‘Last.’
Lucy raised her eyebrows. ‘Really?’
‘Yes. He’s… well, he’s pretty special.’
‘In that case,’ Lucy said with a grin, ‘this is a guy I have to see!’
Natalie and Georgia had already abandoned Luke, and now he was standing alone waiting for Sadie to return. He smiled broadly as she did, taking Lucy with her.
‘This is my big sister!’ Sadie squeaked. ‘All the way from New York!’
Luke stuck out his hand. ‘Lucy, right? I’ve heard all about you.’
‘Well,’ Lucy said, ‘I haven’t heard about you at all, but I think I need to. Sadie seems to be very excited about you.’
‘Right,’ he said. ‘So that’s good.’
‘I’m sure I’ll be grilling you as the night wears on. I’ll wait until you’ve had a few drinks and then the secrets will be much easier to extract.’
‘Oh, there are no secrets,’ he said. ‘I’m a bit boring really.’
‘No you’re not,’ Sadie said. ‘You’re amazing.’ She turned to Lucy. ‘This is the man who saved Ewan and Declan and me from drowning.’
Her sister’s eyes widened. ‘That guy?’
‘It wasn’t like that at all,’ Luke said. ‘We all sort of didn’t drown together.’
‘Yes, but if you hadn’t jumped in after Declan then he’d definitely be dead. Me too, probably, because I would have jumped in to get him and drowned with him. And then you went back in for Ewan—’
‘So did you.’
‘Yes, but I was crap. You were the real hero.’
‘I think the lifeboat crew were the real heroes.’
‘Oh, stop being so modest,’ Sadie said, smiling at him with such warmth and pride that Lucy looked vaguely surprised to see it.
‘I have missed a lot since I last came over,’ she said. ‘I must try to visit more often.’
‘Oh, you must,’ Sadie said. ‘Have you seen Mum and Dad and Gammy yet?’
‘Not yet – Kat picked me up from the airport and we came straight here. In fact, I’d better go and find them. Catch you later.’
‘Yes!’
Sadie turned to Luke as her sister went off to find the rest of the clan. By now, the beach was filling up with more locals and a few curious tourists too, keen to join the fun. Little fires were dotted along the sand where some families had decided to cook their own food rather than buy from the official barbeque. At the far end of the beach, close to the shelter of the cliffs, the fireworks were getting last-minute safety checks.
‘I’m just too excited,’ Sadie said. ‘It feels like forever since Lucy was here. I mean she came to Gampy’s funeral but that was horrible and she literally just went to the church, spent a couple of days at home with us and then flew back so it wasn’t really a visit at all. I wonder how long she’s staying – I must ask.’
Luke took her face in his hands and gave her a tender kiss. As he broke away she smiled up at him.
‘What was that for?’
‘You know, when I dreamt of that perfect life here, all those months ago when it felt as if I’d never be happy again, I never imagined that it would be this perfect. I never imagined anything could be this perfect. And I never imagined a woman could be as perfect as you.’
‘Oh, I’m not perfect.’
‘Well no…’ he said, giving a solemn nod. ‘But you’re as near as anyone can be.’
‘I…’
For once, Sadie was lost for words. Nobody, not even Declan, had ever told her she was perfect. She wasn’t, but she’d soak it up anyway and enjoy the illusion of being perfect, for a few hours at least.
‘Your family are coming back over,’ Luke said, staring out across the beach. Now he looked faintly alarmed. ‘All of them, en masse like a huge army. Do you think they saw me kissing you and are pissed off?’
Sadie giggled. ‘They’re just coming to talk to us.’
‘So I shouldn’t be running at this point?’
‘Don’t you dare!’
‘Hello, darlin’,’ April said to Sadie. She glanced up at Luke. ‘Hello. I don’t think we’ve met before – I’m April, Sadie’s grandma.’
They had met before, several times now, but Sadie just smiled and Luke dipped his head in acknowledgement. Graham had taken his mother to see the family GP, who had suggested that April was displaying the early signs of dementia and had ordered hospital tests. They were still waiting for an appointment date, but they were working with the provisional diagnosis and everyone was altering their behaviour around April accordingly. It wasn’t what they’d wanted to hear, but in some ways they’d all been expecting something along those lines. At least now they could make some sense of what was happening and deal with it. Graham and Henny were already making plans to care for her and, when the time came, everyone would do their bit – even Luke had told Sadie he would give help and support in any way he could. Sadie had offered him a teary smile in return and tried to make light of the moment by telling him that maybe he was a keeper after all, but they both knew that his words had meant so much more to her.
‘I’m Luke.’
