I laughed, irony laughed within it. “Yeah. I need to get over this thing with cars.”
Catrin nodded. “It’s understandable. But it’s going to hinder you. You know that. But only you can make that choice.” She started to back away. “Think about it. I’ve been watching the two of you together all summer and you’re more than just a shag on the sand.”
“What about you and Anders? Are you more than that too?”
Her face lit up. “So much more. Not that I’ll admit it, but I’m planning on keeping him around.” She blew me a kiss and headed off, leaving me listening to the thud of hammers and the bang of construction.
And then the beat of my own heart.
* * *
I headeddown to the beach after the builders had mostly packed up for the day. The cost of the building was going to be huge, but justifying it hadn’t been a problem. I needed a base, whether that was somewhere to paint or potentially an office on the island from where I could work, if I decided to carry out small building projects.
The island was growing in terms of its demands. People were moving here after retirement and wanted properties that suited their needs and maintained the standards they were used to back on the mainland. My own project had received several visitors each week, people who were coming to look at the house and what I was doing with it; some were just nosy, others were keen to ask questions and talk about their own properties, ask questions about extensions and even rebuilds.
The beach was busy with tourists and locals alike, the food festival drawing most people away from the bars and restaurants and their caravans and lodges. Kids were playing on the beach away from the stalls and I could see Harry and my nephews kicking about a ball. Janie and Anya were watching them, and I felt a glow as I heard both of them laughing as I approached.
I sat down next to Anya, kicking the ball back to Harry just before my backside met the sand. My arm went around her shoulder and she leaned into me, her head resting against my arm. This felt right. More right than I’d had for so long. For the first time in what felt like forever I was certain that Ryan would approve of what I was doing. We’d joked about being bachelors for life, eventually becoming two old gits, lonely and overweight in to a bar without a woman interested in us, but neither of us had wanted that. He’d have liked Anya. Not in the same way I did – I’d have sorted him out if he had.
“How’s your day been?” Anya turned and looked at me when Janie got up to see to one of the kids who was getting cross at the other two.
“Good. Catrin stopped by.”
“To impart her words of wisdom or to ask about her house and an extension?”
I frowned. “She didn’t mention an extension. She did warn me not to hurt you.”
There was a sweet laugh that broke over the sounds of the waves and the crowd. “She forgets we’re not fifteen anymore.”
I nuzzled her hair. “She’s just being a good friend. How was your day? I believe you’re an auntie again.”
“I am. And I have a slightly less cranky sister. And a niece. Marcy. She’s doing well. I took Harry to see them before.” She giggled. “He took one look at her and said ‘we’re not keeping her, are we? She is going back?’”
I laughed. I was younger than Janie so I’d never been usurped by a younger sibling, but I understood where he was coming from. “Has he gotten over it yet?”
She shook her head. “I think he’s forgotten about it, or he’s trying to forget about it. It’ll be a few more days before reality hits anyway and in the meantime he’s being spoilt. So what else did Cat have to say?”
Harry was with Janie and the boys, kicking ball about a little closer to the sea where the sand was flat and firm. The noise from the festival had dimmed, or I had become used to it, and the atmosphere was the same it had been all summer. Telling her about the conversation I’d had with her friend would open up a bigger discussion, one with the potential for everything to unravel.
“She talked about us.”
“Us as in me and you? Or you and Cat?” There was a giggle to her words but it sounded nervous.
“Me and you.” I threaded my fingers through her hair. “About where our summer romance is going.”
Anya turned her head to look at me. “I go back to London in a week and a half.”
“Does that mean we have to end it? I get that the distance is huge and problematic.”
She looked out to the sea, her eyes full of uncertainty.
“I don’t think I’m ready to let you go. The idea of you meeting someone else makes me want to demolish another building.” And potentially put my fist in that man’s face.
She settled against me. I moved so she could learn back on my chest and wrapped my arms around her. It was August, but autumn was on its way. The breeze had a nip to it that hadn’t been there a couple of weeks ago and the air in the very early mornings bit the flesh.
“I don’t know, Gabe. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“What do you want to do?”
