‘This is our home and we can come and go as we please,’ said his father, before wincing and placing a hand on his stomach.
His mother looked up at him, and Nick squirmed beneath her gaze. ‘Your father got a dicky tummy halfway through the cruise, and we decided it would be for the best if we came home while he recuperates.’
‘Right,’ said Nick. ‘Perhaps you should have warned me you were coming back?’
‘Why should we have to warn you we’re coming to our own home?’ asked his mother.
Kitty tapped Nick’s arm. ‘I’d best go.’
‘That sounds like a very sensible idea, young lady,’ said Nick’s father, his stern tone in contrast to his approving gaze as he looked her up and down.
Nick shrivelled inside. He couldn’t believe this was happening. ‘I’ll call you tomorrow,’ he told Kitty.
She gave him a curt nod and left the way she’d come, through the bifold doors.
‘Well, Nicholas,’ said his father, ‘at least you’ve got good taste. That young lady was a significant improvement on some of the women we’ve met over the years.’
‘An improvement?’ spluttered his mother. ‘She barely said a word! It’s bad enough we’ve had to end our trip early thanks to you taking risks with local seafood, and now you’re eyeing up your son’s girlfriend? This day just gets better and better. And as for you,’ she said, pointing at Nick, ‘I’d hoped you might have matured a little in our absence, but it seems you’ve been up to your old tricks. When are you going to act like the grown man you are, Nicholas? And the living-room floor? Is that whatromance has come to these days? I’m not sure my carpet will ever recover!’
Nick put his head in his hands, surreptitiously taking some deep breaths. If his mother was angry now, wait until she found out about the five-year-old girl sleeping in the spare room. He’d hoped to be able to tell his parents about Emily in his own sweet time, but there was no chance of getting away from it now.
He peeped out between his fingers and spotted Emily’s backpack beside the coffee table. His mother must have been following his movements, for she got up, walked across the room, and picked up the bag.
‘Does this belong to the young woman who just fled the building?’ she asked. ‘How old is she exactly, as this looks like something a child would carry?’
‘No,’ said Nick. ‘It’s not Kitty’s. Listen. I’m going to put the kettle on. We could all do with a cup of tea. And then… there’s something I need to tell you.’
Chapter 35
Kitty ran the whole way home, her feet stumbling against the sand, ignoring the pain in her calves. With sandals dangling from her hands, her feet sent up a plume of salty spray around her legs.
She couldn’t believe what had happened. What had she been thinking? Not only to kiss Nick, a man she didn’t even particularly like, but to be caught by his parents? That was the act of a teenage girl, not a twenty-seven-year-old professional career woman.
She bent down, grabbed a handful of sand, and flung it into the water, shattering the moon path tracking her pacing. She let out a yell. She was behaving like Cathy, not Catherine, not Kitty. Kitty Brown didn’t climb on top of dubious men and feel up their abs. Kitty Brown had higher standards than to be charmed by a man with no prospects and the life skills of a twelve-year-old. And what would have happened if they hadn’t been interrupted? She was his daughter’s teacher, for God’s sake. How could she have faced him at the school gates if they’d had a one-nightstand? As mortifying as it had been, Nick’s parents’ arrival had at least stopped her from making a terrible mistake.
‘This wasn’t supposed to happen!’ she shouted into the sea air.
How had she failed so miserably in her one aim of keeping to herself? Nothing,nothingmore could happen with Nick. It was out of the question. She trudged along the beach, thoughts tumbling around in her brain. Uppermost of which was, now Nick could legitimately accuse her of leading him on.
Kitty blamed her stupid behaviour on all the emotion dredged up from speaking to Alice. Why else would she let herself so easily be dragged into Nick’s arms? Though, to be honest, she hadn’t been dragged. She’d made the first move.
Which was completely unlike her.
Or was it?
The more she thought about it, the more she realised it might not be likeKitty Brown. It was, however, exactly the kind of thingCathy McDonaughwould have done back in the day. A prickle of unease caught Kitty by surprise. She was even more surprised to realise it wasn’t unease… it was excitement. Could she return to Cathy? Did she want to return to Cathy?
Cathy had been reckless at times – extrovert, confident, all the things Kitty Brown was definitely not.
Perhaps there was a middle ground to be found, she thought, her pace slowing as she walked along the water’s edge. Nick Andrews couldn’t be part of that plan. She wasn’t ready for another relationship. She didn’t even understand who she was anymore, never mind who she could be as a partner. Was she Cathy the party girl, Catherine the sensible Londoner, or Kitty, local teacher and Saffron Bay’s resident screw-up?
The next time she saw Nick, unless it was at the school gates, she’d have to put him straight. She was happy to continue their friendship, but their relationship could never be anything more.
Chapter 36
‘Nicholas, you’re scaring us. Please tell us whatever’s on your mind,’ said his mother.
‘Is it to do with money?’ asked his father. ‘Have you got yourself into some sort of bother and need bailing out again?’
