Effie considered him as she crunched through her chocolate flake. Her heart had been swelling more and more each day with feelings for him, but was he ready for a relationship? She had to stop with the wild fantasies until she knew where they both stood. She’d been burned before. Instead, she asked, ‘Do you think you’ll stay here?’
Jake glanced at her, taking her in, his eyes skimming down her face thoughtfully. ‘Honestly? I don’t know. I wasn’t planning on coming back permanently but now . . .’ He trailed off with a shrug. ‘I’m weighing up my options. It’s tempting to stay, I mean, look at it—’ he signalled to the view ‘—but, am I throwing away possibilities? There’s still so much stuff unfinished with Tara. It’s not easy to talk or sort it out when she’s in different time zones.’
‘It must be hard for a relationship to be over after you’ve been through so much together,’ Effie said.
Beside her, Jake shifted awkwardly. ‘The thing is, Effie, I don’t know if we are over.’
Her heart skidded to a halt. ‘What do you mean?’
Jake’s eyes skittered everywhere else other than meeting hers. ‘The thing is . . . well . . . there is so much to unpack. So much to sort out. We’ve been together over ten years; it didn’t feel right just to throw it all away because I was feeling a bit lost. So, we decided to take a break, see how we felt when everything had calmed down.’
‘A break. Right.’ Effie swallowed down the truth, her heart sinking as he threw cold water over her romantic hopes. At least she knew where she stood. Realising their split wasn’t quite as clear cut as she’d previously believed, Effie drew back. As she fumbled around for the right words, a seagull swooped in and snatched the remainder of her ice cream cone from her hands. With a scream, she jumped, half off the wall and half into Jake’s arms.
‘Woah!’ He steadied her. ‘You OK? He was a bruiser.’
Effie righted herself, clinging to his strong arms, feeling safe in the way he was gripping on to her, anchoring her. Her heart raced. ‘Yes, I think so now,’ she exhaled, her legs a bit wobbly. ‘I should’ve been paying attention.’
Jake cracked a smile. ‘I shouldn’t have been distracting you.’
‘Oh, I don’t know, it was a nice distraction,’ she dared.
Jake seemed to soften. Effie watched him chew over her words. Their gazes tangled and the heat from his fingers was charged against her hips. Effie leaned in ever so slightly, just at the same time as Jake did. The natural urge to kiss him buzzed on her lips. Jake swayed forward slightly before jolting back.
‘Effie, I—’ he began, his energy jittery.
Before Jake could finish what he was going to say, another seagull swept in over their heads, cawing and snatching at the ice cream cone Jake had discarded as he’d leapt to Effie’s defence, saving her from making a huge mistake by giving in to the temptation to kiss him.
‘I think we better get out of here.’ He gave her hips a squeeze before stepping back and gathering up their baskets.
Effie watched him head away from the harbour, feeling adrift now that their cosy afternoon of Easter egg hunting had turned slightly frosty. At least he’d been honest, she guessed, albeit in a roundabout sort of way. Effie zipped up her jacket to keep out the chill and followed him, sneaking a glance back at the pesky seagulls as she went, who were devouring the ice cream cones as if they’d never seen food before.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
‘Oh, wow Eff, this looks amazing!’ Maddie exclaimed as she threw herself onto one of the armchairs. ‘How do you get any work done with that view?’
The Polcarrow branch of Books by the Sea had been open for four days and things had calmed to a steady pace following the launch, which Effie was secretly relieved about. She was also thrilled to see Maddie, who had announced via text the previous evening that she was visiting on her day off.
‘It’s so charming, and these book cushions are adorable.’ She plumped one up. ‘How did you get Clive to agree to all this?’
‘I didn’t give him much choice. The shop was in a right state when I arrived so I think he felt a bit guilty.’
‘Guilty? Clive? Really?’
‘You know what he’s like, anything for an easy life.’
‘Hmm. So where is this hunky man I’ve heard so much about? And those scones you keep posting photos of?’
‘The scones are next door; we can go for lunch when I take my break.’ Effie had decided to close the shop for half an hour each day so that she could have a lunch break. She still hadn’t had a chance to speak to Clive about the practicalities of employing someone else. Effie turned her attention back to the postcards she was sorting into the display carousel.
‘And this . . . Jake, is it? Eff! You’re blushing. Come on! Spill! Is he fit?’
‘Maddie!’ Effie shushed her, her eyes darting around as if he might pop in at any moment. ‘Keep your voice down, please.’
‘Why? There’s no one here.’
Effie squirmed. She loved Maddie but she had the tendency to be a bit loud, especially at inappropriate moments. ‘I know, but, well, I think I like him. Like that, you know. But . . . things with him are complicated. Anyway, he might not feel the same.’
‘Clive told me he dashed off to play the hero when Christie got stuck,’ Maddie scoffed.
