Summer Seaside Wedding (4 page)

He nodded. ‘Yes. That was understandable.’

‘And so are you going to tell me why you are here before I serve the meal? I won’t be able to eat with curiosity gnawing at me.’

‘I came to apologise for my tactless comments after we’d brought those youngsters to safety. You were incredible, so fast thinking and even faster in the water. Yet even though we were back on dry land with everyone safe and sound I was still imagining what it would have been like if I’d had to tell Harry that you’d drowned on your first day in the practice. I’m sure you can understand that.’

‘Yes, I can,’ she said soberly. ‘I have this bad habit of always being able to see someone else’s point of view. Though at that moment it wasn’t working too well as you were making me feel that I didn’t matter as a person, that I was just an encumbrance, the gauche, wet-behind-the-ears trainee that you’d been burdened with and wanted to take back to the practice intact for your own reputation.’

Stopping for breath, she wondered if she was suffering from some kind of verbal override. She’d hardly stopped talking since he’d appeared and supposed one reason might be that she was nervous in his company.

It was his turn to be amused. ‘Thanks a bunch for that powerful description of your opinion of me. If I remember rightly, at the time you were wet in other parts of the anatomy besides the ears, and I’m not too sure about the gauche label. I’d give it five out of ten.’

‘Now you’re making fun of me.’

‘Not at all. I have to say that whatever else you are…you’re different. But getting back to why I came, do you accept my apology?’

‘Yes, of course. And I thought what
you
did was pretty special too.’ Before she said or did anything else that might be misconstrued, she added, ‘If you will excuse me for a moment, I’m going to serve.’ She indicated the dining room where the table was set. ‘If you would like to take a seat.’

Watch it, he told himself when she’d gone into the kitchen. Don’t let it get out of hand with this young doctor. She’s sweet and caring but not in your league, Leo. She would soon tire of your sort of lifestyle. You aren’t over the moon with it yourself these days, especially when you observe Harry and Phoebe. Yet there is something to be said for freedom.

They chatted about everything but themselves while they were eating—the practice, the village, the community and the social life of the place. Amelie listened intently as he described the events that were arranged during the various seasons.

When she discovered that in July there was to be what was known as the Big Summer Picnic, where everyone who went took food with them, either sweet or savoury, to be shared at long wooden tables covered with white cloths, she was already wondering what to wear.

‘You haven’t said where the picnic takes place,’ she reminded him.

‘On the field at the back of the village hall. That way
there is somewhere to scatter if it should rain, and in the evening there is a barn dance.’

‘Do you go to these events?’ she asked.

‘Yes, usually. It depends on what is going on in my life at the time.’ She wondered if that was significant or just a casual comment.

‘That was lovely,’ he said when they’d finished eating and she’d served coffee in the spacious sitting room. ‘Maybe you’ll let me do the same for you one evening in my sparse accommodation.

‘I stayed at Mariner’s Moorings, the guest house on the coast road, for a long time before I moved into the apartment and I’ve no thoughts of buying a property at the moment. I don’t like to be tied down.’

Her expression was downcast as she told him, ‘We have different ideas about that. My life has been like that of a Gypsy, lacking stability, especially when I was young, which I feel had something to do with my disastrous broken engagement and cancelled wedding. I thought marrying Antoine would give me security and was mistaken, so it will be a long time before I fall into that pit again.’

‘You don’t exactly sound as if you were head over heels in love,’ Leo commented dryly. ‘People
are
supposed to marry for love, you know.’

He was getting to his feet and glancing at the clock with the feeling that it was all getting a bit too intimate. They’d only known each other a few days. He’d been there for Amelie at the start. She should be able to cope from now on.

She was observing him questioningly and he said,
‘Thanks for the meal and the hospitality, Amelie, Not having to do the cooking myself will give me more time to get up to date with a lot of medical info that’s coming through and waiting to be absorbed. I’ll pass it on to you when I’ve finished with it. Harry has already seen it.’

‘That would be great, thank you,’ she told him primly, and thought that he wasn’t exactly lingering. Yet had she expected him to and, more importantly, had she wanted him to?

When he’d gone striding off across the few yards that separated the apartment and the large detached house, Amelie went to sit in the back garden beneath a sun still high in the sky, and began to go over in her mind what each of them had said. By the time she’d finished she couldn’t believe that she’d been so up front about her life with a stranger.

