It Started with a Secret Read online

  Lainey gasped; that much for one ring? “Oh no, poor Wyatt! What a nightmare.”

  “And he can’t even remember where he left it. What a dingbat,” said Kit.

  * * *

  It just went to show, you never could tell how a first date was going to pan out. Well, that was life, Seth reminded himself. You might think you knew what was likely to happen, but you could always be proven wrong.

  Which didn’t normally sit well with him, what with preferring to be right all the time, but in this case, he was happy to go along with it. Plus, it made his life a whole lot easier.

  Because when superconfidence was a woman’s particular unique selling point, the last thing you expected was to end up drying her tears in the kitchen.

  “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it’s all gone so wrong. I thought I could do it.” Mortified by the extent of the failure, Dawn had shaken her head and made a grab for his plate. “You can’t eat that, don’t even try.”

  “It’s fine.” But this was a blatant lie, and he’d let her take the plate, with its overcooked whole quail, rock-hard potatoes, and that ill-advised blue cheese sauce with its mysterious undertones of dish soap. She had marched into the kitchen and tipped the contents of both plates down the waste disposal. When she’d pressed the button, the noise had been horrendous, as if the poor bird’s fragile bones were being crunched up by a slavering dragon.

  And then Seth had heard a strangled sob. In the kitchen, he’d found Dawn red-faced with shame.

  “I thought I could follow the recipe and everything would be perfect. I wanted to impress you. And now everything’s ruined because I failed.” She’d been trembling with despair, a sky-high achiever who for once hadn’t achieved. He’d torn off a paper towel and carefully wiped her eyes so as not to deconstruct the layers of blended eyeshadow, liner, and mascara.

  “Hey, don’t worry about it. It’s only a meal.” As he’d said it, he’d prayed his stomach wouldn’t rumble with hunger.

  “But it’s a meal I prepared, and I wanted you to be dazzled by my brilliance.”

  She’d looked so miserable that Seth had given her a hug. “Would you believe me if I told you it’s made me like you more?”

  He’d managed to get her over the disappointment. Then, since he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the food Lainey had prepared earlier, he’d left Dawn to clear away all evidence of her failure and headed down to the new gourmet burger place behind the esplanade to pick up takeout for the two of them instead.

  Now, making his way home at midnight, he reflected on the irony of the way things could turn out. He’d meant what he’d said about the disastrous dinner making him like her more. When everything about a person seemed perfect, from their brain to their outward appearance and the sleek, stylish furnishings in their modern apartment, it was endearing to discover they were human after all.

  The tide was out, which meant he could take a shortcut across the uncovered sand separating Mariscombe from Menhenick Bay. The stars were bright overhead, the sea was calm, and the beach was deserted apart from a couple of late-night dog walkers and a small group of teenagers perched on the rocks, their lit cigarettes glowing in the dark.

  But as he continued around the curve of still-damp sand, finally reaching Menhenick Beach, he was just able to make out another solitary figure sitting above the tide line.

  * * *

  Lainey heard the sound of footsteps on wet sand and turned her head. By the time it occurred to her that they could belong to a murderer, she’d recognized the walk and the white shirt and was reassured that they didn’t.

  Unless he went in for a spot of secret contract killing on the side. At weekends, maybe. Did Friday night count as the weekend?

  As he approached, leaving the smooth, wet sand and reaching the dry, powdery kind, she said, “So, how was your evening?”

  “It was…good, thanks.” For a moment, she sensed he was on the verge of elaborating before deciding not to. “What are you doing out here at this time?”

  “Listening to the sea. I just love the sound of those waves.” She inhaled the magical tang of salt in the air, raised her arm like a conductor, and made a swooping gesture as the next wave tumbled over itself and slid up the sand toward them. “I’m not over the novelty of it yet.”

  Seth smiled. “Mind if I join you?”

  “Be my guest.”

