Page 21 of A Cornish Winter’s Kiss

Emily had been home for two days without venturing outside again for anything more than a dog walk. She’d missed her parents so much and it had been really lovely just to hang out together and not have any plans. But today she was meeting up with an old friend from school.

‘You look lovely, darling. Give my love to Rosie.’ Emily’s mother looked up at her from the armchair next to the wood-burning stove in the kitchen. Gary Barlow was lying by her feet, snoring softly.

‘I will, Mum, and thank you.’ Emily leant down and kissed her mother’s cheek.

She’d always appreciated how lucky she was to have the parents she did, but ever since she’d started working with Jude, that feeling had been heightened.

He’d lost his mother at an early age and hinted at a difficult upbringing, which she was certain had affected his decision not to let anyone get close to him.

The easiest way to do that was to write off love as a concept altogether.

‘Thank you for what?’ Patsy gave her a questioning look.

‘For being such a lovely mum. Sometimes I forget how lucky I am.’

Her mother caught hold of her hand. ‘I’m the lucky one. Having you, Charlotte, and your dad.’

At that precise moment the dog opened its eyes and lifted its head. ‘Oh, and Gary Barlow of course! I can’t forget you, can I, sweetheart? You’d never let me.’

‘I can take him for a walk when I get back if you like, before we go to the hospital.’ Her mother’s appointment wasn’t until four o’clock, and she’d arranged to meet her friend, Rosie, for breakfast, before she started her shift.

Rosie had just begun working at the Port Agnes Midwifery Unit, after previously having worked in Truro.

It meant she was back living with her parents until she found somewhere to rent, and she’d told Emily she needed to get out of the house before she and her mother had another row.

Emily couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have a relationship like that with her mum.

Despite all the health challenges she’d faced, Patsy had always been easy to be around.

‘It’s okay, darling, Dad is going to take him when he gets the papers. Just have a nice time with Rosie.’

‘Okay, see you later. Love you.’ Emily blew her mother a second kiss and turned towards the door, still thinking about how different her life would have been if she’d had a different sort of relationship with her parents, and trying not to think about why Jude Cavendish’s life was occupying so many of her thoughts.

Port Agnes was beautiful all year round, but she loved the way the village was decorated at this time of year.

There was a huge Christmas tree in the main square, and rows and rows of festoon lights strung between the houses on the narrow streets.

A second tree had been constructed by the harbour from lobster pots.

It might not have had the glitz and glamour of some of the decorations in London, but as far as Emily was concerned, it still beat the big city hands down.

Her old school friend was already waiting by the make-shift Christmas tree when she arrived.

‘Am I late?’ Emily hugged Rosie as she reached her.

‘No, I was here a bit early, just hanging around hoping to spot a handsome fisherman looking to land the catch of the day.’ Rosie grinned.

‘I thought you were off men after Ollie?’ Emily had heard many times how Rosie would never trust a man again after discovering her husband of two years, who was a paramedic, had been sleeping with his crewmate since before they were even engaged.

Admittedly, the last time she’d seen Rosie face to face had been months ago, but she’d been just as adamant then as she’d been when they first broke up.

‘I’m not off men. I’d be up for a casual fling. As Ollie so kindly demonstrated, human biology doesn’t support monogamy. I was fighting a losing battle all along, so it’s just long-term relationships I’m done with.’

‘You sound just like…’ Emily shook her head, trying to get Jude out of it at least for a little while. ‘Like a lot of people who seem to be saying the same sort of thing lately.’

‘But not you eh, Em?’ Rosie grinned and linked her arm through Emily’s in a companionable way. ‘We can still rely on you to believe in love and romance, while the rest of us turn into bitter old cynics.’

‘I hope so, although God knows why. It’s not like the relationships I’ve had have encouraged that belief, but growing up with parents like mine makes it hard not to believe it’s true.’

‘Ah, yes, Patsy and Richard, the couple who give us all hope.’ Rosie squeezed Emily’s arm. ‘How’s your mum doing?’

‘Her symptoms have definitely got more severe, but hopefully she just needs a change of medication to stabilise things again. We’re going to see her consultant this afternoon.’

‘Give her my love, won’t you?’

‘I will, and she said the same to you.’ Emily could smell freshly baked bread drifting on the air from Mehenick’s, a bakery with its own café.

