Page 31 of The Little Cottage by the Cornish Sea

‘She’ll be ages in there,’ he chuckled. ‘Apparently, she loves all the pretty little soaps that Faith gave me during the renos.’

‘Oh, she did the work?’

‘Wouldn’t have done it without her. I’m glad she got rid of Gabe and married Henry instead. Rockstars are unreliable,’ he said. ‘Let’s go back to the kitchen and warm a bottle up for our little treasure here, shall we?’

In a daze, I followed him. Warm a bottle? How familiar was he with Emmie and everyone else? Was he not practically a hermit?

‘Hey you, Elephant Man,’ Emmie called as she followed us into the kitchen where he proceeded to boil the kettle.

'Hiya, munchkin,' he said back as he kissed her cheek, all while I watched them in stunned silence. Then he turned to me. ‘We go way back to even before Emmie arrived in Cornwall. We met at a…’

‘Soap shop,’ Emmie offered sheepishly. ‘That’s where we, uhm, all met him, actually.’

‘You all met him at a soap shop?’ I repeated as they shifted their attention to Felicity.

Okay. Weird.

‘Here, stick the bottle in this,’ Piers offered her a ceramic cereal bowl which he filled with some hot water from the kettle. ‘That should warm it up.’

‘Thank you,’ she whispered, eyeing me.

‘So,’ she said, seating herself in the bay window to the right of the island to feed Felicity. ‘How are you coping? I can’t imagine having to deal with something like that. But you’re safe here. Isn’t she, Piers?’

‘Of course,’ he said, keeping his eyes averted from me. Hm . ‘I told her so.’

‘I know, and thanks again, but we know that I can’t stay here forever.’

‘Don’t worry about that for now.’

‘Th-that’s very generous of you, but I can’t accept— it goes against my principles. I can get along just fine by myself.’

‘Kate,’ he whispered and Emmie looked up at us. ‘Stop worrying. He can’t get to you here.’

‘And good luck penetrating the Starry Cove Force Shield,’ Emmie added. ‘We take care of our own down here.’

‘But that’s just the thing,’ I argued. ‘I’m not one of you.’

‘None of us were,’ she answered simply, giving Felicity a respite from the bottle. ‘Look at me. Look at Faith. Nina. Only Nat really has lived in the area, but she used to live up on the cliffs with that jerk of a surgeon husband who always kept to himself.’

‘Yeah, well, Neil is odd,’ Piers said. ‘But he’s not a bad man, really. They just weren’t a good fit, is all.’

‘How is it that you know everybody, always holed up here?’ I asked before I could stop myself.

‘It wasn’t always like that,’ he whispered as Emmie shot him a glance. ‘I used to be one of the boys before I… went away.’

Went away where, exactly?

‘Jago, Henry, Jack, Gabe. We all went to school together.’

‘Whenever Jago bothered to show up,’ Emmie added with a giggle. ‘Thank God things are different now.’

‘Things change, yes,’ he said. ‘And people change.’

What secret was Piers so desperately trying to keep, I wondered?

‘And then came Mitchell from Ireland, luckily for Rosie. And Shane too.’

‘This place,’ I said. ‘It’s all so strange, with all its celebrities hiding away from the rest of the world. No wonder the villagers are so protective.’

‘Well, they’ve earned their place here,’ Emmie said and Piers nodded.

‘They’ve donated consistently to our school, to the church, to the town.

Nina insists on her movies being shot here to create jobs in the area.

There’s actually a filming studio on the edge of town, and Piers used to let the Manor be used as a set before—’ She bit her lip, and an awkward silence descended on the kitchen.

‘How about I make us all a nice cup of tea?’ Piers offered, clapping his hands before he began to open and shut cupboards, then opened the side window to call into the vegetable patch. ‘Justin! Where are the good goodies? Stop holding out on me!’

‘In the pantry, in the Tupperware containers, sir!’ was the answer.

‘Ah! Yes, now we’re talking!’ Piers cheered, rubbing his hands together, and disappeared through the side door to return with his arms full of plastic containers which he proceeded to open.

‘I knew it, you old dog!’ Piers chimed as he lifted a container and held it to his chest like Emmie held Felicity.

‘And here, ladies, and baby, with an array of the most exquisite apples from my old friend Jack’s orchard, may I present to you Justin’s ultimate masterpiece, the apple pie? ’

By this time, Wolf was on his hind legs, practically begging.

‘Sorry, old friend. This stuff is bad for you.’ Instead, Piers pulled a chewy biscuit out of his pocket and Wolf did something akin to a triple somersault to make sure he didn’t miss it.

He was so adorable. I wished that he liked other dogs.

He and Trixie would have had a whale of a time.

‘Piers, I forgot,’ Emmie said haltingly. ‘My tyres look a bit deflated. Can you come outside and give them a proper kick?’

At that, he looked at her, somewhat resigned. ‘Yep,’ he said tersely and followed Emmie and Felicity out the door.

Of all the lamest excuses, I said to myself, but my own thoughts were interrupted by a hissing. Piers had left the window open in his haste to grab the goodies.

‘When are you going to tell her? How long are you going to string her along for like that? It’s not fair on her. And it’s not fair on us.’

He groaned. ‘I know.’

‘We deserve better, Piers.’

‘I said I know , Em. But I’m not ready.’

‘Not ready? This woman is falling in love with you, can’t you see that?’

‘Yes.’

‘So what are you going to do about it?’

‘I don’t know yet.’

‘You have feelings for her too, don’t you?’

He was silent.