But Leo didn’t feel like a stranger. The things they wanted from life were poles apart, but it didn’t prevent her from relaxing in his presence, and as she was only going to be working in Bluebell Cove for a few months, did any of it matter?

It was the end of her first week in the village and already Amelie had established a routine that began with a six o’clock swim down in the cove each morning before the day got under way,

The beach was usually deserted at that time, apart from maybe a lone surfer. There was just the noise of the tide pounding in and the screeching of gulls overhead to break the silence.

On the third morning of that first week the lone surfer had turned out to be Leo, and when she’d appeared he’d come out of the waves carrying his board and watched her approach.

‘Is this a regular thing for you?’ he’d asked as they’d drawn level.

It was the first conversation they’d had that wasn’t about work since Monday night, when he’d left rather abruptly. Even when there was just the two of them in the intimacy of the car while on house calls, they’d only talked about the two Ps—practice and patient—as if they were each wary of the other. So Amelie had been careful of what she’d said, even though the question he’d asked had been innocent enough.

‘Yes, I’ve been coming down each morning at this time because it’s so peaceful. It puts me right for the day. What about you? I suppose there is no novelty in having the sea so close for those who live here all the time.’

He had smiled. ‘Of of course there is! I never cease to marvel at the view when I arrive at the headland. Harry was away from here for five years and Ethan has gone for good, but I don’t want to leave Bluebell Cove ever.’

‘Neither do I,’ she’d said with unconscious wistfulness.

‘Maybe we won’t want you to when your time is up. Have you thought of that? You’ve only been with us a short time but Harry and I are already impressed with your medical knowledge and general aptitude.’

As he watched her face light up with pleasure he was
once again aware of the lack of guile of the young doctor from across the Channel who had even been ready with a good word for the guy who’d hurt and embarrassed her in the worst possible way.

Ignoring his vow to keep it cool between them, he said, ‘How are you fixed for coming across to my place one evening? If you remember, I promised to return your hospitality.’

Her cheeks were stained with warm colour and her eyes wide as she told him, ‘You don’t have to do that. I’m sure you have better things to spend your time on than entertaining me.’

‘Why not let me be judge of that?’ he replied. ‘So when would you like to come?’

‘Whenever you say. All my evenings are free as I don’t know anyone to socialise with.’

‘Shall we say Friday night?’ he suggested. ‘We will drink a toast to the end of your first week in the practice.’

‘That would be lovely.’ She glowed. ‘Thank you for inviting me…Leo. Is it all right if I call you by your first name when we’re off duty?’

‘Yes, I was beginning to wonder when you were going to drop the formalities.’

At that point she was throwing off the wrap she was wearing over her bikini and he felt his blood warming as he admired the smooth perfection of her body where everything was in such delightful proportion.

As if she’d sensed it, Amelie had kicked off her sandals and was running towards the sea. When she glanced over her shoulder she saw that Leo had thrown down
the surfboard and was following her into the oncoming tide. As they swam together they were just two people enjoying themselves early on a spring morning.

Yet not for as long as they would have liked as not far away there was a waiting room that would soon be full of the people they had been trained to serve, and as they walked back to their respective dwelling places each was wishing they knew what the other was thinking.

But by the time Friday night arrived Amelie had forgotten their easy camaraderie on the beach. She was nervous.

She felt instinctively that she wasn’t the kind of woman Leo would want to spend time with. He must have made the gesture out of politeness. How embarrassing
that
was going to be, especially if she had the verbal complaint again and gabbled all the time about something and nothing.

‘Stop worrying,’ she told her image in the mirror when she was ready to walk across to Leo’s flat. Her ebony bob hadn’t a hair out of place and the dress she was wearing always made her feel good because of its cut and colour. But she was still nervous at the thought of dining with the ‘Angel Gabriel’ again.

The windows of the apartment were wide open. She could hear music and laughter coming from above and hesitated. Leo hadn’t said anything about anyone else being there.

When they’d made the arrangement on the beach she’d taken it for granted that it would be just the two of them, but it didn’t sound like that. Had he invited
some people round because she’d said she didn’t know anyone to socialise with?

If that was the case, he should have warned her. There was no way she wanted to be an exhibit in front of a group of his friends. She turned quickly, went back to where she’d come from, and couldn’t get the key in the lock fast enough.

It was an hour later when the doorbell rang and she got slowly to her feet, prepared to offer what now seemed like a weak excuse for not turning up for the meal that Leo had invited her to.

