Second Chance Summer, page 29
Somehow they survived, and Morven tied up at the pontoon at St Mary’s while Damon ushered Lily onto the back of his brother’s quad bike and set off along the main street and up the hill towards the airport.
He dropped her off outside the terminal, sodden and shaken to bits. ‘I’ll park the bike and hang around in case you need a lift.’
Lily ran inside to find the terminal almost deserted and a plane taxiing along the runway.
‘Is that the flight to Land’s End?’ she said to a uniformed man at the check-in desk.
‘It is.’
‘I’ve missed it!’
The plane hurtled towards the end of the runway.
‘It was fully booked anyway,’ the man said.
Lily’s heart sank into her soggy trainers as the plane soared off over the cliff. ‘I was looking for Sam Teague. You don’t know if he was on board?’
He sucked in a breath. ‘Sorry, I can’t give out information about passengers.’
Although ready to burst into tears, Lily restrained herself. ‘I understand that.’
‘Uncle Jack!’
The check-in man grinned. ‘What you doing here, Damon?’
‘I gave Lily a lift.’
Lily looked from one to the other. ‘This is your uncle?’
‘Yeah,’ Damon replied as if she should have telepathically known that.
‘You didn’t say you were with Damon,’ Uncle Jack said with an eye roll, ‘or I’d have told you Sam was on board straightaway.’
Finally defeated, Lily collapsed onto a seat.
‘I’m sorry you’ve missed him,’ Jack said, sympathetic now.
Lily nodded. ‘Is there another flight to Cornwall this afternoon?’
‘Nothing off the islands from here today.’
‘Helicopter?’ she said hopefully.
‘One, but you’ll never get to Tresco in time for it.’
Lily felt drained. ‘OK, thanks.’
Damon sat next to her. ‘We could try going to Penzance in the RIB,’ he said. ‘But it would take ages and I’m not sure the tank holds enough fuel.’
‘God, no!’ Lily cried, at the thought of a deep-sea crossing over the world’s busiest shipping lane in a rubber dinghy. ‘I mean, thank you for the offer but I wouldn’t put you in danger.’
‘Could be pretty awesome, though,’ he said, his eyes lit with zeal. ‘I could take some spare cans of fuel.’
‘I don’t think that would be a good idea,’ she insisted. ‘I’ll try to call Sam when he lands. He’ll be there in ten minutes.’
‘Oh. OK.’ Damon subsided like a sunken cake. ‘Suppose I should wait here?’
‘No, thanks. You go back to Morven. I’ll take a taxi to the port if I need to.’
‘We’ll hang about down there in case you need a boat back.’
‘Thanks.’
Damon slouched off, leaving Lily battling her emotions. It was excruciating to think she’d dropped everything to see Sam when he was clearly travelling to see another woman. She felt foolish for thinking her feelings for him were reciprocated. But she also felt confused because she was normally a good judge of character, and she had never thought Sam would do something like this after the life-changing experience they had shared on Stark. She owed it to him to give him an opportunity to at least explain before she made her way back to London.
The next twenty minutes were agony. Finally, her phone lit up.
As Lily answered, Sam launched a barrage of questions: Are you OK? What’s happened? Where are you? I’ve a ton of missed calls and messages from you. I had to turn off my phone during the flight.’
‘At the airport on St Mary’s.’
Silence. ‘St Mary’s? What are you doing there?’
‘Looking for you,’ Lily said. ‘I’ve not long landed at Land’s End airport. I thought you’d gone to Penzance …’ she said, regretting the words as soon as they left her mouth.
‘I am going to Penzance.’ He sounded completely confused. ‘How do you know that?’
Lily sank into complete misery. ‘I saw a card from Rhiannon in your house.’
‘You read it?’
‘Yes. And I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say …’
There was a long pause during which Lily could almost hear the beating of her heart, before he spoke again. ‘Stay exactly where you are. I’m coming home. We need to talk.’
