The Perfect Hero (29 page)

Rob laughed. ‘The other side,’ he said, pointing to her cone.

Gemma twisted it round but not before the drip had travelled the length of her arm, leaving a brilliant pink squiggle behind.

‘Can’t take you anywhere, can we?’ Rob said, his eyes crinkling in delight.

Gemma opened her handbag and reached in to retrieve a clean tissue and dabbed at the strawberry trail. ‘What a mess!’ she said.

‘All part of the seaside experience,’ Rob said.

Gemma finished tidying herself up and then thought it best that she ate the rest of her ice cream as quickly as possible before there were any further strawberry-related incidents.

‘How’s the knitting going?’ Rob asked, eyeing the contents of her bag. Gemma reached down and closed it. Had he been secretly watching her knitting as well?

He frowned. ‘Can’t I take a look?’

‘It’s – it’s not finished.’

‘Doesn’t matter,’ he said. ‘Let’s have a look.’

‘No, really, it’s not—’

But he’d reached down himself and had opened her bag, reaching inside and lifting out the little pink jacket. ‘Well, I never!’ he said. ‘This is good. Better than my mum’s and she was the best, you know. I had four sisters and two brothers and she knitted all our clothes until we went to college. Well, actually, she insisted we still wore her clothes then too. I think she would have knitted my sisters’ wedding dresses if she thought she could get away with it.’

Gemma laughed.

‘You could probably make a living from this, you know,’ he said.

Gemma almost choked. She’d been wondering the very same thing herself for ages now. She knew it didn’t sound very glamorous and it certainly wasn’t on a par with acting as far as public recognition was concerned, but all Gemma wanted to do was sit at home and knit. She had constant daydreams of the garments she could create and drew little designs on the back of her script. She thought of all the luxurious wools and the glorious colours she could bring together, but could she really make a living from it?

‘Teresa likes it too,’ she said.

‘I’m not surprised,’ Rob said. ‘It’s wonderful. You really should pursue it. Maybe create a website and start selling on the Internet. I think it would be great.’

Gemma found that she was smiling. She’d never talked to anyone before about her secret dreams.

‘You should give it a go – if you’re serious about it.’

‘Oh, I am,’ Gemma said.

‘I can tell,’ he said. ‘And I believe you can make a go of anything if you put your mind to it. It’s like your acting. You’re really good, Gemma, but I can see your heart isn’t in it.’

She stared at him for a moment. He had the most intense eyes she’d ever seen and they seemed to be staring right into her very soul. Who was this man who seemed to know more about knitting than
Northanger Abbey
’s Henry Tilney knew about muslin?

‘Look what you’ve achieved in your acting career so far,’ Rob said.

‘But this is only my first film,’ Gemma protested.

‘But you did the TV film too.’

‘I know that, but it wasn’t very—’

‘You’re always putting yourself down,’ he interrupted, ‘but you’ve achieved so much. What I’m trying to say is that you’ve done all that without really having your heart in it. Just imagine what you could do if you really put your mind to it.’

Gemma suddenly realised that she was smiling. ‘You really think I could do it?’

‘I really do,’ he said.

‘You’re funny,’ she said.

‘Why?’

‘Because you could be getting the pints in with the lads but you’re sitting on a wall eating ice cream and talking about knitted jumpers.’

He leaned towards her a little and smiled. ‘I’m with you,’ he said. ‘And that’s all that matters.’ And, before Gemma could say anything, he’d leaned forward and kissed her. Gemma was taken completely by surprise but she didn’t pull away. Instead she closed her eyes and kissed him back, the harsh shriek of the gulls filling the air around them.

She could taste the faintest trace of mint chocolate chip and she couldn’t help wondering if he was enjoying her strawberry-flavoured lips as much.

Chapter Thirty-Six

The light was fading as Kay and Oli left Wentworth House and an inky night was creeping in from the sea and sky. The harbour looked magical at night. The water looked almost violet. Not for the first time, Kay felt so thankful that she could now call Lyme Regis her home. But it was a bittersweet feeling because her good fortune had come at a price – her dear friend Peggy’s life. She missed Peggy. There were so many moments every day that she thought about her dear friend. How Kay wished she could tell her about Oli. Peggy would love Oli, Kay just knew she would. For a moment, Kay wondered what it would be like introducing Oli to her. Peggy would have been able to tell that he was the perfect hero even though her eyesight had been appalling at the end.

