Page 86 of The Summer Escape

“School photography, professional head shots … workplace photography … anything that you can do during school hours.”

“It seems like such a step down from wedding photography.”

“It’s a sidestep, that’s all. And it’s only temporary. Ellie won’t be this little for long. In ten years she’ll be self-sufficient and you can do whatever you want.”

Beth rested her head on her hand on the arm of the couch. “Don’t say that. I don’t want her to grow up.”

“I’m afraid that’s one thing you really have no control over.” Dee smiled mischievously. “But you do have control over whether you see Trystan again. Send him some flirty messages to make up for you blanking him since you got home.”

“You were supposed to distract me from my urge to get in touch with him, not encourage it.”

“Just do it,” Dee pleaded.

“I need to think about it,” Beth said. “It’s probably a bad idea.”

“Thinking causes all sorts of problems. If I were you I’d give it up.”

Beth wished it was that easy. All she seemed to be able to think about was Trystan, and no matter how much she pondered what to do she couldn’t reach a definite conclusion. The rational part of her brain told her she was living in a dreamland if she thought it could be anything more than a holiday fling, but that was overshadowed by the fact that she missed him so much.

* * *

It seemed impossible to Trystan that he’d ever enjoyed wearing a suit. Arriving home on Tuesday evening, he began to undress the moment he walked through the door. Once he’d changed into a pair of shorts and T-shirt he felt he could breathe again. Sitting at the kitchen island, he read the messages from his brothers that he’d avoided looking at all day. As he’d suspected, his group chat with Kit and Noah consisted mainly of photos intended to taunt him. Pictures of Porthcressa Beach and Old Town Bay with comments about how they hoped Trystan’s view was just as good.

He smiled at the most recent messages sent an hour ago. Kit had sent a photo of his beer on the bar in the Mermaid Inn, then Noah had sent a similar one with a glass of water and slice of lemon along with a message about it being more to Trystan’s taste.

Hate you both,he replied, wondering how long they’d keep up with their campaign to get him to move back there permanently.

At leastsomeonemissed him.

With his phone still in his hand, he flicked into his messaging chat with Beth, scrolling to read their last messages before switching to his camera roll to torture himself with photos of her and Ellie. Finally, he tossed the phone aside and contemplated going for a run. He hadn’t been to the gym that morning so he probably ought to. Jogging in the city wasn’t appealing though, and he flopped onto the couch instead, only moving when his phone rang an hour later. He was tempted to ignore it, but on the off-chance it was Beth he forced himself to the kitchen for his phone, then didn’t have the heart to ignore his mum’s call.

“I meant to call last night,” she said as he took himself back to the couch. “But Keira called in for a drink and a natter. It was too late by the time she left.”

He made a noise of acknowledgement.

“How is it being back in the office?”

“Okay,” he mumbled, massaging his temples.

“You don’t sound too thrilled.”

“It’s fine. Same as ever.”

“Have you spoken to Beth since you got back?”

His jaw clenched. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because she didn’t seem keen to have a long-distance relationship. And if she wasn’t clear enough on the fact that she wanted to get on with her life and forget about me, she didn’t even bother to message me when they got home like she said she would.”

“Maybe you should have messaged her to check they’d got home safely …”

“No,” he said through gritted teeth. “Because she messaged you deliberately so I’d know they got home. She just didn’t want to be in touch with me.”

“Just message her,” Mirren said with an air of exasperation. “You obviously miss her and I’m sure she misses you too.”

“How did you reach that conclusion? Clairvoyant now, are you?”