Page 36 of Finding Love in Micklewick Bay

‘You okay?’ Alex asked, concern drawing his brows together.

She nodded, feeling silly for overreacting. ‘Yeah, just thought we’d better get out of the way of such a determined walk. Sounded like he was going to trample us.’ She laughed hoping to make light of it, but she could see from his expression he wasn’t buying it.

At eight thirty, the top prom was still teeming with people, the air balmy. A lone seagull was perched on the railings, letting vent to its feelings with a screeching cry. A moment later, it had taken flight before swooping on an unsuspecting man who was sitting on a bench looking out to sea while he tucked into a portion of fish and chips. The man sat in disbelief for several moments, looking at his empty lap where his fish and chips had been only seconds before, all those around him, including Stella and Alex, hooting with laughter.

The excitement over, the couple strode along hand-in-hand, Alex regaling her with tales of his surfing disasters. ‘I was seriously,seriouslybad for ages. I got pretty close to giving up until one day it just seemed to click. I love it now, though I don’t get as much time to put my surfboard to use as I’d like.’

‘You should make time, if you enjoy it,’ she said.

‘True.’ He smiled down at her, before pressing a kiss to the side of her head and pulling her close to him.

This feels good.

Soon, they were back at their apartment building, loitering on the landing between their doors.

‘Can I tempt you in for a drink?’ Alex asked.

Much as the offer was tempting, Stella found herself saying, ‘Not tonight, thanks, Alex. It’s been a really lovely evening but I’m suddenly feeling shattered. Think I’ll get an early night.’

He nodded. ‘I totally understand. I dare say today will have been emotionally exhausting for you.’ He reached out and squeezed her shoulders. ‘Can I ask though, is everything okay? It’s just you seemed a bit edgy when we were walkingback, checking over your shoulder all the time. There’s nothing worrying you, is there?’

‘Oh, no. Not at all. I wasn’t aware I was doing that.’ She hadn’t realised she’d been so obvious. ‘Sorry to have worried you.’

‘No need to apologise.’ His face broke out into a smile. ‘But if you feel you need a finely tuned killing-machine to protect you, Fred’s your man. Don’t be fooled by his happy-go-lucky exterior, I can assure you it belies the highly trained protector beneath. He’s not known as “The Assassin” for nothing.’

Stella fell into a fit of the giggles as she conjured up an image of Fred in his role as protector. ‘I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.’

‘You do that.’ Alex’s expression turned serious. ‘You know where I am if you need to talk, or if there’s anything causing you concern. You’ve got my mobile number, you can call me any time, day or night.’ He stepped closer, closing the gap between them and took her face in his hands.

‘Thanks, Alex.’ She gazed up into those deep-blue eyes, wondering if she’d been right to turn down his offer of a drink. In the next moment his lips were on hers, sending a whoosh of emotions shooting right through her. Butterflies swooped and dived inside her and her knees buckled. The intensity of his kiss literally took her breath away. By the time they pulled apart she half-expected to find herself in a molten puddle on the floor.Wow!This was a whole new experience for her.

‘Thanks for an awesome evening. I’ll see you tomorrow.’ He gave a lopsided smile as he headed for his door.

‘See you tomorrow,’ she said, though her heart was screaming for him to come back, that she’d changed her mind and wanted to join him for that drink, and so much more.

It was unlike Stella not to give in to her urges, to resist the prospect of falling into bed with Alex – her usual mantra that “it’s only sex” not seeming to fit her feelings for him. What shehad with him – though she wasn’t fooling herself, this was early days – felt so very different to her previous encounters, which were no more than dalliances. She shared something with Alex she’d never shared with anyone before; they had aconnection. She’d already accepted that her feelings went way deeper than simply fancying him – which she did, like crazy. If she’d gone to bed with him tonight, which she was sure was where they were destined to end up, it would have felt no different to her usual dates, the ones where she’d had no emotional attachment. And she badly wanted it to be different with Alex, wanted to treat what was blossoming between them with care; nurture it. Though it scared her if she thought too much about it, she sensed Alex was going to be someone special in her life, if she’d let him. And that was the crucial thing,ifshe’d let him.

Stella woke with a start, sitting bolt upright, her heart hurling itself against her chest. She glanced around to see her bedroom was in darkness thanks to the thick curtains at her window. She lay still for a few moments, listening, but all she could hear was the sound of her pulse thudding in her ears. Reaching for her alarm clock on the bedside table she saw it was one fifty a.m. What could have woken her at this hour?

Easing the sheet back, she climbed out of bed and tiptoed across the floor in her silk nightdress, her steps muffled by the thick carpet. Opening the bedroom door a crack, she paused, listening hard, her breathing sounding noisy in the silence.

Hearing nothing untoward, she slipped through the door and into the hallway, inching towards the living area. A loud thud out on the balcony made her start and set her already racing heart galloping frantically.

Reasoning with herself that she lived two-storeys up and no one would be able to access her apartment from outside, she tiptoed over to the balcony window, peering through a gap in the curtains. It was impossible to see anything so, feeling bold, she flicked the switch for the outside lights and opened the curtains a little wider.

Relief washed over her as her eyes alighted on one of the outdoor seats that had blown over. ‘Oh, thank goodness,’ she said, pressing her hand to her chest. She’d deal with it in the morning. On the other side of the road, a car flicked its lights on and slowly drove away. It sent a shiver running through her. If she wasn’t mistaken, under the glow of the vintage streetlight, it looked like the same kind of vehicle that had been tailing her when she’d driven out to the moors. ‘It’s just your imagination playing up,’ she told herself before turning out the light and heading back to her bedroom, doing all she could to convince herself she was right.

TWENTY-TWO

Wednesday dawned with rain beating against the windows, the blue skies of the last week replaced with sullen grey clouds. Stella peered through the glass of the balcony door. The sea was dark and brooding, waves hurling themselves at the shore culminating in a mass of spray and foam. It was the perfect sort of day to stay indoors and attend to her paperwork. She also intended to delve a little further into tracing her father. The internet was bound to churn up something about him if she looked hard enough.

Her mind went to her mum and the realisation that she’d be seeing her tonight at the auction at The Cellar. Pim too. She closed her eyes, marshalling her thoughts. It was going to be difficult to resist the temptation to say something to either of them. She’d gone from her family consisting of no more than her and her mum, to suddenly knowing the name of her father and potentially being related to Pim. That took some sinking in.

She was distracted by her mobile phone ringing and snatched it up from the kitchen worktop. ‘Hi, Allegra.’

‘Hello, Miss Hutton, I just wanted to let you know the CPS have been on and booked you as junior in a murder brief. It’s the case that’s been making the headlines here recently, the one withthe man who’d been on the run. The silk for the prosecution is Aiken Ferdinand. Thought you’d like to know.’

A thrill ran through her. It was always a boost to be briefed in such a high-profile case. ‘Thanks, Allegra, I appreciate that. Do you know when I should be getting the brief?’

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