Page 122 of The Summer Escape

He tightened his arms around her waist. “Me too.”

“I think this is the right place for us too,” Beth told him.

“How do you mean?”

Her gaze swept up to the cottage before landing back on him. “I think we should move here.”

“What?”

“I think all three of us will be happier living here.”

The skin around his eyes crinkled as his eyes narrowed. “What about your dad?”

“I’ll go back and visit him regularly.” Her shoulders rose and sank as she sighed. “I’m probably going to feel horribly guilty for leaving him, but if we stay in Plymouth, I’ll feel guilty for putting him before us.”

“You know I’d be perfectly happy to live in Plymouth. I don’t want you to move here because you think it’s what I want.”

“I do think it’s what you want.” She smiled brightly. “But it’s also what I want. And I know Ellie would love to live here.”

“Have you really thought this through?”

“It’s been on my mind since you first talked about moving to Plymouth. I never let myself think about it seriously because of Dad, but this week everything became really clear. This feels like home.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “You should have told me you were thinking about it. We could have discussed it together.”

“I needed it to be my decision.”

“You know I’d never have encouraged you to leave your dad if you weren’t comfortable with it. But as a relocation specialist I might have been able to offer different perspectives …”

“Really?” She rolled her eyes. “Such as?”

A muscle twitched in his jaw and his eyes flashed with uncertainty. “There’s a care home on St Mary’s … they take patients with Alzheimer’s.”

She shook her head while his words sunk in. “What?”

“If you were uncomfortable leaving your dad, you could look into moving him here. I don’t know if it would work out or if it would be too unsettling for him to move, but it’s a thought …”

“Have you looked into it?”

“Only a quick internet search. I didn’t want to mention it before because you seemed set on staying in Plymouth, and I didn’t want you to think I wasn’t okay with that.”

“I don’t know if he could move from his care home. I’ve never even considered it.” She felt her brow furrow as she contemplated the idea. “It’s definitely worth looking into.” Whether or not it was a serious possibility, she was touched that he’d thought of it. With a hand on his cheek, she kissed him softly.

He broke into a wide smile when he pulled away. “Are we seriously moving here?”

“Yes!”

“When?”

“I don’t know. You’re the relocation specialist … how long will it take to organise?”

“Probably not very long.”

“Do you really think you can find a job here?”

“Yes. I don’t think that will be a problem.”

“I’ll need to figure out what I’ll do for work,” she mused. “But I’d be able to rent out the house in Plymouth, so that would be a bit of income.”