‘I don’t remember the house feeling this small when we were growing up.’ The three-bedroomed cottage was bursting at the seams with five adults, one almost-teenage boy and a baby. ‘You sure you’re okay with Dad looking after Nora?’
‘Absolutely. He’ll enjoy having her to himself to spoil, and if he wants, he can take a nap when she does. There are bottles made up in the fridge, so he should be good.’
They fell silent for a moment, thinking how fortunate they were to have their father well again.
‘Now, let’s go.’
For once, Lyndsey followed her bossy sister’s instructions and didn’t mind one bit.
* * *
‘Warm enough for you, is it?’ Griff playfully whipped out a handkerchief and dabbed at Lyndsey’s brow. ‘Makes you want to rush back to the hot, humid Tennessee summer, doesn’t it?’ He slipped his arm around her waist. ‘Don’t take this wrong, because I’m over the moon to get you to myself for a few minutes, but are you gonna tell me what’s behind your family’s sudden disappearance?’
A minute ago, he’d miraculously found himself alone with Lyndsey in the tropical biome, after Becca announced she was off with her mother and Theo to the Mediterranean biome. Theo was supposedly mad keen on attending a workshop about the people whose behind-the-scenes jobs made the Eden Project such a success.
‘Can’t fool you, can we? Let’s find somewhere cooler to chat. How about we get a coffee downstairs?’
‘Sure.’
‘Don’t look so worried. It’s not a date with the guillotine.’
Griff kept to himself that was how it felt. ‘I was only wondering if they’ll have any millionaire’s shortbread, so I can see how it rates.’
‘I should’ve guessed. Come on, Mr Greedy.’ Lyndsey linked her arm through his and they wended their way back to the stairs.
Luckily, it was too early for most people to be thinking about lunch, so there were plenty of empty tables scattered around the expansive space.
‘You pick a quiet spot while I get our drinks,’ Lyndsey suggested. ‘I don’t need to ask what you want to eat.’ She wandered off towards the cafeteria counter.
Griff selected a table by one of the huge picture windows overlooking the outside gardens. He retreated into his own thoughts and various depressing scenarios ran through his mind. Yesterday, Lyndsey went off on her own to Truro and spent the morning at her business, coming back looking very thoughtful. Maybe she’d come to the realization The Right Placewaswhere her future lay, and there wasn’t room in her life for him after all. People sometimes got swept up in things, and it took a dose of cold, hard reality to open their eyes.
‘It’s all right; you don’t have to look so worried — they had plenty left.’ Lyndsey unloaded a tray in front of him and slid a plate of shortbread in his direction.
‘My day is complete.’ Griff bit into the chocolatey, caramel-laced, buttery deliciousness and chewed thoughtfully.
‘Well?’
‘I’ll give it a nine. It’s close to perfect.’ Sometimes the shortbread layer was either too hard or too crumbly. The caramel could be runny or stodgy. The chocolate too cheap. None of those negatives applied here. ‘You’ve always got to leave some room for improvement, a bit like with women.’
The corners of Lyndsey’s mouth twitched with amusement. Griff gulped a swig of coffee, then picked up on her nervous smile. He set down the mug and ignored the remaining shortbread. ‘So, apart from enjoying the pleasure of my company, what’s on your mind? Being back here has stirred it all up, hasn’t it?’
‘In a way.’ Lyndsey fiddled with a paper napkin, twisted it in a tight roll, unraveled it and started tearing it into shreds. ‘We’ve talked around what the future might look like for us, and don’t think I’m pressing you—’
‘But?’
‘At work yesterday — at the shop, it . . . didn’t feel like the right place for me any longer. Does that make any sense?’
‘Is there some other career you think would suit you better?’
‘I’m not sure it’s that exactly.’ She returned to fiddling with the remnants of her napkin, straightening bits out and frowning, as if she’d dumped a pile of jigsaw pieces out of the box and wasn’t sure how to start putting them together. ‘You know I’ve never lived out of Cornwall, Griff, except for my time at university, and then I only ventured as far as Plymouth.’
‘You’re scared of change. I get that.’ He reached for her hands, feeling them tremble in his.
‘But you threw in a great career and took the plunge to change everything about your life.’
It was time to tell her the complete truth.
Chapter Twenty-Three
