Page 38 of The Forever Cottage

Tess shook her head and Nico nodded his agreement. She didn’t want to spoil the evening with talk about Charles. It only made her angry and tonight was all about getting out and enjoying herself. Thankfully, Nico must have been of the same mindset because he deftly swerved the topic onto Tess’s recent holiday and their conversation took a more upbeat tone.

‘I went to Annecy many years ago,’ Nico told her, ‘but clearly remember how beautiful it was. You’ve reminded me, it’s probably time for a return visit one of these days.’

‘Yes, you should. We all said we’d love to go back. There’s so much to do there, if you enjoy walking and outdoor activities.’

The tapas dishes kept arriving and it felt intimate and enjoyable to be sharing food, commenting on the flavours, their favourites and what they might have chosen instead, seeing alternatives plates of food being delivered to neighbouring tables.

‘Well, there’s always next time…’ said Nico, with a questioning expression, to which Tess dropped her gaze and smiled.

After coffees and a nightcap of an Irish cream liquor for Tess, Nico requested the bill and Tess was quick to suggest they split it.

‘Absolutely not. It was my invitation so it’s my treat.’

‘Thank you. That’s really kind of you.’

They left the restaurant and instead of going straight back to the car, they wandered through the cobbled streets of the old town. Nico offered his arm and Tess gladly looped hers through his. A sense of warm familiarity washed over her. It felt good to have a man’s presence alongside her, even if it was just an arm to hang on to. She’d missed Charles’s physical presence, the way it had made her feel, but with the cool air of the evening highlighting her senses, she wondered if she was mistaking that sense of familiarity for something more. Nico was a lovely guy, who had proved to be a good friend to her, but she wasn’t sure that she would want it to be any more than that.

‘Oh look,’ she said, dropping her arm from his and walking across to a gift shop that had an eclectic display of quirky items in the window. ‘I love that!’ She pointed out a colourful plush llama cushion.

‘That is great fun!’ agreed Nico, although Tess wasn’t sure if he was simply being polite. She knew with a certainty that Charles would have hated it and would have remarked on how tacky it was. She supposed over the years, she’d dampened down her style choices to align with Charles’s, so that the cottage looked very tasteful and effortlessly stylish like something from a glossy home magazine. Now she had carte blanche to make a few more outlandish purchases, she realised, vowing to come back to buy the cushion another day.

It had been a delightful evening and Tess had enjoyed getting to know Nico a little bit better. The funny thing was, the more she stepped out of her comfort zone, the more she was learning about herself too.

* * *

Back at Hollyhocks Cottage, Tess climbed out of the car, her gaze immediately searching out the annexe, feeling a sense of relief and security at seeing the lights on, knowing that Rob would be inside.

Nico escorted her to the back door. Momentarily, she considered inviting him inside for a coffee but quickly discarded the idea.

‘Thank you so much for a lovely evening. I’ve really enjoyed it,’ she said truthfully.

‘It’s been my pleasure entirely. Perhaps we can do it again sometime?’ Nico offered.

‘Yes,’ she said instinctively, her head swimming.

Nico stepped forward and placed his hands on the top of her arms, kissing her lightly on the cheek. She stepped into his embrace and returned his kiss to the side of his face, enjoying again the sensation of being wrapped in his arms, feeling his strong, physical presence and being taken by the warm, earthy tones of his aftershave. The combination took her to another place and time, and it would have been so easy to turn her face up to his, to invite his kiss, but instead, she pulled away, eager to get indoors now.

‘Thanks again,’ she called to Nico, turning to go inside, noticing as she did a movement behind the blinds of the annexe, before the lights were extinguished.

28

‘All I’m saying, darling, is that you can’t avoid your father forever.’

It was the following morning and Tess had been looking forward to her weekly dose of sunshine from Hannah, but it seemed that, unusually, there were dark clouds over her part of the world, judging by her demeanour.

‘I could try,’ said Hannah airily through the computer screen. ‘Every time I think about him and what he’s done, I get really cross. All the time I’m out here, I don’t need to think about him.’

‘I do understand, but your dad only wants to talk you. He’s missing you. We all are.’

Hannah stuck out her bottom lip, reminding Tess of the cute toddler she’d once been.

‘Are you, really?’

‘What? Of course we are. What’s the matter, Hannah? Has something happened? Are things okay with Billy?’

‘Yes, they’re fine,’ she said quickly, running a hand through her long, mousey-blonde hair, which had been lightened by her time spent in the sun. ‘I’m just tired, I suppose, and missing home.’

She might be thousands of miles away, but that didn’t stop Tess from seeing how vulnerable her daughter was feeling. What wouldn’t she give to step inside the screen and give Hannah a big hug. She suspected they could both do with one right at the moment.

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