  He lowered himself to the dry sand and sat beside her, long legs stretched out in front of him. “Where’s Kit? I’d have thought you’d be out here together.”

  “Oh, he’s not as obsessed with the sea as I am. Plus, he’s fast asleep.”

  Seth said, “Not very romantic.”

  Damn, she shouldn’t have said it like that. Vigorously she shook her head. “No, he is, of course he is! He’s just shattered today after clearing out the garage and rebuilding that wall. He’s romantic when he’s awake.”

  “Well, I’m glad to hear it.”

  Was he teasing her? Did he suspect that something was amiss with their relationship?

  “And when we’re on our own,” she continued. “We’re not going to be all lovey-dovey at work, are we? That would be unprofessional.”

  “Of course it would.”

  He sounded amused. Time to change the subject. “Can I ask you something?”

  “About whether I’m romantic?”

  Now he was definitely teasing. “No, about the first time I saw you. You were walking along the esplanade and a middle-aged woman was trying to talk to you. She seemed quite desperate, but you completely ignored her and walked off, and I couldn’t figure out for the life of me what was going on.” She turned to look at his face in profile to gauge his reaction. “Why did you do that?”

  “It’s been bothering you all this time, but you didn’t ask me before now?”

  “I wanted to, but I figured it wasn’t any of my business.”

  “It’s really not that exciting. Her name’s Pauline, and she’s one of Richard’s superfans. Well, she started off as a fan, then turned into a bit of a stalker. She took early retirement last year and moved down from Manchester to be closer to Richard. She’s harmless, but in the last few months, her obsession’s gotten worse and she’s turned into a bit of a pest.”

  “You acted as if she weren’t there,” said Lainey.

  “It’s what we were advised to do. Any kind of engagement just sets her off and makes things worse. Oh dear.” He looked at her. “You must have thought I was being incredibly rude.”

  “I did.”

  Seth smiled briefly. “Well, I’m really not. We used to speak to her, be nice, but it just escalated the problem. She lives in a trailer covered in photos of Richard. She writes to him almost every day. When you saw us, she was begging me to take him over to her place for afternoon tea, so she could show him her scrapbooks.”

  Chastened, Lainey said, “Oh,” and felt bad for having harbored bad thoughts about him.

  As if reading her thoughts, Seth said, “I’m really not a monster.”

  “OK.”

  “Once she realizes you’re working for us, she’ll probably try to get you on her side too. Just have as little to do with her as possible. And don’t worry.” His tone was reassuring. “As I said, she’s persistent, but she’s essentially harmless.”

  “Right.” Lainey nodded and kind of wished she hadn’t asked now. It meant Seth Faulkner was good-looking, charming, and not the cruel, ruthless person she’d originally thought he was. Just sitting this close to him was making her more physically aware of his body, his voice, and his aftershave, which was so delicious it was making her want to lick his neck…

  OK, mustn’t do that. To distract herself, she said quickly, “So you had a good time tonight. Will you be seeing her again?”

  “Dawn?” For a split second, his gaze flickered over her face, and L
ainey felt her breath catch in her throat. “Oh, I should think so. That is, if she wants to see me.”

  And now a quiver ran through her, as if an invisible feather were being traced down the line of her spine. Because given the option, who wouldn’t want to see someone like Seth again? What must it be like to be him: utterly confident, pretty much perfect in every way, a stranger to self-doubt or the concept of rejection? His tone had been playful, because the idea that Dawn might turn him down was simply too far-fetched for words.

  The tide was still coming in; a bigger-than-usual wave broke on the shore and moved up the sand to within a few feet of them, providing Lainey with the excuse she needed. Scrambling upright, she said, “Right, that’s close enough. Time to go in.”

  “Into the water, you mean?” His teeth gleamed white in the darkness as he rose to his feet too. “If you’re up for a midnight swim, I’ll join you.”

  Lainey’s heart was galloping inside her rib cage. He was only teasing her, but what if she said yes?

