This week, she was going to let her hair down—literally—and get some much-needed sea air and exercise. She had an entire bucket list of things she wanted to do, and she was going to make it her mission to tick off as many as possible while she was here.
Hurrying back into the living room, Leah grabbed her trusty handbag and quickly loaded it with her book, her wallet and—after a long moment where she considered abandoning it in the flat—her mobile. As much as she’d like a break from the thing, she wouldn’t be able to relax if there was any chance she might miss an SOS message from Will.
Besides, she needed to send a message to Connie and Rosie to thank them for all the goodies. She’d meant to do it the previous evening, but the bacon sandwich combined with the glass of bubbly had worked a very swift brand of magic. So much so that Leah had skipped her shower and practically passed out the minute she’d climbed under the covers.
Leah briefly wondered if she should ask the girls to join her for her second breakfast, but something held her back. Maybe it was the fact that her resignation letter was currently tucked between the pages of her diary like a ticking time bomb. Somehow, hanging out with Will’s family members when she hadn’t decided what to do about it felt a bit awkward. What would they think of her if she went ahead and handed it to Will?
Leah froze, chewing on her lip. It wasn’t just Will she’d lose if she resigned, was it… or the job she loved? She’d lose contact with everyone at Seabury House, too. They’d relied on her for news of their busy brother for months, now, but recently, the connection had developed into something more—the start of real friendship. If she quit, all that would go away, wouldn’t it?!
‘Not a decision for today!’ she said, tucking that particular set of worries away in a different compartment of her brain. She was good at that. Some days it was the only way she coped!
With one last look around the living room to check she hadn’t forgotten anything, Leah dashed down the wooden stairs, then carefully closed the front door behind her and made her way towards the seafront.
The sight of the morning sun glittering on the gentle waves of North Beach took her breath away, and for a moment, Leah just stopped and stared.
What a place to live!
She could understand why Ewan, Matt and Rosie had decided to put down roots in their childhood hometown. As for Connie coming for an extended visit and ending up staying for good? She could see how easily that could happen. In fact, Leah wouldn’t mind moving there herself one day.
Seabury was a far cry from Cambridge where she’d grown up. Sure, the ancient city was beautiful, but the regular influx of new students riding their bikes badly and chaining them all over the place always had a funny effect on her. Maybe it was because anew term had always heralded even less time and attention from her parents than usual.
On paper, Leah’s childhood had been idyllic. She’d been raised by two wonderfully intelligent parents—both of them professors at world-renowned Cambridge colleges. She was sure loads of people would have given their right arms for such a story-book upbringing.
The reality, though, had been rather different. Her parents had been absent a lot of the time, and even when they were at home, they tended to be distracted, their brilliant minds too full of important learning to pay their four unremarkable—wonderfully normal—children much attention.
Leah let out a long sigh. It still upset her that she’d missed out on any kind of parental warmth… but letting it get under her skin was a ridiculous waste of energy.
Right now, she was on holiday on the opposite side of the country. Will had everything he needed for his week-long stay, and now it was her turn to focus on what would make her happy.
‘What would make me happy right now is another coffee and a large slice of cake,’ she said out loud, as if the seagulls wheeling overhead might pass judgment. One of them gave her an encouragingSQUEE!and she took that as all the permission she needed.
Heading back across the road, Leah made straight for New York Froth. She was glad to see the golden lights had been turned on, and as she opened the door, the smell of coffee hit her hard.
Excellent… it looked like they were ready for her!
Leah might have already made the most of Connie and Rosie’s stock-up of her kitchen cupboards, but there was nothing quite like a proper barista coffee.
‘Hey, what can I get you?’ said the young lad behind the till.
‘Cappuccino, please,’ she said with a grin. ‘And the most disgustingly huge piece of cake you’ve got.’
‘Carrot cake work for you?’ he said, his eyes scanning the counter.
‘Perfect!’ said Leah, her mouth already starting to water.
‘Small, medium or large coffee?’
‘Gigantic,’ she said with a grin. ‘And make that two of both, please.’
Leah could kick herself. She’d added that last bit out of sheer habit. She always ordered two of everything. Will regularly forgot to feed himself. It was like his mind was too full of music to remember the basics… like eating and drinking as often as he should.
‘Two?’ said the barista. ‘Two cappuccinosandtwo pieces of carrot cake?’
‘Erm… yeah… thanks,’ said Leah. She didn’t want to change her order and look like a total lunatic. She’d just have to find someone to palm the extras off on. ‘Could I take them to go, please?’
‘Sure! No problemmo!’
Damn!She’d been looking forward to lounging around in the café for a bit, but she couldn’t do that with her random duplicate coffee and cake, could she?! Ah well, it didn’t really matter, did it? She had a whole week ahead of her – there would be plenty of time to enjoy New York Froth’s squashy sofas with a good book and never-ending supply of coffee!
