Page 86 of Riding the Waves

“I’d have to find a job here.”

“You can’t give up the surf shack.”

“Maybe Jared or Sara would go into business with me. They could run the place most of the time and you, me and the kids can go down there for school holidays, and I can work then. I could find a job here for the rest of the time. Maybe just something part-time to keep me out of mischief. I’ll be able to rent out my house whenever I’m here, which will take the pressure off financially.”

“It all sounds a bit messy.” Ripples shuddered over Amy’s coffee when she sighed. “If it weren’t for the boys being so settled in school, I’d say it made more sense for us to live in Hope Cove.”

Damian cocked an eyebrow.

“It would be such an upheaval for Marty and Billy,” she said in a rush. “Marty really isn’t good with change. Besides, it would also mean taking them away from Anthony. I don’t think it would be good for them.”

Damian offered his palms defensively. “I never even considered it. I know the boys are settled here. Moving would be unfair to them.”

Amy ignored the voice in her head that said moving them from the city to an idyllic coastal village probably didn’t really fall under the category of unfair. It would be an adjustment, there was no doubt about that, but in the long term it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.

That kind of thinking was entirely selfish, though. Moving to Hope Cove would be great for Amy. A fresh start in a place where she already had a job and friends was very appealing. The sea views weren’t something to turn her nose up at either.

No, it was definitely selfish. The best thing for Marty and Billy would be to stay in the school they love with their friends around them and with Anthony nearby. Her fresh start would take the form of a new house, a new job, and best of all with Damian beside her.

Damian scooted over, taking her coffee and setting it aside so he could take her hands in his. “I’m going to be here a lot,” he said. “That’s the main thing. I’ll start looking at jobs this week and make decisions about the surf shack later. Sara and Jared will keep everything ticking over for now.”

“Everything feels so uncertain,” Amy said.

“Which is why it’s best to hold off on telling the boys anything before we really know what’s going on.”

“I suppose you have a point, but I think they’d just be happy at us being together. They wouldn’t care about the details.”

“Let’s just wait a little while,” he said, inching closer and slipping his arms around her waist. “I’ll look at the job market and we’ll look at more houses. In a week or two, we’ll probably have firmer plans, then we can tell the boys.”

“Okay,” she relented, as his mouth closed in on hers and he pushed her back onto the couch. She let herself enjoy his languid kisses for a couple of minutes before bringing things to a halt. “It’s my first week of a new job,” she told him, fighting her way out from under him. “I can’t spend my time kissing you on the couch.”

“How about having sex with me in a bed?”

She grabbed the nearest cushion and smacked it against his head, laughing. “I don’t think that’s what Hope Cove Press is paying me for.”

“Which is a real shame,” Damian said mockingly. “You should see if they’ll tweak your job description.”

“I’m going to hide away in the office,” she said, picking up her coffee to take with her.

“You have an office?” Damian asked, his eyes darting around as though he’d missed it.

“Anthony’s old office,” she said, tipping her chin towards the door at the other end of the living room.

His eyes flickered with realisation. “I put my head in there and thought it was a library, but Marty referred to it as Anthony’s den.”

“Yes.” Amy cringed, having always hated that Anthony referred to it as the den. “It’s a library slash office, I guess. He always called it his den.”

“Essentially, it’s a posh man cave.”

“I guess,” she said, making a mental note to remind Anthony to come and sort through his books. “Anyway,” she said decisively. “I’m going to work, so you’ll need to find something to occupy yourself. Also Bernadette will be here in half an hour, so try not to get in her way.”

“Bernadette?”

“The cleaner. She’s lovely but quite fierce if you get in her way.”

“I might take myself off out for a walk,” he said.

“Good idea.” She gave him a quick peck. “I’ll see you later.”

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