  “No thanks, the sea’s all yours. I’m off to bed.”

  “Maybe I’ll leave it for tonight.” Seth brushed dry sand from his hands, and together they left the beach, heading up the narrow path and through the garden of Menhenick House. When they reached the driveway, they both saw the light on in the sitting room of the apartment above the garage.

  At the sound of their footsteps crunching on the gravel, Kit appeared at the window.

  “Whoops,” said Lainey. “He’ll be wondering where I’ve been.”

  “Gets jealous, does he?”

  She shook her head, thinking fast; how would someone in a normal relationship respond in this situation?

  “We’re a couple. We trust each other.” She said it with confidence, waving up at Kit in the window and romantically blowing him a kiss. “He knows I wouldn’t do anything for him to be jealous about.”

  Seth nodded. “Good. Well, it’s nice that you’re so happy together.”

  “We are. See you tomorrow.” She moved toward the flight of steps leading up to the flat.

  Seth turned to make his way back to the house. “Night.”

  * * *

  An owl was hooting in the trees outside. Seth opened his eyes; it was 3:30 a.m., and each time he’d woken up so far, he’d heard himself being an idiot all over again.

  For crying out loud, what was happening to him? When he’d seen Lainey sitting on the beach in her star-patterned dress, he should have acknowledged her presence with a friendly word, then walked on by and left her in peace. But he hadn’t, had he? He hadn’t been able to resist inviting himself to sit down beside her. Worse, he’d compounded the issue by coming out with the kind of cringeworthy comments he never usually uttered. Just thinking about himself saying “Into the water, you mean?” made him want to cut out his own tongue.

  As for offering to join her for a midnight swim, oh God. He couldn’t have sounded like more of a creep if he’d tried.

  He closed his eyes against the fresh wave of shame. Was this how it felt to be a shy teenager in the grip of his first crush?

  Oh well. On the upside, at least it was guaranteed to put Lainey off him for life.

  Chapter 9

  The plan had been for Lainey to go to the big supermarket a few miles outside St. Carys and get the weekly shopping done while Majella worked at home in the office. Then Majella had protested that she really enjoyed food shopping and why didn’t they go together, which would be quicker, easier, and more fun than one person having to do it all by themselves.

  Which had sounded like an excellent plan and actually might have been if only Majella hadn’t turned out to be the world’s most easily distracted shopper.

  “Isn’t it fabulous here? Don’t you just love that there’s so much choice? Look, thirteen different kinds of potatoes!” Exclaiming with genuine delight, she was picking up each of the bags in turn, reading the descriptions printed on them and admiring the potatoes themselves.

  Even that would have been fine if Lainey had been free to get on with the rest of the shopping, but her attempts to add other items to the cart were met with piteous cries of protest.

  “Oh no, you’ve chosen the mushrooms! But I haven’t even looked at them yet!”

  Lainey checked her watch. “We’ve been here forty minutes already. Why don’t I just go and pick up the fabric softener to save us some time?”

  “What if you don’t get the best one, though? I like to smell all the fabric conditioners; otherwise, how do I know which one’s nicest?”

  “OK, I’ll go and get some of the boring stuff, then, like light bulbs and bleach and paper towels. Because it’s midday,” Lainey explained, “and this place closes in ten hours.”

  “You’re making fun of me. I just don’t want to buy the wrong things, that’s all.”

  Lainey left her there and went off to collect some of the less exciting items on the list. Returning a couple of minutes later, she noticed a man watching Majella from over by the lettuce.

  “Oh, I prefer the extra-soft tissues,” said Majella. “The ones with balsam.”

  “Never mind the tissues. You’ve got yourself an admirer.”

  “The guy on the fish counter? I know, I think they pay him to flirt with the oldies. He always offers me an extra scallop.”

  “You aren’t old. And I’m not talking about him anyway. There’s someone over in the salad section who’s got his eye on you. Don’t look,” hissed Lainey, but it was too late, Majella had already spun round like a top.

