Page 7 of Love in the Air at The Cornish Bakery

At the water’s edge, she dipped her toes into the ocean before taking a step in and plunging her feet into the cold water. Focusing on the sound of the ocean, the icy cool water covering her feet and the breeze dragging against her skin, she tried to push all thoughts of that night away. She tried to forget the terror she’d felt the moment she’d woken and realised someone was in the house. The sensation of darkness closing in on her, suffocating her as she’d stumbled through the house she’d grown up in, the house which had always been her safe space, a place of comfort, love. She tried to push the feelings of helplessness, and vulnerability out of her mind as she’d realised that in her attempt to get out of the house before the stranger, the burglar, had realised she was inside, she’d actually gone right towards him. She tried not to focus on the way she’d frozen in fear as a complete stranger had shone a torch in her face, blinding her, paralysing her, before running past her and escaping.

Instinctively, she wrapped her hand around her left upper arm, covering the jagged scar. A permanent reminder of that night. A permanent reminder of how powerless she’d felt. The police officers who had turned up a few minutes later, their blue lights illuminating the quiet street, had told her how lucky she’d been. And she knew she had. She did. Things could have been worse, much worse. She’d walked away with a scar, the broken vase he’d thrown at her, and a missing laptop. It could have been much worse. Apparently, she’d probably disturbed him before too much damage was done, before too much had been taken.

Looking down, she gently kicked the water and watched the droplets fall back into the ocean, become one with the gushing water again. The problem was, the damage had already been done. In that one night, those few minutes she’d changed from a confident, happy-go-lucky woman to always looking over her shoulder, to checking the doors and windows twenty times before she could even take her coat off, to second-guessing her every move, her every decision, to looking at strangers she passed in the street and wondering if she’d brushed shoulders with the man who had broken into her home and robbed her of her life.

She snorted. She even slept with a light on. She had to. Every single night. At her age. She didn’t want to go home. To go back to the place she now felt unsafe. She wanted to enjoy her time here in the bay, to just be physically away from the place she’d once called home.

Taking a deep breath in, she stretched her arms above her head and rolled her shoulders back. She would not let Rowan rob her of this time away. No, enough people had robbed her recently.

Chapter Five

As she walked acrossthe cobbles, Nina could see the queue from the bakery snaking out of the door. Picking up her pace, she weaved her way through the throng of customers and back behind the bakery counter. ‘Sorry I took so long.’

‘No worries. Everything okay?’ Diane glanced across at her before turning back to the customer in front of her.

‘Yes, fine thanks.’ It was. She wasn’t about to let running into Rowan ruin her break down here. Pulling her apron over her head, she stepped forward and picked up the cake tongs. ‘Hi, how can I help you today?’

‘Morning. Could I have two of those lovely iced buns, please? My grandchildren love those. Oh, and I might as well treat myself, too. I’ll have a shortbread if you’ve got any, please?’

Nina smiled. Her gran had always treated her and her brother to an iced bun each when she’d looked after them on a Saturday morning whilst their mum had worked. The tradition of going into town together had continued when they’d gone to live with her after their mum had passed away. They’d enjoyed their Saturday morning trips right up until her brother, and then two years later Nina herself, had left for uni. ‘I think the shortbread is up the other end of the counter. I’ll check.’

‘Oh, thank you, dear. You’re new here, aren’t you? I haven’t seen you before.’

‘Yes, I am.’ Nina placed the bag of iced buns on the counter.

‘Lovely to meet you.’ Holding her hand over the counter, the woman smiled. ‘Edna, and these two munchkins are Justin and Freddie.’

‘Lovely to meet you, too. I’m Nina.’ Taking Edna’s hand, she smiled at the two children standing on their tiptoes with their palms against the glass of the counter. ‘I’ll go and get that shortbread.’

‘Thank you, Nina.’ Edna pulled her purse out of the large shopping bag she was carrying and began counting out change.

‘Is there any shortbread?’ Walking to the end of the counter by the door, Nina passed Brooke.

‘Yes, just down there, right at the end.’

‘Thanks.’ Ducking down, Nina placed a slice of shortbread into a paper bag. As she turned, she caught a glimpse of the queue still winding its way outside and across the cobbles. ‘Does it always get this busy at lunchtimes?’

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