‘Yes,’ I admitted. ‘Yes.’
‘And you thought I’d snogged you behind Hope’s back at the party?’ Sam tutted. ‘And that’s why you never acknowledged our second kiss, even though it was so phenomenal?’
‘Yes,’ I swallowed. ‘And I’ve been feeling as guilty as hell about it.’
‘I can’t believe you thought that of me, Tess,’ Sam said, shaking his head.
‘And I can’t believe that you thought I was here to smooth the way for Joe telling everyone that he’d sold up to Sunny Shores,’ I pointed out, eager to remind him that I wasn’t the only one in Wynmouth who had got the maths wrong when I’d put two and two together.
‘Touché,’ he grinned, making my stomach flip.
‘So, that’s it, then right?’ Joe announced. ‘We’re sorted, yes? All the romantic muddles have been unravelled. I love Hope, Hope loves me and you pair fancy the pants off each other?’
‘Sounds about right to me,’ Sam laughed.
‘Great,’ Joe said, leaping up and dashing around the table before lifting Hope off her feet, wrapping her in his arms and kissing her deeply.
‘This has been like a Shakespearean comedy,’ said Sam, reaching across the table for my hand.
‘You’re not wrong,’ said Joe, when he finally came up for air.
‘But this is it, right?’ I said, lacing my fingers through Sam’s and revelling in the sensations that his warm skin touching mine kicked off. ‘There really are no more muddles?’
‘No more muddles,’ everyone chorused but it didn’t escape my notice that it was Sam and Joe who were looking at one another when really, they should only have had eyes for me and Hope.
Chapter 27
I don’t think that Hope, who was experiencing that heady rush of love all over again, picked up on the fact that the guys hadn’t been as resolute in our ‘no more muddles’ announcement as we had. Unfortunately, there was neither the opportunity to point it out to her, nor the time to spend catching up on the kisses I had missed out on during the last few weeks because the wheels of everyday life were still turning and the minutiae had to be attended to.
No sooner had we got everything settled than our intimate moment was interrupted by Sam’s delivery from a local brewery and Joe announcing that he’d had a text from Charlie who was about to leave the farm to collect him.
‘Let’s all meet tonight then,’ suggested Sam. ‘After closing time, down at the beach by the rockpools.’
We all agreed that was a wonderful idea and having spotted Joe and Hope saying a very tender goodbye, Sam pulled me close to him and rested his hands low on my waist. The action literally made my knees weaken and I had barely a moment to become ensnared in his emerald eyes before he was closing them and lowering his lips to mine.
His kiss was purposeful and full of promise and when I felt the tip of his tongue caress mine, I thought I was going to pass out. I let out a lust-filled gasp, so quiet that only he could hear it, and in consequence his hands held me tighter and he kissed me harder.
My light-headed feeling from earlier had only just settled back down and I knew that if he carried on like this for the duration of my remaining time in Wynmouth, I would be a physical wreck by the time I had to leave.
Instinctively, my hands then reached for his hips and I pulled him right in to me, his breath catching as the gap between us closed.
‘Bloody hell, Tess,’ he murmured, pressing himself close enough to leave me in no doubt that he was enjoying the moment too.
Had we been alone, I’m not sure where we would have ended up, but the sound of Joe clearing his throat restored our decorum and we slowed the moment down.
‘I see you’ve learnt a few new tricks since our assignation behind the huts,’ I whispered.
Our first kiss had been perfect and I was pretty certain the second one had been too, although the influence of Sophie’s rum punch had ensured certain details weren’t quite as focused as I would have liked, but there was no doubting the quality of the third one.
‘Shall I let you into a secret,’ he said, punctuating each word with another kiss, ‘that night down at the beach huts all those years ago, was my first kiss too.’
‘Really?’ I smiled.
‘Scout’s honour,’ he smiled back.
‘Hey guys,’ I heard Joe say. ‘I’m sorry to break things up, but you’ve got barrels to sign for, Sam.’
Although disappointed to feel his hands move away, I knew we were going to have plenty of opportunities, and more private ones than this, to carry on where we’d left off.
‘I’ll see you tonight,’ Sam whispered. ‘And we’ll do more of this very soon.’
‘Lots more,’ I agreed, ‘lots, lots more and very, very soon.’
‘And don’t you even think about leaving Wynmouth,’ he commanded. ‘You go back to the cottage and unpack right now. Do you hear me? You need to stay put in Wynmouth for at least a few more weeks.’
I very much liked the sound of that and I didn’t need telling twice. Hope and I walked back to the cottage together, still giggling about the mistake I had made in assuming she and Sam were a couple, and when she left, I hastily unpacked again and switched my phone back on. I didn’t bother even looking at the older messages but focused on the last text which had landed from Dad.
Darling Tess, I know that me turning up here earlier and telling you everything must have been a shock. Please let me know how you are feeling as soon as you get this. Please also know that it was never my intention to hurt you, or make you think any less of your mother, I just couldn’t live with the secret any longer and felt you deserved to know the truth. I hope, in time, that you will come to understand.
It was a relief to be able to message him straight back and say with complete honesty that I was feeling surprisingly fine, even though I knew that the revelations about Mum would take some assimilating. It was incredibly sad to think that she had lived a lie for much of her life and I wished things could have been different, for all our sakes. Had she not died so young – and given what Vanessa had told Dad – then it might have been, but that was something I couldn’t dwell on. Nothing would be gained from wasting time grieving over the unknown.
What I could say with complete certainty, however, was that it wouldn’t take me long to get used to the idea that Hope was my sister. The fact that I knew her and Sophie so well was obviously a huge help and I already loved them both dearly.
I ended my text back to Dad with words that I hoped would settle his head as well as his heart:
Coming back to Wynmouth and getting to know Hope and Sophie has made me realize the true value of female friendship and I’m looking forward to a future which includes these wonderful women in our little family.
Dad’s message also said that he would see me soon and requested that I didn’t open his letter. Thanks to our earlier exchange, I already had an idea of what the missive said and was happy to leave it. Guessing that he had headed back to work, I returned my attention to thoughts of my three friends and the fun we were going to have as a result of finally getting our relationships on the right tracks.