“Maybe a little.” He spoke through his teeth and she smiled.
“This is fun.”
“For you. For me it’s an exercise in self-control and sexual frustration. When we’ve delivered Kathleen and found out what she wants to do, I thought we could take a drive down Highway One. I’ll show you California. The Big Sur. Monterey. Cliffs. Redwood forest.”
Her heart flew. She felt as if she’d won the lottery. “Don’t you have to get back to work?”
“I should. And if you say no, it’s true that I’ll probably revert to my old workaholic ways.”
“That’s blackmail.”
“It’s negotiation.”
“And what excuse will you give to your boss for not going back?”
“I’ll tell him I met a girl...” He scooped her up so that she was lying on top of him, and smoothed his hands down her back. “So what do you say? Do you have to get back?”
To what? She needed to make a plan, but that could wait. It could all wait.
“Well, I feel a certain responsibility for making sure you don’t slip back into your old, serious ways—so yes.”
“You’re sure?”
“Totally.”
She’d never been more certain of a decision in her life.
22
LIZA
Sean sprinted across the sand to Liza, dripping with water from a final early morning swim. “Invigorating.” Shivering, he reached for a towel. “Despite all the exciting things that lie ahead, I confess I don’t want to leave. I’d forgotten how much I love it here. When we come we don’t use the time for relaxation. It’s always about doing jobs.”
Liza felt a twinge of guilt. “That’s my fault. I always prioritize other things over having fun. That’s going to change, I promise. Fun is going to be at the top from now on.”
“For both of us.” He sprawled down next to her on the picnic blanket, droplets of water clinging to his leg. “It’s so easy to get into a routine, and never question an alternative. I’m picturing what life could be like if we lived here. I’d finish work and instead of sitting in commuter traffic and getting home late and tired, we’d go for an evening swim. In the winter we’d take wild, blowy walks on an empty beach and grab something to eat at the Tide Shack.”
They’d talked about it, but was he really considering it?
“You have a thriving business. In London.”
“Mmm. The way I see it, there are two options. One is for me to keep that business as it is and commute from here a few days a week. Delegate more.”
“You’d be on the road the whole time and pulled between two places.”
“I could make it work. I’d go up to London Monday night and be there Tuesday through to Thursday night or something.”
She reached out and swept droplets of water from his cheek with her thumb. “Then we’d have to keep the London house and we can’t afford both.”
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her in for a kiss. “You’re putting up obstacles.”
“I’m being practical. That’s what I do.”
“Well, don’t do what you do.” He sat up. “Alternatively, I talk to my partners and explore the idea of opening an office down here, focusing on coastal properties. Plenty of people want to reimagine the space they’re living in and I’m good at that side of things.”
She thought about how he’d transformed their small terraced house in London into a light-filled space. “Yes, you are.”
“I’d still have to do the occasional trip to London, but the bulk of my work would be here.”
She thought about what her life could be like living here. She’d have the beach. She’d be able to focus more on her art. She’d be able to see more of her mother, and also Angie.
Liza had visited her the day before, not wanting to leave without saying goodbye.
In the end she’d been honest with her old friend, as Angie had been with her, and that one conversation had reminded her why the connection between them had always been so strong. There were few people in life with whom you could trust your innermost secrets, but Angie was one of those.
She shifted her attention back to Sean. “Do you think you’d get enough work to justify setting up an office?”
“I don’t know, but I’m excited to try.”
It was fun to plan, but she still couldn’t see it as reality. “There is no way the twins will want to leave London. And do we really want to move them at this stage, when they’re heading into important exams?”
“Life isn’t all about the twins, Liza. Our lives are important too. But whichever option we choose, it’s going to take a while to make it happen. So why don’t we agree to spend the next year thinking about how we are going to make this work, with the aim of moving down here when Caitlin and Alice head to college.”
The future that had so recently seemed pressured and full of dark clouds, now glowed brighter. “I love that idea.”
“It will give me time to look for exactly the right property.” He pushed the damp towel into the bag. “Ideally there will be some unloved coast guard cottage with beach views that I can turn into a project for the next couple of years.”
“And I can take my time furnishing it.” She imagined herself picking up pieces from the many local shops selling Cornish crafts along the Atlantic coast. And she’d improvise too, because that was something she loved. She’d collect shells and driftwood, sand and stain the floors of their cottage to a bleached white. “It’s fun to plan.” And most of all it was fun planning together. They’d stopped doing things together and somehow started to live parallel lives. But not anymore.
“Let’s come back soon.” Sean put his arm round her shoulders and stared out to sea. His skin was turning a deep bronze. She’d forgotten how easily he tanned.
“Yes.” Liza stood up and started to gather their things together. “You haven’t changed your mind about what we agreed last night? In the cold light of day it seems impulsive and extravagant.”
“Impulsive is good. We need to do more of it.” Sean took the bag from her and they walked back to the house, took a shower and loaded their things into his car.
They’d decided to leave hers parked at the cottage for the time being and collect it later in the summer.
Liza checked the front door for a final time. She’d fed Popeye and the evening before she and Sean had driven over to Finn’s to deliver his paintings.