Page 1 of A Little Love Song in Seabury (Seabury #16)

WILLIAM

‘ D o you like it?’

William Pepper could hear the uncertainty in Leah’s voice. He nodded quickly, wanting to reassure his Personal Assistant. After all, she’d pulled out all the stops to find somewhere as amazing as this house so close to Seabury.

‘I’m sure it’ll be great,’ he said, wandering over to the wall of glass that was clearly the crown jewel of the fancy holiday home.

A patchwork of windows surrounded two huge French doors that looked right out over a cliff-edge garden towards the sea…

not that there was much to see out there at the moment.

It was late and velvety dark. There wasn’t a hint of moonlight, and as for the stars?

They were well and truly tucked up under a heavy blanket of clouds.

Will could hear the waves, though. Their rhythmic lullaby was already tugging on his eyelids, and if he wasn’t careful, he was going to fall asleep on his feet.

‘I made sure the piano was tuned,’ said Leah, nodding at a sleek, black upright that stood in an alcove surrounded by lush, green pot plants. ‘There’s plenty of fresh food in the kitchen, and you’re all set up for another delivery in a few days, so you won’t need to worry about shopping.’

Will smiled his thanks and nodded, turning back to the room and taking it all in. Even though it was dark outside, this place felt full of light. Cleverly placed lamps and mirrors gave it an open, airy feel, and Will could only imagine how beautiful it was going to be when the sun came up.

‘You can stand down,’ he said with a chuckle. Leah had that critical look on her face—the one that told him she was busy hunting for any issues so that she could solve them before he even noticed their existence. ‘The place looks great. Perfect, in fact. As usual, you’ve worked miracles.’

‘Well… okay,’ said Leah, turning back to him. ‘If you’re sure you don’t need anything?’

‘Other than some sleep, I’m good,’ said Will. ‘Go on, you head off. I’m sure you want to settle in and get started on your holiday, too.’

‘Okay. Well, I guess I’ll see you around then…’ she said, shifting from foot to foot. Will could sense a “but” coming a mile off.

‘But…’

There it was!

Will grinned. Leah had worked for him for three years now, and he knew her tells a mile off. It was only natural they’d gotten to know each other pretty well, considering how much time they spent together.

Okay, who was he kidding?

Leah always seemed to know what Will was thinking before he did… but as for her? If he was honest, Leah Martin was still a bit of a mystery.

Of course, on paper, he knew everything he needed to know about his Personal Assistant.

Leah had been brought up near Cambridge, the oldest child of two university professors.

Will knew she had a bunch of younger brothers and sisters, and from what he’d picked up over the years, she’d spent a great deal of her childhood looking after them when her brilliant but chronically scatty parents had been otherwise engaged.

Come to think of it, that was probably what made her so good at her job.

Leah was cool in a crisis, loyal to a fault, and completely unflappable.

In fact, Will had never met someone so organised, and he couldn’t imagine his life without her there to guide him.

Still… a handful of facts about her past didn’t mean he knew her, did it? Sure, he could read her body language, but Will had no clue what really made her tick… or what made her get out of bed every day.

Then again, Will didn’t need to know, did he? He paid her well, and in return, she travelled the world with him, making sure he was where he was meant to be, when he was meant to be there. And that meant all he had to do was sit down at the piano… and play.

‘But?’ said Will, fighting the heaviness that was tugging at his eyelids and struggling to hold back a yawn. He appreciated all the care and attention to detail Leah had put into organising this break, but right now, he just needed to crash out.

‘But… are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to stay at Seabury House with your brothers?’ said Leah.

‘It’s a bit late for that, even if I did,’ chuckled Will.

‘It’s not, actually,’ said Leah. ‘Matt told me just to bring you straight to them if you changed your mind. Any time. Seemed quite keen on it, actually.’

Will pulled a face and shook his head so fast he almost gave himself a crick in the neck.

‘No need to look quite so horrified!’ laughed Leah.

‘Don’t tell them,’ said Will, ‘but… no way! Connie’s going to be in nesting-mode with the baby on its way, and it sounds like Ewan’s practically living inside a ball of wool with the shop being so busy.

As for Matt and Rosie, they’re still up to their eyeballs renovating the house whenever Matt’s not at the hospital playing God.

I don’t think they need an extra body in the way. ’

Leah raised her eyebrows, and Will instantly regretted his harsh words.

He adored his brothers and loved the two women who’d quickly become a part of his family over the last year.

Still, that didn’t mean he needed to be fussed over and mollycoddled.

That’s why he’d asked Leah to find him somewhere a little way out of town in the opposite direction to Seabury House.

Will needed some peace and quiet. He spent so much of his life with hundreds, if not thousands of pairs of eyes trained on him while he played to packed concert halls. He didn’t need that kind of attention while he was supposedly on holiday too!

The image of a vast, silent, staring audience made Will break out in a cold sweat.

He threw a glance at the piano and swallowed hard, even as his fingers flexed, itching to touch the ivories and test out its tone.

Even so, there was a good chance that the beautiful instrument—newly tuned and carefully sourced by Leah—might just remain untouched for the duration of his stay.

‘So, that’s a no to joining your brothers, then?’ said Leah, trying to sound light and unbothered, though he suspected his PA would be pinging his brothers a message the minute she left.

‘That’s a definite no,’ said Will, forcing a smile. ‘I’m sure I’ll see plenty of them, but I need to stay somewhere minus the usual Pepper chaos.’

Leah nodded.

‘Anyway, it would be a shame to waste all your hard work!’ he added, gesturing around the beautiful room.

