Page 65 of The Cornish Cream Tea Holiday
Chapter Seventeen
The light changed around them as the afternoon slipped into evening. They stood up to stretch their cramped limbs, and looked out at the view. The sea had gone from a swirling green-blue to a dark, intense navy, the foaming crests starkly white against it. Thea knew there was no point checking the causeway, because it was still hours before it would emerge again, but she didn’t mind. She couldn’t think of anyone she would rather be stuck in a dilapidated lighthouse with.
‘What are you grinning at?’ Ben asked, after he’d pointed out two cormorants flying north to south, their flight streamlined, black bodies glossy against the turquoise sky.
‘I was thinking that, of all the people I could have been trapped with out here, you’re the one I would have picked.’
‘Why?’ He nudged her shoulder. ‘Because of my intimidating good looks? I can see how they would be a selling point.’
Thea laughed. ‘No, not that reason, or not that specifically: the viewisstealing some of your thunder. But it’s easy with you – like you said earlier. I was imagining what it would be like to be stuck here with Esme, or Alex.’
‘The guy who helped with your business plan?’ He cleared his throat. ‘And I’d win over both of them? Even though we’ve not known each other that long?’
‘You’re so calm,’ she said, trying to explain exactly how she felt. ‘So …’ She couldn’t help running her eyes over him: the way his T-shirt clung in all the right places; the set of his jaw; the quiet focus in his gaze. ‘So … solid.’
‘Well,’ he replied, ‘you’re also the person I would pick to be stuck here with. I messaged Finn what had happened, and he sent me about twenty different laughing GIFs, followed by a text asking if we were OK.’
Thea grinned. ‘I think being trapped here would stress him out.’
‘I think you’re right.’
They turned back to the window, the turquoise sky dissolving to pink in front of their eyes.
‘Look,’ Ben said. ‘The first star.’
Thea followed his gaze, and saw it: a tiny, bright diamond winking in the vast expanse. She shuddered, not sure if it was because the temperature had started to drop, or because it was so stunning: the endless waves, the pearly pastel cloak of dusk. She felt Ben’s arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer. She leaned into it.
‘If we’d got out before the tide came in,’ she murmured, ‘we wouldn’t have seen this.’
‘No,’ he said. ‘It’s a good silver lining.’
They watched the sky darken, the sun slip, quicker than Thea expected, towards the water. It was beautiful, but at least sixty per cent of her focus was on where she and Ben touched: her right side, his left. His hand rested loosely against her arm, his fingers tracing the shape of her elbow, drifting down towards her wrist and back up again. She felt as if she was being ignited, burning brighter and brighter as the sun also seemed to be, turning from yellow, to amber, to red as it descended.
She heard Ben inhale, felt him move his arm away, and was about to say something when he turned towards her and slipped a strand of her hair behind her ear.
‘Thea.’ His voice was gravel.
‘Yes?’ It came out as a breathy whisper, and she would have laughed at herself if she wasn’t so desperate to hear what he was about to say.
‘Can I kiss you?’ There was no hesitancy, no drop of his eyes from her face to the floor. He took her hand and squeezed it, as if she hadn’t heard him.
‘Please,’ she said, and when he closed the gap between them, she tipped her face up, and a moment later his lips were brushing against hers. They moved softly at first, then boldly, his hand pressed against the small of her back, holding her in place.
It was such a good kiss, one that took over her mind and sent shockwaves of sensation through her, and when she gripped his shoulders, the extra contact made her feel as if she might combust from all the sparks firing inside her. Ben, it turned out, was as confident and determined about kissing as he was about everything else. It made Thea feel trembly in the best possible way.
When they broke apart, she felt completely undone by him. They were standing next to the lightless bulb in an abandoned lighthouse, surrounded by a churning sea. It was the perfect metaphor, because to her, Ben felt like a lighthouse in a storm: he was solid and steady, and he burned so brightly.
He took her hand, led her to the blanket and sat down, tugging her gently so she was next to him. He pressed his palm against her cheek, and she leaned into his warmth. Now the sun was slipping away, their temporary prison was getting chilly. But Ben, it turned out, had a way of combating the cold.
He brought his head close to hers. ‘I’m regretting getting stranded a lot less, now,’ he murmured.
‘It seems like there are even more silver linings,’ she agreed. This time, she was the one who closed the gap between them.
They kissed like teenagers, Ben pulling her closer, somehow managing to wrap the blanket around her while his mouth stayed on hers. Thea loved her warm cocoon of desire and sensation, and she wanted to be even closer to him. But his hands didn’t stray anywhere other than her back and her arms, occasionally cupping her jaw, and she laced her hands around his neck, finally sliding her fingers into his soft, prickly hair, and kept them there.
Eventually, he pulled back. ‘We have to stop.’
‘Because your dog’s eyeing me like I’m some kind of intruder?’
