Page 99 of The Cornish Cream Tea Holiday
Chapter Twenty-Six
It was Thea’s last full day in Cornwall, and her life had changed. She had the premises for the bookshop of her dreams, and was a signature away from leasing the most beautiful, historic building in Port Karadow. Still, she couldn’t stop thinking about Ben.
She had approached him the day before, hoping to tell him about her conversation with Anisha, but he’d turned his back on her to talk to Stan, and that simple gesture had told her all she needed to know. He still believed she’d been dishonest, and had no interest in reconciling with her. The realisation that he’d gone out on Stan’s boat again – presumably to get fish for his barbecue – had made her feel even worse, because she and her friends had been the reason that first trip had been a disaster.
When Meredith had called her that evening to congratulate her, then to plan their attendance at the barbecue, Thea had been reluctant.
‘I don’t want to put him off,’ she’d explained.
‘Please come,’ Meredith had said. ‘You’ll be in the crowd and he can ignore you if he wants to – he’ll be busy working alongside Marcus – but I think he’d still be touched if you were there. He won’t have forgotten it’s the last day of your holiday. And you need to tell him you’re moving here. It might make all the difference.’
Thea didn’t think anything would make a difference now, and the last thing she wanted to do was put Ben off his stride at such an important event, but she didn’t want to stay inside and mope on her last day.
Esme wasn’t in the bed when she woke up and, assuming she was in the bathroom, Thea put on her dressing gown and pushed the bedroom door open. She would go and make a cup of tea, soak up the beautiful view so the memory could keep her going until the next time she was in Cornwall.
She stepped onto the landing, keeping her movements quiet in case Alex was still asleep, then noticed his door opening. Thea watched as Esme emerged, wearing her summer pyjamas. Her friend closed the door gently, turned around, and gasped when she saw Thea, her eyes widening in surprise.
‘T-Thea,’ she whispered.
‘Esme?’ Thea’s thoughts were sluggish, as if they were browsing through all the unlikely, absurd reasons Esme might be coming out of Alex’s room rather than alight on the obvious one. ‘Are you and … and—’
Esme exhaled. ‘Can we have a chat?’ she asked. ‘Let’s … take coffees out to the cliff. There’s a bench there, isn’t there?’
‘There is.’ Thea had put her rucksack on it when she was mere minutes from the cottage on the way back fromthat first, demoralising walk. It was easier to think about that, to replay her holiday memories rather than hone in on what was happening, what she’d missed, even though it was right under her nose. She felt stunned – just like Stan had stunned those fish, she thought, as she went back into the bedroom to get dressed, leaving Esme to wait outside on the landing.
They sat side by side on the bench, the pale, early light and the soft breeze flooding Thea’s senses. Ahead of them, beyond the patchy grass, was miles of blue. It was mesmerising, but right now she couldn’t fully appreciate it.
‘Lovely morning,’ Esme said brightly, then blew on her coffee.
‘Very.’ Thea had no idea what else to say. She didn’t have to wait long for her friend to fill the gap.
‘So, here’s the thing,’ Esme said. ‘The reason that Alex came with me to Cornwall, rather than me coming on my own—’
‘I think I’ve worked it out,’ Thea cut in. She sounded frosty, so unlike herself, and she didn’t quite understand why.
Esme nodded, her head down.
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ she asked, more gently. ‘Didn’t you think I’d understand?’
Esme sighed. ‘I didn’t knowwhatyou’d think. Since last summer, when those guys harassed you and Alex came to your rescue, you’ve spoken about him with such fondness. I thought maybe your feelings for him went beyond friendship.’
Thea took a moment to organise her thoughts into words. ‘I did feel grateful to him, and I think Iwasconfused fora while. He’s so kind, so steadfast. He’s safe, and you know how much I like safe.’ She laughed gently.
Esme nodded. ‘I do. And that’s partly why I didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t want how I felt to come between us.’
‘It wouldn’t have come between us. Don’t you think we know each other well enough that we could work throughanything?’
‘Does that anything include you moving here to open up a bookshop?’ Esme’s tone was light, but Thea knew she was putting her in her place – and that she deserved it, too.
‘You’re right. I’m sorry.’ She paused, then said, ‘How long have you been together?’
‘Officially?’ Esme glanced at her watch. ‘Nineteen days.’
‘Just after I came down here.’
Esme swivelled to face her. ‘We didn’t plan it this way – waiting until you’d gone. But I’ve liked him for ages; I’ve always felt this chemistry, this possibility, between us. Then, when we were working on the festival prep, staying late, going through the risk assessments or whatever, it just … happened. It turns out he’s liked me for a while, too. But neither of us knew how you really felt, and we didn’t want to turn up here holding hands or anything.’ She dropped her gaze. ‘I was waiting for the right time to talk to you.’
Thea swallowed as embarrassment crawled through her. It had been right under her nose, and she hadn’t picked up on it. And they’d felt as if they needed to keep it from her, to protect her as if she was some kind of delicate flower – perhaps with her own crush on Alex – and treat her with kid gloves.
