Poppy sat on a bench overlooking the harbour beach while Jake called his parents first and told them what had happened. Fortunately, Fen was actually at the house visiting Archie, so they were able to gently prepare her for the news that Leo had been involved in an accident but had had some surgery and would hopefully be on the mend soon.
As expected, she burst into tears and then declared she was immediately coming back to St Piran’s. Poppy listened as Jake let her cry and after much persuasion, he convinced her that Leo was out of danger and to wait and see how Leo was faring before she decided to cut short her trip and rush back the very next day.
Poppy took the phone and managed to reassure Fen further and get across how sorry she was that Leo had been hurt while in her care. To Poppy’s relief and shame, Fen didn’t blame her at all. Poppy promised to phone up at regular intervals with progress reports on Leo. It was a huge weight off her mind. Now all she had to worry about was Leo’s recovery.
After they’d phoned Fen, Jake took Poppy to the Galleon pub and she bought him dinner. She begged Jake to let her pay for Fen’s flight home, if she wanted to come back early, but he refused. When the discussion became heated, he pointed out that there would be a sizeable vet’s bill, which he was also going to settle, but suggested she make a contribution to that. It was several hundred pounds, but Poppy was happy to dig into her savings without hesitation.
It was almost nine o’clock before she could even contemplate leaving Leo at the vet, even though Asha had said she would be monitoring him throughout the night and they could come back to see him – and possibly take him home – the next day. It was still light, as she and Jake walked from the pub to the harbour to hitch a lift back to St Piran’s.
It was a beautiful late spring evening, and being Scilly, the air was still warm. The sun was hovering over the horizon, surrounded by coral-coloured clouds. The masts of dozens of yachts were silhouetted against a sapphire sky, resembling a scene from the Caribbean. Poppy was reminded of why she and Dan had wanted to move here in the first place. He wouldn’t have dropped his plans to hurry back for an injured cat …
Back on St Piran’s Jake came into the flat and they sat up with a whisky he’d found in Archie’s drinks cabinet. Finally, having accepted that Asha wasn’t going to call them in the middle of the night, whatever happened, Jake went home and Poppy went to her own bed.
It was with a thumping heart that she called Asha the next morning, but her fears were soon allayed. The vet said that if Leo continued to do well throughout the rest of the day, she could collect him at the end of the afternoon. Poppy phoned Jake with the news and he said he’d go to the vet with her but mentioned again that he ‘had a few things to get ready for his trip’.
He sounded friendly enough, but he was also brief and the light-hearted edge of the previous evening was missing. She could have sworn he was eager to be on his own and off the phone as soon as possible. After all, he already had been ready for his trip when she’d phoned him about Leo. He’d been on his way to the airport in fact.
Well, that was fine. Totally fine with her. Jake’s departure had only been delayed – she knew that. Leo was what mattered …
She opened the studio and unpacked a couple of new pieces from Rowan. It was a beautiful day, very similar to the day on which she’d first seen the studio. Hungry and thirsty visitors gathered at the harbour, enjoying a drink and an ice cream at the kiosk. A good proportion of them were lured along the seafront to the studio and tempted inside the cool interior. Poppy sold a painting, one of Minty’s pendants, two of Kay’s glass bowls and one of Rowan’s ‘ashtrays’, along with a variety of postcards and greetings cards. St Piran’s was dressed in its summer best and working its magic on the tourists. When an expensively bohemian group of artists from the Petroc Resort turned up and ordered several of Archie’s prints to be mailed back to London from the printer, Poppy was grinning from ear to ear.
In her few quiet moments, darker thoughts came back to her. Leo’s recovery was replaced with the worry that he might have a relapse and Fen’s reaction when she saw him. Jake was leaving too … Poppy tried not to think about that too much. Every instinct told her to tell him how she felt, but she was too afraid of his reaction. They were friends, but if she asked him if they could ever be more than that, would that destroy their friendship completely? And how could they see each other when he had a home in Cornwall and spent his life travelling the world? She couldn’t and didn’t want to get in the way of that.
