Fern watched him go and sat back, closing her eyes again. Had he been about to say ‘take care of you’ not dinner? She’d forgotten how good it was to have someone who cared about you and took the trouble to show and help. Scott was a lovely man and she knew Anouk was right when she’d said he seriously liked her. But liking someone ‘seriously’ when in a few weeks there would be an ocean between them would only lead to heartbreak, and Fern had suffered enough of that. What was the point of getting close to a man who would soon disappear out of her life?

25

The week after the Easter holiday was quiet in the hotel, with everyone back to work and the children at school, Belinda used her time to make sure everything was up to date. She rang Nigel and told him she wanted to talk to him about the campsite renovations. To her disappointment, he said she’d have to wait until the following week.

‘Molly has a temperature, she thinks I’m fussing but I want to keep her quiet. If you come over, I know she’ll want to see you, so can we leave it please?’

‘Of course,’ Belinda agreed. ‘Do you want me to take over Torquay’s books again while you’re looking after Molly?’

‘No thanks. I keep on top of them while Molly sleeps.’

‘Okay. Give my love to Molly and tell her I’ll see her soon.’ Belinda ended the call, wondering what she was going to do to fill her days before she could talk to Nigel. With one hotel sold and Nigel looking after another, she was beginning to feel more than a little redundant. And unsettled, if she were honest. Was this what her job was going to be like in the future?

When Chloe rang to invite her to dinner, she accepted immediately. ‘I’d love to come over. Can I bring anything?’

‘No, just yourself. Do you want to come early and bathe the twins?’

‘I’ll be there at six,’ Belinda promised. She’d missed helping with the twins’ bath and bedtime routine, and then snuggling up together while she read them a story or two. Family time was just what she needed today. It would help smooth away her current frustrations about not being able to deal with certain issues both here and in Brittany.

There was a palpable air of excitement radiating off Chloe when Belinda arrived at their cottage close to the marina.

‘Has something happened? You have that look you used to get as a little girl when you couldn’t contain your excitement over something.’

Chloe shot a look at the twins. ‘We’ll talk later, after these two are in bed. Max has had some exciting news.’