Second chance summer, p.30
Second Chance Summer, page 30
‘Of course he said yes. He’s lucky to have you.’ Lily sighed with happiness. ‘I wish I could give you a hug through the screen.’ She held out her hands.
Richie held out his and blew her an air kiss. ‘You can when you get back.’
‘What does your nanna have to say about it all?’
‘I had to make sure my mum was there in case she had a funny turn. She was speechless and, believe me, that’s not a family trait!’
Lily arched an eyebrow. ‘You don’t say?’
He grinned. ‘We’re so happy – I want everyone to be happy. Oh, I keep going around the office with a huge smile on my face. Now I’ve told you, I can share it with everyone else.’
After a few more minutes hearing about the proposal, Lily ended the Zoom. She was meeting up later with Penny and a number of the makers and artists from the craft fair who’d expressed an interest in being part of the Lily Loves Scilly collection that she wanted to sell from her website.
Cockahoop were also very interested in stocking it but Lily knew the key was to take things slowly, make sure everyone was happy with the set-up. She didn’t want anyone to feel they were compromising their independence and individuality.
She got up, deciding that after Richie’s momentous news, she needed a coffee – and possibly some cake – to help her recover before she went back to work.
In the sunshine, a few customers were sitting at the tables enjoying their food, when Morven emerged with a tray to clear away.
Lily was about to go into the café when Morven shrieked and the tray fell onto the terrace with a clatter that made one man spill his cappuccino over his lap.
‘Dad!’
Morven ran towards a pony-tailed man who was wheeling a suitcase down the path from the quay. Even if Lily hadn’t known who Nathan Teague was, she’d instantly have guessed he was related to Sam.
‘Hello, sweetheart.’ Nate folded her in his arms.
Elspeth walked onto the terrace, her hands dusty with flour. ‘Nathan! It’s so good to see you! Come inside.’
Morven broke away from Nate, still holding his hand. ‘This is my dad!’ she announced to Lily. ‘You were in London when he came back before so you have to come and meet him now.’
‘Pleased to meet you,’ Lily said, deeply touched that Morven was so keen for them to meet. Sam had told her that when Nate had come home as promised, earlier in the summer, he’d finally reached a decision.
‘Hi there. You’re the famous Lily,’ he said, giving her a warm handshake.
‘Dad’s back for good this time,’ Morven said.
After Nate’s previous visit, he’d gone back to LA, given his notice and packed up his life there. Grady wasn’t part of the plan any longer, much to everyone’s relief. He’d told his daughter – and Sam – that it wasn’t working out with his girlfriend and never would because anyone who wasn’t willing to accept the most important person in his life wasn’t for him.
This had raised him several notches in Lily’s estimation and must have delighted Morven.
Nate put his arm around his daughter. ‘I am and I’ve got a lot to catch up on. Morven’s told me about your offer of a bursary, Lily?’
‘Yes, and I’m so happy she’s accepted it and that she’s applying to Falmouth.’
‘It’s very generous of you,’ he said, still with his arm around Morven. ‘Isn’t it?’
‘Yes,’ Morven said, shyly.
‘She’s so talented,’ Elspeth said proudly.
‘And she’ll be the pioneer for what I hope will be an annual Lily Loves student bursary,’ Lily added. ‘A real trailblazer.’
‘I always knew it!’ Elspeth declared and Nate smiled at Lily.
Morven’s cheeks went suspiciously pink. ‘Shall we go inside, Dad?’ she said, a little desperately.
‘I’ll see you in a while.’ Lily was keen for the three of them to have a private catch-up. She watched them all walk into the café and decided to leave her coffee. It was the second time that morning that she’d had to bite back tears. But that was OK. It was OK to be human, to feel happiness – the whole spectrum of emotions.
She’d finally heeded the message that she should be kinder to herself by not always trying to be perfect.
Nate and Morven emerged from the café after a while and rejoined Lily before they all headed to Stark to see Sam. Morven took the helm, guided by Nate, who knew the waters almost as well as his brother.
Sam was waiting at the jetty and Lily spotted several guests were lounging in front of their cottages or wandering along the paths.
‘We’ll have to be quiet, though,’ he said, possibly for Morven’s benefit. ‘The guests are relaxing.’
‘I still can’t believe what you’ve achieved here,’ said Nate. ‘I should have been here.’
‘I didn’t do it on my own. Aaron and the lads were incredible – and Lily, of course.’ Sam winked at her. ‘Morven’s added her own creative touch and has been helping with the changeovers when she can.’
Morven grinned. ‘I’ll be too busy when I’m at uni next year,’ she said.
‘I know I’ve been no use until now, but I’ll be here to lend a hand if I can,’ Nate said. ‘I’ve just negotiated a freelance contract with my old company in Exeter. They’re doing well and with my US experience, I can charge them more. I could invest in the retreat, if you like, but it’s your baby.’
