Page 106 of The Summer That Changed Us

Definitely, thought Katie, as the three of them headed down to the ice-cream kiosk at the beach. Very nice indeed.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

It was Thursday evening. Grace was supposed to be leaving for the North East Gazette’s prestigious gala awards dinner in less than an hour. Ned was coming as her plus one and was already ready. Grace still hadn’t decided what to wear and had a choice of two outfits.

‘I’m really not sure about this.’ She inspected first one dress and then the other.

Ned looked up from the floor where he was playing tug of war with Barkly and a smelly piece of orange and red rope. They were surrounded by dog toys in various states of destruction.

‘The blue,’ he said, without hesitation. ‘You always look beautiful in blue. Matches your eyes.’

‘You charmer,’ she said, feeling herself blush.

Not for the first time since Ned had arrived in Merle Bay, either. She turned to the mirror, hoping he hadn’t noticed. Was it wrong, she wondered, to be enjoying compliments from another man already? Why should it be, she thought defiantly. Who had the right to judge?

‘But it’s not just the outfit I’m unsure about. It’s … it’s everything.’

In truth, she didn’t want to go to the event at all. Her brain and her heart had had so much to process over the last week that all she really wanted to do was sit on the terrace in the dusk with Ned and watch the night fall until all she could see was the odd twinkle of distant boats on the horizon.

Ned sat back on his heels and looked at her properly.

‘If you’re not in the mood for a party,’ he said, ‘then let’s not go. I don’t mind in the slightest. These industry events are all the same: overcooked chicken, vinegary red wine and endless back-slapping. Katie will understand, you’ve had a tough week.’

‘Thanks.’ She smiled at him.

She’d always been fond of him. In fact, Myles used to tease her about it, saying he’d have to watch his back where Ned was concerned. Having him here reminded her that he’d always been there for her and Myles over the years. And she hadn’t realised how much she’d missed male company.

‘But not as tough as it would have been if you hadn’t turned up.’

‘Oh, get away, I did nothing.’ But as he turned his face away, she saw a smile light up his handsome face. He threw the rope toy for the puppy and the pair of them went back to their game.

She held the blue dress up against her and checked her reflection in the mirror. Did it look good? Myles had once said it did. But she didn’t know whether she could trust those memories anymore.

Her stomach flipped at the thought of him and Zoe and the repercussions of their ‘one night only’ performance. Roger Mathers had once again proved himself to be a rock solid ally and, even though he was technically on holiday, had quickly fired off letters to Zoe and Austin and Olivia regarding the distribution of Myles’s estate following the discovery of a third child. He’d also sent a letter to Julia asking her not to contact Grace directly again. Grace hadn’t spoken to Zoe since she’d driven away from Merle Bay on Sunday morning, but she had contacted their parents. She told them that she loved them, and she told them that Zoe had a confession to make. She wasn’t going to do Zoe’s dirty work for her; she could do it herself. Beyond that she hadn’t had any further contact with people from her old life.

Except Ned. His arrival was the best thing that had happened to her for ages.

He’d come up on Sunday night for some business meetings in the area this week. He’d been planning to stay at a guest house and hadn’t realised there was a no-dogs policy.

‘It just didn’t cross my mind,’ he’d told her that night on the walk back to Sea Glass House, as they took it in turns to throw a ball for the puppy. ‘I’ve only just got him, and I’m not used to thinking about anyone but myself. He’s my little shadow, there’s no way I can put him in kennels. I know it’s a big favour, but could he stay with you? He’s no trouble, house-trained and he sleeps in his crate as good as gold all night.’

‘If he’s your shadow, then it makes sense for you to stay too,’ Grace had insisted. It was Ned’s house after all, and she was staying there rent-free. ‘Besides, I’ve missed you.’

He’d put an arm loosely around her shoulders. ‘In that case, I accept.’

He’d planned on only staying for three nights, but after Katie said there was a spare seat at the table tonight and that Robyn was bringing Finn, it was an easy decision for her to invite him to stay longer.

These last few days with Ned and the puppy had been like a silver lining in the darkest of clouds. It was impossible not to laugh when Barkly was around; he was just a constant bundle of joyfulness. She’d enjoyed hearing about Ned’s latest building projects, spreading drawings out on the dining table and asking her advice. She hadn’t realised how much she’d been missing her job and it had been lovely catching up on industry gossip. He’d confided in her about his dreams of one day being able to retire and live at Sea Glass House and wake up to the sound of the waves. And he’d admitted that loneliness had led him to get Barkly and already they were inseparable. Gradually, she found the words to talk to him and once she’d found her flow, the floodgates had opened, and she’d talked and talked.

Ned was easy to have around, he was intelligent and witty, gentle but not afraid to challenge her views and play devil’s advocate. But best of all, he’d known and loved Myles even longer than Grace. And although he was shocked to his core by Grace’s revelations, he had a wealth of happy memories to share with her and she’d found herself laughing more during the last three days than she had in months.

‘OK, the blue dress it is,’ she said now, coming to a decision. ‘I know Katie would understand if I didn’t turn up, but I should go and support her. It’ll be fun.’

‘Thank heavens for that,’ Ned grinned, pretending to mop his brow. ‘I’ve arranged to meet a contact in the bar. I’ll take Barkly out for a last wee before we go. Come on, fella.’

Grace laughed to herself as she went into her bedroom to dress; so much for Ned pretending he didn’t mind if they didn’t go. Trust him to have set up a meeting; he was a great believer in networking, never one to waste a good opportunity. Knowing him, he’d have some new deal in the bag by the end of the night.

Five minutes later, Grace was zipped into her dress. She wriggled her feet into her shoes and selected her silver moonstone necklace from her jewellery box.