‘Almost as interesting as here, it seems.’ Pouring myself a cup of tea from the always-warm teapot, I glanced aroundthe kitchen, which was a mess of paint swatches and trim samples.
Rosie gave me a sheepish grin. ‘I’ve been busy. But the house needs it, don’t you think? I just keep feeling like the energy is all off. But a nip here and a tuck there …’
‘Just so long as she’s still pink when you’re done,’ I said. ‘Because that’s the one change I don’t think I could handle.’
Having managed to get the caulk flowing, Rosie glanced over at me. ‘Is Finn doing all right? I noticed he didn’t come back with you. And he’s been a tad …’
‘A tad Finn,’ I promised, making a placating gesture with my hands. ‘I’ll keep an eye on him, promise. Okay. I’m going to write this article if it kills me. Don’t let me out of my room until I’m done.’
‘Just so long as you’re done before I paint it,’ she called.
The article took me most of the afternoon, though that was partly because I kept getting distracted by my ring and a back-and-forth session with Josephine’s diary.
I’d jotted down a quick note about the drama at the sunflower farm, and she’d responded in her usual acerbic manner.
Crows pecking away at the carrion of your love life, I see.
It was like having a ghostly Dorothy Parker as a pen pal.
But trying to jump into Noah’s arms is … notable. Did he catch you?
I’d hesitated. He hadn’t, not literally. But in other ways he had. He’d brought me home, hadn’t he? And he’d made sure that I was working on my article. Even though I was reneging on my part of the deal by gossiping with a spirit in a diary.
Well, that’s dreary, Josephine had responded.
As always, I couldn’t tell whether she was Team Noah or Team Finn. I sighed. She wasn’t alone in that.
In the end, mindful of the time, I sent Eddie somethingthat could politely be termed a ‘vomit draft’, hoping the accompanying photos would help carry it over the line. It definitely needed another couple of passes, but I didn’t want to miss the signing. Mostly because I wanted to keep an eye on Tiff. And also because Noah would be there. I doubted Finn would make an appearance, but perhaps I’d bump into him in town.
‘There you are, love.’ Rosie was patching a nail hole in a wall – she’d apparently decided that a hanging cabinet of doodads was better on the opposite side of the room. ‘Noah went in a touch early so that he could help Keiko out with something at the camp. He said he’d meet you at the bookshop.’
‘Still no sign of Finn?’ I asked.
She shook her head. ‘He’s probably just joined a beach party somewhere.’
The weather was cool but calm, so I decided to walk down. It was only twenty minutes or so into town, and every one of those was a delight when the breeze was gentle and the beach was packed with holiday makers. Even without the Boston terrier chasing a remote-controlled car at full speed, to the amusement of a crowd of onlookers, it was definitely a different vibe from the Sandy Balls event, which was fresh in my mind after spending hours sweating over my write-up.
The main variable: the Tucker Boys weren’t around.
‘Molly!’ called Lara, when I was halfway down the boardwalk. She waved furiously, clearly feeling easy-breezy after a few too many cocktails.
We hurried to meet each other midway, then strolled back up to the main street. Lara somehow managed to trot along the sandy wooden boards in a pair of astonishing heels, while I was slithering around in my flat sandals.
‘No more crow attacks while I was gone?’ I asked.
‘I think all the hairspray I used kept them away,’ she saidwith a grin. ‘How was your drive home with Noah? Did you stop at any strategic lookout points?’
‘He was a gentleman, as always. I’d give you a shove, but I’m worried about you breaking an ankle in those shoes.’
‘Never,’ said Lara. ‘I have killer ankle strengthbecause ofshoes like these.’
‘How’s Finn?’ I asked, trying to keep my tone light. ‘Is he still kicking on at the pub? Rosie was asking.’
Lara scrunched up her face. ‘He disappeared at some point with a group of musicians or something. I think they had a house party going on. But I wanted to get back to the B&B to meet Tiff.’
‘To meet Tiff?’
I frowned, trying not to show my jealousy. Tiff and Lara had spent more time together this Summerween than I had with either of them. Although, a tiny voice said, Ihadspent a decent part of the trip splitting my time between Finn and Noah. But that wasn’t my fault, not entirely. I had a highly temperamental magic ring to contend with.
