‘Effie, it’s fine,’ he said with a groan. ‘I think you’re right.’
‘You do?’
‘Uh-huh. I think that’s why I can’t choose. They’re impressive but I’m not sure if they have soul.’
‘I like the Finnish one,’ she reminded him. ‘Do you have any you’ve taken here?’ She continued to click through the social media worthy spots he’d photographed.
‘Yeah, in the last file,’ Jake said.
Effie opened the folder as Jake finished cooking, the delicious aroma of onions and coconut curling up her nose and making her stomach gurgle. Effie snuck a glance at him, his broad shoulders, the trademark white T-shirt, the unruly blond waves she wanted to run her fingers through. Swallowing, she turned her attention back to the photos.
The first shot was of Lola’s café in the dawn light, the blind still drawn, anticipation for the day ahead paused in time. The second was of the ice-cream-hued cottages basking in the sun, their windows reflecting like sunglasses. Then came the photos from Alf’s ninetieth. The old fisherman and Scruff captured enjoying the celebrations, surrounded by the embrace of the villagers. There were even shots of the bookshop full to bursting on opening day. Jake had managed to capture not only the life that flowed through Polcarrow, but the secret moments others hadn’t realised existed.
‘What do you think?’ Jake asked nervously as he approached her, two steaming plates in his hands.
Effie managed a smile. ‘I’ve not tried it yet.’ She pushed the laptop to the other side of the table.
‘Not the food, silly, the photos.’ Jake placed the plates on the table before taking the bottle of wine from the fridge and topping up their glasses.
Effie scooped up some of the fragrant curry and took a bite, the flavours exploding on her tongue. ‘Oh my gosh, this is delicious. Did you learn to cook whilst travelling?’
‘Yeah, I always tried to immerse myself in local life. I love Thai food so it was the perfect place to learn to make authentic dishes.’ Jake said before looking at her expectantly. Was there also a little bit of nerves furrowing his brow ‘The photos?’
‘OK, the local ones are so much better, so much more alive. I think everyone will love seeing Polcarrow through your lens. It might even help you drum up some business.’
Jake let out a sigh of relief. ‘You have no idea how happy I am to hear that. Landscape was always more my thing but as I’ve got older, I find more joy in photographing people. Landscapes can be beautiful, but people are far more interesting. You see their layers; everyone has a story to tell. Photographing the locals is totally different from taking shots of Tara.’
‘Are you still in touch?’ Effie asked, trying to keep her voice light, interested.
Jake pushed his food around his plate. ‘Yeah, sometimes. We still talk. There’s a lot to unwind from our lives, it’s difficult to navigate.’
The seriousness of his tone sobered Effie up. ‘Of course,’ she said, reaching for her glass to stop herself from asking if Tara was part of the equation for his future. She took a sip and placed the glass back down with shaking fingers. All this confusion was the reason she kept well away from dating. As she went to pick up her fork again, Effie paused. Jake hadn’t taken his eyes off her.
‘What?’ she asked, her voice thick, her nerves feeling as if they’d burst out of her skin.
Jake leaned forward and before Effie had time to realise what was happening, his lips were on hers, a soft invite. Before she could kiss him back, Jake had pulled away.
‘Jake!?’ She gasped.
‘I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist.’ He pushed his hands through his hair, agitated, exasperated. ‘I shouldn’t, sorry. Things are complicated but I’m really attracted to you, Effie, I’ve been wanting to do that for ages.’
‘No, well, yes, but . . . I . . . I’m attracted to you too,’ Effie flustered, eyes skittering everywhere before they fell back on Jake. A chance she’d be stupid not to take.
He looked tortured, unsure, as if everything in his life had suddenly unravelled itself and he didn’t know how to put it back together. One minute he was treading on eggshells trying to explain that he didn’t know what he wanted to do next, the next he was kissing her. Effie knew she should leave. Knew she should take back control of the situation. Knew that staying would only get her heart broken.
Effie pushed her lips together, committing that first kiss to her memory. Jake probably wasn’t over his ex. He was undecided about staying in Cornwall. Effie weighed up these truths against the desire that one kiss had sent storming through her. He looked so tousled and gorgeous, she’d had a crush on him ever since he’d swooped in and saved the day with helping to paint. Wouldn’t Maddie tell her to live a little? Wasn’t it time for her to give in to the desire she felt for him? A seventy per cent chance was still quite high.
Then she did something she would never have thought she was bold enough to do before she arrived in Polcarrow. Effie threw caution to the wind, and leaning forward, kissed Jake gently. Her whole body fizzed with delight, waiting half in expectation, half in anticipation for his next move.
A heartbeat, a moment, an eternity passed before Jake kissed her back. Sweet release flooded through them both. As the kiss deepened, Effie gave in to everything she knew she wanted but didn’t think she’d get. Her heart, she figured, would mend.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Jake wasn’t around the following morning when Effie finished her swim, nor did he turn up when she opened the shop. Her lips still tingled from his kisses and she’d slipped into bed the previous night high on the feeling of Jake’s body pressed against her. She now worried that it had been a passionate, thrilling mistake.
So, it was natural that her heart lurched when he wasn’t around that morning. She’d grown used to seeing him waiting for her with her post-swim hot chocolate. The kiss had made her rearrange everything that had happened between them. Effie had previously told herself that Jake was just being kind when he helped her, because he was at a loose end, but it seemed more likely now that the painting and holding her hand through Alf’s party had been because he fancied her.I’m really attracted to you, he’d said.
Effie’s face flushed at the thought. She wasn’t the sort of woman men had crushes on. She’d accepted being left on the sidelines a long time ago and all the dates she had been on had never turned into anything more than a lacklustre second date or a half-hearted promise of friendship. Effie craved her own happy ending but had resigned herself to only ever finding it in between the covers of her trusty books, rather than in between the sheets. Entangling herself with gorgeous, kind, funny Jake the previous evening had allowed her heart to leap with hope that her own romantic fortunes were about to change.