‘So why didn’t you come?’ he asked unsmilingly. ‘The food is spoiling.’

I’m sorry,’ she said weakly. ‘I was about to press the buzzer to your apartment when I heard what sounded like a party up above, and I couldn’t face a lot of strangers at short notice. Why didn’t you tell me you were having friends round so that I might have been prepared?’

He was frowning. ‘I didn’t tell you because I wasn’t, that’s why.’

‘But I heard the voices and the music.’

‘Yes, you probably did,’ he commented dryly, ‘but being new around here you won’t know that there are two apartments. The other one, which Harry used to rent, is occupied by the new district nurse who has replaced Phoebe. She and her family are renting it until they find a house that suits them. They were the ones having the party.’

She listened to what he’d been saying in complete mortification. ‘I am so sorry, but you should have told
me. You are right about me not knowing about the other apartment. I remembered telling you I had no one to socialise with and thought you were doing something about it when I heard what was going on up above. But when it came to joining in the fun I could not face a room full of strangers.’

He sighed. ‘The only person you would have found there is me, so do you want to come and risk my dried-up offerings, or put it down to experience?’

‘I want to come,’ she said immediately. ‘If there is any excuse for the way I behaved it is that I haven’t done any socialising since breaking up with the man who betrayed me. It took away a lot of my confidence in myself, but it is returning, and coming to Bluebell Cove is the best thing I’ve ever done, Leo.’

He was smiling again. ‘So come on, then. The burnt offerings await us.’

W
HEN
he’d invited Amelie to the apartment for a meal that morning on the beach and asked what night would be convenient, she’d said any night and indicated that her social life was non-existent, which was not surprising as she’d only been in Bluebell Cove for a week.

But it had caused him to wonder if it had been a hint. He was the only person she knew, both inside and outside the surgery, and he’d invited her to dine with him. It had been out of politeness and with the feeling of responsibility that had been there ever since he’d brought her to the village. He hoped she wasn’t reading anything else into it.

To feel responsible for someone who had joined the practice from choice and who was already proving her worth was ridiculous, he’d thought afterwards. Amelie was no shrinking violet, yet neither was she streetwise and provocative, like some of the members of her sex who sought him out.

As he took her up the wooden staircase leading to the apartments that had been one of the focal points of Phoebe and Harry’s romance, he was thinking that
all his efforts in the kitchen were going to be well past their best because she’d panicked at the thought of meeting strangers. Yet wasn’t that what she needed to do, and wasn’t that what
he
was, in spite of them being forever in each other’s company since she’d arrived…a stranger?

When he’d shown her into the apartment the first thing he did was check on the state of the hot dishes he’d prepared and left on a very low oven setting. They seemed to have survived and with his concerns about the role in which Amelie might be seeing him put to one side, he gave himself up to enjoying her company.

The evening that had started badly became an enjoyable occasion as Amelie relaxed into the situation.

She said how much she’d enjoyed the meal, having already decided that she would have eaten it even if it had been burnt to a crisp, but there’d been no need to do that. His cooking was better than hers, and the food hadn’t been spoilt while she’d been dithering in the house across the way.

Over coffee they chatted about the hospital where she’d been based since getting her degree, and Leo told her so much about Manchester that she was keen to visit if the opportunity arose.

She was just as interested in anything connected with his life as he was in hers. Where she’d been nervous of spending time alone with him she was now relaxed and ready to talk. But remembering the last occasion when they’d dined together and she’d been verbal non-stop, she was wary of saying too much.

He thought the red linen dress she was wearing was a perfect foil for the raven’s-wing colour of her hair, unaware that it was one of a scant selection in her wardrobe that was all the salary of a junior doctor allowed.

Having been with her the previous Saturday, when she’d come across a wedding in the village on the same day that it should have been hers, he wondered what sort of a dress she would have been wearing if it had come to pass, and felt a strange sort of protectiveness at the thought of her generosity in making allowances for her two-timing ex-fiancé’s behaviour.

The door of the second bedroom was ajar while she was helping him to clear up after the meal, and the cot that Phoebe’s little one had used while they had been living there was on view.

‘That is from the time when Phoebe lived here,’ he said laughingly. ‘I’m not keeping it just in case. I like to be a free spirit and have no plans along those lines at present.’

She didn’t join in the laughter. Instead she said, ‘Neither have I. It will be a long time before I take any chances on love again. To feel unwanted is an awful experience.’

