Page 96 of Ghost Note

“Okay.” I scowled, grateful he couldn’t see it before I whispered in return, “I promise.”

There was a goodbye in his request, and I couldn’t ignore the nausea it brought to life inside me.

The only thing I knew I wanted was him, but that didn’t seem like the response he needed to hear, so instead, I squeezed him tighter and held on while I still could.

* * *

Despite the heaviness of the morning, the smile on my face was untameable while at the shop that day. Flashbacks of the gig, the limo, and Danny sleeping beside me, made the last few days seem like a nightmare that had slipped into a contented dream.

While I was at work, Danny had agreed to go to Gina’s house for a coffee and to talk to Jackson, who would no doubt be staring back at him with starry eyes, desperate to make his friends jealous of who was sitting at their kitchen island.

Today was Danny’s day to lay some demons to rest without me. It felt like someone had an hourglass set for his departure, and I was more than aware of how much sand was slipping down into the bottom. Still, I’d had more than my fair share, and I had to keep reminding myself that Danny didn’t belong to me anymore.

I wasn’t just sharing him with Gina and Jackson; I was sharing him with the world’s population, and that was hard to comprehend when locked away in our little safe haven of Hope Cove.

By the time lunchtime rolled around, I had to lock up the shop for an hour and head out to grab something to eat. My cupboards and fridge were bare at home, and I hadn’t had time to make anything before Danny kissed me goodbye that morning and we went our separate ways.

It was baking hot, and I was grateful for the cool breeze that drifted over my legs and up my loose, ditsy-print tea dress. I’d had to scrape my hair up into a messy knot on top of my head to keep my neck cool, and I tugged the glasses from my head and dropped them to cover my eyes as I walked towards the beach with a feta, spinach, and beetroot sandwich. It was too nice to take it back to eat in my stockroom, and I needed the sound of the ocean waves to get my thoughts in order.

To say we were in the height of summer, the beach was fairly quiet that afternoon, apart from three or four families dotted about. That probably had a lot to do with the street festival happening in neighbouring Salcombe, but I wasn’t grumbling about the lack of noise or crowds.

Walking down towards the sea, I drifted closer to the cliffs and rocks on the left. I slipped off my sandals and let my toes sink into the soft sand before I made it to the water’s edge. I closed my eyes, taking a moment to soak in the sea air, when a little pair of hands wrapped themselves around my leg.

“Day-zee!” the voice cried out, and I looked down to see Corey staring up at me with impossibly big brown eyes, making my smile blossom.

“Corey? What are you doing here?”

“Daisy?”

I looked up to see Julia walking towards me, her smile mirroring my own. She wore a black swimsuit that made her waist look tiny and loose denim shorts that showed off her toned legs. Julia’s wet hair was scraped back, much the same way as Corey’s.

She scooped Corey up into her arms, balancing him on her hip. “I’m so sorry. He’s got wet sand all over your legs. I can’t seem to keep this kid away from you.”

“It’s fine,” I said, clutching my sandwich. “I kinda like that he enjoys my company.”

“No kidding. He was saying your name on repeat last night. Rhett told me to put a muzzle on him or something.” She laughed and glanced over her shoulder. “He’s just over there sprawled out on the towels if you want to join us?”

“I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“And I wouldn’t invite you over if I didn’t want you to impose. Plus…” She bounced Corey on her hip. “This little guy might like it.” She glanced at him, her eyes lighting up with love for her son. “Do you want to show Daisy your dumper truck and spade, Corey?”

“Day-zeeeeee!” he cried again, pointing a chubby finger at me.

“See.” Jules looked back at me.

“Okay.” I gave her a nod and followed her over to the sprawled-out towels where Rhett lay next to the rocks. There was a slither of shade there, and they’d set a little pop-up tent, which I assumed was for Corey and the bag of toys they’d brought with them.

“Hey, Sinatra,” Jules said, pushing her toes into Rhett’s stomach. His eyes popped open to take her in, and he immediately threw an arm over them to shield himself from the sun. “Get up. We have company.” Jules winked and tilted her head in my direction.

Rhett looked at me, and I offered a weak wave.

“Hey, Daisy. What’s up?” With a groan, he rolled to sit up, and I couldn’t stop my eyes from drifting over his tanned, toned, and inked skin. Rhett may have been with a woman as gorgeous as he was, and a woman I liked, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate how handsome he was; a quality a lot of successful rock stars seemed to carry. “You here alone?” he asked, looking behind me.

“Yeah, just grabbing some lunch.” I waved my sandwich in front of me. “Closed the shop for an hour while I ate.”

“Right.” He nodded, reaching for his sunglasses before pushing them over his eyes. Rhett brought his knees up and wrapped his arms around them. “Well, take a seat anywhere you can find a space that doesn’t have one of Corey’s eleven thousand toys parked over it.”

With a laugh, Jules cleared a space for me with her foot, and I dropped myself down into it, curling my legs under my bottom and making sure my dress covered as much of my legs as possible.

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