‘That’s a good strong name,’ April said.
‘Isn’t it?’ Sadie replied.
‘Sadie…’ Lucy began. ‘Do you have a moment? We need to talk to you…’ She glanced at Luke, as if uncertain that what they had to say ought to be said in front of him.
‘I can… I’ll go and get a burger,’ he said.
Sadie was about to tell him to stay where he was, that anything they wanted to talk about could be discussed with him there, but he was gone so fast, striding across the beach, that she never got the chance. She turned back to her sister. ‘Sounds serious.’
‘Not really. Well, a little, but I hope good as well.’
‘There’s a reason we asked Lucy to come over,’ Henny said. ‘It’s wonderful to have her visit, of course, but we need her to come and sign something.’
‘Actually, she volunteered to come and sign it,’ Ewan said. ‘And I’m going to sign it too.’
Sadie frowned. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘We have a buyer for the waffle house,’ Henny said.
Sadie’s face fell. ‘Oh.’
Why would they tell her this now? What kind of time was this to give her such horrible, disappointing news when they could see how happy she’d been? And what did that have to do with Ewan and Lucy anyway? Surely the only person who mattered was Gammy?
‘I don’t like them one bit,’ April said. ‘Don’t care for their business plans at all.’
‘I suppose you could refuse to sell it and wait for another buyer,’ Sadie said. ‘One who has a business plan you’re keener on…’
‘I could,’ April said. ‘But I’m not going to.’
‘Aren’t you?’
‘No. I wronged you, darlin’. And I want to make amends. I was all set to cut you out of my will and then your brother… well, he told me what you did, and that you did it out of love for me… Well I’m an old lady now, and I guess I just couldn’t get that into my head, and I thought I could do all the things I used to be able to, but the last couple of weeks have shown me that I was fooling myself.’
‘Oh, Gammy, I—’
‘So I’m signing the waffle house over to you three kids.’
Sadie stared at her. And then she stared at Ewan and Lucy in turn. ‘We’re going to own the waffle house?’
‘You’re going to own it,’ Ewan said. ‘I told you I’d give you my share.’
‘And I’m going to sign over mine,’ Lucy said.
‘But…’ Sadie wondered if she ought to pinch herself. If this was a dream it was a lovely one, but it was going to be a very disappointing one to wake from. She looked back at Lucy. ‘Why would you do that?’
‘What you’ve got to ask yourself is what would I do with a third of a seaside waffle house?’
‘I don’t know… sell it.’
‘Who’s gonna buy a third of a waffle house
?’ Lucy shook her head with a fond smile. ‘I have the career I want. Ewan has his but you… you were always the one who loved that old place more than anyone. Grandma wants it to stay in the family, and you’re the only one who ever shared that vision with her. It’s only right now that it comes to you and that you be the one to serve those legendary waffles to a whole new generation.’
‘I don’t have to buy anyone out?’
‘No.’
‘And I can run it however I like?’
‘You might want to take some advice from your grandma from time to time,’ Graham said.
‘But I can get staff… Oh my God, I’ll be able to afford staff now!’
‘You’ll have to get someone, I expect,’ Ewan said.
‘This is…’ Sadie was breathless, speechless. ‘This is…’
‘Good?’ Ewan said.
‘Exciting?’ Graham offered.
‘Bloody terrifying!’ Sadie cried. ‘Absolutely bloody terrifying!’
At that very moment, the rockets started to go off and everyone jumped. They lit the sky with showers of gold and crimson sparks that set off a round of applause from the crowds.
‘Blimey,’ Graham said, ‘that caught us all off guard!’
Everyone laughed, and then Sadie started to laugh, which soon turned into crying. But it was good crying, happy crying, the tears of someone who had just witnessed the clouds that had been obscuring the sky of her future moving away to reveal it. It was iris blue, bright and warm, full of promise. And it might just have been the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
If you fell in love with The Waffle House on the Pier and Tilly Tennant’s writing, then why not try The Little Village Bakery – a hilarious romantic comedy with plenty of cake…
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The Little Village Bakery
Honeybourne Series Book 1
Get it here!
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Help yourself to a generous slice of Victoria sponge, a perfect cup of tea and a big dollop of romance. Welcome to The Little Village Bakery.
* * *
Meet Millie. Heartbreak has forced her to make a new start and when she arrives at the old bakery in the little village of Honeybourne she is determined that this will be her home sweet home. Her imagination has been captured by the tumbledown bakery but with no running water and dust everywhere, her cosy idea of making cakes in a rural idyll quickly crumbles.
