What Becomes of the Broken Hearted: The most heartwarming and feelgood novel you'll read this year
Page 29
She clipped Cliff’s lead on and pulled the cottage door locked behind her and they set out for the beach. It was so lovely that Mac had taken time off from Surf Sup considering how proud he was of the place. He was still in that heady romantic first love phase with his new business venture and she had teased him about being a control freak where the café and surf shack was concerned—but he openly admitted the fact and usually did so with a sexy grin.
His assistants were more than capable of running the place but she admired him for being the ever-present captain of his newly launched ship. He must be worn out if he’s handed control over even for a lunch break, she surmised. But nevertheless she was grateful and excited as the prospect of a Saturday where she got to see his legs. They were usually hidden behind the counter as he dealt amiably with customers wanting to hire surfboards, book lessons or order lunch. He had finally achieved his dream and Cassie was so happy to be tagging along for the ride.
The village was surprisingly quiet and as she reached the slope that lead to the beach she stopped and turned to admire their new home in all its glory. She crouched to give Cliff a scratch behind the ears as she gazed upon the newly built structure. It was hard to believe that not so long ago so much sadness and drama had occurred on that very plot. But they would soon be moving in and then her dad would arrive to move into Rose Brae, meaning he would be a permanent fixture in both the village and their lives. She couldn’t wait.
But how things had changed. And how fast it had all happened. The beautiful little house they’d had built on the scorched plot was exactly as Mac’s parents had planned it all those years ago. Small but just right for them. Neither Mac nor Cassie was materialistic and this little house meant so much more to them. It was the legacy left to him by his parents and Cassie was honoured to have been a part of its realisation. The garden was large which meant that there was space for a man cave, which Mac had earmarked for all his surfing gear, Cassie would have an office inside on the ground floor so she could work and close the door at the end of the day and there were four bedrooms upstairs which meant plenty of room to expand—when that time arose. Cassie and Mac had named their new home Phoenix Cottage rather aptly after what had gone before. But just like the mythical bird that rose from the ashes, they were determined not to let anything keep them down—especially not an egotistical maniac who couldn’t stand the thought of anyone being happy and having what he couldn’t. Shaking her head to eradicate thoughts of Seth from her mind she stood once more and began the descent to the beach.
A couple of seconds later she spotted Morag from the shop and she waved. ‘Hi, Morag! Lovely day isn’t it?’
The elderly lady walked towards her and with a warm smile she held out a rose. ‘Ah, Cassie. What a lovely dress. Mac always says you brighten the place up and he’s right.’
Cassie took the offered rose and felt her cheeks heat. ‘Oh, that’s so lovely. Thank you.’ She brought the rose up and smelled its sweet fragrance as Morag lifted her hand to wave and walked on towards the main street.
A couple of hundred yards later she spotted another of her friends. ‘Hi, Sal! How are you? I was going to pop round later if you’ll be in.’
Sally walked towards her and hugged her. She took her hand. ‘You look absolutely beautiful. Radiant in fact. Mac says you’re the most beautiful woman he’s ever known.’ She too handed over a rose, which Cassie took with more than a little confusion at the coincidence. Then Sally squeezed her hand and carried on walking.
Well, this is all a bit odd, she thought as she watched Sally retreating up the slope. What’s gotten into people today? ‘Maybe she’s caught too much sun, eh Cliff?’ She answered her own question.
As she walked on the next person she encountered was Gordon from the antiques shop. Now this was strange. He never took time off work unless she was covering for him. And he rarely visited the beach. ‘Oh it’s too sandy for my liking’ he had informed her once when she had invited her to join him at the hut. But there he was standing on the slope in his usual tweed jacket. Maybe Mac’s willingness to temporarily relinquish control of his business was contagious?
‘Hi, Gordon. Are you out to enjoy the sunshine too?’ She shielded her eyes as she smiled over at him.
‘Ah, Cassie,’ he said as he walked towards her. Once he reached her he stopped and leaned in to kiss both her cheeks. ‘Look at you. Beautiful as always. Mac says you have the most heart-stopping smile. He’s right you know.’ He placed a hand dramatically over his heart and held out his rose towards her. She took it and he sighed, smiling and shaking his head as he walked by her and slowly made his way up the slope.
