Page 46 of Winter at Wishington Bay
He gave me a look. ‘The fact that my wife ran off with her tennis coach would suggest otherwise.’
‘No,’ I said truthfully, hating the flash of pain in his eyes, however much he tried to cover it. ‘Some people don’t realise what they’ve got. But that’s their loss.’
‘I don’t think she sees it as a loss.’
‘I would.’
Whoops!
The blue gaze locked onto mine. ‘I mean, anyone with any sense would. You’ve got a mirror. And you’re decent, solvent and when you let yourself, have a good sense of humour. Who wouldn’t see that as a loss?’ I added, aiming desperately for casual.
The flicker of a smile crossed that very tempting mouth before he looked back the way we were going.
‘Thanks.’
‘No problem.’
‘Have you eaten?’
‘No, I didn’t get a chance. I don’t always feel like it when I’m busy anyway.’
‘You need to eat,’ Nate said before stopping suddenly.
‘What’s up?’
‘Come to mine. I’ve got more food in there than I need and it would make me feel better for you missing out on eating because you were covering that other waitress’s tables.’
I laughed. ‘Ooh, don’t let her hear that you’ve forgotten her name. She always aims to be unforgettable when it comes to men like you.’
‘Men like me?’
I waved a hand up and down briefly. Nate shook his head.
‘Well, then I’ve failed in her eyes already so I guess those are the breaks. Will you come? Bryan would love to see you.’
I laughed. ‘Ha! No using cute dogs as bribery.’
‘Well, the whole body of a god thing is apparently lost on you so I’ve had to pull out bigger guns.’
I looked up, laughing, and felt my heart lighten as I saw Nate’s eyes sparkle with the joke, and the sound of his laugh carry on the crisp air. It was a wonderful sound and I only hoped I would hear it more.
‘You know my weakness.’
His smile widened and we put out heads down as a sharp wind blew in off the sea, stinging our faces and making our lips taste salty as we headed for the beach house.
15
The following morning, I’d just locked my front door and turned to the street as the postie strolled by with his letter trolley, handing me one with a smile as he passed.
‘Thanks, Paddy.’ I took the envelope and stuffed it in my basket to look at later. From the heft of it and the expensive feel to the paper, I assumed it was from my ex’s solicitors. Who were also very expensive. I’d taken a chunk of money when I left. Half of everything was mine, after all, but I knew now I should have taken more. I’d been rather naïve about how long this amount would last me and also in thinking that my ex would play fair. He’d quickly disavowed me of that belief. Hence the need for the job at Ned’s and being grateful for Holly’s offer of the cleaning job. I wasn’t sure what would happen once Nate went back to Australia, whether Holly would still want me to keep up the cleaning, but I would cross that bridge when I came to it. It might also depend on what was in that envelope. In theory, if I could get access to it, I had enough money not to work if I didn’t want to. Or to take the time to find something I actually wanted to do. The investments my father had made for me before he died had been wise ones. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been so wise in agreeing to put everything of mine into joint names. Looking back on it now, I could see how stupid that was. Unfortunately, my father had passed away several years earlier. Had he not, I knew things would have been a lot different. But I’d been a dutiful daughter to my mother and followed her advice in regards to both money and marriage. A huge error in hindsight. But then marriage as a whole had been a revelation for me, and not in a good way.
Still, what was done was done. I just had to move forward now. Leaving had filled me with a mixture of terror and a sense of release. I knew I’d been lucky to end up here in Wishington Bay, and to have met the people I had. Initially I’d thought a faceless city where no one really knew anyone would be better for me to blend away into, but fate had other ideas. As I’d said to Nate, I really had run out of petrol here. It was late and I’d been exhausted so it had seemed as good a time as any to take a break. Waking up in the bed and breakfast the next day, I’d had every intention of moving on and finding that city, but it had been such a lovely day, and the view from the window had been so enticing, I’d decided that a walk round the village might do me good after the hours of driving the previous day. It hadn’t taken long to fall in love with the place. By lunchtime I was already looking for property. My husband hadn’t realised I’d left for good by then and so the account was still accessible. I viewed the empty flat above Flora’s shop, which had just come on the market that day, and took it immediately, paying the asking price in full so as not to get outbid, advising I wanted to move in as soon as possible. With no chain, and me able to use my name to ensure I could withdraw enough cash almost immediately to seal the deal, I was at least reassured I’d have a roof over my head. After that, I’d gone for lunch at Ned’s where I overheard him mentioning to Eloise that he needed to advertise for another waitress. Everything had fallen into place almost as though it was meant to be. Ned had been great about the fact I had no experience and Eloise was so kind in showing me the ropes. Corinne had been aloof and full of herself even then but I’d just got on with my job and taken her in my stride as much as I could. Admittedly, her behaviour the other day was a step up but then it wasn’t every day we had someone who looked as good as Nate decorating the window seat.
I headed down the slope that led to the house and felt the paperwork burning a hole in my bag. Reaching in, I retrieved the envelope and began opening it as I walked along.
Dear Mrs Huntingdon-Jones,
We are in receipt of your latest correspondence and have consulted with our client as to how he might wish to proceed.
