Page 10 of Riding the Waves

“I’ve just been hearing about that,” he told her. “It seems there was a bit of a misunderstanding.”

“You can say that again,” Lizzie said. “I feel terrible for Amy. She must wonder what on earth she walked into. But for now I’m more concerned about Scarlett. She’s freaking out and we can’t calm her down. She thinks she can’t look after the boys for the summer. Which she’s genuinely upset about, because she really liked them. You know she doesn’t actually think they’re brats.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“She’s stressed about the money,” Lizzie went on. “But she’s more concerned you’re going to be upset with her. And that she’s upset Amy. She’s going down her usual route of thinking she never does anything right.”

“She can still look after the boys,” Damian said, his heart sinking as he thought about how upset Scarlett would be. “Tell her I’ve explained everything to Amy and that me and the boys are really excited to see her on Wednesday and that I’m transferring the money now.”

Lizzie’s relief was evident even over the phone. “Thank you so much. Please apologise to Amy for us. We really would like to work with her still, but we also completely understand if she doesn’t want to. Hopefully I’ll get to speak to her again, but I really need to deal with Scarlett now.”

“Of course,” Damian said. “Tell her everything is fine.”

Ending the call, he looked pleadingly at Amy. “Don’t be mad at me,” he said. “Scarlett is mortified about what happened. She’s really a great person and I promise she’ll be brilliant with Marty and Billy. Just trust me on this, please.”

She cocked her head. “It doesn’t seem as though I have much choice.”

CHAPTER 5

Aside from Damian, no one knew where Amy was staying, so when the doorbell rang early that evening, she vaguely expected it to be him. Which meant that her heart rate was elevated before she even reached the door. Even the thought of him had that effect on her.

A pang of disappointment twitched in her stomach when she found Lizzie on the doorstep. She was still wearing the jeans and shirt she’d had on earlier, which reminded Amy that it had only been that morning when they’d met. After her argument with Damian, and then a long afternoon sitting on the patio, telling herself she was enjoying the sea view while really contemplating her life choices, it now felt like a long time.

“Hi,” Lizzie said, smiling apologetically. “Is there any chance we could have a quick chat?”

Amy hesitated for a moment before opening the door wider and stepping aside. She gestured along the hall which led to the open-plan kitchen-diner with floor-to-ceiling windows and breath-taking sea views.

“It turns out you met my husband yesterday,” Lizzie said. “Max let you into this place. He takes care of a lot of the holiday accommodation in the area. He and Jack do it as a job share.” She stopped by the dining table. “Jack is Emily’s husband. He works in the pub as well, so you’ll no doubt meet him at some point.”

Amy smiled benignly, recalling the guy who’d shown her into the house. He’d been professional, but friendly and welcoming.

“You have an amazing view up here,” Lizzie said.

“Yes,” Amy agreed.

“I should stop waffling.” Lizzie offered another apologetic smile. “Obviously, I wanted to talk to you about this morning. We must’ve looked so unprofessional.”

“We can sit down,” Amy said, tipping her head towards the patio. She almost offered Lizzie a drink before deciding she didn’t want her to feel too comfortable.

“Damian explained about Scarlett,” Amy said once they’d settled themselves opposite each other at the small, round table. Further along the patio were two wicker sun loungers, one of which probably already had an Amy-shaped dent in the cushion.

“He told you she’s autistic?” Lizzie asked.

“Yes, but I’m not sure that excuses her sitting there referring to my children as brats.” Her jaw tightened as anger coursed through her veins.

“Of course it doesn’t,” Lizzie said. “In her defence, she’d heard someone else saying it in a jokey way. Stuff like that confuses her. But of course it’s not okay, and of course you’re angry and upset. I would be too.” Her lips twisted to one side. “Emily and I spoke to Scarlett after you left and explained why her behaviour was inappropriate. She feels terrible.”

Amy craned her neck, inhaling a lungful of warm, salty air and watching a gull glide on the breeze.

“I’ve had a really strange couple of days,” she said. “I’m not sure I can think clearly about anything at this moment. But Damian has insisted on Scarlett looking after my children. And I’m trying very hard to trust his judgement.” Pausing, she drew in another deep breath. Having only met Lizzie that morning, she had no particular reason to trust her, but there was something about her calm demeanour that Amy found reassuring. “Damian said Scarlett looks after your children sometimes?”

“Yes,” Lizzie said. “I can absolutely understand your concerns. But she really is brilliant with kids.”

“After this morning, that’s hard to imagine.”

“I’m sure,” Lizzie said. “But I promise you caught her at a bad moment today. I bet your boys will have a great time with her. If it makes you feel any better, I know she plans to take them along to the kids’ club at the community centre. My girls are going too. It’s very well run and the staff are great.”

“That makes me feel a little better,” Amy said.

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