Sometimes, Emily would lie in bed on a weekend in London and dream about toast made with one of their farmhouse loaves, or their giant cinnamon swirls that were big enough for two but which no one wanted to share.

She turned to look at Rosie, silently praying that the smell of the bread would be enough to lure her friend too.

‘Have you got anywhere particular in mind for breakfast?’

‘Mehenick’s? I’m starting my shift at the unit at eleven and I need to do some serious carb loading first.’

‘Sounds perfect.’ Emily stopped to let Rosie go ahead of her as they reached the door.

It was busy inside, and her friend weaved quickly through the tables to find a vacant spot.

It was only after Rosie had grabbed the last table that Emily realised someone she knew was sitting on the table behind. And that someone was Jude.

‘Should I be worried that you’re stalking me?’ He gave her a slow smile, and she didn’t know whether to laugh or be annoyed. He had that effect on her, and bumping into him had been the last way she’d expected to start her day.

‘Oh, I’m sure you’re used to being followed by fans all the time.’

‘I can’t walk down the street without being mobbed.

’ He smiled again, and this time she couldn’t help joining in.

There was something very attractive about someone so successful who didn’t take themselves too seriously, but she needed to go carefully with Jude.

And the more she got to like him, the more careful she needed to be.

‘That must be tough, but if anyone is doing the stalking I’d say it was you. My family lives in Port Agnes, but I thought you were staying in Port Tremellien.’

‘Mehenick’s is famous across the whole of Cornwall.

’ Jude’s statement wasn’t an exaggeration, so there was no reason to doubt his excuse for being there, but he wasn’t finished.

‘As it turned out, there were no suitable Airbnbs near my father’s house and, when one came up here, I figured it was more than close enough to family. ’

‘Makes sense.’ Emily didn’t want to say anything else in front of Rosie.

Jude had already hinted that he had a tricky relationship with his father, and she knew he wasn’t the sort of person who would relish being questioned about that, especially in front of a stranger.

Instead, she turned towards Rosie, suddenly aware of having left her friend out of the conversation.

‘Sorry, this is Jude. An author I’ve been working with.’ Turning back to look at him, she continued the introduction. ‘And this is Rosie, one of my best friends from school.’

‘Nice to meet you.’ Jude smiled at her. ‘I’ll let you get on with catching up.’

‘Why don’t you join us?’ The words were out of Rosie’s mouth before Emily could do anything to intervene.

‘I don’t want to intrude.’

‘Don’t be silly.’ Rosie patted the seat beside her. ‘Emily might get to meet interesting people in her job, but most of the people I meet are either screaming in agony or throwing up on me.’

‘She’s exaggerating,’ Emily said as Jude’s eyes widened. ‘Rosie actually has the best job in the world. She’s a midwife.’

‘That’s amazing.’

‘It is brilliant, but it’s definitely not all about cuddling babies. There are things I do far more often, but you probably wouldn’t want to hear about any of them over breakfast.’ Rosie pulled a face. ‘Being an author must be incredible, though.’

‘Put it this way, there’s probably just as much screaming in my job, but I’m the one doing it.’

Rosie gave a hearty laugh in response and it was clear she wasn’t going to take no for an answer when it came to Jude joining them.

Having rearranged the table, and carried Jude’s coffee over, it was a fait accompli before Emily knew it.

They spent the next hour together, with Rosie asking him questions about his books and regaling him with the most entertaining experiences from her job, most of which she’d shared with Emily in the past. It wasn’t how Emily had expected to spend their time together, and she’d felt a bit like a third wheel, but she couldn’t say it wasn’t interesting.

Jude and Rosie had both insisted that there was no such thing as romantic love, but the way her old friend was hanging off his every word suggested she might be experiencing more than a spark of attraction towards him.

Jude was giving far less away, as always, although he did look visibly moved by one of the stories Rosie told him about a woman who’d delayed cancer treatment in order to save the life of her unborn baby.

It was an act of love not even he could attempt to deny.

‘Oh God, is that the time?’ Rosie started fumbling in her bag. ‘I’ve got to get to work, but I’ll leave you some money to pay for my breakfast.’

‘I’ll get it.’ Jude took the words out of Emily’s mouth, but she wasn’t going to let him do that.