‘What are you thinking about?’ Oli asked, breaking into her thoughts.

‘A friend of mine,’ she said. ‘She would have loved you.’

Oli smiled. ‘Would have?’

‘She died.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Oli said.

‘So am I,’ Kay said. ‘She was a sweetheart.’

‘And so are you,’ Oli said, picking up Kay’s hand and bringing it to his lips. Kay gasped.

‘I’m not in disguise,’ she said, suddenly realising that they’d come out without a single wig or pair of dark glasses between them. For a moment, Kay thought Oli was going to say that he didn’t want their love disguised any more and he didn’t care how many paparazzi might be hiding behind the Cobb wall – he was going to flaunt his love for her in front of the whole world. But he didn’t.

‘It’s pretty dark now,’ he said. ‘I’d be very surprised if anyone recognised me.’

Kay blinked in surprise. He still wasn’t really happy about being seen with her, was he? But could she really blame him? Imagine what would happen if their relationship was discovered. Kay would be swept up in chaos. It would be a media frenzy in Lyme Regis with journalists camping out on the doorstep of Wentworth House and photographers snapping her when she tried to go shopping. She’d hate that, wouldn’t she? He had nothing but her best interests at heart.

As they walked along the front, a magical moon shone high in the sky above the sea and was reflected in it perfectly. The warm night had brought out the crowds and happy voices were heard from the pubs and the restaurants along the front. Oli was right – nobody seemed to be paying them much attention – they were just another couple enjoying the night air.

Like for most people, the pull of the Cobb was inevitable and they soon found themselves climbing the steps on to its stone bulk. Kay sighed with pleasure. In her short time as a resident, she had climbed on to the Cobb so many times and always got such a thrill. She loved looking back across the harbour from its height and spying the yellow walls of her beloved home. She adored the almost Mediterranean view across the bay to Golden Cap and the equally magnificent view of the Undercliff which stretched into verdant Devon. All of this was muted in deep hues tonight for the sun was long gone.

Oli had his hands in the back pockets of his jeans and Kay couldn’t help wishing he was holding her hand again. Still, it was pretty amazing being here right now – walking along the Cobb with Captain Wentworth.

You must stop thinking of him like that!
her inner voice said.

I can’t help it,
Kay thought to herself.

But he isn’t the hero. He’s just an actor.

I know. I know! But just let me fantasise for a moment, won’t you?

Before she knew it, they’d walked right to the end of the Cobb.

‘It’s such a beautiful evening, isn’t it?’ she said as they looked out across the rocks into the flat expanse of endless sea.

‘What’s that?’ Oli said, turning round.

‘I said it’s a beautiful night.’

Oli looked up at the moon and nodded. It was as if he was seeing it for the first time.

‘You’ve been miles away,’ she said. ‘What are you thinking about?’

He frowned. ‘Women always ask that, don’t they?’

‘I don’t know,’ Kay said. ‘No woman’s ever asked me that.’

He grinned. ‘You’re lovely,’ he said. ‘Shall we head back? You must be cold.’

‘I’m not,’ Kay said, trying not to betray herself with a shiver. There was a little bit of a breeze coming from the sea but she couldn’t bear the thought of heading back already.

‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Can’t have my girl turning into a block of ice.’

The phrase
my girl
was enough to heat any girl up – even a half-frozen one – and she turned round for the walk back without a single word of protestation.

When they reached the famous steps which were thought to be those that Jane Austen’s characters had descended, Oli led the way and held his hand out to her to follow.

‘You’re not going to catch me in your arms?’ Kay teased.

‘I will if you want me to.’

Kay paused and giggled. ‘Go on then!’

Oli reached the bottom and held his arms open wide for her.

‘Be careful,’ he said. ‘We don’t want you doing a Louisa Musgrove.’

‘Or a Beth Jenkins!’

‘Indeed,’ Oli said.

Kay could feel her heart thud-thudding as she launched herself into the air, her hair flying out behind her. It only took the space of a second but, for Kay, the moment lasted a lifetime and she almost regretted the moment that Oli caught her in his arms, wishing that she could suspend time and be forever travelling through the air towards him.

