Gracie (7 page)

Gracie and Ruby had both been deep in thought, but they sat up quickly and looked round in unison. Two men and a woman were standing behind them, looking ready to settle themselves on the beach near to where they were sitting but politely waiting for a response. One of the men was holding a folded tartan rug over one arm and a cavernous wicker basket on the other and the other man was carrying the jackets they’d obviously taken off because of the sun. There was no doubt they were looking to stay for at least the duration of their picnic.

‘Of course not! It’s a public beach. And we’re leaving in a minute anyway,’ Gracie shrugged, without taking too much notice.

She was surprised at the question and also a bit irritated that other people were settling so close on the beach when there was room a little further away. She really wanted to chat with Ruby and enjoy their last outing together before everything changed; she just wanted a fun day with Ruby before her wedding.

‘Are you here on a day trip?’ the young woman asked as she took the rug from the man, before carefully laying it out just a few feet away from them. Trying to be subtle, Gracie glanced at her.

She was a petite but buxom blonde with a wide smile, classy clothes and a shrill, upper-class voice that carried along the beach. It was obvious she’d dressed for a day at the seaside but without considering the beach.

‘No, we live here,’ Gracie answered politely. ‘We were just having a sit in the sun before we walk home.’

‘How exciting it must be to live at the seaside. We live in the country so we’re just here for the day – we drove down from Saffron Walden this morning. Well, Edward drove. It’s the first time we’ve ever been to Southend and we want to see everything; we’ve already had a good old look around the Kursaal and along by the pier. It’s all such fun! Harry and I went on the lake in a boat …’ she paused and her hand flew up to her mouth.

‘Oh, I’m sorry, you must think we’re so rude.’ She walked round in front of them and held out her hand to both Ruby and Gracie in turn. ‘I’m Louisa, and this is Harry, my darling fiancé …’ she said as she pointed to the man on her left, ‘and this is Edward, his big brother. Harry and I are engaged, we’re getting married next month and Edward will be best man. He came all the way back from Africa especially. How exciting is that?’

‘Shhh, darling,’ the man introduced as Harry said, as he held his hand up in front of her and smiled affectionately. ‘Not everyone wants to know all about our forthcoming nuptials’.

‘I’m sorry, Harry, I’m so excited I want the whole world to know!’ Louisa joined her hands together as if in prayer and almost bowed as she gazed adoringly at her fiancé.

Gracie felt Ruby’s elbow in her ribs and heard her stifled snort but she didn’t react.

She wasn’t looking at Ruby, Louisa or Harry, nor was she listening to them. Instead Gracie had met the gaze of the man introduced as Edward, and she was completely transfixed.

She could feel herself starting to blush, but still she couldn’t look away from the man, who was looking into her eyes with an intensity she couldn’t decipher. There was the slightest hint of a smile around the edges of his mouth that inferred intimacy and Gracie was shocked; not only that he could look at her that way, but also that she didn’t turn away and break the eye contact. She couldn’t – she was hypnotised.

Ruby nudged her again, this time a little harder. ‘Gracie? Haven’t we got to get back? It’s getting late and there’s still a lot to do.’

Ruby’s words were loaded with meaning, but for once Gracie chose to ignore the ‘let’s get out of here’ signal, although she did force herself to look away from the man and break the connection.

‘It’s okay, we’ve got a while, let’s stay just a bit longer,’ she said, her eyes moving from Ruby back to Edward. ‘I’m Gracie by the way and this is my best friend, Ruby …’

‘Pleased to meet you, Gracie, and you, Ruby …’ the man said as his eyes flickered from one to the other before settling on Gracie.

‘Come on now, boys.’ Interrupting the conversation, the young woman clapped her hands sharply. ‘Let’s go and dip a toe in the briney, we didn’t come all this way not to at least get our feet wet. Chop, chop, shoes off, trousers rolled up! Let’s go and see if it’s as nice as it looks …’

Louisa slipped off her shoes and tip-toed barefoot over the stones, down to the edge of the water, where the receding tide was leaving straggling bits of wet seaweed behind on the damp sand. She was wearing yellow tailored knee-length shorts with a tightly fitted matching blouse and had a brightly coloured scarf tied artfully round her neck as a choker. She looked like a film star as she stood with one hand on her hip and the other carefully holding her hair back from her face. There was no denying the fact that she was a beautiful and privileged young woman.

