Page 66 of Be More Lucy

‘It has for me when they’re getting cold feet. Reminds them of what they’re missing.’ She winked. ‘The lighting in our office toilet is perfect for it.’

36

Em sat outside Mary’s cafe watching the waves crash onto the sand. The wind was strong today. Apart from one lone dog walker, the beach was empty. It was so lovely just to sit quietly and do nothing for a few minutes.

‘I haven’t seen you down here for weeks,’ Mary said, bringing Em a mug of hot chocolate and sitting down next to her.

‘I’ve been busy with work and painting and now the house.’ Em nodded in the direction of the cliffs.

She’d spent most of the day clearing out the bathroom and putting a base coat on the walls ready for the plumber to make a start on the refit tomorrow. But she also had an errand to run that gave her the perfect excuse to take a break.

‘Jack and I have got you a present to say thank you for tipping us off about the cottage.’ Em reached down to pick up the large brown paper carrier bag that was leaning against her chair.

‘I wasn’t expecting anything,’ Mary said, taking the bag and peering inside. ‘Ooh. Is it what I think it is?’

Hopefully, it was. It was covered in bubble wrap, but Mary should be able to identify it. One of Em’s paintings of the view out to sea from the cafe. Phil had mentioned she’d been admiring it.

‘If you don’t like it, Phil says he’ll swap it.’

‘I will be doing no such thing.’ Mary looked thrilled. ‘Thank you very much. I’ll have to tip you off about more houses in future.’

‘One’s enough.’ Em laughed.

‘How are the wedding plans coming along?’

‘The Bay View Hotel was our last hope for next May, but that didn’t work out, so it’s all up in the air.’

Mary raised her eyebrows. ‘I’m surprised you went there.’

‘Really?’ It suddenly dawned on Em that Mary was bound to know what happened with Nancy. ‘Why’s that?’

It was hard work walking up the hill to Dashford Grange that evening. All the muscles in Em’s legs ached. She shouldn’t have sat with Mary for so long.

Her phone buzzed. She hoped it was Lucy replying to the WhatsApp message she’d sent her earlier, but it was just a spam text.

Em was itching to know whether anything was going on between Lucy and Mark. After the way Lucy had reacted to the news of Hannah’s departure, Em has a suspicion that Lucy had been planning to get in touch with him straight away. She wouldn’t blame her. After all, Lucy had admitted she still had the hots for him.

But that was two days ago. Surely she would’ve told Em by now? Em decided to text this time.

You’ve been quiet. Everything ok?

Lucy started replying.

Yep all fine

Em was going to have to be more direct.

Have you spoken to Mark?

Another three dots

Yes a lot

The perfect excuse for a phone conversation. Em pressed the call button.

‘So you’re talking to Mark?’ Em said as soon as Lucy answered.

‘Yes. We’ve spoken every night this week. At this rate, I’m going to have to take out an international phone tariff.‘

---