‘My guess is you barely slept,’ she narrowed her eyes and gave Nell her ‘she knows best’ look.
Nell gave her a weak smile, ‘A little bit of a restless night, that’s all, Mum.’
‘Understandable. Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries are always the hardest,’ Gilly raised her eyebrows knowingly.
Ollie’s first birthday without him flashed through Nell’s mind. She’d spent the day a blubbering wreck up at Bluebell Cottage, with only her mum for company. They’d been on a long walk, visited the lake and after dinner they’d curled up on the settee with a bottle of wine, a box of chocolates and watched a marathon of rom-com films. That day had felt hollow, but despite all the heartbreak, Nell knew she’d come a long way in the last two years; those feelings weren’t as painfully raw as they had once been and that was all down to the love and support of her mum and Bea.
Nell slid the bag over the counter towards her mum.
‘I’ll see you later,’ Gilly said warmly, before grabbing her bread and walking out of the deli.
Nell took a breather for the first time today as the deli began to quieten down. She wandered into the kitchen and quickly loaded up the dishwasher before washing her hands and hanging the tea towel over the rail of the stainless-steel oven. Bea was glazing a tray of sausage rolls.
‘I could murder a cuppa,’ said Nell, ‘Shall I put the kettle on?’
‘No need, I’ve read your mind. I was just about to bring you through a skinny cappuccino,’ she nodded towards the two steaming mugs.
‘Skinny, are you trying to tell me something?’ Nell brought her hand up to her chest in mock outrage, pretending to look hurt. ‘Do I need to go on a diet?’ she joked.
‘Ha no! It was my new year’s resolution to try and cut down, but you know what, sod that,’ she said taking hold of the mugs, ‘Wait there! Two luxury hot chocolates with the works coming right up!’
‘Now you’re talking!’
Five minutes later Bea and Nell were leaning against the counter, holding the most scrumptious-looking drinks, laced with marshmallows, cream and chocolate flakes.
‘Wow, I’m going to need an afternoon kip after this!’
Bea chuckled, ‘It’s calorific but, my gosh, it tastes good,’ she said, scooping up the cream with a spoon.
‘Look at this place,’ Bea flicked her eyes around the small café. ‘It looks like a bomb’s hit it after that mad rush.’
There were half a dozen empty tables that were littered with crumbs. ‘I’ll brush up after this and wipe the tables down,’ offered Nell.
‘You are a superstar. What would I do without you?’
The pair of them both cupped their mugs and sipped their hot chocolates while staring out over the marina through the window of the deli.
Suddenly, Bea placed her mug down on the counter with a clatter and hit Nell’s arm. She nodded towards the window.
‘Who’s that? I’ve not seen him around these parts before.’
Nell’s eyes darted over to where Bea was looking and smiled at her friend’s sudden enthusiasm. The man standing in front of the deli window was the same man whose dog had knocked her clean off her feet this morning.
‘Put your tongue back in, Bea, you’re physically panting,’ she ordered, but not admitting to her that her own stomach had done a slight flip at the sight of him again.
‘The hot chocolate’s too hot. Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it,’ Bea giggled.
‘You’re married,’ grinned Nell.
For a second they both watched the handsome stranger, taking in his navy-blue jumper that clung to his toned abs, his overalls tied around his waist and wild, dark hair, which he constantly raked away from his eyes.
He flicked his head up and down the jetty and seemed quite anxious before spinning round and locking eyes with Nell for a split second.
Damn, he’d caught her staring.
‘It doesn’t stop me from looking, though. He’s …’ Bea grabbed Nell’s arm and gave it a squeeze.
‘Coming in,’ she smiled.
All eyes were on the man as they watched him push open the deli door, letting in a blast of cool air. ‘Hello again, I thought it was you,’ he said, in his soft Irish accent.
‘Hello again?’ Instantly Bea swung towards Nell, raising her eyebrows. She was itching to know who the stranger was.
‘This is …’
The man smiled and acknowledged Nell’s hesitation, ‘Guy,’ he said, thrusting his hand towards her. ‘Guy Cornish. I don’t think we introduced ourselves properly this morning.’
‘This morning?’ Bea queried.
‘Nell, Nell Andrews. Pleased to meet you,’ she beamed, shaking his proffered hand ‘And this is …’
‘Bea,’ Bea chirped, with a wicked glint in her eye, ‘So come on, what am I am missing? How do you two know each other?’
‘This morning Guy swept me off my feet.’
‘He did, did he? And how come I know nothing about this?’ Bea enquired playfully.
‘Well not Guy, technically, but his dog.’
‘And he’s the very reason I’m pacing up and down the marina like a mad man. The lolloping hound has run off. We’ve only been here a couple of days and I’ve no clue where to start looking for him.’
‘How long ago was this?’
‘About five minutes,’ he glanced at his watch anxiously.
‘Don’t worry. He can’t have gone far. I bet he’s headed up the path near the woodlands. He’ll have sniffed out a rabbit or something.’
‘I don’t think he’s that intelligent,’ he joked, but there was no mistaking the worried expression firmly planted on his face.
Nell stood motionless for a moment wondering what to do, then taking a deep, calming breath she said, ‘I’ll help you look. That’s okay isn’t it, Bea? We’re over the dinner-time rush now.’
‘Yes, of course. You go. This time of day it’s always quiet.’
He gave Nell a grateful smile, ‘You will?’
Nell nodded, ‘I know the back paths,’ she answered, thrusting her arms into the sleeves of her coat and quickly zipping it up. ‘Come on, I’m sure it won’t take long to find him.’
Once outside the deli they headed towards the far end of the marina and strolled past all the shops, before hitting the trail that led to the woodlands.
‘What’s his name?’
‘Sam,’ Guy replied, and began to shout the dog’s name and rattle his lead.
Speedily, they carried on walking along the path, ‘So I take it you aren’t from around these parts, then?’
‘With an accent like this?’ he laughed. ‘No, it’s my brother who owns the boatyard here. I’m helping him out for a while.’
‘Ed’s your brother?’ Nell said astounded.
‘He is indeed.’
‘Ahh, you’re helping him out because of his operation?’
‘Yes, he’s laid up for six weeks after a hernia operation, so I offered to come and give him a hand at the boatyard he’s always raving on about.’
Ed