Page 82 of The Summer Escape

Beth took a long swig of her wine, not commenting that the distance felt insurmountable. And not just in miles; they had different lives. Continuing their relationship felt utterly unrealistic. Sinking further into her seat, she focused on enjoying the stunning sunset for one final time.

“I wonder if Ellie’s asleep,” she finally said, breaking the comfortable silence. “Or Trystan, or both of them.”

“I reckon both of them is a good bet.”

“Ellie will have begged him to stay with her until she fell asleep.”

“Go and nudge him awake. I’m happy to listen for Ellie if you two want to go out.”

Beth thanked her and went inside. As she suspected, Trystan was fast asleep – with Ellie curled into his chest and sleeping soundly too. She tried to wake him, but when he stirred and went back to sleep, she gave up and changed into her pyjamas.

With her emotions all over the place it was hard to imagine she’d be able to sleep at all, but once she was snuggled beside Trystan she slipped easily into a peaceful slumber.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX

As he drifted out of sleep, Trystan became aware of the pressure in the centre of his forehead. Instinctively, he moved his hand to the spot and heard a childish giggle at the same time.

A smile hit his lips as he opened his eyes to find Ellie beaming down at him. The sunlight streaming through the window caught her hair, giving her an ethereal glow.

“What are you up to?”

“Poking you.” She moved her delicate finger to the side of his nose, making him laugh and swat her away.

“Why are you poking me?”

“To wake you up,” she said as though it should be obvious. “You slept in our bed.”

“It’s a very comfy bed.” He glanced at Beth, who was nestled beside him, her breath sweeping over the skin at his neck.

“Can we go to the beach today?” Ellie asked.

Trystan’s heart felt as though it stopped dead and a dull ache filled his chest. “You’re going home today, remember?”

“Are you staying here?”

“Just for a few days, then I’m going back to London.”

“Will you come to our house to see us one day?”

“Maybe.” He certainly hoped so, but he had no idea what was going to happen.

“I’m going to see if Mirren is awake,” Ellie said, hopping off the bed and running out of the room.

Holding Beth closer, he stared at her while she snoozed on his chest.

“I’d like to wake up like this every day,” he whispered, when her eyes flickered open.

She searched for his hand, pulling it to her face to kiss his palm. “Me too.”

“I know I’m starting to sound very needy, but I don’t want us to leave and not see each other again.”

Her silence and the way her forehead wrinkled didn’t do anything to allay his fears. Slowly, she tilted her face to look at him. “We’ll keep in touch,” she said. “I just don’t want us to make promises we might not be able to keep.”

“I wasn’t thinking of breaking any promises.” He pushed her hair from her face and traced his finger over her hairline.

“Let’s give ourselves time to settle back into real life. Then we’ll see how things look.”

“That sounds like a brush-off.”