Page 108 of The Cornish Cream Tea Holiday
‘Kissed and made up,’ Thea finished, though the truth was that on her last night in Port Karadow, in the bedroom of Oystercatcher Cottage, whichdidhave a double bed in it but not much else, they’d done a lot more than kiss.
‘Exactly,’ Ben said, the reminder of that night heating his expression just as it was Thea’s blood. ‘Well, after that, my design plans for this place changed slightly.’
‘You mean you started thinking about it with me in mind? Anticipating that I’d be living here with you?’ She’d laughed, because that had been too soon, surely.
But Ben didn’t join in with her laughter, and she’d realised he was serious. ‘Yes,’ was all he’d said, and Thea had felt a flood of happiness, of rightness and contentment that, even back then, when their relationship had only just got over a big hurdle, and was as fresh and new as the five a.m. sun, he’d wanted a future with her.
And now, standing in front of what would soon be her bookshop, that future had become the present.
‘No sign of any bats?’ Ben asked, pulling slowly away from her, so they could both look up at the Old Post House.
‘Nope,’ Thea said. ‘Mr Parker’s methods have done the trick. Since he gave us a bat-free bill of health, there hasn’t been a single flap of vampiric wings.’
‘Good to know,’ Ben replied, and she could hear the smile in his voice.
Mr Parker the bat man had been efficient and focused, but his eccentricities – including singing old music hall songs while he worked, something his small team seemed inured to – had made Thea both warm to him and question her choice of specialist. But, it turned out, he loved bats and old buildings, and was dedicated to protecting both.
After the first day, Thea had felt comfortable enough to leave him and his team of experts to it, and it hadn’t been long before their work was declared a success. Now the building team were ensuring the refurbished roof had no holes to encourage them back, and she had full confidence that they were doing a good job.
Soon, the Old Post House would be reborn as Thea’s bookshop.
‘What about the name?’ Ben asked. His tone was gentle, but it gave her a burst of anxiety, because they had spenthourstalking about this incredibly crucial element, and she still hadn’t decided. It was actually happening, and she didn’t have a clue what to call it.
‘Same as ever,’ she said.
‘That’s a strange name for a bookshop.’
She turned towards him, and before he had a chance to escape, she tickled his ribs. She had discovered that he wasveryticklish there, and an assault had been known to make him yelp. He twisted away from her, but she moved quickly, and when the foreman drove into the space in front of the building, followed by two more vans, Thea had her boyfriend backed up against the hedge, trying to protect himself while she tickled him mercilessly. It was not the most professional greeting, but Thea knew Mike, a burly man who always had a pencil behind his ear, well enough now, that she was sure he wouldn’t mind.
‘Any issues, boss?’ he asked her, tipping his head in a nod. Anisha was really who he answered to, but Thea liked being seen as important.
‘No,’ she said. ‘I’m just finding it hard to stay away, now it’s so close to being done.’
‘A few more weeks, and all being well it’ll be time to hand it over.’
‘Really?’ Excitement was a solid lump in her throat. ‘That’s … thank you.’
‘All credit to the team,’ Mike said. ‘We’re finishing the floor today, so if you want to come back tomorrow, I can give you the tour.’
Thea glanced at Ben, and could see her own happiness mirrored in his eyes. ‘I would love that, thank you.’
She knew she needed to let them get on, so after saying hello to Mike’s team, she and Ben left them to it, getting into his van.
‘Where to?’ he asked, his hands on the steering wheel, Scooter trying to climb onto Thea’s lap. ‘Lunch in town?’
She shook her head. ‘No, I don’t think …’
‘Home, then? I could knock us up some killer sandwiches, then finish the tiling in the downstairs bathroom.’
‘Tiling? I could help with that.’
Ben grinned. ‘You’d have a job fitting in there with me, but I think …’ He stared out of the windscreen, looking thoughtful. ‘I think we could make it work, one way or another.’
They drove through Port Karadow, the September sunshine dusting it with an extra layer of beauty, although Thea knew that, even on the greyest days, it had so much to recommend it. Despite only being here for a few weekends since her solo holiday, she was on friendly terms with so many of the locals already: Anisha and Nick, Finn’s aunt Laurie, Max in Sea Brew, and Adrian in Cornish Keepsakes. She and Ben had agreed to go to dinner at Marie and Sylvia’s house next week, and Thea was expecting to have to take photos of the Old Post House with her, to satisfy the old woman’s inevitable questions. But she didn’t mind at all: she already felt part of the community, and she hoped, more than anything, that she could pay everyone’s kindness back with her bookshop.
The sea sparkled to their right as they hit the coast road, the blues vibrant, the grass along the clifftop thick andwind-blown, and soon the twin cottages came into sight. Thea noticed a car parked in front of Sunfish Cottage, and wondered who the latest holidaymakers were, and what had motivated them to choose Port Karadow in September. She put her hand on Ben’s knee.
‘OK?’ he asked.
