He grins at me. ‘I’ll do everything I can to achieve that.’ Then he squeezes my hand. ‘I won’t let you down, Betsy B.’
I put my hands around his neck. ‘Do you think Zofia would mind if we borrowed her greenhouse?’
He laughs. ‘We can’t go near her seedlings. But I’m sure she won’t mind if we have a quiet half hour in her arbor before we head back to the shop.’
And with that promise he leads me off across the garden.
53
St Aidan Beach
Meet me at the beach
Friday
It’s close to five by the time we leave Zofia’s swing seat. We have a very long goodbye kiss, and head back towards St Aidan in our own cars, but as the roads are clogged, we divert to Boathouse Cottage, double park, and then walk the rest of the way. It’s almost time to close up, so we pick up Pumpkin from his field and lead him over the dune path at the top of the beach where it’s quieter.
As we pass the Surf Shack my phone starts to vibrate.
‘Scarlett!’
‘Tate and I are back together. We’ve both agreed to give it another go.’
I smile. ‘Are you going to tell me how?’
She snorts. ‘I went to his with that list of requirements you told me to give him, and we ended up in bed.’ There’s a beat of silence. ‘I apologised, too.’
‘I’m pleased you got your happy ending.’ I hesitate. ‘I asked Miles about the cottage. Apparently it’s for Pumpkin.’ I flash a grin at Miles. ‘And I’ll join him there too. Unless you’ve changed your mind about selling?’
Scarlett is straight back. ‘You know Tate and his projects. He’s already looking for another Cornish wreck to transform.’
I shake my head. ‘We’ll look forward to seeing you in October.’
And then she ends the call and we walk on. When we come off the sands and onto the quayside, I can see the Betsy & Milo shop front is crisscrossed with bunting that’s flapping in the breeze.
As we get closer, I squint to see. ‘What’s going on at the Net Loft? There are tables with ice buckets…’ My stomach drops, and as I turn to look at Miles he gets in first.
‘Still not proposing.’
‘Phew.’ I fan my face. ‘Right answer.’
He laughs. ‘I knew I wanted to marry you that first day at Scarlett’s wedding, but last summer, a guy sent a plane across St Aidan bay pulling a “Marry me!” sign. If I’ve got to top that, you’re safe for a while yet.’ His smile widens. ‘It’s a birthday party for Pumpkin.’
My heart skips again. ‘Pumpkin! How did I forget? It’s the first of August!’
Miles grins. ‘It’s fine. His fan club is huge! Carol was in charge of cupcakes, Mum baked the main cake, Cressie’s brought muffins, the Yellow Canary lent glasses. The whole village is joining in.’
I’m frowning. ‘But how did you know?’
He laughs. ‘The week you got here you told me he shared it with Yves St Laurent. I found out when it was, then logged it in my reminders.’
‘Milo Appleton, what are you like?’ I pull him into a kiss. ‘I’m so glad I love you.’
He kisses me again. ‘You know I love you too?’
I squeeze his hand. ‘I do. Now I’ve had an hour to get used to it, I’m surprisingly okay with that.’ I smile more. ‘It couldn’t be any other way, could it?’
He pulls me into a hug. ‘It feels very right. And like it’s what I’ve waited for my whole life.’