Cassie stopped for a moment, her brow scrunched. ‘I think I’ve walked into an episode of the Twilight Zone, Cliff.’ She laughed at her own paranoia and continued on her journey.
‘Hi, Cassie!’ Liam, one of Mac’s employees shouted to her from further down the slope. He jogged over, a rose in his hand and a rather embarrassed pink tinge to his cheeks. In his strong Scottish accent he informed her, ‘Erm… Mac says you drive him bloody mad and you’re stubborn as a mule but he still adores you.’ He handed her the rose and jogged on past as fast as he could, making minimal eye contact and without giving her a chance to answer.
Ahh… okay this is Mac’s way of giving me flowers, she surmised with a grin. It was different that was for sure. He’s a romantic after all. I owe him an apology.
At the bottom of the hill was Dr Cairns. He made no effort to hide his reasons for being there. Instead he immediately held out his rose for her. ‘Mac says that the fact he swept you off your feet on the day you fell, was the start of the best time in his life. And just as he rescued you then, you rescued him right back and he’ll be forever grateful to you. He thanks God every day that you came into his life and doesn’t know where he’d be now after everything that’s happened, if it hadn’t been for you.’
She took the rose and cleared her throat to speak but once her tear-blurred vision had cleared the doctor had gone. But if it wasn’t for me he probably wouldn’t have gone through it all, was the thought that niggled at her.
She gazed at the beautiful, fragrant roses as she stepped onto the sand and as she arrived beside the lifeguard station she lifted her chin and stopped in her tracks with a gasp.
‘Dad! What are you doing here? You’re not due to arrive for a few days yet!’
He walked towards her with a proud, loving smile taking over his handsome, weatherworn features. ‘Hi my little Pebble. I thought I’d come early and surprise you. He produced a huge bouquet of the same roses from behind his back and then pulled her into an embrace with his free arm. ‘It’s so good to see you,’ he told her as she took the bouquet from him.
Laughing through tears that were now flowing unabashedly she said, ‘I knew Mac was up to something. Now I know what it is. He’s brought you to surprise me!’ She clung to her father as Cliff skipped giddily at their feet. ‘So how long are you staying?’
He released her, took hold of Cliff’s lead and grinned. ‘Well, that’s the good bit. I’m here to stay permanently. Mac rang to say that he’s managed to arrange for you guys to move in to the new place a week early.’
Her eyes widened and she laughed. ‘He has? The bloody dark horse! Oh this is fantastic. Wait ’til you see the house now it’s finished, Dad. It’s just wonderful.’
He linked his arm through hers and tugged at Cliff to follow. ‘I can’t wait. Anyway, come on, Mac says we’ve to have a wee stroll on the beach for a while.’
Laughing again she rolled her eyes. ‘And here I was thinking he’d actually taken some time off work to make me lunch.’ She squeezed in to her dad’s side. ‘Although this is the perfect alternative.’ She smiled fondly as he kissed the side of her head.
As they closed in on the beach hut she moved her gaze away from her dad’s long enough to glance towards the beach hut. ‘What the—?’
Before her was a sight that stunned her into a befuddled silence. Som
ehow all the people who had handed her roses were now back on the beach with all her other local friends. Music drifted through the air and she immediately recognised the sound of the group she had seen playing on the beach a few times. They were playing the Beach Boys ‘God Only Knows’ and her eyes once again began to sting. The lyrics to this song had become the words that epitomised her relationship with Mac and then of course Dr Cairns had almost quoted the words at her on Mac’s behalf only minutes before.
As they approached the gathered crowd she saw that there was a carpet of rose petals matching her bouquet, strewn on the sand leading up to the hut and that a rose arbour had appeared in front. Cassie’s heart pounded in her chest as she realised that her surprise wasn’t over after all.
Standing under the rose covered archway was her handsome surfer. He looked ridiculous and gorgeous all at the same time. He wore a white t-shirt that was designed to look like a dress shirt and bow tie, and underneath that he wore a kilt in the Mackenzie tartan.
Her dad freed her and she walked towards him still holding the bouquet of roses. Just before she reached the top of the stairs, Sally appeared and took the bouquet from her, her eyes were watery and the smile on her face was so wide.
Once she was standing before her shaggy haired boyfriend he dropped to one knee. And Cassie gasped, covering her heart with her hand.
