Page 57 of The Summer Escape

“Yes,” Beth said. “Put your hand in and you can feel my hand in the middle.”

Hesitantly, Ellie stuck her hand into the hole, then laughed loudly when her fingers found Beth’s. It was impossible to resist grabbing onto her hand and trapping her in place, as Trystan had done to her.

“I’m stuck!” Ellie shouted at Trystan.

Mischief flashed in his eyes. “I can help.”

“Don’t you dare tickle me!”

“Oh, I dare.” He dropped to his knees and tickled Beth’s ribs.

Laughing, she released Ellie’s hand and fell back, landing against Trystan’s solid chest. The warmth of his bare skin against hers felt wonderful, and the moment before they moved apart was gone too soon.

“What do you think of my tunnel?” Trystan asked Ellie when she walked over and casually slung her arms around his neck.

“Can we pour water in it?”

He laughed. “You want to flood the tunnel? How would the princesses get through?”

“The princesses aren’t real,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder. “I was only pretending.”

“Okay. Let’s flood it then.” He peeled her off him as he stood. After drinking from his water bottle, he instructed her to fill it with sea water.

“That should keep her occupied for a little while,” Beth remarked, moving to lie on her towel again, while Trystan did the same.

He watched Ellie running back up from the shore. “She has so much energy.”

“Yep. It’s annoying sometimes.”

“You never get a break, do you?”

A lump formed in Beth’s throat and she was thankful that Trystan didn’t look at her. Since her mum died it certainly felt as though she didn’t get a break … and having someone notice it made her overwhelmingly emotional.

All she wanted to do was reach over and kiss him, but with Ellie around she really couldn’t. Besides, she wasn’t sure how things stood between them now.

“Do you still want to go to Tresco tomorrow?” she asked, changing the subject to something more neutral.

“I’d like to,” he said. “If you’re not sick of me yet.”

“Definitely not,” she said, smiling widely.

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

Beth had her camera at her face almost constantly as they walked through Tresco Abbey Gardens. Each time she lowered it, another stunning sight begged for a snapshot. A stone archway from the ruined priory in the centre of the gardens was a fascinating sight – with plant life growing through the cracks between the stones. After photographing it from a distance, she moved closer, twisting the zoom ring then waiting a beat for the autofocus to kick in for a close-up of the stunning pink flowers at the base of the archway. The pungent scent of them was overwhelming and the buzz of hovering bees filled the air.

Straightening up, she marvelled at the dense vegetation around her, then finally dropped her gaze to the space beside her leg. She turned in a quick circle.

“Ellie?” she called, her heart rate kicking up a notch. “Ellie?”

Upping her pace, she slipped through the archway and pushed fronds of a young Nikau palm aside as she turned on the path. Rounding the next corner, she heard whispered voices and remembered Trystan was with them. She wasn’t used to someone else keeping an eye on Ellie.

“What are you doing?” she asked, spotting Ellie lying on her tummy across the path, peering under a hedge with Trystan crouched beside her.

“Shhh,” they both hissed.

Ellie scowled as she stood up. “You scared it away, Mummy.”

“What was it?”