‘Was that good enough for you?’ he asked as she finally came down to earth.

‘It was wonderful!’ Kay said, laughing.

‘You’re a lot lighter than Beth,’ he said.

‘Oh! Don’t let her hear you say such a thing!’

Oli laughed. ‘You really are lovely,’ he said.

‘You keep saying that,’ Kay said.

‘Because it’s true.’

Right at that moment, she dearly wanted to believe him and so gave in to the moment as he moved closer to her, his lips descending towards her own.

Kay couldn’t remember the last time she’d been kissed like that and she knew that no kiss in the history of kisses – whether real or fictional – could compare to it. Kay had been thinking about it for so long that Oli couldn’t really go wrong. Not that he would go wrong, of course.

The old stone wall of the Cobb was cold behind her but Oli was warm, the pressure of his body pushed firmly against hers. But, alas, the moment couldn’t last forever and Kay’s eyes slowly opened as his mouth left hers.

‘Well,’ Oli said, ‘I wasn’t expecting that.’

‘I hope you mean that in a good way,’ Kay said.

‘Oh, I do!’ he said. ‘I mean, I hadn’t banked on this happening at all.’

‘Oh, you must have a girl in every port,’ Kay said. ‘Isn’t that what they say about actors?’

‘I think that’s what they say about sailors.’

‘That’s right,’ Kay said with a laugh. ‘Actors have a girl in every town. They don’t like to limit themselves to seaside locations.’

‘You seem to have a very low opinion of actors,’ he said.

‘No,’ she said. ‘I’m just being realistic about what this is.’

‘And what is it?’ he asked.

Kay fell silent. She didn’t like to speculate about what this was. They’d only shared a single kiss but she was already planning their honeymoon and had half of their four children named. But wasn’t that always the way with women? Wasn’t there that wonderful quote from
Pride and Prejudice
? ‘A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.’ Kay knew that it was certainly true of herself.

‘This,’ Oli continued when Kay didn’t answer him, ‘is a wonderful surprise.’

Kay smiled but she couldn’t help wondering if wonderful surprises ended as soon as the film was finished shooting.

Surely not, she thought. Not after a kiss like that.

They walked back along the harbour and Kay felt as if she were floating as they passed the kiosks and the beach huts. A light breeze tickled her skin and her hair flew back behind her. She gazed up at the moon. She’d never be able to look at it again without thinking of this moment – this precious moment with Oli. Would he think of it too? she wondered.

They climbed the steps up to the higher level of Marine Parade and Kay looked up at Wentworth House.

‘I think we’ve been spotted,’ Kay said as she saw a curtain twitch. ‘That’s Teresa’s room.’

‘Is it indeed?’ Oli said. ‘Then she shouldn’t be spying on people.’

‘She won’t mind, will she?’

‘Why would she mind?’ Oli asked.

‘I just thought – well – you always seem to be getting into trouble with her.’

‘What I do in my own time is my business.’

‘Oh, I’m business, am I?’

He grinned. ‘Of course not,’ he said. ‘You’re pure pleasure.’ He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips and kissed it.

They entered the bed and breakfast. It was quiet. The little lamp glowed warmly on the hallway table but there was nobody about.

‘Come here,’ Oli said, closing the space between them and kissing her again. ‘Kay, Kay, Kay,’ he whispered and, for a dizzying moment, Kay wondered if he was going to invite her to his room. But he didn’t. There was a part of her that couldn’t help feeling disappointed but she knew it would have been oh-so-wrong. Unprofessional – that was the word. She was sure there was some unwritten rule about bed and breakfast owners not sleeping with their guests.

‘Goodnight, Kay,’ he whispered at last.

‘Goodnight,’ she whispered back, watching him as he walked up the stairs. Her heart was still thudding and she knew no amount of hot chocolate would be able to calm her. At least she knew that she’d be likely to dream the sweetest of dreams that night.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

‘He’s been messing around with Kay, I’m sure of it,’ Sophie said.

‘Come away from the window,’ Gemma said, promptly walking over to it herself and peering out into the night. ‘Where are they?’

As soon as the words were out, they heard the front door open downstairs.