‘Tell her the truth. Don’t put me in this position, or anyone else, for that matter. Tell her. You can trust her.’

‘I know. But it’s myself I don’t trust.’

‘You make it sound like it was your fault.’

‘Wasn’t it?’

‘Piers, you know we love you, but you have to get on with it. Sophie – I mean Kate – clearly cares about you.’

It was true. I did care about him. More than I realised. But did he care at all for me now, after my revelation? And even though I’d shared my biggest secret, there was something he still wasn’t telling me. Based on my behaviour of lying and keeping secrets, I guess I couldn’t very well blame him.

Emmie didn’t stay long after that. Something had shifted in the atmosphere and she thought best to dissolve, but not without a promise to come back with the rest of the Coastal Girls.

As for me, I spent the rest of the evening moping in my office. She had referred to something he needed to get over. Probably another woman. Perhaps he was treated badly like I was. But surely now that he knew about how Will had treated me, he could confide in me about his own past relationship?

Or was I being selfish and presumptuous?

I didn’t know what he’d been through, to be honest. It could have been way worse than my predicament.

Something much more painful. Mine was all about my fear of losing my baby.

Perhaps Piers had actually lost someone dear to him?

And perhaps he wasn’t over it, and never could get over it.

Maybe that was what was stopping him from having a real relationship with me or any other girl?

Because his pain was bigger than his love?

If that was the case, who was I to stand here and expect him to be a part of my life, if he needed to sort himself out first? It wasn’t fair on him.

I huffed and sat down to pay Piers’s company bills and tidy up the office as if it was my last day there.

And perhaps it was. I had betrayed everyone, even if I’d had my good reasons; the reality of it was that instead of Sophie, they now had had Kate foisted upon them.

Kate, thief and blackmailer extraordinaire.

How could I ask them to trust Kate when she’d done nothing but lie?

And how could Kate expect Piers to make good of his promises to take care of her?

Based on what, the fact that she had a temporary job with his company? No, I couldn’t depend on him.

These thoughts swirled through my head for the rest of the day. Just as the sky was turning purple outside my window, Piers walked in.

‘Hey,’ he said, leaning on the mahogany desk, his arms lifting to embrace me but falling to his sides when I made no attempt. Stay cold, stay distant.

He stopped and studied me in silence as I faffed around with my file folders as if my life depended on them. ‘Hey,’ I said, piling all the recent correspondence to my left next to the phone, unable to meet his eyes.

As I tidied up all the pens and pencils, just killing time now, I wondered whether Emmie had finally convinced him to confess to me whatever his secret was.

But who was I to judge? I’d been duping everyone since the day I arrived.

I’d got a cottage, a doctor and a job, all with no ID.

Such was their trust, and look how I’d reciprocated.

The least I could do was make it easy for him.

‘Piers, I… I’m going to go…’

‘What? Go where?’

I shrugged, taking the pencils out again and putting them back in, tips down.

‘I’m not quite sure yet, but I’ve taken advantage of you and Starry Cove enough.

’ And I meant it. I needed to disappear.

I just needed to be careful wherever I moved to, to not become too friendly with anyone.

Not to care for anyone too much. And not to love anyone too much.

He stepped forward and we were face to face. ‘But why? I told you I’d protect you.’

‘I can’t do this right now, Piers,’ I said, grabbing my bag. Where had Trixie gone off to?

‘No, Kate, you can’t go. I don’t want you to. I care about you.’

‘Even after…’

‘Yes.’

He lifted my chin so I had to look up at him. ‘I’m not the best with words. Nor am I particularly open about my feelings. I’m a private bloke; you know this. But I can tell you that I do care about you and I will protect you.’

Perhaps he could protect me, if only for a little while.

‘Will you stay? Please?’ he whispered.

I certainly couldn’t go back to Tulip Cottage now, in the middle of the night. I sighed and finally nodded.

The next day, I received a visit from old Nan at Rosestones.

Even if she hadn’t seen Will’s video, I now knew that she was an incorrigible gossip.

Someone else in the village would have told her.

She was pulling a trolley full of goods and looking much better than the last time I’d paid her a visit.

‘Hello, love, how are we doing today? Something for when your tot arrives.’ So everyone did know now. ‘There hasn’t been a birth in Starry Cove since little Felicity Moon. The whole village is ecstatic.’

I pushed back a sob and hugged the old dear. She smelled fresh, like a sheaf of mint just picked from the garden. ‘Nan, you’re spoiling me rotten…’

‘Nothing but the best for our newest Starry Covian.’

At those kind words, my eyes welled up completely.

But her message was clear. That whatever anyone said, it was the villagers’ duty to protect anyone living here.

That was a great code to live by, and I had to give back somehow.

I had to reassure her that her kindness, even in the face of scandal, hadn’t been misplaced.

‘He’s lying, Nan,’ I blurted out. ‘My ex-boyfriend,’ I assured her, wondering how many people would doubt me now. ‘I would never blackmail anyone. I only ran to protect my baby. Please believe me…’

Nan sighed. ‘Oh, pet! I knew the minute I saw you that someone had hurt you badly. Your little forlorn face was a portrait of dereliction and fear when you arrived here. And now look at you! You’ve come such a long way with a little love and kindness. This is your home now.’

‘But don’t you understand, Nan. If someone gives me away, he’ll find me, and he’ll just take my baby away from me. I couldn’t bear that!’

‘Well, that is simply not going to happen,’ she assured me right back. ‘Piers has got proper security and he won’t let anything happen to you. He’s not a bloody world-famous rockstar for nothing, you know!’