Page 104 of A Letter to the Last House Before the Sea

‘You what?’ Simon looked confused in spite of the wide grin on his face. ‘Oh, whatever. Nice one, Cornelius! So you’re sitting pretty then.’

‘Hardly.’

‘Of course you are. You sell me the land and pocket the dosh and go off and do whatever it is you want to do. Go and lie on a beach for a while, a better beach than Heaven’s Cove. You can go to the Seychelles or Barbados.’ He gave her a wink. ‘I might even come with you.’

‘What would happen to the land?’ asked Lettie, as an unpleasant image of Simon in swimming trunks, flexing his muscles on a white sand beach, flitted through her mind and swiftly out again.

‘Like I told you, it’s perfect for holiday homes.’

‘Two or three?’

‘Yeah,’ he said slowly, drawing out the word. Then he winked again. ‘Or more if I can get away with it, which I’m pretty sure I can. More of a holiday village than a couple of houses.’

‘That’s not what you told Florence.’

‘She doesn’t understand business,’ he said airily, ‘not like you and me. And she’s far too invested in this tin-pot little village in the back of beyond.’

‘It’s her home. She belongs here.’

‘Fair enough, but the headland no longer belongs to her, so you and I had better start discussing money.’

He licked his lips, leaving a slick of saliva.

‘There’s no point discussing anything, Simon.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You could offer me ten million pounds for the headland and I wouldn’t be interested.’

Simon’s smile faltered. ‘What are you saying?’

‘I’m saying I don’t want a holiday village built on Cora Head, at any price.’

‘Why not? At the end of the day, we’ll be back in London, so who cares what happens here?’

‘I do,’ said Lettie quietly.

‘Why?’

‘Because Heaven’s Cove is where Iris grew up and met the love of her life, and it’s a beautiful village that should be preserved.’

Simon laughed as though he didn’t believe her, before stopping abruptly. ‘You’re kidding, right? It’s a tiny place that smells of fish and seaweed, and I’m talking about a load of money here. Not ten mill – that’s ridiculous – but enough to change your life. You’re not going to turn that down, are you, babe?’

Being called ‘babe’ put Lettie’s teeth on edge.

‘I’m afraid I’m not interested,’ she insisted.

‘Not even if I offered you—’

‘I don’t want to know,’ interrupted Lettie. What was the point in finding out how much she was turning down?

Simon’s mouth twitched in the corner as though he was suppressing a smile. ‘Are you planning on playing hardball, Miss Starcross? You’re taking on an expert negotiator here. Just think of what you could do with a huge windfall.’

‘Oh, I am,’ said Lettie, pushing away ideas of what she could do with it. She’d have enough to fund a different kind of life – if she took his offer, if she had no morals and decency whatsoever, if Corey was right to mistrust her. She took a deep breath. ‘But I’m afraid, whatever you offer, the answer is still no.’

‘You’re being ridiculous. Just sell me the land.’

‘The land isn’t mine to sell.’