Page 42 of One Cornish Summer With You
His eyes darkened in annoyance. ‘I’m not being smug. I’m looking out for a mate, that’s all. Do you have any idea who the bloke is?’
‘Yes, he’s a solicitor,’ she shot back.
Sean couldn’t keep the sneering edge from his tone. ‘A desk man. That figures.’
‘He doesn’t spend all his time behind a desk. He goes kitesurfing and he’s pretty good at it.’
‘Wow. He really has got under your skin,’ Sean said. ‘In every way.’
Tammy waved him away with a dismissive hand. ‘Bye, Sean,’ she said, walking off and refusing to rise to the bait or his insinuation about her private life.
‘Hey, wait!’ He caught her up and grabbed her forearm.
Tammy’s gaze shifted from his grip to his eyes. Her voice became steely. ‘Let go of me. Now.’
‘Sorry,’ he said, removing his hand, but his eyes still glittered with intent. ‘I can’t help caring about you and I don’t want you to end up hurt. You’ve only known him, what, a few weeks? Why is he here in Cornwall? I heard he comes from Bristol.’
‘Jesus, the gossip in this place …’ Tammy huffed in frustration. ‘Yes, he’s from Bristol – along with thousands of other people in Cornwall. Bristol’s hardly an alien planet. Don’t forget your girlfriend moved here from South Africa.’
Sean’s eyes glittered with surprise. ‘She’s not my girlfriend.’
‘Tell that to Rebel. She told Lola she’s hoping to move in with you.’
Sean snorted. ‘No way. You just made that up.’
Actually,thought Tammy,I didn’t.Lola had told her what Rebel had confessed in confidence and now she felt terrible for using another woman’s secret as a barb to wound Sean.
‘It’s only gossip. I could be wrong,’ she said. ‘Don’t have a go at Rebel because of what I said. Now, leave me alone. I’m busy and stressed and all I want is to be able to carry on with my work.’
Sean held up his hands. ‘OK. OK. I won’t hassle you. I only want you to take things slowly with this Ruan until you know him better. Where’s he living? Why has he decided to move here?’
‘His living arrangements are no concern of yours, but if you must know, he lives in a caravan.’
Oh, really …’ Sean snorted. ‘If that’s true, he can’t be doing very well as a solicitor then.’
‘It’s temporary while he looks for something more permanent,’ Tammy said haughtily.
‘If you say so. I’m sure you know best,’ he added with a sneer that implied he thought Tammy knew nothing at all.
Here he was again, she thought, acting as if he was her protector.
‘If I were you,’ Tammy said, mustering up a sarcastic smirk, ‘I’d focus on making sure that scaffolding is secure. We don’t want the stand falling down on your watch, do we?’
‘It won’t. I don’t take risks,’ Sean snapped. ‘Like hooking up with some stranger who’s been around for five minutes.’
‘Oh, grow up. We’re not at school now.’ Shaking her head, Tammy turned her back on him and forged off towards the far section of the beach.
‘Wait!’ he shouted, keeping pace before his hard hat fell off into a shallow pool.
She heard him swear and divert to pick it up, so she took her chance and jogged away from him. She didn’t look back until she reached the water’s edge, and when she did, he was reduced to a figure climbing up a ladder to the platform around the seating.
Tammy’s heart raced with the effort of running and the stress of their confrontation. Despite what she’d told Sean, his barbs had hit home. Shewaskeen to know even more about Ruan and his future plans.
But that wasn’t any of Sean’s business and she absolutely didnotneed his interference. She’d coped when her mum had left her. She’d coped, somehow, after losing her father. She didn’t need anyone to protect her. She never had and she never would.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
‘Aren’t you excited? Only two days to go.’
