Page 21 of The Key to the Last House Before the Sea

Gabriel hesitated for only a fraction of a second. He should choose the healthier option. He always did at home, but what the hell.

‘I’ll have bacon and egg, if that’s OK.’

‘Of course. Would you like to take your coffee with you?’

‘If you don’t mind.’

Nessa gave the slightest of shrugs before fetching him a cup of strong cafetière coffee, and fishing two more frying pans from a cupboard.

Gabriel took his drink into the conservatory, sat at the head of the table and stared out of the window. Driftwood House might be a provincial B&B but it had the most wonderful views, even facing away from the sea. The vibrant clifftop was covered in wild flowers, and the land beyond stretched in swathes of green towards Dartmoor.

He sipped his coffee, which tasted surprisingly good, feeling relieved that Sorrel Cove hadn’t been mentioned, and that Nessa – though hardly friendly – was being polite. Perhaps she’d accepted the inevitable.

Nessa cut into his thoughts by sliding a plate onto the table. It held an egg and a pile of crispy bacon, along with two grilled tomatoes scattered with herbs, a fat sausage and a mound of baked beans.

She caught his eye. ‘Just leave what you don’t want.’

Gabriel started eating, trying not to shovel the food in too fast. It was so long since he’d enjoyed a British fry-up. Seraphina would never let anything fried within fifty feet of him. She was into ‘clean eating’, which meant Gabriel had had to be the same. He still watched his diet, but this… this tasted wonderful.

He bit into another piece of salty bacon and closed his eyes briefly, picturing all the bacon rolls he’d missed during his three years with Seraphina.

She was tall and so slim she seemed almost brittle. Nessa, in contrast, was shorter and more curvaceous in her blue jeans, and an emerald-green sweatshirt that contrasted with her dark, shiny hair – hair such a dark brown it was almost black.

Seraphina always looked beautifully turned out and wealthy, in her carefully chosen designer clothes, whereas Nessa looked thrown together, with egg stains on her top and her cheeks flushed from the heat of the cooker. She looked harassed and worn down by life, mused Gabriel, noticing her bare feet on the tiled floor.

And utterly beautiful.

Where had that thought come from? Gabriel speedily shoved a forkful of beans into his mouth.

‘Is it all right?’ asked Nessa, giving him a sideways look. And when he nodded, unable to speak with his mouth full, she wandered back to the kitchen.

He ate the rest of his breakfast as quickly as he dared and had finished his food by the time she returned with more coffee.

‘I thought you might like a refill of your—’

‘No, thank you,’ he interrupted her, pushing his chair back. ‘I need to get on with my day.’

‘Of course.’

Nessa bit her lip, still hovering with the coffee. Was she going to force him to drink another cup? Or pour it into his lap?

‘So…’ She shuffled from foot to foot. ‘What are your plans for the day?’

It would be an innocuous question from most people, but not from her. He rolled his shoulders, feeling ill at ease. He’d dealt with people opposed to his family firm’s plans before, but they were usually tough-nosed corporate types, rather than single parents down on their luck. Her vulnerability, he realised, put him at a disadvantage emotionally.

‘I didn’t realise you and your daughter moved out of my bedroom so I could stay here,’ he said, changing the subject.

‘How do you know that?’

‘Your daughter ambushed me when I was on the landing.’

‘Ah, yeah.’ The faintest flicker of a smile played across Nessa’s face. ‘Lily does that.’ She put the coffee pot down on the table.‘It’s no big deal. Rosie’s letting us stay here as a favour and I’m helping out in lieu of rent. So I didn’t want to deprive her of a paying customer.’

‘Even one who’s interested in the Ghost Village?’

‘I didn’t realise that when I made my altruistic gesture.’ Nessa folded her arms while Gabriel mentally kicked himself for bringing up the sore topic of Sorrel Cove. ‘I’m going to fight you, you know.’

Gabriel blinked at Nessa’s words.

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