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Lily decided to do as he’d asked, sitting in the airport, staring through the windows, willing the little plane to appear. Jack had gone home from the check-in counter and the café had closed. The airport was empty apart from a man in Lycra cycling gear and a woman with a yappy pug, presumably waiting for the incoming flight like Lily was.
Only a few ground crew remained outside, standing by chocks and chatting with each other until suddenly they started to look more animated.
Lily jumped up, crossing to the windows overlooking the runway. The pug yapped as if it could sense something was happening. The cyclist checked his watch and spoke to the dog owner.
Then she saw it: the tiny Islander, wings wobbling on its approach to the cliff edge at the end of the short runway. Suddenly, it dropped to the ground with a rumble and a screech of brakes. Lily half-feared it might plough into the terminal but nobody else seemed bothered. The pug sniffed at the cyclist’s shoes, while its owner chattered away.
The minutes stretched out agonisingly before the plane door opened and the passengers descended. Last of all, carrying a rucksack in one hand, was Sam.
The pug owner and cyclist had sauntered off to the side of the terminal, presumably where the passengers would arrive.
Lily followed them, her heart pounding fit to burst.
Then Sam was striding towards her, his mouth set in a line.
‘Lily. What are you doing here?’
‘I came back to surprise you because I couldn’t wait until the launch, but now … why were you off to Penzance? Was it to meet Rhiannon?’
‘No! I mean, yes, to the first part. I was on my way to Penzance. I’d already ordered a cab from Land’s End airport but only to take me to the station, so I could get a train to London to see you.’
‘But I – why?’
‘Why do you think? I was going to turn up at your office or flat to tell you that I can’t wait until I’ve finished the bloody retreat. I pushed you away because I could never make you choose between me and your life in London and thought I’d make it easy for you by acting as if I didn’t care. But it was killing me. It seems completely crazy now.’
‘No crazier than me coming all the way here without telling you and accidentally breaking into Hell Bay House. I’m sorry but the wind blew the card onto the floor – really – and I couldn’t help but see it. I know I should never have read a personal message to you, and I’m sorry, only I saw her name, and then, well, I didn’t know what I thought apart from that you might have gone to meet her.’
‘No, I decided not to. It’s been too long. And most of all,’ he put his hands on Lily’s arms, ‘that card made me realise that I can’t live my life looking backwards. I don’t want to. It made me realise that I want to look to the future, and that that future is with you.’
Lily was speechless momentarily but then walked into his arms and held him as tightly as he held her. ‘I feel the same,’ she said. ‘Back in London – without you – I knew I’d left a piece of me behind. I couldn’t wait another moment to be with you. When I make up my mind, I go for it.’
His eyes lit with joy.
Lily threw her arms around him and planted a kiss on his lips that went on and on until finally she had to break away to breathe.
‘Wow …’ Sam said, drawing in air, his eyes full of happiness. ‘You really do go for it!’
‘Oh, I do! When there’s something I want so much. I’m so happy I rushed down here even if we did almost miss each other!’
‘We didn’t and that’s what matters,’ he said, holding her tightly. ‘We both came to our senses and realised the incredible thing we had within our grasp.’ With a gentle touch he pushed a strand of hair off her face. ‘You’re an amazing person, Lily Harper, I worked that out fast. What it took me longer to work out was that I could have feelings for and find happiness with someone like you – someone I thought was so different to me. Once I did realise how I felt about you, I didn’t want to risk getting hurt because I couldn’t see how we could ever make it work.’
‘We will make it work somehow. I’ve been thinking about that. We both want to be together and that’s all that matters.’
‘It is. Rhiannon’s card made me realise how much my new life means to me. How much you mean to me. I’d learned to live alone, expecting nothing, until you walked into my life.’
She laughed. ‘You didn’t seem too happy about it!’
‘Neither did you.’ His eyes lit with fresh pleasure.
‘I said I’d come back, Sam. Why did you doubt it?’
