Page 7 of A New Arrival at Cwtch Cove

And what was with that? Henry didn’t think of himself as particularly romantic or prone to fantasy and yet, there was something about Alice Gray that made him feel giddy. It wasn’t just how beautiful she was, although she was undeniably one of the prettiest women he’d ever met, it was the way she smiled, the way she smelt, the way she carried herself.

And he had only met her twice!

Twice, for goodness’ sake, Henry!This isn’t a romance movie where the hero always gets the girl, you know. This is real life and just because you fancy someone does not mean that there’s more to it so get over yourself.

He started to run again, needing to feel the burn in his legs that would help him to work through whatever it was that he was feeling. It was probably just pheromones messing with his brain and soon he’d see that Alice was a woman, just like all the others. He’d only met her the previous day but when he took the pastries to her this morning, he’d found himself flirting with her.Flirting!Like a teenager.

Laughter burst from his mouth and he shook his head. Alice was a stranger, his employer’s daughter and therefore off limits. Besides which, Henry was not in a position to get involved with anyone right now. He had baggage that he didn’t want to share with someone. It wasn’t fair. He’d tried to be with women before and it always went wrong because there was one thing they couldn’t get past.

The way he looked.

But however hard he tried to make his vow to avoid women and romance his overriding thought, he couldn’t deny that there was something about Alice that intrigued him and he was looking forward to the next time he saw her and to finding out if he could make her smile again.

Because that smile… well… it could launch ships.

Chapter7

Alice

Alice had been in Cwtch Cove for a week and she already felt settled. Her mum had been taking such good care of her, as she always did, and that was while she was working hard in the bakery and running her online business. Alice didn’t know how her mum did it but she wondered if she could help out in some way. Not by baking, because that had never been her forte, but perhaps she could help with some of the admin or the website or by taking over some of the chores at home.

She decided to go to the village shop and pick up some things so she could make her mum a nice dinner. She stroked both the cats, grabbed her jacket then set off, taking in the familiar landmarks on the way including the signs for the woodland walk, the primary school, the library and the village hall. She’d done a fair bit of her growing up in the village and it still felt like home. In some ways, she knew that was strange because none of her memories of her dad were linked to Cwtch Cove, those all lay in her time in Manchester where they’d lived until she was twelve. And sadly, a lot of that time was fuzzy in her head, as if her mind had tried to protect her from the terrible pain of losing her dad so young. She’d read about grief and about how it could make things seem surreal and losing her dad often felt that way. She could rationalise it and know that he was gone, that he’d died in Afghanistan eighteen years ago, but it often didn’t feel real. The thought that she would never see him again, that she’d never hear his voice, hug him and never snuggle on the sofa with him to watch a movie was simply too dreadful to accept. And so it went on. It was, she thought, probably why her mum kept so busy all the time. If she was busy then she wasn’t dwelling on what she’d lost and that was safer than sitting down and grieving for the husband she’d loved and adored, for the man she’d once told Alice she could never replace because who could ever compare to Peter Gray?

When Alice reached the shop, she paused for a moment to gaze across at the village green. The trees were showing signs of autumn in their leaves and the breeze whipped some of the fallen leaves up then sent them skittering across the grass. It made her think of the cats playing with the bread dough and she smiled.Bloody cats!She’d closed her bedroom door last night but somehow, they’d pushed it open and she’d woken in the morning with Clawdia next to her on the pillow and Catmila snuggled into the back of her legs. It was comforting and she felt flattered that they wanted to cuddle up with her because she knew cats could be picky about who they snuggled with.

Her eyes followed a squirrel as it scampered across the grass then shot up a tree and disappeared into the orange and brown foliage.

‘Alice?’

She turned to find a slim woman with short blonde hair smiling at her.

‘Tilly?’

‘It’s good to see you! How long have you been back in the village?’ Tilly smiled warmly.

‘Only a week.’

‘Are you staying long?’

‘I’m not sure yet, possibly a few months.’

‘Oh… weren’t you working as a dentist in Exeter?’ Tilly frowned and Alice felt the dismay of being questioned about her career seeping through her.

‘That’s right. But the practice owner sold up so I decided to come home for a while.’

‘Well I’m sorry that happened. There are no guarantees with any job these days, are there?’ Tilly sighed then gave a small shrug. ‘But it is lovely to see you, Alice, and I’m sure your mum’s delighted to have you home.’

‘I think she is and it’s lovely to see you too. Is it your day off?’ Alice was sure Tilly Baker worked as a lawyer in Tenby but then she hadn’t seen her for a while and, as she knew herself, things could change quickly.

Tilly nodded. ‘I’ve got a bit of an upset stomach so I decided to work from home. I popped out for some air and to stretch my legs.’

‘Well I hope you feel better soon.’

‘Thanks. I’m sure I will.’ Tilly raised the paper bag she was holding. ‘I’ve been to your mum’s bakery for some treats.’

‘I don’t blame you. Everything she makes there is delicious.’

‘Just like the pastry chef, eh!’ Tilly winked. ‘Not that I’m looking because, well, Joe and I are back together and I’m so happy.’

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