Page 20 of The Little Cottage by the Cornish Sea

I spent all night talking myself off the ledge. Yes, I had to be careful of who I got close to. But Noah was a good bloke; there was no mistaking the kindness in his eyes and in his voice. What a way to live, suspecting everyone around me.

And as far as a secret admirer was concerned, there was no way on earth that I was going to get involved with someone new any time soon.

Not after what Will had done to me, and certainly not when I had Baby to take care of.

I was going to put all of my time and energy into raising her, and that would leave me no time to seriously date.

As I was heading home from my daily walk, I heard my name being called. I whirled around to see Dr A.

‘Hello Dr Armitage!’ I called back, stopping for him to catch up with me (I could never call him Dr A to his face). ‘How is your grandmother?’ I asked. ‘When can I come and visit her again?’

He grinned. Such a rare sight, and good to see. ‘She’s getting better every day. Of course you can come and see her. I’m on my way there now, if you’d like to join me?’

‘Oh, yes, please!’

‘But I’ve told you before, please call me Robert. I think we’re friendly enough for that now, what with you seeing my embarrassing excuse for organisation down at the clinic.’

I’d never been on a first-name basis with a doctor before. I blushed; I don’t know why. ‘Okay, then… Robert.’

‘Come on, then,’ he said, taking me by the elbow. ‘I’m in desperate need of a good cup of tea.’

The afternoon was a pleasant one; Nan regaled us with stories of when she was young and all the lads she had enthralled in her day, her wrinkled eyes twinkling with nostalgic delight.

When Robert offered to walk me home to help me carry all the parcels she had bestowed upon me, I refused, telling him to stay and enjoy his quality time with her.

‘Are you sure?’ he asked, rather miffed, it seemed.

‘I’m sure. She needs you.’

He shrugged, and together they stood on the stoop, waving.

Nan was beaming, and I had the distinct feeling she was trying to play matchmaker, but rather than finding her invasive, I found her endearing.

Just an elderly grandmother who wanted a girl for her grandson. I would cherish her just as he did.

I turned around to wave once more, almost dropping the carton of eggs she had slapped down onto the pile in my arms as a final gift.

The warm day had turned into a very cool evening.

It looked like there was going to be a thunderstorm.

Would summer ever properly arrive? When I got home, I took off my boots and changed into a pair of leggings, the thickest wool socks I could find and a huge jumper, ready to batten down the hatches against the worsening weather and the storm that was looming, not to mention the one looming in my life.

Was there someone out there looking for me, as Ralph had seemed to imply, and could it be Will or the police?

Which reminded me: time to give Tamsin another call.

I padded into the kitchen and flicked on the kettle. It seemed I was running on tea, lately. Better get some decaf tea. I would feel better once I’d spoken to my only friend from my past.

It rang a few times before her voicemail kicked in.

I cleared my throat. ‘Hi, uhm, Tams…? I hope you’re all okay?

Just wanted to let you know that I’m okay, too.

Better than the last time we spoke. I’m really sorry not to be able to tell you anything else, but I can’t compromise you in case Will asks again.

’ I laughed bitterly. ‘Because he will ask you again. Not that he cares, of course. He just wants to find me and have me thrown to prison in his stead. To show me that he’s smarter.

That I have no say in my life.’ The kettle boiled and flicked off loudly in the quiet kitchen.

‘Well, you know what? He’s not the boss of me.

I’ve got a job, and a house. I’ll be okay.

Talk to you soon. Give my love to yours. Bye…’

I hung up before the knot in my throat grew.

I didn’t want to go down that road again where I started thinking about her and how I’d disappointed her by running away.

I should have been able to tell my best friend what was happening in my life.

But for her sake, it was best if I kept it from her. At least for now.

I poured the tea and peered into the fridge.

Not much dinner material in there. Perhaps I could make myself a sandwich, or even an omelette with Mrs Nankivell’s eggs?

She may be batty, as some affectionately say, but she did have a heart of gold and she was the first to glean that something was amiss.

I had to learn to look confident. Happy, even.

I would be happy, if I didn’t have this sword of Damocles hanging over my head.

*

Wednesday, 5th June

The next day, at nine o’clock sharp, Piers buzzed me from his office.