* * *
Luckily the locals are a friendly bunch and step in to help Millie. One in particular, Dylan, a laid-back lothario, soon captures her attention.
* * *
But just as Millie is beginning to settle in, an unexpected visitor from her past suddenly turns up determined to ruin everything for her. It’s time for Millie to face the skeletons in her closest if she’s going to live the dream of running her little village bakery, and her blossoming romance with Dylan.
* * *
Get it here!
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A charming heartwarming novel about love, life and new beginnings perfect for fans of Milly Johnson and Debbie Johnson.
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Books by Tilly Tennant
The Break Up
The Garden on Sparrow Street
Hattie’s Home for Broken Hearts
The Mill on Magnolia Lane
The Christmas Wish
The Summer Getaway
The Summer of Secrets
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An Unforgettable Christmas series
A Very Vintage Christmas
A Cosy Candlelit Christmas
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From Italy with Love series
Rome is Where the Heart is
A Wedding in Italy
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Honeybourne series
The Little Village Bakery
Christmas at the Little Village Bakery
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Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn
The Man Who Can’t Be Moved
Mishaps and Mistletoe
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Mishaps in Millrise series
Little Acts of Love
Just Like Rebecca
The Parent Trap
And Baby Makes Four
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Once Upon a Winter series
The Accidental Guest
I’m Not in Love
Ways to Say Goodbye
One Starry Night
A Letter from Tilly
I want to say a huge thank you for choosing to read The Waffle House on the Pier. If you enjoyed it and want to keep up to date with all my latest releases, just sign up at the following link. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
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I’m so excited to share The Waffle House on the Pier with you. I’ve loved immersing myself in Sadie’s world and loved every minute of working on it. I truly have the best job in the world, and I’ve been so proud to share every new book with my wonderful readers.
I hope you loved The Waffle House on the Pier just as much as I do, and if so I would be very grateful if you could write a review. I’d love to hear what you think, and it makes such a difference helping new readers to discover one of my books for the first time.
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Tilly
www.tillytennant.com
The Break Up
Get it here!
* * *
What happens when Mr Right goes rogue?
* * *
Lara doesn’t have a back-up plan. So when her safe-bet boyfriend Lucien dumps her for her best friend, Lara’s world implodes. Life after the break up stretches bleakly ahead, lonely evenings on the sofa with only a bottle of wine and her grey cat Fluffy for company…
* * *
Down the road, Theo loves his job as a jazz musician, giving other people great nights out before coming home in the early hours and unwinding with his loyal cat Satchmo.
* * *
What they don’t know is that it’s the same cat.
* * *
And when they find out, standing in the streets in their pyjamas, both on the hunt for their lost pet, sparks of the wrong sort fly.
* * *
Lara can’t deny that Theo is one of the most gorgeous men she’s ever met, but she can see exactly why he’s still single. They do say opposites attract… but is she ready to move on? And when Lucien comes back into the picture, will she be tempted back to her life before the break up, or risk everything on the chance of something new?
* * *
A wonderfully warm will-they-won’t-they romantic read that will have you laughing one minute and crying the next. If you’re a fan of Jill Mansell and Carole Matthews, The Break Up is the love story you’ve been waiting for.
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The Garden on Sparrow Street
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As the cold winter nights draw in, escape to the sleepy town of Wrenwick, where the streets sparkle with snow and a lonely young widow is about to find that true love really can strike twice…
* * *
As Christmas cheer fills Sparrow Street with excitement, grieving widow Nina is having a hard time. December is always a difficult month to face without her beloved husband Gray, the days feel long and bleak, and to cap it all, she’s just lost her job.
* * *
So when Nina hears that Sparrow Street’s Community Garden, one of Gray’s favourite places, is to be put up for sale she knows she must do something. Filled with purpose, sh
e gathers the residents of Sparrow Street around her to turn the neglected patch of land into a Garden of Memories.
* * *
Working with her neighbours, single mum Kelly and eighty-year-old Ada, Nina soon finds that she’s not the only lonely soul on Sparrow Street. And as the community comes together and the garden flourishes, Nina can’t help but be drawn to Irish gardener Colm with his sparkling blue eyes and kind heart, finding herself confiding in him about all her recent troubles.
* * *
But just as Colm and Nina grow closer and he opens up to her about his own secret loss, Colm’s estranged wife returns from Scotland, wanting to try again. Nina knows she should let the man she’s falling for go – it’s the right thing to do. But what if fate has other plans in store? Will the beautiful garden on Sparrow Street have brought two people together only for Nina’s cautious heart to push them apart?
The Waffle House on the Pier: A gorgeous feel-good romantic comedy Page 27