  “Oh, it’s OK. I know him. That’s Gerry. We met at a party last Christmas. He asked me out.”

  Lainey’s eyebrows rose. “And did you go?”

  “No, of course I didn’t.”

  “Why not?”

  Majella shrugged. “Because I don’t go on dates. It’s not something I do.”

  “Maybe you should try,” said Lainey. “Didn’t I say it was time you started putting yourself out there again?” She smiled at Gerry in an encouraging way; he was about Majella’s age and seemed normal enough. “See? He’s coming over. All you have to do is chat to him, drop a few hints so he knows you’ve changed your mind, then keep talking until he asks you out again. And this time you have to say yes.”

  “Oh God, I can’t do that. No way.”

  “You can,” said Lainey. “Be brave. Make things happen. Seize the moment!” Why was it always so much easier to sort out other people’s love lives than your own? Having been introduced to Gerry, Lainey took control of the cart and said brightly, “You two carry on. I’m just going to make a start on the rest of the shopping.” She then scooted off down the next aisle before Majella could open her mouth to protest.

  Twenty minutes later, a voice hissed in her ear, “Oh my God, I did it. I seized the moment!” And there was Majella, looking flushed and as if she couldn’t quite believe what had just happened.

  “Brilliant! He looks great. You’ll have a fantastic time.”

  “He asked me how I’d been, and I just couldn’t help myself. I told him you’d said it was time I started dating again, then I apologized about the last time he’d asked me, and he said that was great news and would I like to go out to dinner with him, and I said yes! So it’s happening!”

  “Yay!” Lainey clapped her hands. “When?”

  Majella’s face fell. “Oh. I can’t remember.”

  Gerry had only come in to pick up some sandwiches for his lunch. Having raced around the supermarket in search of him, Lainey finally spotted him outside, climbing into his car.

  He jumped a mile when she tapped on the driver’s window just as he was pulling away.

  Startled, he buzzed down the window. “Yes?”

  “Sorry, we didn’t know where you’d gone.” She gasped for breath. “Lucky I saw you in time! OK, this is going to sound daft, but Majella can’t remembe
r which day you’re meeting up. She was so excited about the date that it completely slipped her mind. And thank you so much for inviting her.”

  “Look, can I just say something?” Gerry blurted. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but this has put me in a bit of an awkward situation. I didn’t actually mean to invite Majella to dinner. It was her idea… She just started gabbling about how nice it would be, and in the end, I felt I had to go along with it. I just didn’t have the heart to say no.”

  Lainey was horrified. “But she’s hardly Quasimodo. You wanted to go out with her before. You’ll still meet her for dinner, won’t you?”

  Gerry looked pained. “I did want to go out with her before. She’s a lovely woman. That’s why I couldn’t say no, because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. But I met someone else in January, and we’ve been seeing each other ever since. And the more I think about it, the more I think she isn’t going to understand if I tell her I’m having dinner with Majella on Thursday night. So could you do me a huge favor and tell her I can’t make it after all? I can’t do it myself. It’s too awkward.”

  Lainey found Majella in the freezer section, next to the ice cream. She was chattering into her phone, her face still lit up.

  “Ronaldo, you’re a star! Tomorrow morning at eight thirty, thanks so much for squeezing me in! It isn’t until you have something special to go to that you realize how badly your hair needs sorting out. Thanks again, bye!”

  Oh…

  By the time Lainey finished explaining that the date was canceled, Majella’s eyes were like saucers. “Oh no, how awful. I didn’t even realize I’d forced him into it. I thought he might be a bit shy, so I was trying to help him out. I was being proactive, seizing the moment like you told me to. The poor man must have been scared out of his wits.”

  “I think he was. But are you OK? Not too upset?”

  “I’m not upset. Just embarrassed. It’s like being sixteen all over again.” Majella picked up a tub of coconut ice cream and fanned herself with it. “I’ve made a giant fool of myself.”