Page 54 of The Perfect Gift

Around them, the others shouted and laughed as they dived into the waves then rose again to splash each other. A massive handful of water caught Ed full in the face and he sputtered as he tried to wipe his stinging eyes. When he could see properly, the culprit was his father, who was grinning fit to burst. ‘Why’s your hair still dry?’ Jago demanded. ‘Get yourself under, lad, or it doesn’t count.’

‘Dip! Dip! Dip!’ his brothers chanted, clapping their hands as they formed a circle around him.

Knowing he had no choice, Ed clamped his finger and thumb over his nose, sucked in a deep breath and kicked his legs out so he sank under the waves. The second his bottom touched the seabed he pushed himself back up, emerging from the water with a roar. ‘Satisfied?’ he demanded and the others laughed and clapped. Frankie was doing her best to smile, but her teeth were already beginning to chatter. ‘Let’s get the hell out of here!’ He leaned forward and scooped her up into his arms, turned and began wading back to the shore.

Her arms closed around his neck and she clung on until he’d got them back onto the beach, the others staggering out alongside him. Applause and cheers greeted them. Moments later they were engulfed as the rest of the family hurried over to wrap them in towels and waterproof robes. Ed dried off as quickly as he could, pleased to see that Chloe was helping Frankie towel off and pull on her clothes.

The crowd that had gathered was already starting to drift away, and by the time everyone was dressed to the point they could scramble off the beach, they’d cleared enough that there wasn’t even a queue to get up the steps. Frankie was bundled in Ed’s waterproof robe, some of the colour returned to her cheeks, and by the time they got back up to the main road, she insisted she was warm enough for them to head straight back to the cottage. Slipping into a hot bath with her was infinitely preferable to queuing behind Harry for the shower, so they left the others after a round of hugs and a promise to collect Frankie’s things from his room in the morning.

28

They woke on Sunday morning to the patter of rain against the window. Frankie’s first thought was that it was the perfect excuse to stay in bed and was just snuggling into Ed’s side to suggest it when his phone pinged. He picked it up and listened to a voice message. ‘It’s Harry, wants to know if we want to join them for breakfast.’

‘We can if you want…’ Frankie couldn’t hide her lack of enthusiasm.

‘We need to go over there at some point to collect all your shopping from yesterday,’ Ed reminded her. ‘Plus I kind of promised Harry we’d hang out today.’

It was on the tip of her tongue to protest that she wanted to spend time with him but she immediately pulled herself up. Ed was home for only a couple of weeks, of course he would want to spend time with his family – they were the reason he’d come back, after all. Plus the arrangement they’d agreed upon was supposed to be casual. They’d been around each other a lot the past forty-eight hours so a little time apart would be good for both of them. She had stuff to do anyway, presents to wrap for one thing, and she’d barely done any preparation work on her next script. She smiled at Ed and patted his chest. ‘Then of course you must spend time with him. If he’s happy to make us breakfast then I’m more than happy to eat it.’

‘You’re sure you don’t mind?’

Frankie shook her head as she let a smile tease the corners of her lips. ‘I didn’t have anything planned other than debauching you.’

Ed’s eyes lit up. ‘Debauching, you say?’ He tapped his phone and with his gaze firmly fixed on Frankie’s began to speak as soon as Harry answered. ‘Hey, bro, I got your message about breakfast. Any chance we can make it brunch? Frankie and I have a few things we need to do first.’ Harry must’ve answered in the affirmative because Ed said, ‘Yep, great, see you at eleven.’ He tossed the phone on the bedside cabinet then reached for Frankie with a determined gleam in his eye. ‘Come here, you.’

* * *

They arrived at Harry and Kat’s flat on the dot of eleven, both of them more than ready to eat. Thankfully, Harry had laid on a feast of bacon, sausages and a mountain of French toast. Frankie piled her plate high, promising herself she’d add an extra lap to her morning run. In between mouthfuls, Frankie made a point of telling Harry and Kat how impressed she’d been with the set-up at their cookery school. ‘The décor is fantastic. I loved how each workstation was colour coded too.’

‘That was Chloe’s idea. She and Anya helped us with the design throughout,’ Kat told her.

‘They both have such a great eye. I could’ve bought pretty much everything they had on their stall yesterday,’ Frankie replied.

‘I thought you had, given how many bags are piled up in my room,’ Ed said with a grin, earning a laugh from the others and a playful swipe from her.

‘Very funny.’ Frankie turned her attention back to Harry. ‘It’s amazing what you’ve done for those kids, though. It was clear when I was chatting to them how much it means to them learning from you. It’s obvious how inspired they are by you and what you’ve been able to achieve for yourself.’

‘I find them pretty inspiring too,’ Harry said. ‘If it hadn’t been for Russ, I don’t know where I might have ended up, and it feels good to be able to pass the opportunity he gave me onto other kids who are in a similar situation.’

‘I can tell you from experience how much it will mean to have someone believe in them. I was lucky enough one of my foster-mothers was happy to drive me to a local drama club I’d been involved with when I still lived at home. She didn’t mind it was nearly an hour each way and said if it was important to me then it was important to her.’ The memory brought a smile to her lips. ‘It’s like you said, who knows where we might’ve ended up without the right person coming into our lives at the right time.’

‘And now you’re a star of stage and screen,’ Harry said. ‘Who knows, maybe one of my kids will go on to open their own restaurant and earn a Michelin star one day. It’s a nice thought.’

‘You didn’t fancy opening a restaurant yourself, then?’

Harry shook his head. ‘No chance. Don’t get me wrong, I loved working under Russ, but you need to love the adrenaline rush of a busy evening service. I always preferred the quieter prep times when I had more time to focus on the trainee chefs and help them improve their skills.’

‘A natural-born teacher, then,’ Frankie replied, with a smile.

‘If you’d seen me at school, you wouldn’t think so!’ Harry replied with a laugh. ‘I’m so dyslexic I can barely spell my own name. Thankfully, I found the perfect partner and not just for the business.’ He extended a hand towards Kat, his eyes shining with a love so deep it brought a lump to Frankie’s throat to see it.

‘You might not be the only one going into teaching,’ Ed said to his twin. ‘I had a long chat with Dad the other night when I went over there for dinner and we’re going to explore the possibility of opening a sailing school together once he retires as harbour master.’

‘Seriously?’ Harry’s eyes opened wide. ‘But what about all your conservation stuff? I thought you loved that.’

‘I do! Hopefully we can combine the two.’ Ed shrugged. ‘It’s just an idea we’re kicking around.’

‘Well, I think it sounds brilliant,’ Kat said as she stood and pushed back her chair. She picked up her empty plate then gestured towards Frankie’s. ‘Are you done?’