Her eyebrows lifted. ‘Angry with thesea? How can I be possibly angry with the sea?’
‘I didn’t mean to offend you.’
Her green eyes crinkled at the corners and she looked at him with curiosity and warmth. ‘Don’t worry, you haven’t. Actually, your question about being angry with the sea is a legitimate one. Lots of people ask me if I mind my work being washed away.’
‘I’m not sure if that makes me feel better or not.’
‘That depends on if you prefer to blend into the background or stand out from the crowd.’ Her eyes sparkled with amusement. Ruan knew he’d been wrong-footed. That didn’t happen often – or rather, he didn’t like to think it happened often.
‘Do you make a living from your sand art? I saw people giving you money. I hope that’s not too intrusive.’
‘It’s not. And Idomake some money from sand art but not by collecting coins in a hat. I take on commissions from companies and individuals. People hire me for proposals, birthdays and corporate stuff, but they’re not enough on their own to pay the bills, which is why I also have a part-time job in a gallery.’
‘Well, it seems like a great job to have. Being outside in the elements, doing what you love,’ he said.
‘It is and I’m very lucky.’ She paused and nodded towards her design. ‘That rising sun isn’t a commission though. It was just something I needed to do. If people insist on givingme donations, I pass on the money to a project in town that helps the local community.’
Before Ruan could work out how to reply without sounding patronising, gauche or stupid, the sand artist cocked her head to one side and looked straight into his eyes.
‘So, Mr Suited and Booted, how doyoumake your living? Because it sure as hell isn’t from anything that happens on a beach,’ she said wryly.
Once again, Ruan had been thrown off-kilter. He was even more conscious of his sombre outfit amid the board shorts and bright T-shirts of every other man on the prom.
‘You’re right. I’m a solicitor. I was killing time before my next meeting and watching you – watching you create your work,’ he corrected quickly. ‘Has been a lot more fun than sitting in some coffee shop with my laptop.’
Her lips twisted in amusement, although he wasn’t sure what about him had entertained her. Normally, he thought he was pretty good at sizing people up and reading the emotions behind their façade, but he was finding this woman impossible to fathom. That was enough to unsettle him, let alone the fact he found her mesmerising in other ways.
‘I’m glad to hear it. Oh, look, the water has reached it.’ She walked to the edge of the wall and he followed her pointing finger, noting that several wavelets had encroached on the very top of the sun’s rays, erasing their tips.
‘How long before the whole design is covered?’ he asked, tearing his eyes away from the sea, which was creeping up on her work like a relentless predator.
She shrugged. ‘Hard to say. Might be half an hour orit could be a few minutes if one big wave decides to crash in. I’ve learned a lot about the sea and the tides, but you can never really be sure of anything where the ocean’s concerned. That’s the beauty of nature: the unpredictability.’
Ruan must have shaken his head without even realising it.
‘You don’t like the idea of that?’ she said, tilting her head on one side like a curious bird.
‘Of the unpredictability? I don’t know …’ He shrugged, unsure of the right answer.
The artist broke into laughter. ‘Hey, don’t stress. It wasn’t a trick question. Look, let me introduce myself. I’m Tammy. Short for Tamara.’
‘The river that divides Cornwall from Devon?’
Tammy smirked. ‘Or divides Cornwall from the rest of the known world.’
He laughed out loud, wondering if he dared admit to knowing the legend of Tamar, the water nymph who’d been turned into a river to escape the attention of two giants. He decided not. Too soon, too weird, and definitely too romantic.
‘I’m Ruan,’ he said instead. ‘Also a Cornish name.’
‘It is … So youareCornish.’
‘Technically.’
She snorted. ‘No one can be technically Cornish. If you’re born here, you are a Cornishman and always will be.’
‘True. Iwasborn in the county, though I wasn’t meant to be. My parents were visiting their parents and Mum went into labour, so I was born at Treliske Hospital. They live in Bristol now.’
Tammy hesitated as if she was going to ask more. Most people would have probed further, their curiosity piqued, but this woman didn’t even though she’d grilled him earlier. She really was as unpredictable as the sea now lapping at her beautiful creation. Ruan could hardly bear to look. He also couldn’t bear the idea of this conversation ending.
