Page 1 of A New Arrival at Cwtch Cove

PROLOGUE

ALICE - JULY

Alice Gray surfaced from sleep like a swimmer rising to the surface of a pool. She felt light, floaty, free.

And then she opened her eyes.

What the…

She blinked. Closed her eyes. Opened them again.

The bedroom was grey with early morning light and she could hear birdsong from outside the window. A car starting. Someone’s mobile phone ringing.

Where am I?

Movement to her left made her gasp.

Oh no!

It wasn’t a dream.

Lying next to her inhisbed was Tarquin Floss. He was a friend, a colleague and nothing more. Or at least he hadn’t been anything more until last night when they hit the town to drown their sorrows after being told that the dental practice they worked for was being sold. The owner, Dr Harold McCavity, didn’t know how long it would take to find a buyer but he hoped to sell as quickly as possible, and had told them there would be no changing his mind. Harold was moving abroad and had told them that they could buy the practice if they liked but neither Alice or Tarquin had that kind of money. Besides which, Alice wasn’t even sure she liked being a dentist enough to buy her own practice and that fact was something she found utterly devastating. Right now, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, although first priority was getting out of Tarquin’s bed.

And quickly, Alice!

Perhaps nothing happened last night and they’d just passed out. It was a hot July evening and they’d drunk too much vodka and not enough water, that was all. Of course they’d needed to sleep it off.

Of course…

Please let that be true.

She peeled back the duvet cover and swallowed a sigh.

She was naked. Not a stitch of clothing to be seen. Not even a sock on one of her feet. And Alice never slept naked in case of fire or intruders. She was a fleecy pyjamas kind of girl with socks if it was winter and she had no one to warm her feet on. Which she didn’t and hadn’t had in ages.

Dammit!

She sat up slowly and the room started spinning so she held her head with both hands while she waited for the spinning to stop.

Seeing a condom box on the floor, she sighed with relief. At least they’d been careful. Nothing would be worse than waking up to the realisation that not only had she slept with Tarquin but they hadn’t used protection.

Then a memory shot through her head like a flaming arrow and she winced at the pain.

Oh… oh no…

Tarquin got the box out of his drawer. Shook it. Turned it upside down. It was empty. He returned to the drawer and rooted around. Alice checked her bag. But there hadn’t been a condom anywhere. And so… they’d gone straight to sleep, side by side, and slept all night.

Yeah right! Ugh!

Alice hunted down her clothes, bag and shoes then took them to the small bathroom in Tarquin’s flat and dressed as quickly as her aching head would allow. Whatever had happened last night, and she knew she’d been as much of an instigator as Tarquin, she wanted to get home and shower, drink several pints of water then go back to bed and sleep all day.

This was a lapse in judgement and they’d forget all about it and go back to being good friends. Everything would be OK once she’d had a good sleep.

Wouldn’t it?

Chapter1

Trudy

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