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“You seriously need to watch your sugar,” Paige said as she ripped some of the flaky pastry off the croissant and shoved it into her mouth.
“I don’t think a little pain-au-chocolat ever killed anyone,” Olivia said, exaggerating her French accent.
“There’s always a first.”
Olivia’s eyes widened slightly. “I don’t think I like that tone,” she said, then laughed. “So, after breakfast, do you want to go to the arcades or go beachcombing first?”
Paige munched on her croissant before answering. “It might be a bit early for arcades,” she said. “I’m not sure I can deal with loud music right now.”
“Shell collecting it is, then,” Olivia decided.
They finished up their breakfast, and Paige cast an appraising glance at the overcast sky. “Is it forecast to rain today?”
Olivia joined her at the open window, pressing her palms against the pane and leaning forward to sniff the air. “Doesn’t smell like rain.”
“I didn’t know you were a meteorologist.”
“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me,” Olivia said with a sly wink that made Paige’s skin heat up. What was that supposed to mean?
“I’m going to pack an umbrella anyway,” Paige decided, “just in case your nose is wrong.”
Olivia tutted, throwing her hair back from her face. “You underestimate me.”
She went to curl the rest of her hair while Paige finished packing her bag for their outing. Once they were ready, they locked the cottage behind them and went down to the beach.
The tide was well out, exposing a belly of pale sand and rock. In the distance, the white cliffs glinted like marble beneath the sun.
“So, what are we looking for?” Paige asked as they reached the bottom of the slope. The sand had yet to warm up beneath the sun, so they kept their shoes on, treading footprints behind them.
Olivia shrugged. “Shells, sea glass, rocks… anything that looks pretty.”
“Maybe we’re best walking down there, then,” Paige suggested, pointing to the pebbled strip between the sand and the sea. “If we’re looking for things that the ocean washed up.”
They headed closer to the shore, the sand turning hard with rocks and stones that had been smoothed over by the constant erosion of the waves.
“Oh, I can see some blue glass,” Olivia said, crouching down to excavate the small, rounded piece of glass that was half-hidden in the sand. “It’s so clear.” She held it up for Paige to see, the sun refracting off its glistening surface.
“I should have brought a bag or something to carry them in,” Paige said, turning out the tiny pockets of her shorts.
“Do you really think I came unprepared?” Olivia said, reaching into her shoulder bag and pulling out the brown paper bag from Isla’s shop. “I was thinking, if we find a lot, we could share some of our haul with Isla. You know, for her jewellery.”
Paige smiled thoughtfully. “That sounds like a nice idea. I might pick up one of her necklaces while we’re there.”
“And some more pastries from the bakery downstairs,” Olivia added, licking her lips.
Paige laughed. “That too.” She continued along the shoreline, using the toe of her shoes to brush aside sand until at last she found a pearly-white scallop shell she almost mistook for a rock. “I found one!” she shouted excitedly, dusting off the wet particles of sand and showing Olivia.
“That’s pretty,” she said as Paige smoothed her fingers over the ridges. “You have a good eye for this kind of thing.”
Paige smiled. “Just lucky,” she said, then pressed it into Olivia’s hand. “You can keep it.”
Olivia blinked, looking down at it nestled in her palm. “Are you sure? You might not find another as nice as this one,” she said.
Paige rolled her eyes, her voice gentle. “Exactly why you should keep it.”
Olivia glanced up, her eyes catching Paige’s, and for a second, Paige forgot how to breathe, drowning in those sea-green depths. “Thank you,” Olivia finally said. “I’ll treasure it.”
Paige looked away, her cheeks warm. “Yeah.”
