Page 45 of The Little Cottage by the Cornish Sea

Six months later

The following summer, our first together as a family, Piers and I were married on the grounds of Rosestones.

It was a simple wedding, more like a summer fete, with bunting and games and music.

The entire village was there: Emmie, Nina, Nat, Rosie and Faith (plus huge bump) and their families; Laura, Nan, Justin, Mrs Watts, Piers’s staff and even Noah, who’d shown up with a huge bouquet of flowers, a bright smile, and that girlfriend from Australia he’d mentioned.

‘I’m really happy for you, darl,’ he said, kissing my cheek and caressing Scarlett’s little fist.

There were also Ralph and everyone from The Rolling Scones, my piano students and everyone who’d ever been kind to us.

Even Wolf and Trixie had managed to become friends. Apparently, neither of us girls were immune to the charm of the alpha males of Rosestones. As I watched, they panted away happily while dividing and conquering the guests who seemed to be the most inclined to part with their food.

Robert brought Kelly Kernow, his vet girlfriend. They were such a lovely couple. His ex-wife had finally resigned herself to the life she’d chosen without him and had to watch him be happy again with someone infinitely kinder.

‘Close your eyes,’ Piers murmured as he lifted Scarlett from my arms. ‘I’ve got a surprise for you.’

‘There’s more?’ I asked and then I heard a squeal. A very familiar squeal. I opened my eyes to see Tamsin rushing toward me, arms outstretched.

‘Oh my God!’ I cried as I threw my arms around her. ‘You tricked me! You said you couldn’t make it!’

‘Surprise!’ she cried back. ‘You look amazing, Kate! I’m so happy for you! And oh my God, look at how Scarlett’s grown!’

‘It’s been three months since you last saw her, of course she’s grown. Which reminds me. I want you to come visit more often, missy.’

‘I don’t think so,’ she said.

‘What?’ I said. ‘Why ever not?’

‘We’re moving down here to Starry Cove!’ she squeaked. ‘I wanted to surprise you, but we’ve just bought a cottage and Faith is doing it up for us!’

And that was when I saw her husband Mike, with a full head of hair, fit as a fiddle, and little Jake on his shoulders. I stared at him, my heart welling with even more joy, if possible. ‘Mike!’

‘Regression!’ he cried, wrapping me in his arms as Jake hugged my head.

‘Oh my God, I’m so, so happy!’ I sang over and over again. ‘We’ll all be so happy here!’

And then I began to bawl with happiness for my friends, who had been through so much and had come out the other end stronger than ever before.

‘Kate, stop it,’ Tamsin said, though she was wiping away her own tears. ‘You’re going to ruin your make-up.’

The girls circled us and raised their glasses. ‘To old and new Coastal Friends!’ Nina toasted, followed by everyone’s loud cheers.

‘Hear, hear!’

*

As for Piers, he no longer felt the need to hide away behind the walls of Rosestones as he wanted to lead a life as normal as possible, particularly for Scarlett, whom he was in the process of adopting.

So we’d moved out of Rosestones and bought Tulip Cottage, which we knocked through to the empty one next door. Noah did the work, of course. He’d assembled a small team and was doing well. As far as Rosestones was concerned, we decided to let it out for weddings and other important events.

But there was more, the best part: Piers and Robert had agreed to meet in private and had emerged red-eyed, their arms around each other like long-lost brothers meeting after years apart. It was a sight to see, which Nan nodded at with approval.

‘Only you could bring those two back together,’ she said, caressing my cheek. ‘Thank you, Kate, for entering our lives and making them much, much better.’

‘Thank you for accepting me, and agreeing to rent out the cottage to me. I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t!’ I replied, and we hugged.

And Will Compton? By his own confession recorded by Jago, he was finally charged with the theft of a little over two million pounds. We wouldn’t be seeing him for a very long time.

And we were working on Piers’s autobiography, Stripped .

It was all true and authentic: about his stage fright, the effect his parents’ death had had on him and how different he was from Blade.

Even the photos included in the book showed the real Piers.

Just him, for the world to see, with no make-up and no crazy outfits.

Just jeans and shirts, in the garden with a shovel, with Trixie and Wolf.

There were pictures of him crouching over his song books, cooking, working in the grounds, all things he does now.

And, just as a nod to his past career, a final black and white picture of the back of him with his guitar, facing the bright lights of a stadium so brightly lit, you couldn’t see anything else. Just like our future.