Page 11 of A Cornish Love Story
‘It’s a magnificent house.’
‘Wait until you see inside.’ There was a moment’s pause, then she said, ‘How areyou,Georgie?’ Her eyes swept over me, from my gold sandals up over my dress, to my flushed face and my hair, which I knew had lost to hers in the battle of the ponytails.
‘I’m great!’ I was stuck in perky, fake enthusiasm. ‘I’m really, really good. Excited to be covering this for theNorth Cornwall Star,even more so now I know …’That my ex is the architect? That he’s here right now?Wasthat exciting?‘Now I know Ethan’s transformed it. He was always going to achieve his dreams.’
‘That was never in doubt,’ Sarah agreed.
I blinked. This whole situation was surreal, standing with her on the path of the real life Tyller Klos, exchanging pleasantries. She and the house had both had a huge impact on my life, and both had changed so much. I tried to regain some footing. ‘It’s going to be a great piece. There’s already so much history here – it’s like a fairy-tale reinvention, especially as Ethan got to know the house when it was empty.’
‘All your trespassing,’ Sarah said with a smirk. ‘And I thought he was on his best behaviour back then, that I was the only one running amok.’
She said it so nonchalantly, I felt a white-hot flash of anger. Did she really not realize what it had cost everyone? I silently repeated my list of tasks so that I didn’t say anything I shouldn’t, but then I realized that Ethan was coming to join us.
‘Quite a reunion for you two.’ Sarah’s expression was carefully neutral.
‘Yeah.’ I couldn’t give her anything more, my heart climbing higher in my throat as if Ethan’s measured steps towards us were pulling it out of me. He looked good. He had filled out in all the right places, his limbs no longer slightly too long for his body. He was a few inches taller than me, and I remembered that when he used to hug me, my head had fitted perfectly under his chin.
A bead of sweat slid down my temple. I couldn’t do this. It was too hard; too much. It was—
‘Georgie.’ He stopped a couple of feet in front of me. He sounded calm, as if this was exactly what he’d been expecting, but I could see a muscle jumping in his jaw and knew the relaxed persona was an effort. ‘It’s good to see you.’
‘Is it?’ I asked, which wasn’t the best start.
‘It’s been a long time.’
He was going for easy-breezy and noncommittal. OK, I could do that. ‘Thirteen years. Almost exactly.’ Shit. That wasnoteasy-breezy. I could feel Sarah staring at the side of my face, and I wondered if she could see right through me.
‘Are you here for the open house?’ Ethan asked.
‘No, I was taking a stroll up the hill and the gates were open, so I thought I’d come and see how much of Tyller Klos was left.’ His eyes widened a fraction in shock, then he was back to calm. It was a shitty thing to say. Spence hadn’t once bemoaned the renovation, and it was either this restored, glorious building or itwould have eventually fallen down, nothing more than rubble on the clifftop, ready to be swept away. ‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘I’m here for the open house.’
I saw a tiny flash of amusement, the smallest quirk of his mouth. ‘You’re covering it for theStar?’
‘You know I work for theStar?’
‘My brother knows everything,’ Sarah said with a smile.
‘Can you go and check the champagne’s cold enough please, Sarah?’ Ethan asked, and there was a moment when they glared at each other, but then Sarah nodded and spun on her heels. She strode up to the house, glancing over her shoulder once. I heard a car crunch on the gravel, someone who must have been directed by Aldo round to the side of the house.
‘Hey,’ Ethan said, when his sister was out of earshot. He shoved his hands in his trouser pockets, and his voice was softer, as if he wanted to start again.
‘Hey.’ My throat felt thick, and I decided it was the oppressive weather and the pollen in the air. ‘You know I work for theStar,’I repeated.
‘I liked your piece about the dairy cows escaping. “Udder Chaos in Alperwick”.’
Shame washed over me. Hard-hitting investigative journalist, I was not. ‘I don’t know,’ I said, ‘I’m not sure I milked it enough.’ I saw the smile light his eyes, but he didn’t give into it. ‘I didn’t know you had done this.’ I gestured past him.
‘I wanted to keep it low profile. Until it was done, anyway.’
‘And now, glitzy open house with champagne?’
He glanced towards Sterenlenn, and I watched as an elegantly dressed couple, the woman wearing a floral dress and sky-high heels in buttercup yellow, walked from the secluded drive towards the front door. ‘That was Sarah’s idea.’
‘I was surprised to see her here,’ I admitted.
‘She’s an important part of the business.’ Ethan’s defensive tone took me straight back to being eighteen. ‘She’s changed so much since you last saw her.’
‘Of course,’ I said, because what was the point in dredging up old arguments? ‘And you’re well, are you?’