Everyone on the beach turned and watched as she dipped a toe in the chilly water, screamed and then turned and waved madly. Harry was just a few paces behind her, standing on one leg and carefully rolling his trouser legs up to mid-calf, but Edward stayed exactly where he was. Right next to Gracie.

Both brothers were wearing similar beige slacks and white open-necked shirts and both had light brown floppy hairstyles but Edward’s hair was gently sun-lightened across the front and he sported a suntan that was deep and noticeably exotic. Next to him, his brother Harry looked pale and mousey.

‘Come on, Teddy, and you girls as well, this is such fun even if it is freezing! Why is it so cold when the sun is so warm?’ Louisa shouted with a faux shiver as she splashed daintily in the shallows.

Although Edward wasn’t moving, Gracie could see Ruby was tempted as always by the water. ‘Go on, you go and have a splash with them,’ she smiled, ‘I’ll just sit here and relax for a bit. Go on …’

Ruby put her head on one side and looked curiously at her friend for a few moments. ‘Are you feeling okay? I thought you might fancy a bit of a splash around today. It’s such a nice day, and it might be …’

‘No, I’m alright,’ Gracie interrupted quickly. ‘I’m happy to watch for the mo’. I’m comfortable sitting here but I might come down in a bit …’

As Ruby headed towards the water, Edward edged over from the comfort of the rug and sat beside Gracie on the pebble-splattered sand.

‘Let me introduce myself properly. I’m Edward Woodfield, but my close friends call me Teddy. As you know, Harry is my brother and Louisa is his fiancée, and we live in rural Essex. Very rural, out in the sticks Essex, heading up to Suffolk. Saffron Walden. You’ve probably not heard of it!’

‘I’m Gracie McCabe, Southend born and bred … Are you and Harry twins? You look very alike. I have twin sisters.’

‘Not twins, I’m the elder by one year exactly so I always tell everyone I’m the more important Woodfield brother – although I have to say that Harry is the loudest,’ he smiled. ‘Do you mind if I call you Gracie or do you prefer Gracie?’

‘Definitely Gracie, I don’t have the grace to be called Gracie and I get fed up with all the “there but for the grace of God” jokes, so please don’t say it.’ She laughed nervously at her often-told joke.

‘Not true, I think you’re full of grace, but I’ll call you Gracie if I have to. You know, this feels so strange, this isn’t something I expected when I set out from home this morning …’ Edward looked straight into her eyes.

‘What’s strange? There’s nothing strange about sitting on the beach on a nice day, I often do it. Me and Ruby love the beach.’ Not completely sure of his meaning, Gracie glanced away, hoping he wouldn’t notice her face reddening rapidly under his intimate gaze.

‘That isn’t what I mean and I think you know that. It’s strange, sitting here feeling as if I …’

Gracie didn’t say anything but looked at him again, still trying to work out where the conversation was going.

‘You know, I persuaded the others to come and sit over here, told them it was the best spot. I’ve been watching you ever since I saw you on the rollercoaster.’ He smiled as he stared at her. ‘I made them walk all the way to the pier and back with me; I even dragged them onto the pier … that took some persuading, I’m telling you! Luckily the picnic basket was still in the car. Phew …’

‘You were following us? Why would you do that?’ Gracie asked.

‘Because you caught my eye when the rollercoaster came around and I could see you laughing. Then, when I saw you and your friend falling about on the grass afterwards having such fun, I knew straight away that you were exactly the girl I wanted to marry.’

Gracie stared open-mouthed at the man sitting beside her on the beach; the stranger she had met not fifteen minutes before. Unsure how to react she shook her head and started to laugh nervously.

‘Oh for God’s sake, what a load of old waffle! How daft do you think I am? Flattery won’t get you nowhere with me. I’m not that kind of girl.’

‘It’s not waffle and I never thought anything other than how beautiful you were. That was what I thought when I saw you, though maybe
marry
was a declaration too soon.’ Edward pulled a face and paused before looking away in the direction of the sea.

‘Harry would say that was typical of me, not thinking before opening my mouth. He says my social skills need honing, but that was what I felt. I still feel it, sitting here beside you.’