He didn’t take her up on that or it would be there again, the compassion she aroused in him, which was crazy when he considered how long they’d known each other. But there was a simple dignity in the way she’d described her past and present life to him that pulled at his heartstrings.

When they went back into the sitting room Leo said whimsically, ‘As you can see, my place is far less
salubrious than yours. Phoebe managed to get around to painting the ceiling while she was resident here, but I feel that once she’d met Harry there were far more exciting things to do than decorating. So I’m going to remedy that the first chance I get, and when you come again you will see a big difference.’

So there was a chance she might be here again some time. Concealing her pleasure at the thought, Amelie went to the window and looked out into the night. The light was fading and a June moon shone like a great silver ball over the headland.

For the first time since she’d arrived at the apartment she let her mouth race ahead of her mind and said, ‘Why don’t we go for a swim in the moonlight, Leo?’

There was silence and she felt colour rise in her cheeks. He’d asked her round for a meal, not to go down to the beach.

He had come to stand beside her and into the silence that had followed the suggestion said, ‘Yes, why not? I’ve done it before, and no doubt will do it again. It’s a fantastic feeling. If you pop across and change into your swimming gear, I’ll do the same and will meet you out at the front in ten minutes, OK?’

When they met up again he was carrying a beach bag containing a bottle of wine and two glasses, and with her thoughts still out of control she said, ‘You are doing this because you’re feeling sorry for me, aren’t you?’

‘Er, no,’ he replied. ‘I’m doing it because watching you in the water is something not to be missed, and it has given me an idea.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Ronnie the lifeguard was saying the other day that he needed some help in the evenings, that the guy who shares the job with him is on long-term sick leave and the council is dragging its feet at finding a replacement. He said that just a couple of hours in the evenings would be much appreciated. At this time of year it’s the busiest part of the day down there when folks have finished work and are ready to relax.

‘Does the idea appeal to you? I’m sure there would be no problem with the authorities, as long as you were able to do a quick lifeguard refresher course. It would give them time to find someone permanent and it would help Ronnie, who is the father of Maria the young nurse at the surgery.’

Amelie didn’t reply immediately. The idea appealed to her immensely, yet what she felt was behind it didn’t. Leo had taken note of her comment about her evenings being empty, and to get himself off the hook had come up with an idea that could solve the problem. If she was down on the beach in the evenings as a lifeguard, she wouldn’t be hoping that he would fill the gap.

But why should he? The man striding along beside her past the headland and down the steps that led to the cove where the last stragglers were beginning to wind their way upwards must have lots more interesting things to do with his kind of looks and personality.

‘I wouldn’t mind giving it a try if the authorities will allow it,’ she said in a voice that told him she thought she’d read his mind.
So what if she did?

Amelie had no idea how much she was getting to him
with her uncomplicated outlook on life and absence of coquettishness.

He felt sure the powers that be would agree to the idea, and he knew Ronnie would when he saw her perform. If he and they knew she’d been involved in rescuing the two young girls from the sea cave just a few days ago, he imagined they would jump at the chance of a temporary replacement. If Amelie was serious about what she’d said, he would start the ball rolling on Monday.

Not a lot moved in local government on Saturdays.

The tide was coming in less vigorously than it sometimes did and as they swam in its unaccustomed gentleness, with moonlight throwing shadows on the rocks and the sand that the sea hadn’t yet reached, there was a tranquillity that they could both feel.

Amelie was so entranced by the magic of the evening that she fantasised about her role as temporary lifeguard leading to a permanent position if they didn’t require her any more at the practice when her time was up. It would be one way of staying in Bluebell Cove, something she was increasingly keen to do, still saving lives but in a different way than at present.

They’d come out of the water, and were sitting on the rocks, idly watching the waves skipping over the sand towards them when Leo said, ‘You being a doctor would fit in with the lifeguard role very nicely. Immediate medical assistance on the spot if needed, much better than simply having the required First Aid certificate.’

‘Yes,’ she said slowly, and almost told him he didn’t have to sell her the idea. She was already sold on it. Sun,
sea and sand were her life’s blood. If at the same time as working at the practice she could put her abilities regarding those things to good use, why not?

The only problem was it being weekend tomorrow. It would be Monday before Leo could speak to anyone, and Saturday and Sunday loomed ahead as empty days.

