Page 129 of Sunrise By the Sea

This speech took her totally by surprise. She felt the flush rise in her again, but this time it was something else; not humiliation. Something else. The ice that had flooded her veins started to melt.

‘So.’

He was still seated, his hands now outstretched in a gesture of supplication.

‘. . . Marisa,’ he finished finally.

Very, very slowly and nervously she walked closer towards him, not breaking eye contact.

‘I—’

‘Enough,’ she said finally.

And very carefully she climbed on to his knees, sitting sideways on his lap. He was so solid. He felt like a mountain she could climb. Something immutable; that she could lean on absolutely.

With one hand she pressed a finger to his mouth.

‘Be quiet.’

And then she traced those wide lips, hard and soft at the same time, so ready to laugh, to shout, to sing.

‘Sssh,’ she said again, and leaned in and she could feel the beating of his heart, as big as the rest of him, under his shirt, and gently, carefully, traced his lips with her own, tiny brushing kisses, teasing him, light as a butterfly.

‘Argh.’ He made a groaning sound from somewhere deep inside himself. ‘No,’ he said. ‘For me, that will not do.’

And with a sudden jerk, his hands pulled her closer to him, much closer; he put one of his huge hands on the side of her head, where it cradled her face, and he bent down and kissed her so fully and deeply and hard and with such intent that every other kiss she had ever had suddenly felt as if they dissolved into nothing in the sea because this – this was full colour, full-hearted; this was everything and he was right. He was all or nothing. The heart and the soul and the passion that came out in his playing; that was everything he was, in everything he did. And suddenly he was everything she had ever wanted, more than anything. And he kissed her all better.

Chapter Seventy-nine

The twins just about got to the end of ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ at more or less the same time. Huckle glanced up at Polly, who was going through the post, now Jayden had managed to take over so many shifts at the bakery.

‘I’m not sure,’ he said, ‘that they’re genuinely massive prodigies.’

‘I LOVE MY PIANO,’ shouted Avery loudly and they let them play it again.

‘Goodness,’ Polly said, and handed over the letter she’d just opened. Huckle stared at it, then whistled.

‘Why is Reuben doing this?’

‘He isn’t – his lawyers are insisting. If we promise never to sue – which we never would—’

‘I would,’ said Huckle furiously.

‘Well. Anyway,’ said Polly.

He looked at it again.

‘That’s a lot of new windows,’ she said. ‘And OMG a boiler. OMG. Water pressure in the shower.’

‘Oh my God,’ said Huckle.

‘I think we each need one piano,’ said Daisy seriously.

‘YES! MORE PIANO!’ said Avery, banging his little fists ferociously on the old upright.

‘Oh lord,’ said Polly. ‘But also, you know . . .’

‘What?’

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