Page 7 of The Key to the Last House Before the Sea

‘OK, then,’ Nessa told Gabriel, before she could change her mind. ‘What time tomorrow?’

‘Nine o’clock prompt.’

‘Can we make it quarter past nine?’ she asked, thinking of the school run.

He gave an almost imperceptible eye-roll. ‘Yes. Whatever. What’s your name, by the way?’

‘Nessa. Nessa Paulson.’

‘Right.’

He frowned when there was a sudden thundering of feet in the hallway. Lily, who always made her presence felt, was home. She darted into the room and flung her arms around Nessa’s waist.

‘Hello!’ she squealed, squeezing tight.

Nessa smoothed down her daughter’s dark hair. ‘Hello, sweetheart. Did you have a good day at school?’

‘It was fun. Marcus got a nosebleed and his shirt went all red and spotty.’

‘Eek, poor Marcus. Is he all right now?’

‘Yeah. Miss Jones gave him extra fruit at break time and let him read his book instead of going in the playground.’

‘That sounds very wise of Miss Jones. And did you have a nice time with Granny?’

Lily nodded happily while Nessa looked over the top of her head at Valerie, her ex mother-in-law, who’d followed Lily inside and was standing in the doorway.

‘Thank you very much for giving Lily tea and bringing her back,’ she said politely.

Valerie gave the slightest of nods. ‘You’re welcome. I love spending time with Lily, and it’s no problem bringing her… home.’

There was a slight gap before the word ‘home’, as though Valerie couldn’t believe that a guesthouse was a suitable home for her precious granddaughter.

She probably had a point, thought Nessa wearily. Though even if she and her daughter lived in a manor house, she didn’t suppose that Valerie would approve of her.

But at least she’d done one thing right in Valerie’s eyes. Nessa looked down at Lily and hugged her tightly. Whatever Valerie thought of her, they would always be united in their shared love for this child.

When she glanced up, Gabriel was staring at her.

‘Yours, I presume,’ was all he said.

‘Yes, very definitely mine,’ Nessa replied, giving her precious daughter an extra squeeze.

An expression flashed across Gabriel’s face, so swiftly Nessa found it hard to read. Was it sorrow? Irritation? Indifference?

He’d probably realised that Lily was the reason why his local tour couldn’t begin tomorrow at nine, and he was annoyed, thought Nessa, deciding he was probably the type of man who disapproved of single mothers while doing everything he could to avoid paying his taxes.

She looked away so he wouldn’t spot any hostility in her eyes. However rude Gabriel Gantwich was, and however much she didn’t want to spend time in his company, she needed the money from tomorrow’s tour.

So she would smile and be nice, for Lily’s sake.

‘Thanks again, for collecting Lily,’ she said to Valerie, who was still standing in the doorway and showing no sign of leaving. ‘Would you, um… would you like a cup of tea before you go?’

She would continue to be nice to Valerie as well, however poorly the older woman treated her. And that, too, was for Lily’s sake.

However hard life got, thought Nessa, pulling in a deep breath, she could cope so long as her precious daughter was by her side.

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