‘I was too afraid to believe. Terrified of getting hurt again and I’d no idea how we could build a future together when we exist in such different worlds.’ He hesitated. ‘I – I could come and live in London, if you want? In your place. Or we can get a new one?’ He looked down at the floor, as if he was afraid to hear what came next.
‘You can’t run Stark from London but I can run Lily Loves from Stark – at least for part of the time. I’m going to refuse the supermarket deal and all my team are in agreement. I knew it was wrong: the stress, the hours – selling our souls. Better opportunities will come along.’
Sam looked skywards and let out a huge sigh of relief, then he took her face in his hands and kissed her so tenderly, she wanted the moment to last forever.
Finally, their kiss ended and they were joyfully looking into each other’s faces.
‘Shall we go home?’ he said, still holding her.
‘Ah, but whose home?’
‘From now on, home is wherever you are.’
Morven was at Hell Bay when they returned, walking in hand in hand.
She rolled her eyes. ‘Does this mean you two are official?’
‘Official?’ Lily said.
‘If you mean, are we seeing each other, then yeah, I guess it’s official.’
‘About time,’ said Morven. ‘Right, now that’s sorted, I’m going round to Rowan’s for a sleepover.’ She slung her backpack on her shoulder and waved goodbye. ‘See you tomorrow.’
Elspeth walked in and spotted Sam holding Lily’s hand. ‘It’s true, then?’
‘Yes, it’s true,’ Lily said.
Elspeth sat down heavily on the sofa. ‘Bugger me. When you turned up at the quay that filthy afternoon, I would have said it was the last thing I’d ever have expected.’
Lily exchanged a glance with Sam. ‘Us too,’ she said. ‘I think it was loathing at first sight.’
Sam laughed.
‘Well, there you go. You never know how life is going to turn out.’ Elspeth shook her head. ‘I’m happy for you both. Now, are you staying here tonight or going over to Stark?’
Sam turned to her. ‘Lily?’
‘I think I’ve had enough boat journeys for one day.’
‘We’ll stay here then.’
‘And I’ll get off to Zumba,’ said Elspeth, getting up off the sofa. ‘Enjoy your evening – though I warn you, this will probably be the talk of the islands before too long.’
‘I’m used to being gossiped about,’ Lily said, and gave Elspeth a warm hug. ‘Thank you for making me welcome, even though you had so many misgivings.’
‘Yes, well, you two aren’t the only people who can change their minds. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
‘Yes, I’ll come by the café. I need to talk to you about a more permanent office arrangement.’
‘Great. I shall up my rates!’
‘I’d do the same, if I were you.’
Chuckling to herself, after a farewell wave, Elspeth left them alone.
‘I’m glad you chose to stay here,’ Sam said when silence returned to the house again. He closed and locked the French doors with a firmness that sent a delicious shiver up Lily’s spine.
‘Why’s that then?’ she said.
He walked towards her, the fire of desire in his eyes. ‘Because I don’t think I can wait a moment longer to take you to bed.’
Lily smiled back, almost trembling. ‘Why else do you think I wanted to stay here?’
She took his hand and let him lead her up the stairs to their bedroom.
Epilogue
Three months later
‘Oh my God. You are not frigging going to believe this!’ Morven burst through the door of Lily’s new office, waving her phone in the air.
Fortunately, Lily had just finished a Zoom meeting with her new client Cockahoop – otherwise Morven would have played a starring role.
‘You’re in the news again!’ she declared, standing behind the laptop and blocking Lily’s view of Cromwell’s Castle.
Lily let out a resigned breath. ‘Oh, God, what have I done this time?’
Morven was unwilling to surrender her phone for a nanosecond. ‘I’ve sent you the link.’
Lily pushed aside her brownie plate and returned to her laptop screen. She had needed a base on Scilly and had found the perfect spot: a room above a net loft next to the café.
The neglected space had been used by Elspeth for storing junk but was now a bright and cosy office with an upgraded WiFi package and Lily’s own dedicated landline. It might not have a view over the London skyline, but the vista over the sparkling channel to Tresco more than made up for that.
