Page 34 of The Secret Holiday Kiss

That she was thinking like this was proof of how much one coffee with Avery had affected her. The battle lines had been drawn between them, and knowing they could continue to spar with each other made her giddy. Whenever she thought about Lars, she pictured Avery’s eyes – stormy, just for her – and wished he had agreed to come with her. Not to the meeting, but to Norwich. She wanted more time with him, and the drive to the city was an hour each way.

When she peered out of the window and saw that the sky was blue, the sun brighter than it had been in days, no clouds materializing on the horizon, she decided to risk it. She popped her head into Harry’s study. ‘I’m taking the dogs to the beach.’

He looked up from his laptop. ‘Great, thanks. All OK?’

‘Sure,’ she said, except her heart was pounding, because this would be the first time she’d been back. ‘You?’

‘I will be when I’ve got this report done. If I get it finished in time, I’ll come and join you.’

‘Amazing. See you soon, then.’

The day was blustery, but the sun softened the chill of the wind, and by the time she was halfway across the parkland, the dogs running boisterously ahead, Daisy had picked up the goat, too. Felix stayed close to her heels, bleating regularly, as if he was trying to start a conversation.

‘You can’t come to the beach,’ she told him. ‘Dogs are allowed in the winter, but goats?’ She shook her head. ‘Not a chance, buddy.’

He bleated plaintively, and when they reached the reinforced fence that separated the estate from the cliff path, Daisy walked along to the gate Harry had installed since the wedding – he’d told her climbing over the fence had led to several ripped pairs of trousers, and it was getting expensive.

‘See you later, Felix,’ she said, as she held the gate open for the dogs, then walked through. The goat hopped over the fence as if it was an inch high, and stood in front of her on the path.

Clifton barked.

‘You have got to be shitting me,’ Daisy said. ‘Does Harry know you can do this? That all his reinforcements have been for nothing, and that the only reason you stay close to home most of the time is because you want to?’

‘Baaaaaah,’ said Felix.

‘You know I’m going to have to tell him, right?’

‘Baaaaaah.’

‘OK then. Come with us.’

The beach looked just the same. Of course it did: it was a beach. It hadn’t been built on or revamped or renovated. It was golden sand and blue water and whipping wind and pebbles in a hundred different earthy shades. It was the achingly familiar smell of salt, the taste of it on her lips, the cry of seagulls. It was still, she realized, her very favourite place, because nothing else mattered here. Nothing except getting the air in her lungs and seeing how wild and beautiful nature could be.

But as she took her first steps on the sand, her new boots sinking satisfyingly into it, Daisy realized she wasn’t alone. And she knew that because someone let out an earth-shattering scream, shocking her down to her toes, and the next moment Lucy was running up to Felix, Artichoke at her heels, and the three of them were tangled in a sandy, furry hug that Daisy thought wouldn’t do good things for the girl’s red coat.

‘You brought Felix to the beach?’ Daisy recognized the woman as Imogen, and Dexter was behind her, with his dark curls and warm eyes.

‘I did no such thing,’ she told Imogen. ‘He came with us all by himself. Imogen, Lucy, it’s lovely to see you again. Hey Dexter.’

‘Daisy.’ He strode up to her and pulled her into a hug. She remembered seeing him at the wedding, but she hadn’t had a chance to talk to him. She was pretty sure he’d spent most of the time with Imogen, the two of them looking adoringly at each other. ‘It’s good to have you back.’

‘Only for a bit,’ she told him. ‘I had one of your Chelsea-type buns the other day. It was incredible.’

‘Thank you,’ he said with a smile. ‘Though I’m calling them Mistingham buns. I don’t think anyone will sue me.’

‘The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is probably far too busy to bother with something like that,’ Daisy agreed. They smiled at each other, and she remembered what Harry had told her: that Dexter was a widower now, that his young wife Rae had been killed in a horrible accident. She didn’t feel like she could just bring it up, tell him she was so sorry he’d had to go through that, so instead she said, ‘A little thing I’ve discovered about Felix. He can jump the fence Harry has put up around the estate. One tiny bound, and our anti-hero is free.’

Dexter folded his arms, staring at where his daughter, the dog and the goat were still tangled up. ‘So he can escape literally any time he wants to?’

‘He could go gallivanting off to the arcade every night, return by morning and nobody would ever know about it?’ Imogen’s dark eyes were wide, like a Disney princess in a state of shock.

‘Well, apart from startling a few slot-machine enthusiasts. But yes, basically. Harry has no idea, and when you think about it, it actually makes him more obedient, doesn’t it? Because he can go anywhere he wants. Whenever he wants.’

‘Why hasn’t Harry figured this out?’

‘My brother has a blind spot when it comes to that goat. It’s his biggest weakness. If anyone wanted to empty the manor of all its precious things, they’d only need to threaten Felix and that would be it.’ Daisy shook her head. ‘Anyway. The dogs are getting some exercise, I’m losing all feeling in my fingers, the sea looks like you’d die in a minute if you put your feet in it, so all is well.’

‘I went paddling,’ Lucy announced, finally breaking away from Felix and Artichoke, who trotted down to the water together.