Page 21 of Love in the Air at The Cornish Bakery

Chapter Eleven

‘Thanks again, Nigel. It’s been great.’ Nina nodded towards him as she stepped out of the car.

‘Yes, thank you.’ Rowan shook Nigel’s hand before joining her on the path. ‘Did you fancy grabbing a drink before you get back?’

Nina checked the time. The bakery would soon be closing, and Elsie had told her to take the rest of the day off. She shrugged. ‘Why not?’

‘Great.’

They walked in a comfortable silence and crossed the road towards the pub. ‘What brought you to Penworth Bay? I mean, it’s beautiful and the people seem lovely, but of all the places in the world, what brought you specifically to the bay?’

‘I never quite got around to travelling the world, instead just over a year ago, I decided to travel around the coasts of the UK.’ He shrugged. ‘When I got here, I just fell in love with the place. I’d run out of money too, so I decided to get a job for a bit, and after chatting over a pint to Gerald one night, he offered me a job. I’m not sure how long I’ll stay, but I’m pretty happy here for the moment.’ He pulled the heavy wooden door open, holding it open for her. ‘How about you? Why did you choose to volunteer at Elsie’s bakery? There must have been loads of places to choose from?’

‘Ah, now that’s complicated. I needed a break, my gran needed a message delivered and, well, Penworth Bay was the most convenient.’

‘That sounds intriguing. Can I ask what the message was and why she couldn’t just write a letter or make a phone call?’ Shrugging out of his coat, he hung it on a coat stand by the door before holding his hand out for Nina’s.

‘Thanks. I haven’t passed the message on yet, so I probably shouldn’t say.’ She frowned. It would be so good to have someone familiar to talk to about it all—she was still trying to understand everything she’d been told recently—but at the same time it really wouldn’t be fair to either Ian or Brooke if Rowan found out before they did.

‘Fair enough. How come you haven’t passed the message on yet? Just not had the time to? The opportunity?’

She slipped onto a bar stool and watched as Rowan turned the coffee machine on behind the bar. Apart from a table of people talking with Gerald quietly in the corner, the pub was empty. ‘I’ve had the time and the opportunity. It just hasn’t felt right, not yet.’

‘Hot chocolate?’

‘That sounds nice.’ She rubbed her arms, and despite the heating being turned up full blast in the car on the way back to the bay, she still hadn’t warmed up from the balloon ride.

‘I’m sure you’ll know when the time is right.’

‘That’s what I’m counting on.’

‘Here you go, extra sweet with one sugar and whipped cream. Just the way you like it.’ He frowned. ‘Or I’m assuming you still do?’

‘Perfect. Thank you. You remembered?’

‘Of course I remembered. Are you cold?’

‘Freezing.’

‘I’ll pop some more logs on the fire. We’ll soon warm you up.’

Smiling, Nina watched as Rowan stoked the fire. They were sitting at the end of the bar, closest to it, and as soon as the logs caught, Nina could feel the heat being emitted.

‘There we are. It shouldn’t take long to warm up now.’ Slipping onto the bar stool next to her, Rowan wrapped his hands around his mug and looked at her. ‘How did you find the balloon ride, then?’

‘Strangely therapeutic.’ She grinned.

‘Ha, me too. It was good to talk. To talk properly about our past.’

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