The thoughts wouldn’t stop.
Riley.
Could she stay on at Whale Cove if he didn’t want her love?
He’d made it plain that he didn’t. Lucy was hauling him into family whether he liked it or not, but to have a needy, besotted nurse at his side as well…
‘It’s not going to happen,’ she told herself, and then she thought of how she’d felt that morning, on the rock, clinging to Mickey, clinging to Riley.
Feeling like… if she died now at least she’d known Riley. At least she’d had one night.
‘I want more nights,’ she said out loud, and started doing laps, up and down the length of the rock pool. She was tired to the bone, but she also knew she wouldn’t sleep. She might as well exhaust herself properly.
What would she do?
She wanted to stay here. She wanted to be part of this community, this job, but how much was the job and how much was Riley?
Tonight had been magic. Friends, family, kids, babies, barbecues at midnight, no clear delineation between work and home, saving Mickey, waving her fish from the helicopter, loving Riley…
She almost sobbed, only it was hard to sob when she had her head down, swimming hard. She closed her eyes and let the darkness envelop her.
Something touched her foot.
She pretty near had a palsy stroke. A night feeder…
She whirled in the water to face whatever it was, expecting teeth-and two hands landed on her shoulders, holding her up. Riley’s voice growled into the night.
‘I thought you’d have learned your lesson about night swimming.’
She’d whirled too fast. She had a mouthful of water. She spluttered and choked and it took a couple of moments before she could breathe properly, let alone reply. But finally…
‘If I’d died of fright,’ she said, with as much dignity as she could muster-which actually wasn’t very dignified when she was still spluttering and when his nose was only inches from hers-‘it would have been your fault.’
‘No deaths today,’ he said gently, in a voice she didn’t recognise. ‘Only life. First Mickey. Then Lucy’s baby.’
How to answer that? She fought for something innocuous. Something safe.
‘Did… did they decide what to call it?’ She was practically gibbering.
‘It seems they thought of calling him Riley,’ Riley told her, gravely. ‘Only there’s a bit of a run on the name. They’re moving to William instead.
‘I like William,’ she said, and then managed a tentative smile. ‘Do you? Papa?’
‘Papa,’ he said blankly.
‘Papa. Or Grandpa? Grandfather? Sir? Hmm.’
‘You want to get ducked?’
‘Gotta be one,’ she said, recovering courage. ‘There’s no getting away from the fact that you’re a grandpa.’
‘I don’t think I want to get away,’ he said, and there was enough in that to give her pause.
‘You don’t do family.’
‘I haven’t done family.’
‘You don’t want-’
‘I haven’t wanted. Until now.’
She paused. She was suddenly acutely aware that Riley was holding her up. They were in the deepest part of the pool. He could stand up. She couldn’t.
She was at a disadvantage. She needed to put her feet somewhere solid, but Riley was holding her and not letting her go.
‘I thought you might die,’ he said, almost conversationally, and instead of moving to shallow water where a girl could set her legs down, he swung her up into his arms. ‘Today with Mickey… You risked your life and, more than that, it was me who asked you to. You just… did it. And then tonight you delivered Lucy’s son. You’ve made Amy happy. You’ve made Lucy happy. You saved Mickey. Wherever you go, life follows. And you know what? I’ve been sweating on an accent and on money and on past history, and they haven’t let me see what’s before my eyes.’
‘Golly,’ Pippa said, which ridiculous but she couldn’t think of anything more sensible to say. ‘I don’t think I’m that good.’
‘And you’re practical, too,’ Riley said, ignoring her interruption, and she heard his smile. From where she was she couldn’t see his face.
She could feel, though. She was enjoying feeling. She was starting to enjoy feeling very much indeed.
‘Even at the cliff this afternoon,’ he said, almost conversationally, ‘I was worrying about Mickey. I was worrying about practicalities, transport, shock, you, even about dry clothes-and suddenly you were organising fish. You had your priorities. Free fish. That’s a woman in a million, I thought. And then you know what else I thought? I thought I really want to kiss you.’
‘Really?’ she said, cautiously. Something inside her was starting to feel… good.
‘Really.’ He tugged her higher then, and he kissed her. He was shoulder deep in water. He was holding her hard and he was kissing her as she wanted to be kissed. As she ought to be kissed.
A girl had a right to be kissed like this.
‘So… so what…?’ she ventured when she could finally get a word in. ‘What made you think… you might want to kiss me?’
‘Adam,’ he said. ‘And Jason.’
That didn’t make sense. She waited, hoping for an explanation, and finally it came. After the next kiss.
‘They’re sitting on my veranda like two smug old men-fathers!’ he told her. ‘And they’re looking at me like they’re sorry for me. And you know what? They’re right. I’m sorry for me.’
‘You don’t sound very sorry.’
‘That’s because I’m planning,’ he said. ‘I have a plan.’
‘A plan.’
‘I’m not exactly sure how I feel about you being rich.’
‘You’re not exactly poor.’
‘Shut up, my love,’ he said. ‘I need to tell it like it is.’
‘Okay,’ she said-happily now, for how could she stop the wave of happiness engulfing her? She had no intention of trying.
‘I love our house,’ he said, and she blinked. Our house. This wasn’t the sort of declaration she’d been expecting.
‘It’s a great house,’ she managed.
‘It’s a magnificent house. And now you’ve decorated it…’
‘I can do better, given time.’
‘That’s just it. I’m worried. The hospital offered to sell it to me last year and they gave me a figure. If the valuer sees it now, with its curtains and its posters, it’ll double in price. I’m parsimonious. Just think of the extra fish and chips we can have if I buy the house now.’
‘You want to buy the house?’
‘I do,’ he said. ‘Because I’ve been thinking… If I buy us a house… no, if I buy us a
‘Your pride?’ She was still being cautious. He was circling the issue, she thought. She thought she knew where he was heading, but a girl had to make sure. ‘You’re saying you want us to fund Amy-and you want us to stay being housemates?’
‘No.’
‘No?’
‘Well, only so much as… Are you housemates when you’re married?’
