Maeve’s jaw had dropped and she seemed to be grappling with words that refused to come out of her mouth. She hadn’t been quite as shocked the first time she’d seen Nina at the café, but then again Nina had just told Maeve what a mess Adrian had been that night, given her a graphic description of a man who was broken.
‘It’s good to see you, Maeve.’ Adrian was still looking at her. ‘You’re doing well?’
‘I am.’ She revealed a glimmer of a smile but it was short-lived, and she gathered herself and quickly added, ‘I have to go, I’ll see you around. Maybe. Soon.’ Flustered, she hugged Nina goodbye, and then Adrian excused himself to go inside and grab them a table.
‘And then there were two,’ Leo smiled in the unique way he did with his eyes and lips that felt like flirting. She’d told him that once, and he’d said it was impossible for him to smile any other way. ‘Twice in one day. How are the sofas? Comfortable?’
‘They’re fine; thanks for the help earlier.’ She ignored the tug of desire in her belly. He looked handsome in a pale grey t-shirt and cargo shorts, his usual smooth-shaven look pleasantly marred with faint stubble. ‘It’s good to see Adrian out and about.’
‘It’s time. He’s almost a hermit.’ Leo raised a hand to his brother on the other side of the window. ‘And he probably knows we’re talking about him right now.’
‘Then I’ll let you go. But not before I tell you that I’m having a party for Grandad tomorrow night at the cabin. I thought it might be nice for him to enjoy one last gathering there before it goes up for sale.’
‘Sounds like a fine idea. He’ll be able to appreciate everything you’ve done, although the new tap is clearly the standout.’
‘Clearly,’ she laughed. ‘Your gran noticed it so it must be. So you’ll come?’
‘I’m invited?’
‘Of course. Adrian too.’
‘I’ll be there, wouldn’t miss it. But Adrian, I’ll work on him.’ And with that he headed inside.
Nina walked on fifty metres or so until she reached the estate agents. Meeting Maeve hadn’t been the only thing on her agenda when she came into town. And this was it. The cabin was ready. It was time to list it for sale.
The estate agent was so keen they arranged for an agent to come out in a couple of hours. Nina was happy to take charge of this side of things after Walt had said he’d rather not be involved until he had to be, and so she spent the rest of the afternoon shopping for accessories. She bought scatter cushions in cream and ocean blue, framed pictures of the beach and the seaside. She found a cute storage organiser with a beachside fabric that she’d put in the bathroom for surplus loo rolls and some novelty coat hooks to hang just inside the front door to the cabin, a place for people to hang their coats or an umbrella until they needed it.
By the time she headed back, her arms were laden with goodies for the cabin to add to its décor. Her job here was heading towards the finish line.
The question was, was she really ready to cross it?
Chapter Eleven
Leo
Leo finished up the kayak lesson well before the skies grew dark. It seemed like one minute you were wondering whether the endless summer nights would ever end and the next, you wondered how the darker evenings and mornings had crept up on you. The shorter days would be here soon, but for now he’d enjoy the opposite.
With the shed shipshape, the way he liked to leave it every evening, he made sure everything was in order in the shop area above, turned off the lights and locked up and set off on the short walk from the area out front down towards the cabins.
The lights were on at Nina’s and this evening he wouldn’t need an excuse to go and see her because he had an invite to the party.
Nina had been gone for twelve years and Leo hadn’t been a saint in that time, he’d had girlfriends on and off and hadn’t thought too deeply about whether they would last long term or whether he felt as strongly about them as he had Nina. But now he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he hadn’t. None of the women he’d dated over the years had made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end if they accidentally brushed past him, hewasn’t held captive when they spoke like he was with Nina, wanting her sentences to continue, wanting her to share whatever she was thinking. He hadn’t felt a rush of excitement if he’d bumped into them unexpectedly the way he had with Nina at the café in town. He’d been rude the first day she turned up here again, but since that day it was as though with every little wave, every polite exchange, not to mention the longer conversations and looks they shared, as well as laughs and proximity, something inside him gradually woke up and it was like he could finally breathe again. He was opening himself up to a whole world of hurt when she left the bay after the cabin was sold, but he couldn’t help himself. His feelings were still there and rather than accept her leaving, perhaps it was high time he told her how he still felt. Maybe she’d finally tell him the truth, why she’d run, why she’d left the great thing they had together. The lack of explanation had been one of the hardest things to accept, and seeing Nina back here in the bay made him realise that even after over a decade, he still needed to know everything.
He was about to pass Nina’s cabin and head to his for a much-needed shower before the party for Walt when Jonah poked his head out of her front door. ‘We’re having pizza! And chicken wings!’ he announced.
Nina appeared behind him, cheeks bright red as she blew into a balloon that expanded until Leo couldn’t see her face any more. A quick show of dexterity and she tied the rubber in a knot. ‘Done. Thank goodness.’
‘I helped,’ Jonah claimed.
‘Now why doesn’t that surprise me? Am I last to arrive?’ Leo asked.
‘Not at all.’ Nina reeled off some of the names of peoplewho were coming – Walt, Camille, Jonah and Maeve, Molly and Arthur.
‘Don’t forget Surfer Steve,’ said Jonah.
‘That is indeed his full name,’ Nina laughed. ‘Is Adrian coming?’ she asked when Jonah went back inside to help Maeve tie balloons up high wherever they could.
‘He said he might pop down later.’ He shrugged.
