Page 11 of The Summer Escape

“Yes.” She couldn’t face scattering the ashes yet. “We’ll come back with Granny next year.” The decision filled her with a sense of relief. All she wanted to do was spend their final day on the beach without thinking about her mum’s ashes.

After some hasty packing, they set off to Mirren’s house. Beth would enquire about booking for next year while she settled the bill. As they approached the back door, laughter from the kitchen stopped Beth in her tracks. She was about to suggest they come back later, but Ellie boldly opened the door and marched inside.

“Sorry,” Beth said as she followed. “I need to teach her about knocking.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Mirren’s smile stretched wide. “Come in and meet Trystan. Another of my sons.”

“Hi,” Beth said to the guy in shorts and T-shirt sitting up on the kitchen counter. His blonde hair highlighted his tanned skin and a sheen of sweat glistened at his hairline. “It’s your cottage we’ve taken over, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” The skin around his eyes crinkled as he smiled.

“I hope you didn’t mind too much that we stayed longer.”

“It’s fine. I had a few days of being pampered by my mum.” He beamed down at Ellie, who was standing by his legs. “Hello again.”

“You look hot,” Ellie told him.

Doesn’t he just?Beth thought, hoping her cheeks hadn’t betrayed her by flushing bright red.

“I’ve been for a run.”

“Have you two already met?” Beth asked, registering the fact that he’d greeted Ellie as though they’d seen each other before.

“Kind of. Briefly. We’ve waved at each other through the window a few times and then …” He glanced down at Ellie, who stared up at him. Whipping his head up again, he extended his hand. “Beth, was it?”

“Yes.” She felt slightly flustered as she shook his hand. The weather had definitely made a turnaround from the previous week. The room felt stuffy even so early in the day.

“Why are you sitting up there?” Ellie asked.

“That’s a very good question.” Mirren rolled her eyes. “I’ve been asking the same since he was about nine years old.”

Ignoring his mum, Trystan kept his eyes on Ellie. “It’s a better height up here.”

Out of nowhere, Beth had an image of standing between his legs and kissing his beautiful lips. That probably wasn’t what he meant about the height. Taking a step backwards, she wiped her hands on her shorts and cleared her throat. The heat was getting to her.

“Come here,” Trystan said, reaching down and lifting Ellie to sit beside him. He tilted his head as though telling her a secret. “I have four brothers, and when I was growing up, the kitchen was always full of people. We liked to annoy each other, so it was always better to sit up here so no one could sneak up behind you and thwack you on the back of the head or flick your ears.”

“Did your brothers hit you?” Ellie asked with wide eyes.

“Yeah.” He put his hand in front of his mouth as he mock-whispered, “But most of the time it was my mum giving me a clip.”

“That’s true,” Mirren said with a smile. “But you should have heard how cheeky he was.”

Trystan flashed Beth a smile that made butterflies dance in her stomach. “I heard it rained a lot for your holiday,” he said, changing the subject.

“We were very unlucky with the weather.” Beth’s voice sounded slightly unnatural, and she had the feeling her sweat glands were in overdrive. “The last few days have been gorgeous though.”

“I don’t want to go home,” Ellie said grumpily. “But Mummy says we can’t stay in the cottage any more so we have to.”

“Well now I feel bad.” Trystan looked at Beth with a pained expression. “Sorry.”

She gave a quick shake of the head. “Don’t apologise. I’m grateful we got to stay a few extra days.”

“Yesterday we went on a boat trip and saw seals,” Ellie announced happily.

“That sounds like fun,” Trystan replied. “Did you swim with them?”

“I can’t swim,” she said, gazing up at him. “I liked seeing them from the boat though. Some of them were sunbathing on a beach. I don’t like sunbathing, but I like making sandcastles. That’s why I don’t want to go home.”