Page 21 of Happier Days (Family Life in Somerley #1)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The time to leave that afternoon came around quickly for Ava, and she was grateful for Jack’s offer of a lift to the train station. They pulled up in the car park, and he turned to her with a grin.

‘Safe journey home,’ he said to her. ‘I’m looking forward to working with you again next week. What time is your train back on Sunday?’

‘I should get here for half past six, if there are no delays.’

‘I’ll pick you up, if you like?’

‘Are you sure? I don’t want to trouble you.’ Nevertheless, Ava went all warm inside.

‘It’s no bother at all. Message me once you’re on your way.’

There was a weird silence in the car as she sat for a few seconds. Wait, was she expecting him to kiss her goodbye? Blushing furiously, she gathered herself together and got out quickly. Her case was in the back, so she grabbed that, too.

‘Well, see you on Sunday, then,’ she said.

‘You will that.’

Ava waved when Jack drove off. Her smile was so wide her mouth was aching. What a lovely week, and she had three more to go. Part of her didn’t even want to go back to London, but she was only in Somerley for work. It wasn’t a holiday, even though it seemed that way at times.

Once she was settled on the train, her mind went over the events of the past week.

Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun, she mused.

This time last week, she’d left the office filled with trepidation about what was to come.

A few days later and she already felt as if she’d been at Sapphire Lake for months.

For some reason, she seemed to fit as well now as she had done back in her childhood and couldn’t believe she’d never visited since.

It did have a special place in her heart but, because of the death of her father and then heading off to university, the little village had become a tiny dot in her memory, a certain boy a distant moment in time.

And there were so many places that she hadn’t visited, she hadn’t seen the need to come again.

She was definitely glad that she’d never brought Giles there.

He would have sullied any good memory she had.

She was certain, too, that he would never set foot in such a tiny place.

Giles was very materialistic and wouldn’t settle for peace and tranquillity when he could have a booze cruise or a flashy holiday in Florida or sun-soaked Barbados.

The places they’d been together had been amazing, though, and on a trip to Antigua, Ava had found pleasure in taking photographs. It was something she felt she was good at, that held her interest, and as soon as she’d got home, she’d enrolled on a beginner’s photography course.

Giles had ridiculed her, but she’d been determined not to let him dissuade her.

It was only when he’d left that she’d realised how naive she’d been around him. She’d let him walk all over her, becoming the woman who tended to his every need rather than a wife he respected.

Now, she relaxed back in her seat and she smiled. Slowly, her confidence was returning. Doing something out of her comfort zone was making her think that perhaps her dream of being a freelance photographer might become a viable option.

It made her realise what could be riding on this job.

If she could show her expertise, she might then find the courage to ask to do more work like this.

And, if she could set her own website up, linking it to images she’d taken of Sapphire Lake, her work could be viewed anywhere in the world. Now, wouldn’t that be amazing?