Page 52 of The Bookshop at the Cornish Cove

My heart felt like it had been replaced by a piece of lead. The man who I thought was so right for me had turned out to be so wrong. How on earth did I manage to bugger this up in such epic proportions? Was I such a bad judge of character? Did I just not see the truth when it was right in front of me? Why on earth would someone who earned hundreds of thousands of pounds each year, who lived in a swanky penthouse apartment in the City of London, be interested in little old me? Numpty Nancy strikes again.

‘Why don’t you just listen to what he has to say?’ Mum suggested. ‘Give him a chance to explain?’

‘Seriously, Mum! Seriously?’

‘Maybe Craig got the wrong end of the stick. All I’m saying is hear him out.’

I quickly bashed out a return message.

I have nothing to say to you. Do not contact me again. Take your twatty mate and fuck off back to London. You don’t belong here, Dennis. We’re way too good for the likes of you. Go to hell.

And then I blocked his number from my phone.

31

I didn’t know how I was going to afford it, but I was going to have to shut the shop while I cleared my head. I didn’t know how long it was going to take but I needed to get away and the only place I could think of was the cabin in the woods that Dan was staying in. It was the perfect escape. Dennis had no idea where it was and I had sworn Mum, Dad and Dan to secrecy. Under no circumstances whatsoever did I want Dennis to know where to find me.

My poor bruised and battered heart needed to heal and I couldn’t do that with the eyes of Driftwood Bay upon me. I knew I’d get over Dennis in time. Everyone did get over heartbreak, I wasn’t naive enough to know that I’d be broken forever, but he’d done a very good job of damaging it. What better place to be than with my brother. Us looking after each other like old times.

When I arrived home on the night of the launch, the indent of Dennie’s head and his scent were still on my pillow. That upset me more than I ever thought possible. Mum sat with me and stroked my head to try to get me to nod off and eventually I did, although my sleep was so very restless that night.

Dan took me over to the lodge early the next morning.

For the first two days, I finally surrendered to sleep, only getting up to go into my en suite or to accept the food Dan had left me. My appetite had gone, I didn’t fancy anything at all, and quite ungratefully, only picked at what he made me. I just felt constantly nauseous.

On day three, there was a loud knock on my bedroom door.

‘Right, sis. What would you say to me if I was lying in my pit wallowing over Sabrina?’

He plonked himself down on the bed and I could feel it go down with his weight. I buried myself under the covers but he swiped them away and I felt arms scoop me up.

He carried me into the lounge area despite my protestations.

‘Put me down, you dickhead.’

‘Nope!’

He opened the door to the decking area while still manoeuvring me around. The cold wind whipped around my ears and he put me down on the wet floor.

As he closed the door behind me, he winked and grinned.

‘You git!’

‘Language, Nancy!’

And then he closed the curtains so he couldn’t see me any more.

I’d forgotten what an idiot my brother could be. In our youth, he’d done several stupid stunts like this. He used to sometimes come into my room and tell me it was snowing. I’d jump out of bed to look and it wasn’t at all. It was just his daft sense of humour. I remembered how much fun we’d had as teenagers. He may well have teased me constantly and wound me up but we were as thick as thieves and as well as being my brother, he was also my best friend and I adored him. That’s why the way Sabrina treated him affected me so much and I hated to see her taking him for a mug. I realised also that this was the first timein the last few days that I’d thought of someone else apart from Dennis. Maybe this short sharp shock was exactly what I needed.

Banging on the door and shouting ‘I’m cold’ only resulted in the door being opened and a throw being thrust at me. The door closed again as quickly as it opened. I noticed that someone, presumably my brother, had wiped the furniture down, put the cushions out and had placed a cup of tea in a thermal mug on the table. There was a parcel wrapped up in tin foil too. My curiosity got the better of me and I sat and unwrapped it, smiling from ear to ear when I saw the bacon sandwich inside. He knew me so well.

As I draped the throw around me and devoured the sandwich – made just as I liked it; well done on crusty freshly made tiger bread with red sauce – my heart swelled with love for my brother. Maybe he knew me better than I knew myself. Maybe this was just what I needed.

Around me, I noticed that there was a coating of frost on the ground, yet the sun was shining high in the sky, giving it a slight heat, and the blue sky above was such a contrast to the lush green grass and the trees which surrounded the cabin. Squirrels scampered along the balustrade around the decking, brave and hoping that I might drop a crumb. I know people always said they were vermin and no better than rats but with their cute faces and bushy tails they were far cuter and more acceptable.

The last bite of the sandwich was amazing. I hadn’t realised how very hungry I was.

I knocked on the door.

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