Page 1 of One Perfect Day in Lovely Bay
1
As Cally de Pfeffer strolled up the driveway, she took her jumper off, tied it over her shoulders, and smiled at the magnificent sight of Lovely Manor perched on the landscape in front of her. Shaking her head as she took in the huge old house, she couldn’t believe how long it had now been part of her life. She’d take it for the team, though. Not a bad place for your boyfriend to live, right? Had me at manor house. The day she’d first walked onto the property by way of its enormous old main gates, there’d been no way then that she’d had any idea what was coming. She wouldn’t have thought that she would be in a serious relationship with one of the manor’s residents. But here she was doing just that. Head over heels, loved up to the eyeballs, in very deep, all that stuff. The world moved in mysterious ways. Its recent movement was better than the ride it had taken her on in the past, that she knew for sure.
Looking over the perfectly manicured stripes in the luscious lawn, a bright blue sky greeted from above and a little cluster of butterflies fluttered over a long line of rose bushes to her far right. She could see the fountain in the ornamental garden to her left and just about make out the sound of its water trickling from the top. She nodded her head and thanked anyone who wouldlisten that her luck had changed when she’d met Logan Henry-Hicks. Then she stopped mid-nod and tutted. Her luckhad notchanged. His had. Best she remembered that. It was her much-chanted narrative in her new life. He was the one who should be counting his lucky stars that he had her in his life. Henry-Hicks was one lucky man, indeed.
Continuing up the long drive, instead of her usual turn to the left past the stables and around the back of the main house, she veered in the direction of the rose garden. Weaving in and out of the willow trees set near the pond, she took a little path down past one of the huge old greenhouses and approached Logan’s cottage from the back. Pushing open the gate, she loved what looked back at her; the little cottage garden was a picture. Tucked in the corner in a sunspot, a couple of vintage timber deck chairs with plump stripy cushions, sat on a terrace area with a table between them. On top of the table, a huge white wicker lantern was filled with candles, and in gigantic weathered terracotta pots, two large and well-established olive trees rustled in the breeze. Along the far side, the bricks of an old Victorian wall were covered in ivy, a weather vane turned on the top of a gorgeous old conservatory butted up to French doors, and a gravel-covered path led down to a small summer house. Cally de Pfeffer had undoubtedly come a long way. Not that she needed anyone or anything to reiterate that fact. She knew it well enough of her own accord. She welcomed it into her life every single day.
Logan, in a pair of jeans and a pale blue long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of sunglasses on his head, strolled out of the house and stepped into the sunshine. Cally swallowed. Not bad, not bad at all. Very, very,verynice, in fact. She revelled in being in love with Logan. To her, it felt as if she’d bagged the best-ever prize. Like ever, ever ever. Staggeringly good-looking, the broad shoulders and long legs weren’t bad,and he was nice to boot. Calvin Klein boxers. Say no more.Reallygood-looking andreallynice. What the? Whatever… what more could a girl ask for? Sometimes, she had to pinch herself and hard. Sometimes, she felt as if she was livingthedream,adream,anydream. Her handsome and nice boyfriend, if that is what we are calling him, lived in an actual manor. Hello.
Logan leant on the architrave of the back door. The look on his face told her he felt the same way. ‘Hey. How are you?’
Cally pretended he wasn’t anywhere near as good-looking as he was and that she was nonchalant about rocking up to a manor house, even if it was one of its cottages, for the day. ‘Good.’
‘Looking good to me for sure.’
Cally giggled. ‘It’s such a lovely day.’
‘Yeah. I wondered if you fancied walking up the hill or not. The weather couldn’t be better, really.’ Logan jerked his thumb to the right. ‘I’ve packed up a bit of a picnic if you fancy it.’
Did she fancy it? Did she ever?‘Sounds good. You know me too well. Who wouldn’t love a picnic on a day like this?’
‘I wasn’t sure whether or not you’d be up for a walk after walking here. We can just sit here…’
Cally shook her head. ‘No, no, I’m fine. I like the stroll up here from Lovely.’
Logan pointed into the far distance. ‘The view will be pretty special from the top there today.’
‘You’re right.’ Cally nodded and wriggled her lips. ‘We haven’t been up there for ages.’
Logan stepped back inside. ‘I’ll just grab the stuff.’
‘Did you get a picnic blanket?’ Cally asked.
‘Yeah.’
Cally chuckled to herself.A boyfriend who packed up picnics, too? Keeper. I’ll have two. Maybe forty-two.She followed Logan through the door and into the kitchen, where a couple of baskets and a rolled-up rug were ready on the table.Cally smiled and inhaled. ‘Ahh, a day of doing nothing. I need it. I might have to have a doze at the top of the hill there.’
Logan tilted his head in agreement. ‘I reckon. Perfect place for it.’
A few minutes later, with a basket in her hands and the rug under her arm, Cally strolled along beside Logan. She smiled as they got further away from the manor and headed in the direction of Lovely. The sounds changed as they ambled alongside a small wooded area, followed a stream for a bit, and then turned to walk up the hill.
Logan stopped and pointed to a bench perched right at the top. ‘Not too far. Once we get there, we’ll just camp out there for the rest of the day and take in the view. Rest and recharge, I believe, is what it is called. Up for that?’
‘Oh, yes. Works for me. Music to my ears, in fact.’
Ambling along in easy silence except for the sound of the stream in the distance, a few birds chirping away here and there, and the wind in the trees, Cally was thoroughly enjoying herself. She loved the perks that came with being part of Lovey Manor and walking around in its grounds was one of them. Once at the top of the hill and slightly out of breath, she stood with her hand shading her eyes and looked out at Lovely's view below. Under the bright blue sky, the sea shimmered in the far distance and the tall white Lovely lighthouse stood as if guarding everything below. Cally passed Logan the picnic blanket, waited for him to smooth it out on the grass beside the bench, and plonked herself down. She shook her head and leant back on her hands. ‘It’s so nice up here. Honestly, we need to come here more often. It’s always so calming.’ Cally inhaled a deep, long breath. ‘The smell is something else and the view... I could sit here all day long and just stare out at the horizon. Free at half the price.’
‘Yup. Totally agree.’
Cally looked in the direction of the lighthouse. ‘That never fails to impress, does it? Always there, keeping everyone safe.’
‘You always say that. It doesn’t get old, no. It’s like an old friend.’
Cally gestured around her. ‘I need to do more of this. I’ve been charging around from one thing to the next these past few months.’
Logan pulled the wicker picnic basket over and began to unpack the food. He laid a small tea towel on top of the rug, added a cheese board, and whipped out two fabric napkins from inside the basket. ‘I hope you're hungry,’ he said, pulling out container after container. ‘I might have gone a bit overboard with my order at the deli.’
Cally's eyes widened as she took in the spread. ‘A bit? Logan, this looks like enough to feed an army!’ She joked, ‘You’re useless. Who on earth did you think you were catering for? I’m glad I wasn’t paying.’
