Page 5 of The Romance Library

‘Reading is like a holiday for the mind,’ Mrs Davis beamed. ‘Books allow you to experience a million different adventures without leaving home. I couldn’t imagine a life without them.’

I used to feel the same. But sometimes life wasn’t that simple.

Mrs Davis walked me around the exterior.

‘This town is called Sunshine Bay and this’—she gestured to the old building—‘used to be a school called Seaview High.’

‘Was it American?’ I frowned, thinking it wasn’t very common for British secondary schools to have ‘high’ in their name.

‘No. I’m not entirely sure, but I believe the creator had links to the US, so decided to call it Seaview High Secondary School. I wish I could take you inside, but it looks like the owner isn’t here today. Let’s go to the beach.’

Once we’d crossed the road, Mrs Davis led me across the sand, then stopped a few metres away from the sea, closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh, salty air.

Although it was almost the end of April, the weather was surprisingly warm.

Sailboats glided across the water near the horizon, and the sound of seagulls squawking echoed around us.

I stood beside her, watching the waves gently lapping against the shore. If I wasn’t working, I would’ve loved to whip off my trainers and dip my feet in the sea. It’d been ages since I’d been to the beach.

When Mrs Davis was done, we sat down on one of the wooden benches nearby.

‘Do you have a boyfriend or husband?’ Mrs Davis asked.

Whoa. My head whipped around to face her. I wasn’t expecting Mrs Davis to ask me a question, and definitely not something so personal.

‘No.’ I shook my head, hoping that’d be the end of the conversation. If love was what she wanted to chat about, I’d prefer we sat in silence.

‘That’s a shame.’

‘Not really. Real-life boyfriends aren’t as good as fictional ones.’ As memories of my ex flooded my brain, a sharp pain ripped through my chest. I looked at my watch, then stood up. ‘I’m really sorry, but I have to go.’

I was only booked for a four-hour shift, and by the time I’d driven Mrs Davis back, it’d be at least an hour later than my contracted hours. I wouldn’t get paid for it, but it wasn’t about the money. Even though thinking about books and my ex had stirred up some difficult memories and Mrs Davis wasn’t exactly chatty, I’d still enjoyed it.

‘Of course.’ She nodded. ‘Sorry to have kept you.’

‘No, no. It’s not that. I wish I could stay. This place is beautiful. It’s just that I have another job to go to.’

Sunshine Bay was along England’s south-east coast, not far from Margate, and I had to get to my bar shift in south London, which was probably at least seventy miles away. I couldn’t afford to be late. Especially if Mrs Davis didn’t call me back to work again.

‘How many jobs do you have?’

‘Three,’ I said as we headed to the car. ‘I do this job: y’know, being a home support worker who visits older people to help out with things at home. Plus I clean an office in the morning, then work in a bar at night.’

‘What do you do in your spare time?’

‘I don’t have any.’ I put on my seat belt, then once Mrs Davis was strapped in, I set off.

‘What are your hopes and dreams?’

Jeez. For someone who didn’t like questions, she was asking me a lot of them. This was starting to feel like a job interview instead of a conversation.

I could feel Mrs Davis’s eyes burning into me. She was expecting a reply. I paused, not knowing how to answer.

‘Earning a decent salary would be enough for me right now.’

‘That’s very sad,’ she said.

‘It is what it is.’ I shrugged.

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