She shut the shop at four, exhausted with the lack of sleep and constant stream of customers – and anyway it was time to collect Leo. He was understandably subdued when they turned up at the vet’s, but she was pleased to see that he bared his teeth at Jake as he helped Poppy get him in his carrier. It wasn’t easy because he was wearing a cone of shame, but eventually they coaxed him with his favourite treats. His hind leg had been shaved and stitched and Asha had told Poppy to ‘let him mooch inside at home for ten days until his stitches were out’ and sent them away with antibiotics and painkillers.
‘Home’ for now was to be the studio, where Poppy could keep an eye on him until Fen returned. However, Jake needed to rearrange his flights to Cornwall and phone his parents and Fen again, so they headed back to Archie’s cottage instead. Leo’s accident meant he wouldn’t be able to spend any time at all in Cornwall with them and would have to get a flight straight to Newquay, collect his kit and then fly off London all on the same day. Poppy felt very guilty about it, but very relieved that he had come back.
They settled Leo in the familiar surroundings of the kitchen where he tucked into some dinner and then dozed despite his cone. Jake poured them both a large glass of wine and went into the kitchen to make his calls. Poppy sat on the sofa, as snatches of his conversation drifted in. With Leo safe and on the mend, she finally had time to realise that Jake really would be leaving now and this time it would be final. She took a large sip of her wine and gradually the tension started to ease. Sheer relief and exhaustion made her feel as if she had no marrow in her bones …
The next thing she heard was Jake speaking softly to her and she felt a hand on her shoulder. She blinked awake.
‘H-hi. I must have fallen asleep.’
‘It is allowed.’ Jake grinned. ‘You must be tired – you never even finished your wine.’
She spotted the half-full glass and laughed.
‘I was going to leave you asleep …’ he started.
‘No. I’m so glad you didn’t. I snore like an elephant according to Dan.’
‘That’s gallant of him to say so. I bet you don’t.’ He grinned. ‘I thought you’d like to know I’ve rebooked my flights. I’m leaving on the first one to Newquay tomorrow, leaving me just time to pop by the flat for my stuff and then catch another plane to Heathrow from there.’
Actually, Poppy didn’t like knowing this fact at all, but it was exactly what she’d expected. ‘I’m so sorry you’ve missed seeing your family to come back here, and it must have cost a lot of money.’ She swung her legs off the sofa to make room for him.
Jake filled the space. The sofa was small and being this close to him was making her twitch. He smelled gorgeous; she didn’t know what aftershave he used, but it made her want to take big gulps and say ‘ohhh’ out loud.
‘Don’t worry. I spoke to Grandpa after I spoke to Fen. He understands and he knows how much Leo means to Fen. He’d much rather I looked after the cat than abandoned you to deal with a situation like that.’
‘I know but …’
‘Stop feeling guilty. Leo’s going to be OK, fingers crossed, and I’m not short of cash at the moment. All I’ve done for the past three years since Harriet died is work. I’ve taken on every job I was offered that took me away from home and my mind off losing Harriet. The money is important only in that it makes sure I can eat and buy new equipment and help out my family and others when I can. Like now. You’ve probably worked out I don’t spend it on clothes or personal grooming.’ He smiled.
‘You look OK to me,’ said Poppy, then realising what she’d said, added, ‘I mean, you always smell nice and er … clean.’
Jake stared at her. She had offended him. Arghh.
‘Sorry, I’m always putting my foot in it.’
‘No, I’m not offended. I was thinking the same thing. That you look OK to me too and you smell great. In fact, you look more than OK.’
‘I’ve fallen asleep in my clothes. I bet I have mascara all down my face after crying over Leo. My hair must be a terrible mess …’
‘True,’ said Jake, with a grimace. ‘You have panda eyes, your top is covered in cat fur and your hair is a mess … a beautiful, sexy mess.’
Wow.
‘A mess? I wish I hadn’t said you smell nice now.’ She laughed, but her skin tingled. Something had shifted. The atmosphere had turned in a heartbeat for no reason at all, but wasn’t that the way when you were falling – had fallen – for someone? Logic didn’t come into it.
