Page 44 of Just the Beginning

Aunt Helen wrinkled her brow. ‘Have you really not been to one?’ She paused as though thinking about it. ‘I suppose you and Lisa always visited a bit later in the school holidays. There’s all the boat races, of course.’ She leaned closer to Anya and dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. ‘Between you and me, I find them impossible to follow and I just clap when everyone else does.’

Anya grinned. ‘Thanks for the tip.’

Helen winked. ‘Anyway, as well as all that, there’s lots of events for the kids – sandcastle building, hoop tosses, foot and swimming races for various age groups. You should sign Freya up for something.’

Anya glanced around at the crowds. ‘I’m not sure about that, it’s very busy.’

Helen pointed to a small section of the sea very close to the shore that was clearly roped and marked with bright red buoys. ‘That area is for the little ones to play in. It’s always well supervised, so she’ll be safe there if you want to take her paddling.’

Raising a hand to shade her eyes, Anya surveyed the area. It was a little less busy than the rest of the shallows and there were lots of parents with children, from toddlers to a few years older than Freya. ‘That’s a good idea; she needs kids her own age to play with. Freya?’ she called out. ‘Do you want to go swimming?’

Though she was covered from head to toe in sunscreen, Anya still made Freya pop a T-shirt on over her swimsuit to protect her shoulders and back. ‘Hold tight to my hand, darling, until we get to the water, okay?’

‘Yes, Mummy.’

They trooped down to the children’s zone, Chloe, Helen and Rachel with them carrying various toys and a set of armbands for Freya. Anya winced as the cold water lapped at her toes.

‘Oh that’s, umm, refreshing!’ Rachel gasped as she waded out until she was knee-deep in the water.

Knowing it was better to just get on with it, Anya and the others followed her into the shallows. ‘Hold Freya for a sec will you, Chloe?’ Anya requested.

‘Sure.’ Chloe came and braced a hand on Freya’s shoulder.

‘Arms up. Let’s get these on and then you can go and play.’ With a bit of wriggling and silent swearing, Anya got the armbands on her daughter. The moment Freya was released she launched herself into the water, sending up a huge splash, which soaked the front of Anya’s floral cover-up she’d pulled on over her swimsuit, making her shriek.

Freya’s giggles were a dead giveaway that she’d done it on purpose, and Anya scooped up a handful of water and splashed her right back.

‘Not fair, Mummy!’ she protested, her attempts to plant her hands on her hips somewhat hampered by the water wings.

‘Lesson learned, huh?’ Bending down, Anya picked Freya up and spun her around in a circle just to hear her laugh again.

Having set her down, the five of them began to play catch with the ball they’d brought with them. After a few minutes, Anya noticed a little girl watching from nearby. ‘If it’s okay with your mum, you can come and play,’ she offered, making sure she addressed the comment equally to the blonde woman standing next to the girl.

The woman smiled. ‘That sounds like fun, don’t you think?’

They moved outwards to expand the circle and accept the pair into the game. The ball flew past Rachel’s shoulder and was grabbed by a little boy nearby. Before they knew it, the circle had expanded to over a couple of dozen people and multiple balls were being tossed around. Freya was in her element, and she and the little blonde girl who’d first joined in were holding hands as they chased around trying to catch one of the balls. ‘Having fun?’ a deep, familiar voice asked at Anya’s shoulder.

She turned to find Rick grinning down at her, his eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. He was wearing a sleeveless baggy vest over a pair of knee-length shorts, the muscular curve of his arms emphasised by the way they were folded across hisbroad chest. God, he was enough to make a woman weak at the knees. ‘Do you want to play?’

It was only when the curve of his mouth turned wicked that Anya realised there was a much less innocent interpretation to her question. ‘I’m heading over to my storage shed to fetch some life jackets for the group of teens I’m supervising; you could give me a hand if you like?’

She glanced over to where Freya was playing. ‘I can’t leave her.’

Rick’s fingers touched the inside of her arm, a featherlight caress gone almost before she felt it. ‘Five minutes. Mum’s here and Helen and Chloe.’

Her heart pounded. It had been almost a week since they’d seen each other and every inch of her skin felt alive at the prospect of a few stolen moments together. ‘Chloe? Can you keep an eye on Freya, please?’

Chloe glanced over and Anya could tell the moment she clocked Rick’s presence by the way her eyes widened. ‘Sure.’

‘I’m going to help Rick fetch some life jackets for his youth group.’

‘Sure.’ Chloe waved her hand. ‘Take your time, we’ll be fine.’

She wondered about letting Freya know, but she was happy and it would take longer to explain than to get to where the life jackets were. Plus there was the risk Freya would get upset at her going or want to come with them.Five minutes. With one final quick check that her daughter was fine, Anya turned to Rick. ‘Let’s go.’

The inside of the shed was dark and cool and quiet compared to the bright, hot noise of the beach. She barely had time to adjust to the difference before she was in Rick’s arms and she forgot about everything else beyond the sweet, headywarmth of his embrace. ‘I missed you,’ Rick murmured when they finally broke for air.

His lips teased across her cheek, and she sank her fingers into his thick hair as she leaned into him. ‘I missed you too.’ She wanted time to stand still, to forget about everything beyond the door of the shed and focus only on him. Turning her head, she stole another kiss, and another.Enough. Anya cursed her conscience but still shifted her hands to Rick’s shoulders and applied the faintest of pressure.

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