Dennie. Remember, Dennie is a fun-loving guy! You’re not going to let me down after all this, are you? You’re not going to back down?’

‘I most certainly am not. I’m no quitter!’

‘Glad to hear it. Right, come and take this from me then and let’s go.’

I laughed as Dennis tried to mount my brother’s bike. It was a similar size to mine, so I knew he’d be fine on it. I could feel his fresh minty breath on my face as I helped him fasten the helmet under his chin. Embarrassed by our closeness, I moved as fast as I could to get away from him and how warm he was making me feel.

‘Right, come on then. You ready?’

‘Yep, let’s go!’

When I glanced back at him, wobbling from side to side, he looked like a little boy learning to ride for the very first time.

‘Christ, I haven’t ridden a bike for literally years.’

‘You’ll be fine,’ I shouted over my shoulder. ‘It’s, literally, like riding a bike.’

‘Oh, you’re so funny. Whoa!’ He wobbled and leaned the bike on one side, balancing it with his foot which was closest to the floor. ‘Right, I’m ready, just go and I’ll follow you.’

I started to pedal and we just did a little gentle ride round the harbour wall to get him used to it. I kept turning to look back, and he looked more confident every time. Trust me to pick someone who’s naturally good at everything he does. Now there’s a thought.

Back to earth, Nancy.

I could, however, immediately tell that Dennis was definitely not one to give up. He was someone who would persevere until he mastered something and it wasn’t long before he was riding beside me and chatting comfortably about the things he was seeing around the bay. Before long, I had stopped at the top of the cliff waiting for him to catch me up. He wasn’t that far behind me but it gave me time to catch my own breath. I was trying to prove a point that I was happy to do this all the time.

‘Wow. This is kind of amazing,’ Dennis said when he’d caught me up. ‘Thanks, Nancy.’

‘Told you it’d be something you’d enjoy. It’s fun, isn’t it?’

‘It is, although if you’d asked me to come on a bike ride with you, I probably wouldn’t have agreed.’

‘That’s why I didn’t tell you.’

‘You know me so well already.’

I smiled at him, thinking about how my mum said he’d be full of layers. I hardly knew Dennis but it was kind of fun learning about what made him tick. We were such different characters that I knew we wouldn’t always see eye to eye on everything but we could definitely teach each other things that we might need to learn, even if those were things like having fun.

‘The bay looks stunning from up here. And I’m blooming roasting.’ He took his helmet off and hung it over the handlebars and pulled at the bottom of his Tommy Hilfiger hoody to drag it over his head. Unfortunately for him – but fortunately for me – he also pulled at the bottom of his T-shirt and gave me a glimpse of a rather defined stomach. I had to tear my eyes away but not until he’d noticed my raised eyebrows.

He patted himself.

‘Been working on getting my six-pack back after Nan told me I was looking a bit porky. Been back in the gym before work, and if I get time at night, I try to get a run in too.’

‘Do you like exercise?’

‘Not really. It’s just a necessity, isn’t it?’

‘I’m not one for the gym to be honest. It’s all a bit boring and repetitive.’

‘It is but that’s kind of the point.’

‘I’d rather be on my bike,’ I said. ‘I love taking in the countryside, noticing things about the place I’ve lived in all my life that most people don’t see when they’re driving.’

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