Morven moved, hovering behind Lily’s shoulder while she opened the page of a Cornish newspaper site. The headline read: SCILLY LOVES LILY? Under it were several grainy shots of her and Sam on Tean Porth. She was in a bikini and he was in board shorts. One showed her emerging from the sea, pulling a face; another showed Sam lifting her into the air above a wave. Lily groaned. The worst was a shot of them locked in a passionate embrace.
‘Ewww,’ Morven said, holding her phone away from her in case she might be infected by a deadly disease. ‘That’s disgusting.’
‘Thanks,’ Lily muttered, more worried about the gurning expression captured on her face when she’d run out of the sea. ‘How do they get these shots? And why? Who really cares?’
‘It’s clickbait,’ Morven said. ‘It makes people look at the gross ads.’
Lily sighed, scrolling past banners for revolting diets, miracle cures for wrinkles and fake pictures of celebs looking like wizened goblins. The online world was as hideous as ever.
‘You’re on a few other sites too,’ Morven declared with relish.
‘I don’t think I can take any more,’ Lily sighed. Sam was on Stark, looking after a full house of visitors with the help of the chef and housekeeper. Lily was going over to stay with him in the flat that evening.
‘I guess Sam has no idea about this?’ she said to Morven.
‘No way. He doesn’t look online unless he’s searching for something specific for work. Shall I get on the radio and tell him?’ Morven’s voice lifted hopefully as she scented a chance to ramp up the drama.
‘No! No, don’t bother him. He’ll have his hands full with the guests. I’ll break it to him later when I go over. Thanks for letting me know.’
Morven grinned. ‘You’re welcome!’
She skipped down the stairs that led to the courtyard between the café and her annexe. It was a challenge for Lily, shuttling between the islands and London, but gradually she was working towards a balance of spending one week in London and three on the islands.
Whether that was sustainable in the long term was an unknown, but Sam couldn’t leave Stark just yet.
As the season drew towards its close, the cottages were almost fully booked for the two Crafty Scilly weeks with local makers – helped by a special guest appearance from Lily herself. With classes in watercolour and creative writing already scheduled, and wellness breaks planned for the following spring, there would be enough to tempt new visitors and keep old ones returning.
Lily was also going to speak at The Natural Balance, a four-day break where corporate executives could come to de-stress, enjoy nature, lean in to being ‘unplugged’ and learn about new techniques for promoting work–life balance – for their employees as well as themselves.
Together, their efforts were enough to have guaranteed bookings in place for the quieter times of year. Over the bleakest part of the winter, when transport to the isles became more difficult, Sam was going to take an extended break in London with Lily. That was only a month away and she couldn’t wait.
No one ever said it was going to be easy, but Lily loved a challenge and her reward was to be blissfully happy in a way she’d never thought possible.
Sam had called Rhiannon and said he wasn’t going to visit her, but they’d had a brief conversation and he’d told Lily that she seemed happy and had accepted a promotion to another hospital in Australia. Lily would never know what she had really wanted by sending the letter but she was happy that Rhiannon, like Lily and Sam, had a fresh start to look forward to.
With a sigh, she closed down the latest gossip site and started a Zoom with Richie.
His face appeared and instead of being greeted with his trademark grin, he seemed twitchy, fiddling with his pen and looking anxious.
‘Is everything OK?’ she asked.
‘Yes. Yes … I have some news.’
‘Oh?’ A horrible thought struck her. ‘Don’t say you’ve been offered another job?’
‘No! Oh God, no, I’ll never leave you.’ He let out a breath and a smile crept onto his face. ‘Let’s just say, you’re going to need a hat, bab.’
‘What?’ Lily processed the meaning of his words. ‘No! You’re getting married? Oh, I am so happy for you.’
Lily’s eyes stung with unshed tears. Richie was glowing with happiness.
‘I’ve wanted to ask him for ages but I was scared of him saying no. When I got the promotion, it gave me the push I needed. So I popped the question after we’d been to a Harry Styles concert and the gorgeous man said yes!’
