But looking at her now, this fierce woman who had created a business out of the ashes of a relationship that could have cut her off at the knees forever, he figured she might just kick him in the goolies.
‘Exactly.’ He bugged his eyes back. ‘Time’s a ticking and you haven’t experienced the true beauty of Porthmeor until you’ve seen it in the sunshine.’
He gestured out of the window again and she followed his direction. The ocean, devoid of waves and white caps, sparkled– beckoned– through the expanse of glass and she appeared to be actually contemplating it.
‘Fine.’ She huffed out a breath. ‘But only for twenty minutes.’
Oliver grinned. ‘Perfect.’
16
His bare feet hit the sand less than a minute later followed quickly by hers. The air was definitely still fresh but there was an undeniable note of warmth permeating the afternoon chill and Oliver heard her sigh. Looking over his shoulder, he found her face upturned to the sun as she pulled that stupid knot out of her hair.
Thankfuck.
Released from its prison, it immediately floated around her head in the slight breeze and it already felt like the old Paige was back. She should always let it do its thing.
‘See, wasn’t I right?’ he told her closed lids.
Her eyes opened and she immediately rolled them. ‘Yeah, yeah. No one likes a know-it-all, Olly.’
But she said it with a smile and Oliver felt instantly lighter. Instantly less worried. Plus, it was only the second time she’d ever called him Olly and he really liked it.
The beach was still deserted but he knew that wouldn’t last. People in the apartments up and down the front would soon make their way out. There were a couple of cars in the parking area belonging, he presumed, to the people he could see walking along the south west coast path that traversed the headland but it would fill quickly the longer the sun shined.
They strolled to the shoreline where, since the beginning of the year, the waves had rolled relentlessly in, battering away at the sand in vicious dumps but where now, they gently lapped with just the tiniest little ruffle before they turned to foam and retracted again.
‘Still looks cold,’ she said as she slowed, stopping a few feet from the water’s edge.
Oliver nodded as he halted beside her. ‘It’ll freeze your bollocks off for sure.’
To his surprise she laughed then crouched to roll up the legs of her jeans. ‘Only one way to find out.’
Game for anything, Oliver followed suit, dragging the ankle cuffs of his track pants up to below his knees and following her across the short stretch of wet sand.
At the first wash of frigid Atlantic water over her foot she cursed loudly. ‘Holy motherf?—’
Cutting herself off didn’t help. Oliver was already laughing hard at the profanity which probably shouldn’t have been a turn on but was anyway. Not that his laughter lasted long when water swirled around his feet causing him to also curse as he hopped from one foot to the other. ‘Son of a bitch.’
It was her turn to laugh, then he joined her, their gazes locking. Paige’s cheeks suddenly had some colour. Her freckles, accentuated by the sun, gave her skin a golden glow as the breeze blew a curl across her face.
As their laughter settled she sighed deeply and looked out to sea. ‘Thank you for dragging me out of the house. It’s really very beautiful out here.’
Oliver gazed at her profile. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her the beach wasn’t the only thing of beauty but he didn’t want to scare her back to the house. ‘Of course.’
Her eyes on the horizon, a smile crept across her face. ‘My bones thank you, too.’
Hooting out another laugh, Oliver turned his attention to the becalmed ocean and they just stood there, not talking, staring out over the gently shifting mass, an occasional breeze ruffling their hair. But it didn’t feel strained or weird or like he should rush in and fill it up with words. It felt comfortable. Like two people who’d known each other for a long time.
Suddenly, Paige let out a startled yelp, ruining the ambience as she leaped backwards. Momentarily confused, Oliver wasn’t sure what had happened, all he knew was that Paige had lost her footing in the wet sand that had been constantly washing out from under their feet making traction impossible.
In a re-enactment of their hallway performance he lunged for Paige, only it was her careening backwards this time, falling in slow motion. Oliver just managed to catch her hand but, with the momentum on her side, she dragged them both down and within seconds he was sprawled on top of her in the wet sand.
Her gasp told him the sand was cold and her grunt that she’d landed hard. ‘Are you okay?’ He raised himself on the flats of his forearms so she could breathe.
Panting a little, she nodded. ‘Sorry. Some seaweed scraped over my foot. Scared the crap out of me.’
For a moment, neither of them spoke, then they were laughing –again– at the absurdity of it all. Paige pressed a hand to her chest as their laughter settled. ‘My heart is beating like a train,’ she said.
