Effie gasped in mock horror. ‘That is outrageous! I might have to revoke your citizenship,’Effie took her pasty from him. ‘How can you not like a cream tea? How have you resisted all of Lola’s baking?’ She bit into the pasty. It was good, the filling piping hot and the pastry flaked perfectly. ‘Ummm, this is an exceptional pasty,’ she sighed through a second mouthful, only just realising how ravenous she was after her morning’s work. ‘What?’ she caught Jake looking at her.
‘Nothing.’ He shook his head, smiling, ‘it’s just . . . no, it doesn’t matter.’
‘It does now! I hate it when people start to say something and then backtrack,’ she said, clutching her pasty to her as a seagull swooped in, a memory of the sausage roll stealer surfacing.
Jake scanned the sky for seagulls and when he deemed it safe, unwrapped his pasty and took a bite, his eyes widening as the flavours hit his tongue. ‘Wow, that is one of the best pasties I’ve ever had! Please don’t tell my mum, she prides herself on her pasty-making.’ He chewed thoughtfully for a bit before saying, ‘Coming home felt comforting but alien at the same time. I didn’t know how to feel about it all but one really good thing about my return to Cornwall is meeting you, Effie.’
Effie swallowed her mouthful. ‘I’m very pleased to have met you too, Jake. You’ve been a huge help and a great friend.’
‘Thanks.’ He smiled almost shyly. ‘I liked your feistiness on the beach that morning.’
Effie laughed. ‘No one has ever called me feisty before. Quiet maybe, boring definitely.’
‘How many times do we need to go over this? You’re not quiet or boring, Effie,’ Jake said. ‘I always feel like I need to be on my toes with you.’
Effie gave him a questioning look. It was a curious thing to hear herself described by someone else, someone who was using completely different adjectives to those she was used to. ‘Why do you feel like you need to be on your toes with me?’
Jake shrugged. ‘I don’t know, maybe because I never know when you’re going to call me out. Tell me off for not liking cream teas or something.’
‘I wasn’t telling you off, just shocked, which is a perfectly reasonable response to such an outrageous confession.’ Effie shook her head in disbelief. ‘I don’t get it. What? Why are you looking at me like that?’ she asked before taking another bite of her pasty.
Jake studied her for a few moments before saying, ‘This is going to sound so trite but you’re really not like any of the girls I usually meet.’
Effie rolled her eyes but couldn’t help her heart hoping he was talking romantically. ‘I can’t believe you said that. What sort of girls do you normally meet – actually, don’t answer that. Ones who own hair straighteners, I guess.’ She gestured to her messy topknot.
Jake laughed. ‘Don’t forget the curling tongs. No, Effie, you’re doing your own thing. The swimming. The wild hair. The shop. Knitting. It’s nice.’
‘I thought that was normal girl stuff,’ Effie said as she scrunched up her pasty bag and took a sip of her tea.
‘Not where I’m from. My ex was an influencer, remember,’ he said quietly.
‘How could I forget?’ Effie mumbled, staring down at her grubby leggings and old T-shirt. The mention of Tara was like a cloud across her sun.
‘It was all fake, Effie,’ Jake said in a low voice. ‘All her friends were influencers. Or trying to be. I was their photographer. The amount of shots I had to take before there’d even be one semi passable one. The outfit changes. The posing. Yeah, it was fun at first, I enjoyed the freebies, but in the end . . .’ He trailed off. ‘I like that you’re not like that.’
Effie gave him a look. ‘How do you know I don’t change my outfit multiple times or take hundreds of selfies?’
Jake spluttered around for a reply.
‘It’s OK. I get what you’re saying. It’s a bit clumsy, but it’s nice. Thank you. I don’t get many compliments like that. I usually get ignored.’ Effie tucked Jake’s compliments away, reminding herself that he was just being kind, friendly, not to read too much into it. ‘You’ve turned out to be completely different from what I expected too.’
‘Go on,’ Jake encouraged.
Effie sensed him hanging on to whatever she was going to say next. She sipped her tea before explaining. ‘I thought you were rude and inconsiderate. That late night phone call, ugh, disturbing my sleep. The photo taking, nope, not cool but, as I’ve got to know you, I’ve realised you’re a really decent, genuine guy. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who’d have volunteered to help paint a shop for no payment. Although I still think I should ask Clive to pay you.’
‘Effie, I didn’t help you because I need money.’ His voice was tight as he found the words. ‘I helped you because I wanted to. I actually enjoy decorating, and no offence, but you needed some help. I still can’t believe your boss didn’t get anyone in to do it properly. Anyway, I was just kicking around at a loose end. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to come back here after living the so-called high life?’
Effie shook her head.
Jake finished his pasty, tossing the end of the crust to a waiting gull. They watched in fascination as it swallowed it down whole in record-breaking time.
‘It was hard. Really hard. I have to start everything again. From scratch. All my mates are settled down, nice jobs, on the property ladder, having blooming babies for goodness’ sake, and me, well, yeah—’ Jake held out his hands ‘—so helping you gave me something to focus on.’ Jake’s voice softened as he admitted, ‘I also helped because I was intrigued by this woman who emerged from the waves, put me firmly in my place about my photos and snapped at me about my telephone habits. You seemed fearless. Lola told me you were opening the shop and, yeah, I wanted to get to know you better. Is that OK?’
Effie swallowed, not quite sure what to make of his words. Did he mean as friends or in a romantic sense? Knowing she couldn’t ask him that, she just nodded. ‘Yes, that’s fine, more than fine, actually. Thank you. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you to be honest. Probably still be painting blobby shelves or something.’ She laughed nervously as their gazes caught and held for a few seconds longer than necessary.
Both a little unsure what to say or do next, they picked up their teas and turned their attention back to watching the gulls flying overhead. The birds occasionally dipped down into the waves before soaring back up high again. Effie snuck a glance at Jake. She felt something had shifted, but she didn’t know what, other than that she liked it. But could she trust it?
Chapter Twenty
