Page 19 of Spring Dreams at the Cornish Bakery

‘No, I mean, I know what to say about the quote. I say yes, but I don’t know what to say to you.’ She leaned back, her legs still beneath her. ‘I don’t know how to thank you for... all of this. For coming back, for helping me with the wall, for coming up with this idea. I can’t imagine many other builders would out put all this time and effort into working out a way to make things work like this for their customers.’

Zac shrugged. ‘Don’t mention it. It’s a beautiful home and you deserve to live in it.’

‘Thank you, Zac.’ She bit down on her bottom lip before meeting his gaze. ‘And I’m sorry for all the horrible things I said to you. I was downright rude. I shouldn’t have been.’

Shaking his head, he chuckled. ‘Don’t be. I was just as bad, if not worse.’

Laughing, Lynsey placed her hand on his forearm. ‘Yes, you were.’

Zac looked down at her hand, still on the sleeve of his shirt, and looked back up at her.

Pulling her hand away, Lynsey frowned. Was he feeling it, too? Had he felt the tingle of his skin when she’d touched him? Had he felt the ‘moment’ they’d shared when he’d pushed her goggles onto the top of her head? She forced herself to stand up and move away. Of course he hadn’t. She remembered how he’d acted towards her, spoken to her, when they’d first met, the way he’d just walked away without a backward glance when he’d originally refused to even give her a quote. Feelings didn’t change that quickly.

And yet, here she was, looking at him in a different way herself. She shook her head, trying to dislodge the thoughts, trying to break the connection she felt with him.

Standing up, Zac freed the papers from the clipboard and passed them across to her, giving her a small smile as their fingers brushed. ‘I hope to hear from you soon.’

‘Uh-huh.’ Lynsey nodded. Words had failed her and all she could do was to watch him disappear into the living room and back outside, leaving her alone in her new kitchen/diner. What was going on between them?

Nothing. That was what. And even if she did feel something for him, there were no guarantees that he did, too. Yes, she’d definitely felt as though he might just be feeling the same way, but what did she know? She’d been with Ross for eleven years. She hadn’t even attempted to get into another relationship in all that time. She didn’t know the signals. And besides, if the way Ross had so royally deceived her was anything to go by, then she was the worst at reading other people.

Shoving her hands in her jeans pockets, she stepped towards the small window and looked outside. The overgrown garden was alive with wildlife now, birds fluttering from hedge to hedge, a large bee bumbling around in the air, hovering over the early spring flowers. She even caught a glimpse of a squirrel scurrying up the large oak tree at the bottom of the garden. She frowned. The sun had fully risen, and she had a nagging feeling she was forgetting something.

The bakery! It must be passed opening time now. How could she have forgotten?

Chapter Seventeen

Pushing the small bags of coins away into a heap on the bakery counter, Lynsey wrote the amount she’d counted carefully in the small box in the notebook Elsie kept a note of the takings in. Closing it, she began picking up the tiny plastic bags bulging with coins and glanced outside. The sun was still high in the sky and the air held a warmth promising warmer weather.

As she closed the till, leaving a small amount of change for the float for the next morning inside, she smiled. Even just a few days ago, she’d never have believed it if someone had told her she’d feel comfortable counting up the day’s takings and working with money. Yes, that was one of the reasons she chose to volunteer at the bakery – to push herself out the comfort zone she’d so hidden inside – but to feel this comfortable, to be able to stand here and handle money without anyone else being around, nope she’d never have believed it. She’d thought she’d only feel happy having someone else on hand, someone to verify that she’d counted it properly, someone to check she hadn’t made a mistake. And ultimately someone to have on hand to verify that she hadn’t stolen anything, a safeguard.

She looked around the bakery. It was empty. Brooke had left as soon as the bakery had closed for the day to go to some show or something with Ian, and Elsie was in the kitchen. She was alone. And the panic she’d grown so accustomed to feeling when she’d been put into a position of trust was controllable. In fact, it had all but disappeared.

Turning, Lynsey picked up her coffee Teresa had brought her a few hours ago, and she’d never had a chance to drink. The liquid was cold, but she took a tentative sip, grateful for the taste and the caffeine all the same. After her sleepless night at the cottage, she’d been running on adrenaline, which, now the bakery had calmed, was beginning to wane.

Wrapping her hands around the stone-cold ceramic, she leaned her back against the counter, thoughts whirring through her mind. Ross’s accusations of stealing and manipulating people’s bills to scam them had completely shattered her. She knew he’s just been covering for himself. She saw that now, but at the time, it had all but destroyed her. The one person she’d believed in, the one person who she’d stupidly hoped would always have her back, had turned the whole town against her. She’d been fired from job. Her patisserie job had quickly ended too, and she’d been left with no one. The only thing that had kept her going through those dark times had been Nina, Gary and her dad and without them backing her and fighting her corner, she dreaded to think about where she’d be right now.

And that was why it was so difficult to let Zac in. She shifted on the spot; the coffee rising precariously to the rim of the mug. If that’s what he’d wanted, of course. She may have just completely misread the signs. She probably had.

But still, if that’s what he did want – and she did too – then she needed to have the conversation. She needed to tell him what had happened with Ross. She needed to know he was sincere and that he had her back. It was the last thing she wanted to do, to open up to him, to admit how trusting and naïve she’d been with Ross, but he needed to know. If they stood any chance of having a future together, then she’d rather tell him and he back away right now rather than him find out months, or even years down the line, and he turned his back then. And he would. He’d visit her hometown, meet her dad, Nina, Gary and he’dnotice the whispering behind cupped hands, the long stares and the open pointing.

Mud stuck. And she just had to accept that. She’d never be able to shake off what Ross had done to her. People didn’t forget, and she knew accusations were made towards her suggesting she was aware of what Ross had been up to even after her name had been cleared.

She took a long sip, the sudden chill from the coffee tickling the back of her throat. She could be her old self down here, being confident enough to handle Elsie’s taking without worrying about being stitched up proved that, but she’d always have ties to her hometown and she’d just have to live with that.

After gulping the rest of the coffee, Lynsey placed the mug on the counter and bundled the money into her hands before carrying it through to the kitchen.

‘Aw, thank you, Lynsey, love. Just pop it down there and I’ll put it in the safe in a moment.’ Elsie, elbow deep in soap suds at the sink, nodded towards the table. ‘The dishwasher is full, so I’ve resorted to the old-fashioned method.’

‘Do you want me to help?’ She lowered the money bags to the table.

‘No need for that. I’m almost finished, anyway. Thank you though. You must be shattered. You really should have taken up my offer of having the afternoon off.’ Pulling a metal bowl from the sink, Elsie rinsed off the bubbles before stacking it on the draining board.

‘Thanks, but I was late starting. I couldn’t have walked out and left you.’

‘Don’t be daft. If I offer something, it’s a genuine offer. I’m not one of those people who say something but secretly wish for the opposite.’ Elsie chuckled. ‘With me, you get what you see.’

Lynsey grinned. She’d already worked that out. Elsie was one of the most genuine and caring people she’d ever had the goodfortune to meet. ‘If you don’t need me for anything else, I think I might go for a quick walk along the beach before I have an early night.’

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