‘Are you cold?’
She pulls a face. ‘My bad, gale-force winds were another not-so-good surprise.’ Her sigh is loud enough to hear above the crash of the iron-grey breakers. ‘When I talked Vic into this I was looking at pictures of a topaz sky with sea to match. With clouds and the ocean both black, I feel like I’ve made a horrible mistake.’
It bursts out of me. ‘Hell, no! Truly, you haven’t! Even on cloudy days Kit’s rings are amazing!’ I can sense these influential influencers are about to run, and however much I’d rather he wasn’t parading his lovey-dovey couples under my nose, I’m still going to work my socks off to stop these two slipping through his fingers. ‘Why not come in and warm up by the stove? You can have a hot chocolate while I locate him.’ It’s the last thing I want, but now it’s out there’s no going back.
With the promise of heat Amery’s tense expression eases. ‘If you’re sure you don’t mind, that would be amazing.’
Vic smiles too. ‘Could I take a few more close-ups of the beach hut too?’ He gives a grimace. ‘I’m not sure the hotel will give us the kind of shots our followers are after.’
Amery gives him a nudge as she follows me into my living room. ‘I know today should be about us, but sharing our life’s details are what we do, and our honesty makes us popular.’ Her face breaks into a big smile as she sits on the corner sofa and holds her hands out towards the wood burner. ‘Nowthisisthe kind of place I imagined we’d be designing our rings.’
I message Kit as I heat up the milk in the kitchen.
Your ten o clocks are at mine.
I don’t want to be disloyal to Victor and Amery, but it’s only fair to warn him so I add:
They’re a bit cranky.
His reply pings back.
I’ll be straight across.
I don’t want to tell him what to do, but I can hint.
On my sofa waiting for hot drinks AWS. Suspect High Tides isn’t their bag – maybe bring your work stuff here?
Another ping.
Gotcha. Be there in two.
Let’s hope he means seconds not hours.
I take in Shadow’s look of horror as he watches me put a plateful of our newly bought favourite biscuits on the tray beside a jug of frothy hot chocolate and two mismatched cups. ‘Don’t worry – we’ll get more this afternoon,’ I say to him quietly.
Victor’s eyes light up as brightly as Shadow’s do when he spies the plate arriving on the table in front of Amery. ‘Teatime Assorted! The perfect retro choice for this mid-century home! Don’t touch anything until I’ve snapped them!’
I laugh. ‘Don’t take too long, or Shadow may expire.’ I give him a hard stare because he knows the rules. ‘No begging when we have visitors! And definitely no dribbling on their nice boots either!’
If I didn’t know better, I’d swear that he’s frowning. Then, beyond his eyebrows, I spot movement on the deck. ‘Here’s another visitor!’ I smile reassuringly at Vic, who’s finally settling down beside Amery, and heave my own silent sigh of relief. ‘Kit’s here now. I knew he wouldn’t be long.’
As I open the French doors Kit strides across to meet the couple. He drops his laptop and camera bag on the bleached plank side table and shrugs off a dark overcoat he’s added since I last saw him. Cashmere on the beach? What is the man thinking? Except he’s right because it’s perishing for the time of year, which is the first thing he’s commiserating about with Amery and Victor.
I might as well step in and see if I can help to salvage the situation. Push Victor and Amery into committing before they have time to pull out. ‘As it’s blowing a force ten out there, why not discuss your designs and take any initial photos here?’ I already know the process. ‘Fingers crossed, the wind will have dropped by the time you get to dash across to Kit’s workshop to deal with the practical side.’
It definitely won’t, but no one needs to know that.
Amery takes my bait and jumps in. ‘We were hoping for matching rings with a hammered finish, in recycled gold, if that’s possible?’
‘Absolutely.’ Kit’s already next to Amery, his laptop open, the screens flashing up super-fast with the hotel’s superior WIFI signal. He looks up at me. ‘Great plan, Florence. And thanks for lending us your lovely beach hut for this morning.’ He smiles then turns back to Amery, who looks like she’s bursting with another question.
‘We will be able to come back here for afternoon tea?’
Kit’s agonised expression says it all as he turns to me. ‘How do you feel about that, Florence? Does that fit with you?’
I’m peering at the one teapot in the kitchen, thinking on my feet. ‘Obviously anything I’d do here would be much more simple than you’d get at the hotel – or you might enjoy the main branch of the Little Cornish Kitchen, which is very much your style and just along the beach.’
Amery’s eyes are open wide. ‘I know I’m biased, but your place issocosy, and Vic’s photos arethe best! You’d feature on our blog even more if we had tea here!’
