Page 59 of Lipstick Kiss

“You need a lift home?”

“Nah, gotta meet my Dad at the chippy, reward for working with you guys.”

“Enjoy,” Luke said quietly, staring at the box.

He looked up, and Kenny was heading towards the fish shop at the end of the quay. Luke then looked up at the massive warehouse and wondered what other treasures they’d find. Erica had lost her mind over the vintage clothing she found in a suitcase. He wondered if he should check with Cynthia if they could sell what he found in thewarehouse. Cynthia had given them the warehouse and its contents, so he figured it was all theirs.

Luke dragged the few boxes they’d used as seats into the siding of the shutter doors and then pulled them closed. After clipping on the padlock, he scooped up the tin and hopped into the golf buggy heading for the cottages.

Chapter Nineteen

Freya

She opened the back door at ten in the morning like she’d arranged with Luke, but his kitchen was silent. Freya had already passed Archer and Erica’s place, and that was silent. Before that, she’d taken a detour to see if hot men were working out, but there was no one at Edward Hall. When she passed Jason and Heidi’s place, she heard giggling from the upstairs open window and smiled. Her best friend getting her happy ever after was awesome.

“Luke,” she called out.

“Up here,” he called back.

Freya walked through the empty rooms on the ground floor. She touched the vase and bowl and then got to the stairs. Taking them two at a time, she walked along the carpeted floor, tutting at nothing in any of the rooms as she passed the open doors until she got to the end. Luke was kneeling on the bed that looked like he’d made it at one point but then decided to have a one-man wrestle on it. Helooked at her exasperated, his hair pulled in all directions. Never had he looked more adorable. He gave an unhappy face and extended his hand with the tin.

“Can’t get it open,” he muttered and collapsed onto the bed.

Freya climbed onto the mattress, not hiding her laughter, as she grabbed hold of the tin and shook it like she was trying to guess a birthday present.

“What’s in here?”

“I don’t know. It looks like a WWII soldier’s tin. There could be anything in there.”

Freya turned it around, looking for clues but found nothing but peeling paint. She fell to her back and lifted it above her head like a different angle would help her.

“Should we try to pick the lock?” Freya suggested.

“Do you know how to pick a lock?”

“I had to do it once when I lost my key to my journal. The internet will tell us how to unpick this particular lock. They’ll probably have videos too.”

“Well, let’s leave the breaking-in until later. I want to get to that cove again and see if the glint I saw was actually a florin or another old coin.”

“All right then, do you promise to work on more of the family tree stuff? I’m addicted to all those leaves popping up,” Freya said.

“Have you been sneaking a look behind my back?” Luke asked with a grin, tickling her sides.

Freya let out a guffaw and wriggled off the bed. “No, I swear, but I know there will be answers.”

“Fine. Have you eaten?”

“Yes, have you?”

“Yes, nuked porridge because Jason and Archer weren’t up.”

“If you got your act together, you’d have food, utensils, and kitchen stuff at your disposal.”

“I have got my act together. It just needs to arrive.” Luke huffed, then muttered, “Daisy said the container was delayed coming across.”

“Luke,” she said with a laugh. “Come on, let’s go.”

When they reached the sand, Freya slipped off her sandals and carried them between her fingers. Luke was pensive beside her, glancing her way every few minutes. She didn’t know what was going through his head. She only ever knew what he thought through his letters. Freya knew his character, but coming back to the island must be hard for him. She had no desire to leave, but he had all the vehemence of not returning. If the rig hadn’t shut down, she would still only know him through the written word.

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