‘It’s still ours jointly,’ Sam said, fair-minded as always.
‘Only in name. You put in all the work, took on all the responsibility, just as you always have. I’ll never be able to repay you for looking after Morven and I want you to reap the rewards from Stark.’
‘We’ll talk about it some more,’ Sam said, looking embarrassed. ‘Another time.’
‘Bro, I don’t want anything from it. I’m doing pretty well myself.’ Nate sounded resolute, so Sam nodded.
After Nate had taken Morven back to Hell Bay, Lily helped Sam with the dinner and bar service.
It was almost midnight by the time they got to bed but Lily wasn’t tired.
Finally, she decided to tell Sam about their appearance on the local news site.
‘Someone must have seen us on the beach yesterday and taken some photos. Look.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘They don’t waste much time. I can’t believe people can be bothered to take so many photos of two ordinary people. Shall we go for a walk and unwind? Today’s been a pretty big one and I don’t feel like sleeping yet.’
‘To Tean Porth?’
‘Great idea.’
They collected blankets and walked down the hill, hand in hand, towards the beach. The full moon made a torch unnecessary and the night was mild and balmy.
They sat on the beach, watching the moon paint a shimmering path over the ocean. Sam’s arm tightened comfortingly around her back. Life could not get much better than this, thought Lily.
‘It’s a good job we found each other,’ he said. ‘If you hadn’t been forced to stay at my half-built retreat, I might have stayed in my miserable hole forever, always regretting what I’d lost instead of embracing happiness again.’
‘Wow.’ Lily stared at him in mock-horror. ‘That sounds dangerously like Sam saying he’s glad he decided to reach out to someone and accept help.’
‘I am glad I did. I’ve learned that – and I hate to use a cliché – we all need to accept help.’ He took her hand. ‘And be brave enough to let someone else into our lives.’
She brushed his lips with hers. ‘I was as much an island as you were, repelling all invaders.’ That drew a smile from him. ‘I didn’t dare hand over control of any tiny part of my life in case it fell apart completely. I’m so glad I came to Stark, however much I hated it at first. It’s scary to think it took nearly dying to change my life.’
She shivered again, but Sam folded her in his arms. ‘Don’t look back. Look forward. And, you know …’ He hesitated, looking so intently at Lily that she felt a delicious thrill run through her from head to toe. ‘If you want to, we could give those gossip sites something really big to write about …’
Now it was Lily’s turn to search his face. ‘What – what do you mean?’
Sam closed his warm hand around hers. ‘We could give them the story they want: the happy ending.’
She held her breath for a moment, hardly daring to believe what he was saying.
But then he started speaking again, making the impossible breathtakingly real by getting down on one knee and gazing up into her face.
‘Lily,’ he said, ‘Will you marry me?’
‘Marry you?’
‘Well, I don’t see anyone else here,’ he said, finally rising to his feet. ‘What do you think? Is it too soon? Or should we seize this moment?’
For the third time that day, Lily felt tears prickling the back of her eyes and this time she didn’t try to stop them.
‘I think – I think … that is the best idea I’ve ever heard, and I might have to kiss you.’
She closed her eyes and their mouths met in one unforgettable moment when Lily thought she might actually take off into the sky. Still kissing Sam, she opened her eyes briefly and, high in the night sky, she saw a streak of light – a shooting star that might just be Cara telling her it was OK to be happy again.
Acknowledgements
Second Chance Summer marks a fresh start for me as much as for the characters.
Last year my husband surprised me with an Easter trip to the Isles of Scilly. I was mulling over the idea for this novel, when I glimpsed the now uninhabited isle of Samson.
It seemed the perfect inspiration for my first book with Penguin/Century and I’d like to say thank you to Katie Loughnane, Jess Muscio, Sarah Ridley, Issie Levin, Lynn Curtis and the fantastic Century team at Penguin Random House for their support – and for the cream tea, which I’m hoping will be an annual event. Just make sure it’s jam first …
Talking of Scilly, while I have used some real place names, all the characters, businesses and Stark Island itself come completely from my imagination. I’ve also tried to give a realistic idea of getting to and fro around the islands; however these days you can reach Scilly on a Sunday from the mainland.
Before I finish, there are some other important people I want to thank. What would I do without the support of the Friday Floras, the Coffee Crew and the Party People who are always there for me? Thank you, all. Special thanks also go to my best mate and ace bookseller, Janice Hume, and to my agent, Broo Doherty.
As always, all my love goes to my parents, Charlotte, James and John for supporting me throughout my writing and publishing journey, no matter what. Love you. xx
Loved
Second Chance Summer
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Published in Penguin Books 2024
Copyright © Phillipa Ashley, 2024
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ISBN: 978-1-804-94553-7
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Phillipa Ashley, Second Chance Summer
