Page 34 of The Bookshop at the Cornish Cove

‘Funnily enough that’s what I was just thinking. I’ve always driven down to Nan’s and parked up at the harbour side outside her house. So it’s only been when I’ve been out walking with Gladys that I’ve seen more than ever before – and I’ve been coming here for years to visit Nan.’

‘It’s strange that we’ve never really bumped into each other before really.’

‘Well, to be truthful, I don’t normally get that involved in the village life. Since I’ve been working, I’ve not been to stay with Nan for much longer than a weekend at a time. I’ve always been too busy to stay for longer. But it’s actually really rather lovely. I’m loving it more by the day.’

I turned to him and found he was staring at me. I didn’t want to presume anything here, but it felt like we really hada connection again. I had felt it when I first met him, on that day when we collided and it wasn’t until he started dishing out the advice to me that I started to feel differently. Maybe it was because I felt like he was criticising me when all he was trying to do was help. There was a bit of me now thinking that it was just a communication issue. Like in most cases in life.

We locked eyes.

‘Maybe you’ll come and stay again.’

‘Maybe I will.’

We both grinned at each other like lunatics.

‘Come on, slowcoach. Race you to the next stop.’

As we cycled around the wide coastal path side by side, we settled into a more relaxed pace and I pointed out some landmarks to him as we travelled. Finally, we reached a bench and we stopped. My bike, with its basket on the front, might look like the bike of a little old lady, but it was actually incredibly practical and Dennis was impressed when I handed him a bottle of water and started to unpack a picnic blanket and some food packages.

‘Wouldn’t it have been easier to pack them in plastic bags?’ he asked, looking at the wraps I’d used.

‘Easier, yes maybe. But environmentally friendly, no. I try where possible to limit the amount of plastic I use. These are made of beeswax. You can swill them and use them time and time again. Much better for the world.’

‘Oh yes, I suppose it is. I’m so much better informed now, Nancy. I did some reading last night about how we can all do our bit. There are lots of things that I think I could do and I wondered if you’d mind me running the ideas by you.’

He was now talking my kind of language and once on this topic, I could go on for hours.

‘Just stop me when I’m boring you,’ I said as I passed him a packet of sandwiches.

He unwrapped them and grinned. ‘Have you made me chicken and stuffing sandwiches? These are my favourite.’

‘I know they are. Mum said that your nan is always talking about you and your favourite.’

‘Oh my God! Chicken crisps too! You are spoiling me.’

‘Yep, that made me laugh because I thought that I was the only person in the world that loved chicken crisps. But now there’s two of us.’

‘We’re clearly made for each other.’

I turned my head but he was looking down at his sandwiches and I wondered if I’d imagined what he’d.

He started to tell me about his ideas to be more sustainable.

‘Maybe I’ll buy myself a bike and stop using my car so much.’

‘That seems like a waste of money if you’re not stopping long.’

‘Well, maybe there might be a reason to come back a bit more often.’

This time, it was my turn to look down at my sandwich. Did he mean me? Was I reading this the right way?

I looked up and our eyes locked again. This kept happening. It was almost like he had a magnet that was pulling my eyes towards him. Much as I liked him, the emotions that he had stirred up within me were ones that I was feeling uncomfortable with. I was quite happy on my own, in my own little world. Love brings complications with it. I saw that every day when I looked at my brother and his relationship with his girlfriend. She was demanding and high maintenance and he spent his life doing things he didn’t want to do, just to make her happy. That wasn’t the sort of relationship I wanted. I wanted the dream that my parents had. Years of being with someone who loved you for being you. I knew deep down that my brother wasn’t the best role model, but it was the only one I had apart from Mum and Dad. Dan’s was the one that I knew wasn’t right. But when Iquestioned him about it, he always said that that was just the way love was and that it was better to be with someone who loved you, like she loved him, than being on your own. He was happy to make all the compromises.

Their relationship had put me off and was one of the main reasons why I wasn’t looking for anyone in my life. I was busy enough – with my beach angel work, my bookshop, and the other stuff that I did in the community. I didn’t really have the time or energy for anyone in my life. And certainly didn’t have the time or energy for anyone who didn’t even live here. A holiday romance was not my thing at all. Even if he was a Gozzer lookalike.

My mood was pensive when I packed the food back into the pannier. We were just about to ride off when I peeked over at Dennis. He was gazing out to sea and the gentle wind was blowing his normally gelled-back hair, and it almost looked fluffy after he’d been wearing a helmet for the last two hours. Some women were lucky that their hair fell into gorgeous natural waves when they shook their head out of a hat. Sadly, I was not one of them. I was more the type whose hair was stuck to their head, and looked hot and sweaty, so it was a good job I wasn’t trying to impress anyone.

I got my phone out of my cross-body bag and took an inconspicuous shot of Dennis. His eyes were closed and he was letting the wind wrap itself around him. I’d never seen him look so relaxed and happy. The next time he told me he didn’t know how to have fun, I would remind him of this moment.

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