Lyndsey’s troubled mood lifted as she gazed at the sea stretched out in front of her, glittering in the early morning sun like a handful of diamonds tossed on a blue silk sheet. After lying in bed rigid and sleepless all night, she finally gave up shortly after five o’clock. As quietly as she could, she’d gathered up the clothes she wore yesterday and crept out of her old childhood bedroom, now shared with Becca and Nora. She sneaked past what Griff and Theo laughingly called the Man Room and inched down the steep, narrow stairs. As soon as she stepped outside and took a few breaths of the cool, salt-tinged air, she began to feel better. By the time she reached the cliffs overlooking the beach at Carlyon Bay, her brain fog had thankfully started to clear.
‘I told you I left my old job because I wanted to pursue my stained-glass work full-time, but that wasn’t the complete truth. If I hadn’t resigned, they would’ve fired me, Lyndsey.’
Griff’s shocking confession yesterday had struck her hard. She clearly remembered everything else going on around them in the Eden Project café receding, from a noisy argument between two fussy children and their parents about eating ice creams before lunch, to the clatter of a waitress busy clearing the nearby tables. She’d focused all her attention on listening to the gray-faced man hunched over in front of her, his husky voice roughened by nerves.
‘I’ll spare you the details, except to say that I’d got so caught up in the fight for a promotion I felt I was owed that I trampled over other people without a second thought. One woman in particular was far better qualified and I knew it, but I didn’t let that stand in my way. I was shitty enough to ignore the fact we’d been dating for a couple of months and made up lies about her. I almost got away with it.’
It’d been almost impossible to wrap her head around the fact Griff hadn’t always been an honorable man. She’d pretended to take the news well when he promised he’d confessed everything to his bosses before it was too late, but deep down, she’d been massively conflicted. Lyndsey knew she’d disappointed him when she suggested they went to find the rest of their party and then avoided being left alone with him for the rest of the day. When Becca asked a lot of pointed questions later, she’d brushed them off by explaining she had a lot to think about. She let Becca assume their discussion about children hadn’t gone the way she hoped.
Now she saw how judgmental she’d been, especially as he’d never flinched when she confessed some of her own darker secrets.
Lyndsey heard footsteps nearby and jerked around. ‘Where did you come from?’
Griff had materialized on the path, like a genie popping out of a magic lamp. He looked as ragged and sleepless as she felt.
‘Same place as you. Number twenty-four White River Road.’ His laconic response pulled the whisper of a smile out of her.
‘How did you—?’
‘Know you were here? I followed you.’ His tired face creased into a satisfied smile. ‘My wayward brother used to steal out of the house all the time, and I brought him back more than once without our folks finding out. One creaky floorboard and I’m wide awake — not that I was really asleep anyway. You know full well why that was.’
Heat prickled her neck.
‘I should’ve told you everything about leaving my old job before. I’m sorry.’
‘You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. I do, though. I was an uptight cow.’
Griff’s eyes twinkled. ‘I wouldn’t phrase it that bluntly.’
‘I’m right, so don’t you dare argue.’
‘No ma’am. Wouldn’t dream of it.’ He hesitated. ‘Your dad mentioned something — or rather, someone — yesterday, and took it for granted I knew what he was talkin’ about. I didn’t correct his assumption, but—’
‘Tristan, I suppose?’ Lyndsey sighed when he gave a sheepish nod. ‘I should’ve done that myself. I’m sorry. It was crazy and cost me a good friend. I’m not sure what got into me.’ She plucked at a ragged hole in one sleeve. ‘No, I do know. It was my last fling at being jealous of Becca for stupid reasons. She seemed to have it all — again. We both know that’s not true, and everyone’s “all” is different anyway.’
‘It sure is,’ he said fervently.
‘I was never trying to hide it from you . . . but I felt such an idiot afterwards. All I wanted was to forget all about it, so I pushed it to the back of my mind.’
‘Yeah. I know how that feels. Does this Tristan guy live around here still?’
‘Yes, at the other end of the village, but don’t worry he won’t tackle you in the pub or anything like that.’ Lyndsey’s promise made Griff smile. ‘Mum even told me this morning that he’s got a new girlfriend.’
‘I reckon we need to forgive each other and move on?’
‘Sounds good to me.’ Lyndsey smiled back at him. ‘I’m afraid we should probably go back home. My dad’s an early riser and so is Nora. If we’re missed, it’ll set off alarm bells.’
‘Nope, it won’t.’ He sounded smug. ‘I left a note saying I was taking you out for breakfast and promised we’d be back by lunchtime for this afternoon’s mackerel fishing expedition. I reckoned a couple of hours on our own wasn’t too much to ask for.’
‘Well, aren’t you the smart one?’
‘Occasionally.’ Griff’s hand snaked around her waist. ‘Found you, didn’t I? I reckon that makes me the smartest guy around.’
‘There’s only one snag.’
‘What’s that?’
‘I didn’t bring any money, and the nearest café is a couple of miles away over a challenging, very hilly section of the path.’