Mac cleared his throat and swallowed hard. ‘Hey, Pebble. Surprise,’ he whispered.
She giggled through her emotional state. ‘Hey, Tiger.’
He held up a defensive hand. ‘Now I know I promised you lunch, and I swear there’s definitely food involved. In fact, there’s a fine spread on over at Surf Sup for everyone later.’ The gathered crowd, which now included tourists—all cheered. ‘But there was something I wanted to ask you first.’
Cassie wiped at the moisture on her face and nodded in encouragement. ‘There was?’
He pursed his lips. ‘Yes… Cassie… I… erm… wondered if you… would prefer egg mayo or tuna for your sandwiches?’ The crowd burst into a mixture of laughter and pantomime boos. ‘Okay, okay! So that wasn’t the actual question,’ he informed the throng with a wave of his hand.
Moving his loving gaze back to Cassie he smiled. ‘Cassie Montgomery, you’re the most frustrating, feisty, beautiful, sexy woman I’ve ever met. And I…’ his voice trembled and he paused to compose himself. He coughed and momentarily glanced at the ground before taking a deep breath and lifting his face towards hers again. ‘I want to be with you always. What we have now… it’s more than I could ever have dreamed. And yes, it’s been a hard road to get here but… don’t they say that if something is worth having it’s worth fighting for? Well… this has been our fight. There have been so many times when you could’ve walked away. You could’ve upped and gone for good. Sure, it would’ve been easier for you to do that. But you’re so strong Cassie, so you didn’t leave for good. You came back and you stayed. And now you belong here… with me… with all of us.’ He swiped an errant tear from his cheek. ‘So I’m hoping you’ll stay forever. Because I honestly don’t know what I would do without you. Cassie… will you marry me?’ He held aloft a little velvet box, which housed a beautiful, elegant and dainty square cut diamond ring.
The crowd fell silent and all that could be heard besides the shushing of the sea was the strumming of the Beach Boys track on an acoustic guitar. Cassie gazed down at the man she had fallen head over heels for and her heart filled with love. She belonged because of him. And she belonged with him. He hadn’t tried to change her. He loved her in spite of and because of every flaw she had.
Without noticing the baited breath of the people surrounding her she smiled down at the glassy-eyed, handsome man before her and her answer was crystal clear.
‘Absolutely one hundred percent yes,’ she said before launching herself into his embrace. He stood and his mouth found hers. They kissed as if they were the only two people on the beach. They were certainly the only two that mattered to each other at that precise moment.
Cassie had often wondered what would become of her broken heart. But standing there on the beach in the arms of the man she would marry as soon as possible, and surrounded by friends – some she’d known for a while and some she had yet to meet – she knew that she had finally found her rightful place with her soulmate, Mac, in Coldingham Bay. And she knew without a doubt that what was once broken was now, and would forever be, fully mended.
Tiger and Pebble forever.
We hope you enjoyed this book.
Lisa Hobman’s next book is coming in spring 2019
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Acknowledgments
As always I want to thank my wonderful family for the support they continue to give to me. I'm very fortunate to have you all in my life. And I apologise profusely for every lovingly made cup of tea that I forgot to drink whilst engrossed in writing this story.
Thank you to the team at Aria for putting up with my neurotic ways. You've been so understanding and I continue to learn from you all. Lucy, my editor, it was so good to finally meet you this year and I look forward to our future as a dynamic duo.
I'm eternally grateful to the myriad authors who inspire me to continue onwards. I've made some wonderful connections both within the Aria family and beyond it and I'm so grateful for all the encouragement. Thank you especially to Heidi Swain for being so very lovely.
To every single reader who chooses one of my books to read, thank you from the bottom of my heart. There's no greater feeling for a writer than to know their characters and stories are enjoyed. Long may that continue!
About Lisa Hobman
LISA HOBMAN’s debut novel was shortlisted in the 2014 RNA. Her stories centre around believable, yet down to earth characters and the places in Scotland she has visited and fallen in love with. She is a happily married mum of one with two energetic dogs.
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Addictive Fiction
First published in the United Kingdom in 2018 by Aria, an imprint of Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © Lisa Hobman, 2018
The moral right of Lisa Hobman to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
9 7 5 3 1 2 4 6 8
A CIP catalogue record fo
r this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (E) 9781788540223
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