Page 5 of Riding the Waves

Amy cringed, wishing she’d broken the news to Damian herself.

“What’s that?” Damian asked.

“I’ll be staying in Hope Cove for the summer,” she told him with a nervous smile. “I got a job offer and it seemed perfect.”

“You got a job offer in Hope Cove for the summer?” A part of Amy had expected him to be happy at the idea of her being around, but the suspicion and disbelief in his eyes told a different story.

“Hey, boys.” He spoke to Marty and Billy with an excited edge to his voice. “Why don’t you run over to Callie and see if she’s got a lollipop for you?” He craned his neck and raised a hand to get the attention of the woman who’d supplied him with a T-shirt. Then he pointed the boys in her direction. Billy took off without hesitation, and Marty ambled after him in his usual timid style.

“What’s going on?” he asked Amy, all friendliness gone from his voice. “You’re not seriously staying for the entire summer?”

“I just had this opportunity …”

“For a job? In Hope Cove? There are only about four businesses. What on earth are you going to be doing?”

“It’s not right in Hope Cove,” she said. “The company are actually based in Salcombe.”

“But you already have a job.” His eyes widened. “You didn’t lose your job?”

“I took a sabbatical,” she told him. “I’ve been thinking about a change of direction, but I wanted to try something new before I decide for definite.”

“Are you supposed to take other employment while you’re on sabbatical?” he asked. “Shouldn’t you be taking time out and relaxing or something?”

It was a valid point, one which she hadn’t even looked into since she wasn’t actually going to be earning any money. She’d begged the small publishing house to let her help for the summer under the premise that she wanted to know more about publishing. Essentially, she was an unpaid intern for a company she knew hardly anything about. It was quite a sidestep from her role as human resources manager at an international accounting firm.

“I knew this was too good to be true,” Damian said, not even bothering to hide his irritation.

“What?”

“You letting me have the boys for six weeks. I should have known there’d be a catch.”

His words stung. She’d definitely expected him to be surprised by her plans, but not completely unhappy. “I didn’t think it would be a problem. I thought you’d appreciate the help.”

“Yeah, of course.” His eyes, which had been so welcoming, turned as cold as ice. “Because I couldn’t possibly look after the boys on my own.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you feel the need to hang around and check up on me. Do you really not trust me to take care of our children?”

“It’s not that … of course I trust you with the boys.”

He folded his arms across his broad chest. “I thought things might be different now. I thought you letting me have the boys for longer was a good sign, but I guess I was wrong.”

It had actually been the boys’ nagging that had convinced her to let them spend the entire summer holidays with Damian. That and the fact that it would be either very expensive or completely exhausting to keep them entertained at home without Anthony to help.

Given the way Damian was scowling at her, she was tempted to confess the real reason she wanted to be around for the summer. Not because she didn’t trust him with the boys, but because she couldn’t stand the thought of spending the summer alone.

“I’m sorry,” she said, hating the way he was glaring at her. “I should have discussed it with you first, but it was a last-minute thing and it seemed like too good of an opportunity to miss.”

He let out a long breath as he turned away from her.

“Damian,” she whispered, putting a hand on his arm. His tanned skin was warm from the sunshine and gravelly with the sand and salt caught in the bleached hairs of his forearm. Touching him sent her nerve endings into a frenzy, and it was an effort to form a coherent sentence. “It’s not the worst thing in the world, is it?” she managed. “I promise I won’t interfere. But wouldn’t it also be helpful for me to take the boys when you’re giving surf lessons?”

When he looked back at her he had that defeated look in his eyes that she knew so well. “I suppose I can’t tell you where to spend the summer. I already arranged childcare for the boys though. Did you think I wouldn’t have thought about that?”

“I didn’t know if they’d just hang around the beach while you were working.”

“They’ll be well looked after at all times and not left to roam the streets like urchins.”

“That’s not what I meant,” she said, tilting her head and wishing things could be easier between them.

“I know.” He licked the corner of his mouth, then dropped his gaze to her hand, which still rested on his arm.

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