Bea attempted to swipe him but he caught her hand and pulled her in close, placing his lips softly on hers before pulling away slowly and cupping his hands round Bea’s elbows. ‘The Hemingway is leading the parade of boats today and I’m hoping you’ll be up on deck with me?’
‘Try and stop me! I would love to do that.’ Bea flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.
‘Now go and get changed, we’re leaving in twenty minutes.’
‘Where to? And what about the sausage sandwiches?’ she asked, glancing towards the kitchen.
‘They’re coming with us.’ Nolan placed his hands on her shoulders, spun her around and pushed her gently towards the bedroom. ‘We’re leaving for Martha’s birthday meal at two o’clock so we need to be back before then.’
* * *
Twenty minutes later they had climbed into the rowing boat and manoeuvred their way through all the boats bobbing on the river. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining and only a few clouds dotted the sky. Bea knew exactly where they were going and as much as she looked forward to having breakfast at Castaway Bay, she felt sad and had to fight back the tears, knowing that after today she wasn’t going to wake up in the attic room and see The Hemingway floating on the water anymore. Biting her lip, she filled her head with all the happy moments she’d had since she’d arrived – their first visit to Castaway Bay, the painting of her, the bike rides when her ankle hurt. The last month had been a blast and Bea didn’t want the summer to come to an end.
There was a comfortable silence between them as Nolan rowed the boat, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Castaway Bay looked as beautiful as the first time she’d laid eyes on it. As the boat bumped along in the shallow water Nolan stood and tied it to the jetty. Placing the rucksack over his shoulder, he held out his hand towards Bea.
Wearing flip-flops, Bea stepped into the water and gave a tiny squeal.
Nolan laughed. ‘It always feels cold at first.’
Still holding hands, they walked in silence to the spot where they’d had their very first picnic. Bea didn’t trust herself to speak. Although this was a perfect moment, in a perfect setting, with the perfect man, her heart was already beginning to break.
Stopping in the same ideal spot as before, Nolan opened the rucksack, took out the food and laid it on the ground. They both sat down, stretched their legs in front of them and stared at the magnificent view. Nolan passed Bea a sausage sandwich and she unwrapped the foil whilst he poured them each a cup of tea from the flask.
‘I know it’s not as extravagant as our first picnic,’ he said, handing Bea her drink. ‘But I think this is my favourite place that I’ve ever visited.’
‘Me too,’ replied Bea. Taking a sideward glance towards Nolan, she said, ‘I’m beginning to feel sad. I never wanted this day to come.’
Nolan stretched out his arm and Bea cuddled into his chest, taking in the familiar smell of his aftershave. She wiped a tear away with the back of her hand. ‘I have had the best few weeks, I really have, and it’s breaking my heart that you’re going even though I knew that you would. Nolan, I can’t cope with saying goodbye. I just want you to slip away.’ Bea was shaking, her heart was thumping and the dull ache inside her was growing stronger. ‘I know you have to do whatever you need to do to heal from the past and I know you’re scared of getting close to anyone again after what happened with Hannah. I do fully understand. But please remember you’re not alone. You have Martha, Gwen and Isla too. And you have me.’
‘I know,’ replied Nolan. ‘Please don’t cry. I knew today was going to be hard but I didn’t know it was going to be this hard.’ He paused, entwining his fingers with hers. ‘I’ve brought you here because … I thought you might have worn that red bikini again,’ he said, trying to lighten the mood. He gave her a wolfish grin with a glint in his eye and Bea shook her head and laughed.
He reached inside the rucksack and pulled out a bottle, a pen and a sheet of paper. ‘I thought we could throw our own message in a bottle into the water.’
A smile spread across Bea’s face. ‘What a perfect thought.’
‘And I wanted to give you this,’ he said, reaching inside the bag.
‘What’s in there?’ asked Bea, taking the object from him.
‘Open it and find out.’
Bea’s heart skipped a beat.
The contents were hidden beneath delicate blush-pink tissue paper, which Bea slowly opened to reveal three silver buttons. She turned them over in her hand. They were small and delicate and each button had something engraved on it. She spread them out in the palm of her hand for a closer look.
‘H&F,’ Nolan pointed out, as he took them from her and laid them out in order. ‘Hemingway & Fernsby.’
‘They are beautiful,’ exclaimed Bea. He gave her back the H for Hemingway, kept the F for Fernsby, and placed the ‘&’ in the bottle.
‘Write a note,’ he encouraged.
Bea took the paper and pen from him. In the top righthand corner, she wrote the date and replicated the heart that was on the letter they’d discovered from Martha and Morgan.
A Summer Surprise at The Little Blue Boathouse.
Hemingway & Fernsby, looking for another case to solve.
They both signed the paper and Bea placed the button in the middle of the page and folded it up into a small square. Nolan pushed it inside the bottle and corked it securely. Joining hands, they walked the short distance across the sand to the edge of the water. Bea swallowed a lump and couldn’t hold back the tears. Nolan pulled her in close and handed her the bottle.