‘Good point. Right…’ She twitched towards the door as if she was about to leave, but it was clear her feet were reluctant to follow.

‘Stand down, Leah!’ laughed Will. ‘You’re off the hook.’

‘Sure?’

‘Sure!’ said Will, practically ushering her towards the door. ‘I’ve got your number, and I promise I’ll call if anything comes up. Besides, you’ll no doubt see me tomorrow anyway—Seabury’s not big enough for you to hide from me for a whole week!’

‘Okay,’ said Leah with a nod. ‘Well… sleep well. I’ll see you… around.’

‘Thanks again.’

‘Yeah. No worries.’

Leah gave him a funny little wave and then disappeared out into the hallway.

‘And so the holiday begins,’ sighed Will, as the sound of the front door closing behind her echoed through the house.

Will padded through to the fancy kitchen, his towelling dressing gown wafting behind him like a cape.

This place was insanely lovely, and probably a bit too much for him on his own if he was being honest. Five bedrooms, a vast kitchen, a glorious clifftop garden… hell, it even had its own hot tub!

Not that Will was complaining. He’d just spent a ridiculous amount of time in the shower—a massive rainfall affair that felt like a thousand jets hitting him from every angle. This place was more luxurious than some of the best hotels he’d stayed in on his travels around the world!

‘Yeah, and all this… in Seabury!’ he murmured, his eyes wide as he took in the polished concrete floor of the kitchen, with its fancy island and wreath of copper pots and pans dangling from a canopy overhead.

Will’s stomach growled, and he glanced over at the clock that took up one entire wall. The thing was more like an art installation than a timepiece—its huge hands ticking away across the exposed brickwork.

Gone midnight? Blimey!

He should have been in bed hours ago, but here he was, padding around an empty house feeling… something.

Or maybe nothing.

Will let out a long sigh. There was something wrong. There had been for months. The problem was, he simply couldn’t figure out what it was.

Leah made sure he ate well and took his vitamins.

Will knew he wasn’t ill because she’d practically frog-marched him to his GP last time he’d played in London and insisted on him getting his full bloodwork done.

Will suspected that Matt might have been behind that little trip!

When the tests didn’t turn up anything at all, Leah simply made sure he rested as much as possible between concerts and got to bed at a sensible hour.

Or… that’s what she thought, anyway. Recently? Not so much.

Will couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t sit still. So he simply paced, waiting for morning and the inevitable sound checks, warm-ups, practises, concerts… and then more pacing.

And now, he was exhausted.

After months on tour, Will’s mind was tired, his hands were tired… hell, his entire body ached with exhaustion. But still, he couldn’t sleep.

‘Maybe you’re just hungry,’ he muttered, heading for the ginormous fridge and opening the door.

As usual, Leah had made sure it was packed with everything he loved. Cold meats, cheeses, salads, sauces. Will sighed again, grabbed a bottle of water, and closed the door.

Maybe he was missing playing… perhaps that was the problem?

With the tour over and no confirmed concerts in the diary for the foreseeable future, perhaps it was simply taking his mind and body a bit of time to switch off.

That’s what this little trip to Seabury was all about, after all. A week-long time-out in his childhood hometown had been Leah’s idea, and Will had simply gone along with it. He didn’t have the energy to argue, other than to insist that he didn’t want to stay at Seabury House.

Uncapping the bottle, Will took a sip of the ice-cold water. His stomach grumbled in response. When was the last time he’d eaten anything? Probably that wrap Leah had pressed into his hands when she’d stopped to fuel up the hire car.

He glanced at the fridge again. It was late, but he could put a plate of food together for himself, couldn’t he?! With a shrug, he turned his back, slurped down more water, and wandered back to the sitting room.

Maybe this place wasn’t so perfect after all. He should have asked Leah to find him a nice suite in a hotel somewhere instead. Sure, it probably wouldn’t have had a piano, but at least he could have ordered room service!

Heading over to the windows, Will stared out at the black expanse of sea and sky, his eyes hunting for the horizon.

He had to be looking out towards the bay, right?

Somewhere out there was the King’s Nose, separating North Beach from West Beach.

Beyond that, tucked between the rolling hills, was Seabury House and his sleeping family.

A little pang of guilt hit him squarely in the chest. Should he have agreed to stay with his brothers instead?

He shook his head. Nope. Definitely not.

As much as Will loved his family, he had no desire to stay in the old house with echoes of the past around every corner – both happy and sad. He needed peace.

That said, the peace of the night sky beyond the window wasn’t exactly doing anything to help calm his nerves right now, was it? Maybe a raging storm sweeping the bay would be more effective!

Will’s hand flexed around the bottle of water, his fingers twitching in a rhythm, still playing the closing lines of the last concerto he’d learned. He glanced over at the piano.

‘No. You need a rest!’

It didn’t stop him from heading over to the alcove and lifting the lid, though. With a gentle finger, he stroked the keys—not hard enough for a note, just a gentle caress. It really was a beautiful instrument. So, why didn’t the sight of it bring him any joy?

‘Because you’re tired, idiot,’ he sighed, lowering the lid again. ‘That’s all.’

He needed sleep. He needed to see his family. He needed a rest… then maybe he’d figure out what was really wrong.

Maybe.

Will’s stomach growled again, but instead of heading back to the kitchen to do something about it, he downed the rest of his water and flopped down onto the vast sofa, staring moodily at the dark sky.

Perhaps he would call Leah and get her to find him a hotel with room service.

‘Or maybe you’d better wait until morning!’ he muttered.

Right now, though, morning felt like weeks away.