Adrian asked her whether she was missing Canada, she asked him if he missed living in Leeds. Both of them were grappling with threads of conversation, the bottle of water passed between them as though it might be a baton or an energy source to propel them forwards.
‘Leo was surprised Nina ever came back.’ Adrian looked out at the water and Maeve could see now that he wasn’t scared of it the way she’d been. The way his gaze was fixed on the waves as they built up and then crashed to shore she could tell he had a love, but also a boundary he couldn’t quite step over.
‘It’s nice to have her back too.’
‘You get on well?’
‘Always did.’
He smiled. ‘I remember you and Nina sitting on thesand round at Salthaven beach watching me and Leo surf.’
‘You remember?’
He wasn’t looking at the water now, only at her. ‘Of course I do.’
‘Do you still have your boat?’ she asked.
‘TheWildflower.’ He smiled now. ‘I do. Over the years I’ve been tempted to sell it. I walked down to the marina the other day.’
‘You did?’
‘Didn’t get any further than the main entrance. I couldn’t do it. My poor boat is still neglected, athough Leo takes it out now and then.’
‘It wouldn’t be right for you to get rid of it. You love that boat.’
He didn’t deny it.
‘Leo must be glad to have you back.’
‘I think he gets frustrated with me.’
‘The business?’ she asked although she already knew from Leo himself that that was one of his worries, it was what he wanted, him and Adrian together running the boathouse.
‘Yeah.’
‘He misses his brother. You two were always inseparable, this place was your whole world.’
‘Your son must be yours.’
She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.
‘What’s he like? Leo says he’s a great kid, got a bit of a Canadian accent still.’ He suddenly seemed a bit uncomfortable to be sitting alone with her here.
‘He is a great kid. And that accent is fading already.’ Her phone pinged and she apologised, but then smiled when she looked at the text. ‘It’s Jonah, he’s at the partyand asking when I’m coming back. That means he must be getting bored, he’s usually happy if I keep my distance.’
When she stood up he said, ‘I’ll maybe see you there later.’
She nodded, turned but then stopped and faced him once again. He was watching her walk away. ‘Come with me?’
He took a deep breath in. ‘In a while.’
But she didn’t move. And amused, he stood up. ‘You always were bossy.’
And he shared a smile with her that reminded Maeve of the younger man on the beach all those years ago, the drips of water as he emerged from the sea and the huge crush she’d had on him for a lot longer than anyone knew. Even him.
They walked so close to one another over to the cabin that Maeve caught a hint of shower gel on the breeze, a distinctly male fragrance that mixed with the sea air made her feel a little giddy.
‘Where were you?’ Jonah asked when she got inside. ‘You were ages.’