‘Why don’t you come down here to have a word with Ronnie over the weekend?’ Leo said, picking up on her thoughts. ‘It would give you the chance to get to know him and find out what would be required of you in the evenings if the authorities are interested in employing you as a temporary lifeguard. He’s a likeable guy.’

‘Yes, I suppose I could do that,’ she agreed.

It was almost as if he could read her mind. Though did he read it as far as realising that his eagerness to keep her occupied was beginning to show, was it another taste of the unwanted feeling that was bitter in her mouth?

If so, he ought to tell her. It was to be expected that Leo was living a full and happy life before she’d come on the scene, so it was to his credit that he was putting it on hold because he felt responsible for her. But
she
didn’t want it to be like that, just as much as she felt
he
didn’t. She’d coped on her own for as long as she could remember, except for the short time that Antoine had been part of her life.

‘Shall we go?’ she asked flatly, as if the moon’s light on sea and shore and the rugged cliffs behind them wasn’t enough.

‘Why the sudden drop in spirits?’ Leo asked, as if
he didn’t know. ‘Shall we forget the idea of the beach patrol, Amelie? It was only a thought.’

‘No, of course not!’ she protested. ‘It was kind of you to suggest it. I will come down here tomorrow and introduce myself to Ronnie.’ Then it happened again, the words were out before she could stop them. ‘What plans have
you
made for the weekend?’

Fortunately a cloud passed over the moon at that moment and he didn’t observe her mortification at the intrusion into his life once again. Taken aback for a second by the directness of the question, he replied, ‘Tennis tomorrow morning with my friend Naomi, a trip to town in the afternoon, and in the evening out for a meal with friends, maybe moving on to a nightclub later.

‘On Sundays I do what chores have to be done, go to the pub for an hour late morning, and maybe drive into the countryside in the afternoon for a Devonshire clotted-cream tea.’

‘What is that?’ she asked curiously.

‘Fresh scones, thick clotted cream that the county is renowned for and strawberry conserve or jam.’

‘It sounds delightful.’

‘It is,’ he replied, and thought it would be so easy to suggest he call for her on Sunday and take her with him if she would like that, yet he wasn’t going to. He had to ease off with the woman beside him, otherwise his well-planned bachelor life, stereotyped as it sometimes was, might fall apart if he veered off in a new direction, and
that
would cause some raised eyebrows amongst those he worked with at the practice.

He knew that Harry thought he was crazy, living the carefree life that he’d always led, but the senior partner was in love and had Phoebe and her child who loved him in return. Soon she would give birth to another little one that would be theirs entirely and his joy would know no bounds.

If he was in a situation like the other man’s, he would approach life from a different angle, but he wasn’t, and neither was he likely to be while mixing with the ‘in crowd’.

The life he’d lived ever since losing Delphine was a defence against ever experiencing that sort of pain and heartbreak again. Even now, with the years having gone by, he still couldn’t talk about it, so Harry could only judge him from outward appearances.

He got to his feet and said, ‘I suppose we
had
better make tracks or Naomi will be calling for me in the morning and I won’t be up.’

As they walked back to the village in the silent night Amelie risked another question about his private life, which she didn’t think would offend. ‘Does your tennis partner live locally?’

‘Yes,’ he said easily. ‘She returned to Bluebell Cove, where she was brought up, some months ago after a distressing divorce, and we got to know each other at the tennis club.’

‘Oh, I see,’ she said, and thought what could be more appealing than an attractive blonde divorcee? Certainly not a nondescript junior doctor who couldn’t even keep Antoine the unadventurous happy.

Their two residences were in sight and Amelie
knew she didn’t want this time with Leo to end. Yet end it must, as the next thought that had come to mind was what it would feel like to be kissed by the Angel Gabriel.

When they stopped at her gate it was clear that the man by her side had no such thoughts. His mind was on more mundane things, such as a reminder to lock up securely before she went to bed and a wish for the best of luck with Ronnie down on the beach the next morning.

But she couldn’t let him go with just that. Thanks were due because he had given up his evening for her and she said awkwardly, ‘I’ve had a lovely time, Leo. Thank you for the meal and the rest of the evening.’ Standing on tiptoe, she brushed her lips lightly against his cheek.

At the moment of contact he stepped back and Amelie felt her colour rise again. When would she ever learn? Antoine’s treatment of her should have made it clear that she wasn’t ever going to be any man’s dream girl. Leo had backed off as if she was infectious, and that was after just a thank-you peck on the cheek. The pleasure of the time they’d spent together was disappearing like water down a drain.