‘Morning? Ready for the meeting?’ he asked, his deep voice reaching some hidden part inside me where dreams and happiness still managed to exist. Goodness me, where had that come from? What did Piers have to do with my happiness?

‘Certainly.’ I was actually rather nervous about meeting everyone else; I got the impression that everyone else had been here since forever. What if they didn’t like me? What if they thought I wasn’t good enough to be Miss Headquarters? ‘Where is it?’

‘On Google Meet. I’ll email you the code.’

‘Oh.’

‘You didn’t think it was going to be in person, did you?’ he asked.

‘Uhm, no, I guess not.’

He chuckled. ‘We’re a modern company, Sophie.’

‘But if everyone is local…?’

‘Ah. Local but very busy. Sending you the code right now. See you online.’

Before I could answer, he buzzed off, and my laptop pinged with an email.

I clicked on the code and then on Join , and was amazed to see how may picture boxes appeared: at least thirty.

All these people worked for Piers? Doing what?

Perhaps I had underestimated the scale of the company.

Perhaps I really wasn’t fit to coordinate everyone else.

Reality started to sink in and I had to force myself not to slump in my chair as Piers greeted everyone and introduced me as the new voice from yesterday: Miss HQ.

They all introduced themselves and their departments in turn as I thought, Oh God, all I wanted was a simple job, not to be coordinator of the Cornish Del Monte! I was way in over my head.

I tried not to panic and concentrate on the conversation, which was mainly about the chase-ups made on Monday by every department and where we were at with produce, shipping, etc.

It sounds boring but I was fascinated by how many people around the world were interested in buying Cornish products, and particularly his.

And then a familiar, friendly face popped up. Nina’s husband. ‘Jack!’ I almost cried out. Good thing I’d muted my microphone.

‘Hi, everyone, sorry I’m late. Hi, Sophie! Fancy seeing you here!’

I felt instantly at ease. I wondered why Nina hadn’t mentioned it before, but maybe it was supposed to be a nice surprise, to see a friendly face.

Jack was one of the good ones. Not that anyone had been bad.

I just had issues with dealing with new faces, and so many of them all at once.

God, just how many faults did I actually have?

As it turned out, I impressed even myself with how well I handled the meeting.

When asked about deadlines and shipment updates, I actually had answers, and without even having to look them up!

I remembered the names of the companies I’d dealt with and even whom I’d spoken to from said companies.

I was on a roll, feeling my ears burn with something between shyness and pride as I related the info.

When I was done, I sat back, turned the microphone off and let out a sigh of relief, hidden behind a cough.

‘Excellent,’ Piers said before grilling someone else. Yes!

Around lunchtime, Piers buzzed me again. I could definitely get used to this, hearing his voice every other minute. What was going on with me?

‘Yes?’ I answered.

‘It’s sunny outside, so I thought we could take advantage of it. I’ve got a couple of sandwiches here. Mind if we go for a walk around the grounds?’

Uh-oh. Something was up; I could tell from his voice. Had I screwed up?

‘Of course not, that would be great,’ I croaked, my heart rushing to my throat.

‘Okay.’

Why this sudden outdoor lunch? Was he about to fire me and wanted to get me as far as possible from the house? I’d heard about people not going willingly and making a scene, but really?

And I suddenly realised that perhaps I’d allowed myself to get too comfortable too soon. I had projected a confidence I didn’t feel, and now the gig was up.

‘Meet you at the front door in five?’

‘Sure,’ I said, my stomach churning so badly, I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat a thing.

As it turned out, Piers had a huge picnic basket. ‘I hope you’re hungry,’ he said with a grin that had nothing apologetic about it. Not even a tiny bit of remorse for wanting to fire me?

‘Starving,’ I lied as I followed him out the huge double doors and out onto a gravel path. Actually, I was so tense, I was afraid I was going to throw up right into his perfect borders.

‘Have you had breakfast? You look pale,’ he said.

All this worrying and fussing was only making it worse. ‘Is everything okay?’ I blurted out. Might as well make it short. ‘Am I not doing well?’

He stopped, his face blank. ‘You’re doing wonderfully,’ he was quick to reassure me. ‘Did I give you the impression that you weren’t?’

I shrugged. ‘I’m not sure.’

‘Or was my invitation too forward? I just want to get to know you a bit better, Sophie. I’m on solid ground with all my employees and I wanted to do the same with you.’