Page 49 of A Letter to the Last House Before the Sea

‘She’ll be out, visiting her friend Maude. They have lunch together.’

‘OK. I’ll see you later, then.’

He ran off across the beach, every step puffing up a small cloud of sand. Lettie wasn’t sure if the butterflies in her stomach meant she was happy, or nervous, or a mixture of both. Why on earth had she said yes to a trip that wasn’t going to be at all relaxing?

You know why, said a little voice in her head that sounded rather like Iris.

‘Hey, hold on a minute!’

Lettie’s heart sank when she spotted Simon heading towards her, weaving between the tourists who’d started arriving in the village.

‘Hi, Simon. Are you still here?’

‘Of course.’ He smoothed down his immaculate blond hair and gave her a very obvious once-over. ‘I don’t give up easily and there’s still more to be done here. What have you been up to?’

‘What do you mean?’ asked Lettie, her heart suddenly hammering as she remembered resting her head on Corey’s chest.

‘You’re covered in sand.’

‘Oh, I went to the beach and sat on the sand for a while. It’s a beautiful cove.’

‘Yeah, not bad,’ said Simon, as Lettie brushed at her gritty legs. ‘Where are you going now?’

‘I’m heading back to Driftwood House. I haven’t had breakfast yet.’

‘I’ll walk with you for a while.’ Lettie’s heart sank even further when he fell into step beside her, his polished shoes squeaking slightly with every pace. ‘So what have you been doing round here?’ he asked again.

‘Oh, you know. What people always do on holiday – seeing the sights, relaxing, eating my weight in ice cream.’

‘Ha, yeah. The local ice cream isn’t bad.’ He gave her a sideways glance as they walked. ‘I haven’t seen you in the pub.’

‘I haven’t been in there for a couple of days.’

He stopped walking abruptly. ‘I was wondering… if you fancied having a drink one evening? Perhaps tomorrow, if you’re not busy?’

Lettie appreciated being asked out on two dates within the space of ten minutes. It had never happened before and Kelly, knee-deep in Tilly’s nappies, would be mega impressed. But she winced inside at the thought of spending an evening with Simon. That didn’t sound like fun, but how could she be busy when she was on holiday on her own?

‘I’m not sure what I’m doing tomorrow so I can’t commit to anything.’

‘Well, I’ll be there at seven if you fancy a date avec moi.’ He winked. ‘Anyways, have you found out any more about that woman you were interested in?’

‘Do you mean my great-aunt?’

‘That’s the one.’

‘Not really.’

‘And what about Cora Head? Did you go up there?’

‘I had a walk there a couple of days ago.’

‘What did you think?’

‘It’s a wonderful place. The views are magnificent.’

‘Absolutely, which is why it’s such a prime spot for building.’

They walked a few paces in silence before Simon suddenly blurted out: ‘I know you’ve seen Mrs Allford.’