Page 15 of The Summer of Us

Paige turned her gaze to the window, glimpsing her watery reflection in the glass. “I suppose so. But things can’t stay the same forever.” Just like us. Things between us are changing, and I don’t know what to do about it…

“You’re right,” Olivia said, her expression easing. “New adventures await.”

The bus pulled into the small bus station in Whiterock town, and the two of them followed the other tourists down off the step, onto a cobbled path.

“We made it,” Olivia said. “So much easier than trying to find a parking space.”

Paige nodded, glancing around and not recognising her surroundings. “So, uh, where are we?”

Olivia spread her hands. “I have absolutely no idea,” she said cheerfully. “Let’s just follow the crowd, and I’m sure we’ll get where we need to be.”

“I wish I had your confidence,” Paige muttered.

“You don’t need it, when you’ve got me,” Olivia said, hooking her arm around Paige’s and giving it a squeeze before letting go. Paige wished she’d stop doing that without warning, if only because it sent her heart racing every time.

It was just after nine in the morning, but there was already a shimmering haze in the air from the heat. Light bounced off a wind chime hanging outside someone’s house, sending the colours of the rainbow dancing across the street.

Olivia must have noticed it too, because she said, “Remember that suncatcher I bought you like five years ago?”

Paige scratched her cheek. “Actually, I still have it.”

“You do?”

Paige looked down at her feet. “Yeah. Only because if I peel it off, it’ll mark the window,” she added with a half-teasing smile.

Olivia rolled her eyes. “Don’t ruin the moment. But seriously, I can’t believe you still have it.”

“I like it,” Paige said simply, seeing Olivia’s lips tweak into a smile.

“So, where shall we go first?”

“I’m going to take a wild guess and say you’re probably hungry,” Paige said, “so why don’t we grab some breakfast first?”

Olivia’s sea-green eyes twinkled. “I like the way you think. I’m craving something sweet.”

“I’m sure we can find a bakery or something around here.”

“Oh yeah, we passed a patisserie yesterday. We should try and find that again.”

They walked past quaint little houses built from white stone and stopped to admire a door made entirely of shells and driftwood that sparkled in the sun. As they got closer to town, they passed a row of market stalls, peddling cockles and oysters and fresh crabs, and the air smelt like salt and brine and seafood and Paige found it delightful.

The roads were easy to navigate, and they soon found themselves in familiar surroundings, back on the street they had explored yesterday.

“This is the one,” Olivia said as they stopped beside a chalkboard reading Delilah’s Delicacies in swirly handwriting. Beneath it, written in a slanted, hasty scrawl, were the words: Isla’s Knickknacks and Antiques, Upstairs.

“It smells amazing. Let’s go in.”

Without giving Paige a chance to refuse, Olivia dragged her inside the patisserie, where they were immediately confronted by the smell of sugar and yeast.

“It all looks so good, I don’t know what to choose,” Olivia said, almost drooling as she joined the back of the queue, gazing along the glass display cases crammed with cakes and pastries and sweet rolls dusted with icing sugar.

Paige decided on a simple cream doughnut, reaching into her bag for her purse. “We could always grab some to take back to the cottage,” she suggested when she saw Olivia was still struggling to decide.

Her eyes lit up. “That’s a good idea. As long as they don’t melt while we’re walking around town.”

“Then we can come back for them later,” she said instead.

“Hi there. What can I get you?” the woman behind the counter said in a cheery voice when it was their turn to order. She was a small woman, with caramel-coloured skin and black curly hair piled up in a messy bun. When she smiled, her cheeks dimpled, bringing out the lustre of her brown eyes.

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