‘I meant what I said about you being beautiful,’ he said.
Her chest tightened. Not because Jake had used the words ‘beautiful’ and ‘sexy’, but because his hand slipped over hers. It wasn’t a gesture of comfort this time. It wasn’t companionship; this touch was something completely different.
I’m not ready for this, she thought, and Jake will never be. But what exactly was this? Two people who’d been hurt in different ways. Two people who were attracted to each other and had kept their feelings hidden for months.
‘Do you really think this is a good idea?’ she said, as he took her other hand. ‘After last time?’
‘I try not to think these days.’
Her heart was beating so fast, she could hardly reply. She’d wanted Jake for weeks and hadn’t dared admitted it to herself. He could, and probably would, be all kinds of trouble. He was still grieving for the love of his life and leaving, probably forever, tomorrow. She was on the rebound and in an emotional state over the cat … It was definitely a bad idea but …
Her lips tingled even before they’d kissed. Then there was wonderment at the strangeness of another man’s mouth on hers and another man’s hands around her waist. A man she’d wanted to kiss so much, however hard she’d tried to deny the fact.
Touching was tentative at first, but it grew in firmness and confidence. They were both exploring, testing each other out. She let her hands slip lower from his waist to the back of his cargo pants. She had her hands on his bum – Jake’s lovely arse that she’d admired so many times. She wanted – had to – squeeze.
He didn’t seem to object. He slipped his own hand lower and kissed her more deeply, darting a warm tongue inside her mouth.
Wow. Her toes curled and hot darts of lust shot through her.
‘Think we’d better go upstairs,’ he said. ‘OK?’ He stopped kissing her and looked down into her face, still holding her around the waist.
Poppy slid her hands higher, accidentally on purpose pulling out his T-shirt as she did so. ‘Yes. Yes. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t.’
‘Only I need to know it’s all right with you? I don’t want to get this wrong, misread the signals, do something you don’t want or like.’ He touched her cheek. ‘Are you sure you’re fine? You’re trembling.’
‘I’m nervous and - and - I want this. A lot.’
He smiled. ‘Me too. Both of those things.’
‘Good.’
They virtually ran up the stairs and she was out of breath by the time they reached the bedroom. Jake was breathing heavily too. They kissed again, eyes closed, moving to the bed.
‘Ow!’ Poppy’s eye flew open. Her hip throbbed where she’d hit the corner of a crate.
‘I knew I should have moved the bloody thing.’
She laughed, the soreness subsiding. ‘I’ll have a bruise tomorrow,’ she said.
‘I think I should check now,’ he suggested.
‘Perhaps that would be a good idea.’
Jake nodded at her skirt. ‘Would you mind if I …’
‘Not at all.’
She was wearing a flirty summer skirt with side buttons. One by one, Jake undid the buttons, his fingers fumbling a little.
‘Let me,’ she said, teasing the final one from its buttonhole, though her own fingers were trembling too.
Jake parted the material and exposed her hip.
‘There’s a mark,’ he said, kneeling by her side and looking up at her.
‘Is there?’ She squeezed out the words through a dry throat.
‘Yes … Here.’ He laid his finger lightly against the bare flesh of her hip just above the side of her knickers. She stiffened and had to stifle a laugh, but when Jake pressed his lips to her skin, she could only gasp. The breath had been stolen from her body.
‘Better?’ he asked.
‘Getting there,’ she said with a sigh.
He got to his feet and held her. He kissed her and then whispered, ‘Are you sure about this? I know I am.’
‘Yes, I’m sure, but it’s been so long for me,’ she said. ‘I’m probably out of practice.’
Jake smiled. ‘It’s been years for me too. I’ve probably forgotten what to do at all.’
‘In that case, I suppose we’ll both have to make it up as we go along.’
The late evening light cast patterns on the cover and the old brass bedstead. The pent-up desires, the misery and drama of the past few months melted away. There was no yesterday or tomorrow, only this moment and she was going to fall headlong into it and forget about what might come afterwards.