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Chapter 24

The next morning, Dylan stepped outside the coffee shop to take a phone call. He returned to his laptop after he came back in, but brought his empty mug over a moment later.

“I had a call from the estate agents. They’ve got a new property coming on their books and they’re offering me a first peek at it this afternoon.”

“Oh, wow. Is it in Castle Cove?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah, well, a teeny bit outside. Walking distance to the town centre. You fancy coming with me to the viewing? I’d value your opinion on it.”

“Um, sure. Of course,” said Lucy, torn between feeling it was nice that he wanted her to come, but also feeling a bit funny about him being permanently based in Castle Cove — and all because she was having his baby. “Will you make me walk there then?”

“No,” Dylan laughed. “I’ll drive us. But we’ll go for a walk afterwards, you’re not getting out of it.”

“It was worth a try,” said Lucy with a shrug.

“The only time they had free was at three thirty.”

“That’s OK, I’ll just ask Jo to stay on and close up for me,” Lucy said, trying not to think about how horrible it would somehow be when Dylan moved out.

* * *

Later that afternoon Dylan drove them along the high street down to the beach. He turned right and followed the road past the harbour. The road moved away from the coast and he turned down a track through woodland. He parked behind a blue Nissan Micra in front of a whitewashed, detached, double-fronted house surrounded by a low stone wall.

A tall young man in a suit, who was presumably the estate agent, waited at the front door.

Dylan held up his hand in greeting, as he walked round and opened Lucy’s door before she had a chance to. She got out and they walked up to the house together.

Dylan shook the estate agent’s hand. “Hey, Adam. Thanks so much for showing this to me.”

“No worries,” Adam replied. “We know how keen you are to buy quickly.”

Of course, Dylan would even have the local estate agents wrapped around his little finger . . .

“This is Lucy,” Dylan said, introducing her. She shook Adam’s hand.

“OK,” said Adam. “Let’s take a look around.” He unlocked the front door and Lucy felt a tingle going through her as Dylan placed his hand gently on the small of her back, urging her to head in first. She went inside, but the imprint of his hand seemed to stay with her.

Adam showed them around the four-bedroom house. The downstairs had a large kitchen dining room, a utility room, a bathroom, a huge sitting room with an open fireplace, and a smaller room which would make a perfect office.

The wooden staircase led up to a big hallway with doors to the bedrooms, the largest with an ensuite, and another bathroom. Lucy glanced out of the window in the hallway at the back garden. There was an old chicken coop in it and a shed next to a big tree.

Following the men into the main bedroom, her eyes were drawn to a large window looking out over the front of the house with the most fantastic view of the sea. It was an ideal family home. Rather big for a single man with a baby on the way that he hoped to have stay with him, though.

Adam left them to walk around the garden while he took a phone call at the front of the house.

“What do you reckon?” said Dylan, leaning against the old tree. “Do you think I could build a treehouse in this tree?”

“Maybe one on the ground would be safer?” Lucy suggested, making him laugh. The garden was large, and would be lovely with a little bit of work.

“Are you considering getting chickens?” Lucy asked, indicating the chicken coop.

“You never know,” he said. “I might even grow something in those vegetable plots over there.”

“That I would love to see,” said Lucy.

“Do you like the house?” he asked. She suspected he was going for nonchalant, but the way he looked at her while waiting for her response gave away how much he wanted her opinion.

“It’s lovely,” she said. “The views are gorgeous and the house is beautiful.”