‘I think he wants that one.’
The male voice, close behind her, made Kate jump and she spun around coming face to face with a strikingly handsome man.
He was about her age, she guessed, tall, agile-looking, clean shaven and well-groomed. He wore glasses that really suited him and behind the lenses, his eyes were the deepest blue she had ever seen. His hair was more peppery black than salty grey or white, cut short at the sides with a slightly longer, textured look on top. And when his mouth curved into a warm and friendlysmile, Kate experienced a frisson of excitement unlike anything she could remember.
She blinked at least three times before asking, ‘I’m sorry. What?’
He scanned her face for a moment prior to repeating himself. ‘I said, “I think he wants that one.” That ball.’ He nodded to the ball bobbing in the water just a metre or so from the shore.
She turned her head to look at it, almost having to drag her eyes away from him. ‘Ah, yes. That ball. Well, unless he wants to go in and get it, or Neptune or a mermaid, pushes it back to dry land, I’m sorry to say, he’ll have to come to terms with its loss. Surely one ball is very much like another?’
The man let out an exaggerated gasp, and then laughed. It was a pleasant laugh. ‘That’s nothing short of blasphemy. Have you had this handsome boy long?’
‘Oh, he’s not mine. I’m looking after him for a friend. Well, my mum’s fiancé actually. He and my mum are currently cruising the Caribbean. They became a couple over the Christmas holidays, and got engaged right away and she’s now moved in with him. He booked the cruise as a Valentine present … and … you didn’t need to know any of that.’ Kate’s voice trailed off as her cheeks flushed crimson.
‘I didn’t. But it was interesting. That was all rather sudden. It sounds like something out of one of those romance scam stories, but I’m sure it isn’t.’
‘Romance scams!’ Kate scowled at him. ‘It’s nothing of the sort. Frank is one of the nicest, kindest, most generous men you will ever meet. He and his wife have lived next door to my mum for years.’
‘His wife?’ The man raised one eyebrow.
‘She’s dead. And no. He didn’t kill her before you suggest he did.’
The other brow shot up. ‘I wasn’t going to suggest any such thing. I apologise if I’ve caused offence. It wasn’t my intention.’
Kate took a deep breath. ‘No. I’m the one who should apologise. I have no idea why I babbled on like that. About my mum, I mean. I think it’s probably because I’ve got a lot on my mind. My daughter got engaged on New Year’s Eve and she’s just moved into my mum’s house with her fiancé. Not my mum’s fiancé. Beth’s fiancé. That’s my daughter. And my mum’s not living there anymore because she’s moved in with Frank and … Oh. My. God! I’m doing it again. I didn’t sleep well last night and…’ She tutted loudly. ‘And I’m clearly losing my mind this morning.’ She shook her head vigorously. ‘Sorry. It was lovely to meet you, but please ignore me. Goodbye.’
Kate stepped away from him and hurried towards Rufus who was still standing at the water’s edge eyeing his ball as if he might be trying to decide whether he should go in and get it or not.
Kate wanted to look back to see if the stranger had walked away but she didn’t dare.
Why should she care if he had or not? Okay, the man was handsome. And he had the most incredible, blue eyes she had ever seen. And that smile. Wow. His laugh was rather nice too.
What was wrong with her? She wasn’t interested in him. It was purely down to a lack of sleep. She was obviously lightheaded or something.
‘Come on, Rufus. Let’s go home and have some food. I promise I’ll buy you an even better ball than that one.’
‘There’s no such thing,’ the man said, suddenly appearing by Kate’s side, the legs of his blue jeans rolled up and his bare feet making footprints in the sand. He strode into the water without hesitation, retrieved Rufus’s ball, and threw it back to him. Rufus let out a bark before chasing after it as it bounced on the hard sand.
Once again, Kate stood and blinked at the man. ‘I … I can’t believe you did that for me,’ she said, as he wiped his wet feet with his navy-blue scarf and bent down to put his blue socks and dark blue Timberland trainers back on.
‘If that’s your way of saying thank you, you’re welcome. I did it for Rufus, not for you.’
‘H-how do you know his name?’
The man gave her a bewildered look. ‘I heard you say it.’
‘Oh,’ was all she said.
‘Have a good day,’ the stranger said. ‘And perhaps be more careful where you throw your mum’s fiancé’s dog’s ball in future.’ He turned and walked away.
‘What?’ Kate was even more astonished that he had remembered all that. A second later Rufus returned with his ball and dropped it at her feet. That was when she spotted a bunch of keys with a plastic tag attached, sitting in a pool of water on the sand.
She bent down and picked up the keys. ‘Rafferty and Hope’s Rescue Centre for Dogs, Old Farm, Bluewater Bay,’ was etched into the plastic in a blue ink not too dissimilar to the colour of the stranger’s eyes.
‘Wait!’ she shrieked, spinning round to call after him. ‘Are these yours?’
The man stopped in his tracks, but stood for one second with his back still to her as though he might be wondering if he should turn around or continue on his way.