He moved a fraction sideways, until he was so close to Gracie their knees were touching. She knew she should move away but she couldn’t. As the contact remained, so something made her instinctively place her left hand, along with the engagement ring Sean had given her, out of sight under her thigh.

As she did so a wave of guilt hit her. She should be sending the charming stranger on his way, she should be telling him that she didn’t talk to strange men, that she was getting married in just three days’ time. She should be saying to him that her wedding was all booked for Saturday, and that she loved her fiancé. She knew she should tell him all of that, and then stand up and walk away.

But she didn’t.

Instead Gracie remained there, silent and still, and strangely aware of the scent of his cologne, despite knowing full well that she shouldn’t be having feelings like this for anyone, let alone a total stranger.

But despite Edward Woodfield being a stranger, Gracie felt as if she already knew him – because he was exactly how she had always imagined her fantasy man would be. The stranger on the beach was actually the very familiar man of her dreams. He was the right one whom Gracie had always known she would recognise.

Edward was tall and lithe, with long legs and broad shoulders; his features were even, with a charming smile and expressive deep blue eyes that Gracie knew were fixed on her face. But there was a shyness about him that was endearing, and somehow she knew instinctively that he wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill Lothario trying to get off with a local girl at the seaside.

She was momentarily dumbstruck. Old flannel she could easily deal with but open sincerity and genuine declarations were something different.

In the background she could hear Ruby calling her from the water’s edge but her voice seemed far, far away. Gracie focused on her feet, wiggling her toes in her sandals and shaking a few stray grains of sand from between them. Something strange was happening to her and though she wanted to get up and run away from the obvious danger in front of her, she couldn’t.

Even though the touch was so light it was barely there, Edward Woodfield’s leg burned into hers, and she was aware of his fresh breath that was far too close to the side of her face. She carried on looking down and didn’t meet his gaze, but nonetheless she was completely thrown by both the situation and the palpitations that were getting faster by the moment.

And then he moved an inch away from her. He stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back with his hands under his head.

‘So, what do you do for a living that has you resident at the seaside, you lucky thing?’ he asked, gently easing the tension of the moment.

‘I’ve always lived here. I was born here – I’m a Southender who’s never lived anywhere else …’ she paused. ‘But you’re not really interested in my life story, are you? It’s pretty boring.’

‘I am and I’m listening. I want to know all about you and then I’ll tell you all about me,’ he smiled.

‘There’s not enough time for all that stuff. Ruby will be back in a minute and then we have to go. I have a lot to do in the next few days …’ she paused. Gracie knew she should tell him about her forthcoming marriage, but instead she hesitated just long enough for him to interrupt.

‘It’s not important; we don’t need to know everything about each other immediately.’

As he smiled, so Gracie unintentionally found herself telling him an outline of her life story. It was a sanitised version, but he proved to be a good listener.

‘And you? What do you do?’ Gracie asked, turning it round to him.

‘I’m an engineer. I work abroad, mostly in Africa, but I’m back home on leave for Harry’s wedding. They’re driving me completely bananas with all the planning and organising; it’s going to be very formal, which is not my sort of thing, but it’s what they want. Or rather, what
Louisa
wants – and usually whatever Louisa wants, so does poor besotted Harry.’

‘I thought you looked too healthy and suntanned for England,’ Gracie said, carefully avoiding the subject of weddings.

‘Hardly healthy,’ he chuckled. ‘Not that long ago I was burnt to a cinder after a day at the beach and this is the outcome after the top three layers peeled. Luckily I have skin that tans. Gracie, can we meet again? Just the two of us. I can drive down here anytime. I’m in the UK for several more weeks until the wedding. I want to get to know you and for you to know me …’

‘I can’t do that, I really can’t. You see, it’s, it’s …’ Gracie stuttered, unable to get the words out.

‘Of course you can,’ he interrupted with a smile. ‘I’m not going to give up. I want to get to know you, and I want to marry you and whisk you off to Africa with me.’

‘Don’t talk to me like that,’ she snapped. ‘You’re taking the mickey out of me now. I told you, I’m not some stupid little fairground girl who’ll fall for your flannel and flattery and let you have your way, I’m not …’