This wasn’t good. She would have talked to either one of her parents, but in the circumstances, she didn’t know what to say to Jamie.
“I came downstairs to make coffee and heard you creeping out of the house.”
“I was trying to be quiet. I didn’t want to wake everyone.”
“I was already awake. I brought the coffee with me, and cups. Thought you might want one.” He gestured and she saw now that he’d slung a backpack over his shoulders. “Where are we going? The beach?”
He was assuming that wherever she was going, he’d be going too.
“Shouldn’t you be taking that coffee up to Hayley?”
“She’s still asleep.” He crouched down to rub Percy’s back. “Where’s Declan?”
“Still asleep.” Or was he? She didn’t know if he was asleep or pretending to be asleep so that he could avoid interaction with her. Her mind was going in all sorts of directions she’d rather it didn’t.
“I’m surprised Dad isn’t up. He is usually obsessed with getting his early-morning light.”
She was surprised too. For her entire childhood, her father had been the first out of the house. “He’s retired now. Maybe he’s having a lie-in.”
“Doesn’t sound like Dad, but maybe it’s a good thing he isn’t here. It gives us a chance to have that chat you wanted.” Jamie straightened and headed to the beach. “It’s freezing. The roads will be lethal. I don’t suppose Will and Becky will be here before this afternoon so I might take Hayley into town. I wantto show her our brilliant secondhand bookshop. Do they still serve that amazing hot chocolate at Christmas?”
“I think so. Sounds like a fun trip.” They’d spent so many hours there as children that it had almost felt like a second home.
“You and Declan are welcome to join us.”
“Oh—” She tugged her hat further over her ears. “Thanks, but we’ll probably stay home. Granny and Grandad are coming over for a family breakfast and then staying. I promised to help Granny with her dress. There’s a tear in it that needs mending. I haven’t seen them for ages so I don’t really want to go out. Maybe another time.”
“No worries. I didn’t know Granny and Grandad were coming this morning. In which case we might postpone our book trip. I want Hayley to meet them.” They’d reached the edge of the beach now, and Jamie stopped for a moment and breathed deeply. “It’s beautiful. Just look at it. That huge stretch of sand and just us. It’s incredible. We were so lucky growing up in this place.”
She looked at him, bemused. “Are you feeling okay?”
He glanced at her. “Never better. Why?”
“Because you’ve seen this beach at least a thousand times in your life and I don’t remember you ever getting poetic about it before. I seem to remember last year you were griping that the place was so cold and inhospitable you didn’t understand why all those people in the Middle Ages didn’t choose to invade somewhere warmer.”
“That was last year. This year I’m appreciating it.”
“Right.” Wondering what had happened to her brother, she turned and stared at the miles of windswept sand and the choppy sea. “Hayley seems nice.”
“She’s incredible.” He thrust his hands into his pockets. “I know it’s early days and you’ve only just met her, but when you’ve spent some time with her I think you’ll find she reallyisnice. Special.” He turned back to the ocean. “We connected instantly. After five minutes I felt as if I’d known her forever. She’s had a tough life, and yet she’s turned into this amazing, warm and funny person. There’s no bitterness, or resentment about the past. No complaining about what she didn’t have or doesn’t have now. She really believes in doing whatever you can with whatever life throws at you. I’ve never known anyone to look on the bright side the way she does. Most people I know are always moaning about something, but not Hayley. She appreciates every little thing. She has made me see the world differently.”
Rosie waited for him to draw breath. “So you like her, then.”
He laughed. “Sorry. Am I horribly boring?”
“Not yet. I’ll tell you when you are because that’s what sisters do.” And if she was honest, she was envious. What would Declan say about her if someone asked him? Would he admire her the way Jamie seemed to admire Hayley? Certainly, she’d been the same way after they’d first met. She’d used Declan’s name so many times in one conversation that Becky had threatened to move out. “I’m pleased you’re happy.”
“I am. I honestly never thought it was possible to feel this way about another person. I always used to look at couples and wonder how they knew they were right for each other. Marriage is such a huge step, I couldn’t figure out how they had the confidence to go for it, especially after Poppy. How could they be sure enough that it wouldn’t go wrong? That one of you wouldn’t just wake up one day and wonder if you’d made a mistake.”
Rosie’s mouth was dry. “Mm.”
“Honestly, I didn’t really get it, but now I do. It took a few hours for me to realise I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.”
“Okay, now you’re on the verge of making me nauseous, and I’m generally considered a romantic person. Coffee mighthelp. Are you planning on drinking it at any point or did you just add it to the backpack for weight training?”
“Coffee! How could I have forgotten?”
“I think you had other things on your mind.” She watched as he swung the backpack off his shoulders and pulled out the flask and mugs. Percy bounded across to them, nosed the backpack hopefully and then trotted away again when he found nothing more interesting than a flask.
