handed one to her friend. Eclipse bounded on to her lap with springlike dexterity and an adorable chirrup, and Robin buried her face in his fur, breathing in his clean, kittenish smell.
‘So what did he say?’ Molly asked, slipping off her pumps and tucking her feet beneath her.
Robin wrapped her hands round the bowl of her glass. ‘I tried to explain, to make it clear that it was a misunderstanding – just like you’d said. It sounded so innocuous the way you put it.’
‘And?’
‘He says he can’t trust me any more. I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t trust me either.’
Molly leaned forward. ‘What exactly did he say? Tell me from the beginning.’
Robin recounted their conversation, the fact that Will hadn’t invited her inside, so it had played out on the doorstep, the way he had seemed at first angry and then defeated, and how even the admission that there had been no campaign, that the acts of kindness had been genuine, hadn’t lifted his spirits. When she’d finished, she looked up at Molly, waiting for the verdict. She hoped her friend could find some glimmer of hope, because Robin was struggling to.
Molly drummed her fingers against her lips. ‘Do you know what I think it is?’ she said. ‘I think it’s more that you didn’t tell him about Tim. You’d worked on Tabitha’s house with him, and hadn’t explained what Tim was up to, even after Tim had been round to see you both. It’s Will’s house now, and he felt that you should have been honest about what Campion Bay Property was planning – even if you didn’t know the details. Plus, it’s Tim, isn’t it?’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Robin sipped her wine, but it tasted too acidic. She didn’t want alcohol: she wanted a mug of hot chocolate with squirty cream and some of her home-baked midnight cookies.
‘I don’t think it helps that Tim is your ex. Whatever Will’s feeling about what’s happened, it’s a lot more complicated because he cares about you, Robin. As I said before, he wouldn’t be so bothered if you were just another resident of Goldcrest Road. It’s only been a couple of weeks. He could wipe the slate clean. But he can’t do that with you, because so much has already happened.
‘He’s developed feelings, and then suddenly he finds out that you’ve been holding things back from him, the biggest of which is to do with your handsome, successful ex-boyfriend. I’m guessing,’ Molly said, leaning forward and rubbing Eclipse’s paws, ‘he’s a big bundle of confusion, hurt, attraction and jealousy, and he needs to wait for it all to settle so he can figure out which of those emotions rises to the top. I’m confident it will be attraction.’
Robin thought of the way Will had suggested Tim wasn’t fully out of the picture, the bitterness in his voice as he’d accused her of playing them off against each other. What Molly said made a lot of sense. ‘You think so?’
Molly nodded determinedly. ‘I do.’
Robin sat back on the sofa, her nerves settling slightly. ‘He looked so tired, Molly. It can’t be comfortable staying at Tabitha’s house with the dirt and the cobwebs. I don’t even know if there’s a bed in a good enough state for him to sleep in.’
‘He’s cut off his nose to spite his face, moving back next door,’ Molly agreed. ‘Even if he decides to chance it at the Seaview Hotel, he’s not exactly on to a winner, is he? I bet that’s adding to the disgruntlement. Chances are, he’ll realise how much he’s missing out on by being cross with you, and he’ll come back with his tail between his legs.’
Robin gave her a grateful smile. ‘Thanks, Molly. Thanks for talking it all through with me, for stopping me from going mad.’
‘Hey. It was my ridiculousness, my text, that created this situation in the first place. It’s my duty as your friend to help you clear it up. But for now, let out Starcross. Did you get his security number for the payment?’
Robin stared at her for a moment, then shook her head. ‘I didn’t get a chance. I’ll have to text him.’ The thought of asking him such a perfunctory question via text made her slightly nauseous, but she didn’t have a choice.
‘Try not to worry about it,’ Molly said. ‘He’s angry, but he’s a decent guy. He’ll pay up, and then you can get on with running the guesthouse while he cools off. At least he’s still in Campion Bay, and if the house is still a tip then I doubt he’s going anywhere any time soon.’
‘I’ve got time,’ Robin murmured. Molly’s words about Will cutting off his nose to spite his face had started her thinking. Maybe he wasn’t prepared to talk to her now, to accept her apology, but would he turn down a package from the guesthouse; a few creature comforts to make sleeping and eating at Tabitha’s house more bearable? Could she appeal to him in that way?
Molly nodded. ‘I’ll go round in the next couple of days, explain about the campaign misunderstanding, add my weight to your cause – if you think that would help? In the meantime, you’d best get on with things here and let it all play out in his head. He’ll soon realise that what you’ve done isn’t all that bad, and that you deserve his forgiveness.’
Robin looked down at her phone, thinking it would be better to text Will now and get it out of the way, and tried to imagine Starcross with a new guest staying in it. ‘Do you want a hot chocolate?’ she asked. ‘I’ve got marshmallows, and cookies.’
‘Why didn’t you say so earlier?’ Molly laughed. ‘Bring on the comfort food.’
The next day Robin took her friend’s advice and threw herself into running the guesthouse. The May day was blustery, but it wasn’t raining any more, and the damp pavements were drying, the sand at the top of the beach fading to pale, soft gold that Robin could imagine beneath her feet.
Katy and Dean were off on their wildlife boat tour, and over breakfast were making a list of all the things they were hoping to see.
‘I’d love to see puffins. Do you get them down here?’ Katy looked up expectantly.
Robin screwed her nose up. ‘I’m not sure. Maybe. If there’s one thing I’m not very good on, it’s the wildlife around here.’
‘I want to see an osprey,’ said Dean.
Katy rolled her eyes. ‘Trust you! And a shark, no doubt. How about a whale?’
Dean pursed his lips, considering this. ‘They must pass along this way sometimes, when they get lost.’
‘Oh my God. Talk about high expectations! When we see a couple of seagulls and a bit of driftwood, you’re going to want your money back.’
‘Trust me. This trip is going to be awesome.’ He gave his girlfriend such a confident look that Robin almost believed he would be able to conjure up giant sea creatures. She felt a stab of envy, longing for the wind in her hair and sea spray on her face.
‘You know,’ Paige said, as they tidied up the kitchen after breakfast, ‘I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never been on a boat trip around the coast.’
Robin stared at her. ‘Never? Not even when there was that dodgy little charter that moored up next to the crazy golf and puttered up to the cliffs and back?’
‘When was that?’ Paige frowned, pulling her ponytail tighter.
