Summer Seaside Wedding

by Abigail Gordon

  The tide was coming in less vigorously than it sometimes did and as they swam in its unaccustomed gentleness, with moonlight throwing shadows on the rocks and the sand that the sea hadn’t yet reached, there was a tranquillity that they could both feel.

  Amelie was so entranced by the magic of the evening that she fantasised about her role as temporary lifeguard leading to a permanent position if they didn’t require her any more at the practice when her time was up. It would be one way of staying in Bluebell Cove, something she was increasingly keen to do, still saving lives but in a different way than at present.

  They’d come out of the water, and were sitting on the rocks, idly watching the waves skipping over the sand towards them when Leo said, ‘You being a doctor would fit in with the lifeguard role very nicely. Immediate medical assistance on the spot if needed, much better than simply having the required First Aid certificate.’

  ‘Yes,’ she said slowly, and almost told him he didn’t have to sell her the idea. She was already sold on it. Sun, sea and sand were her life’s blood. If at the same time as working at the practice she could put her abilities regarding those things to good use, why not?

  The only problem was it being weekend tomorrow. It would be Monday before Leo could speak to anyone, and Saturday and Sunday loomed ahead as empty days.

  ‘Why don’t you come down here to have a word with Ronnie over the weekend?’ Leo said, picking up on her thoughts. ‘It would give you the chance to get to know him and find out what would be required of you in the evenings if the authorities are interested in employing you as a temporary lifeguard. He’s a likeable guy.’

  ‘Yes, I suppose I could do that,’ she agreed.

  It was almost as if he could read her mind. Though did he read it as far as realising that his eagerness to keep her occupied was beginning to show, was it another taste of the unwanted feeling that was bitter in her mouth?

  If so, he ought to tell her. It was to be expected that Leo was living a full and happy life before she’d come on the scene, so it was to his credit that he was putting it on hold because he felt responsible for her. But she didn’t want it to be like that, just as much as she felt he didn’t. She’d coped on her own for as long as she could remember, except for the short time that Antoine had been part of her life.

  ‘Shall we go?’ she asked flatly, as if the moon’s light on sea and shore and the rugged cliffs behind them wasn’t enough.

  ‘Why the sudden drop in spirits?’ Leo asked, as if he didn’t know. ‘Shall we forget the idea of the beach patrol, Amelie? It was only a thought.’

  ‘No, of course not!’ she protested. ‘It was kind of you to suggest it. I will come down here tomorrow and introduce myself to Ronnie.’ Then it happened again, the words were out before she could stop them. ‘What plans have you made for the weekend?’

  Fortunately a cloud passed over the moon at that moment and he didn’t observe her mortification at the intrusion into his life once again. Taken aback for a second by the directness of the question, he replied, ‘Tennis tomorrow morning with my friend Naomi, a trip to town in the afternoon, and in the evening out for a meal with friends, maybe moving on to a nightclub later.

  ‘On Sundays I do what chores have to be done, go to the pub for an hour late morning, and maybe drive into the countryside in the afternoon for a Devonshire clotted-cream tea.’

  ‘What is that?’ she asked curiously.

  ‘Fresh scones, thick clotted cream that the county is renowned for and strawberry conserve or jam.’

  ‘It sounds delightful.’

  ‘It is,’ he replied, and thought it would be so easy to suggest he call for her on Sunday and take her with him if she would like that, yet he wasn’t going to. He had to ease off with the woman beside him, otherwise his well-planned bachelor life, stereotyped as it sometimes was, might fall apart if he veered off in a new direction, and that would cause some raised eyebrows amongst those he worked with at the practice.

  He knew that Harry thought he was crazy, living the carefree life that he’d always led, but the senior partner was in love and had Phoebe and her child who loved him in return. Soon she would give birth to another little one that would be theirs entirely and his joy would know no bounds.

  If he was in a situation like the other man’s, he would approach life from a different angle, but he wasn’t, and neither was he likely to be while mixing with the ‘in crowd’.

  The life he’d lived ever since losing Delphine was a defence against ever experiencing that sort of pain and heartbreak again. Even now, with the years having gone by, he still couldn’t talk about it, so Harry could only judge him from outward appearances.

  He got to his feet and said, ‘I suppose we had better make tracks or Naomi will be calling for me in the morning and I won’t be up.’

  As they walked back to the village in the silent night Amelie risked another question about his private life, which she didn’t think would offend. ‘Does your tennis partner live locally?’

  ‘Yes,’ he said easily. ‘She returned to Bluebell Cove, where she was brought up, some months ago after a distressing divorce, and we got to know each other at the tennis club.’

  ‘Oh, I see,’ she said, and thought what could be more appealing than an attractive blonde divorcee? Certainly not a nondescript junior doctor who couldn’t even keep Antoine the unadventurous happy.

  Their two residences were in sight and Amelie knew she didn’t want this time with Leo to end. Yet end it must, as the next thought that had come to mind was what it would feel like to be kissed by the Angel Gabriel.

  When they stopped at her gate it was clear that the man by her side had no such thoughts. His mind was on more mundane things, such as a reminder to lock up securely before she went to bed and a wish for the best of luck with Ronnie down on the beach the next morning.

  But she couldn’t let him go with just that. Thanks were due because he had given up his evening for her and she said awkwardly, ‘I’ve had a lovely time, Leo. Thank you for the meal and the rest of the evening.’ Standing on tiptoe, she brushed her lips lightly against his cheek.

  At the moment of contact he stepped back and Amelie felt her colour rise again. When would she ever learn? Antoine’s treatment of her should have made it clear that she wasn’t ever going to be any man’s dream girl. Leo had backed off as if she was infectious, and that was after just a thank-you peck on the cheek. The pleasure of the time they’d spent together was disappearing like water down a drain.

  He sensed her hurt. Could tell by her expression that he’d hit a nerve and wanted to kick himself for upsetting her, but Amelie wasn’t to know that he was telling himself all the time to cool it with the young French doctor, and a peck on the cheek might soon transfer itself to the lips, and could go on from there.

  ‘You don’t have to thank me for anything, Amelie,’ he said abruptly, to bring an end to the awkward moment that had come out of nowhere. ‘It is just a matter of being polite to a stranger who feels out of things because she knows no one here… And now I’m going to say goodnight.’

  She nodded, and without speaking watched him move briskly towards the apartments without a backward glance.

  ‘Ugh!’ she breathed when she was inside with the door locked, as Leo had instructed. For someone known as the village Romeo he had taken a dim view of that butterfly kiss on the cheek, which was all it had been. What was the matter with the man?

  Hadn’t she made it clear that she wasn’t in the market for love, or any of the trappings that went with it? And even if she had been, she was way out of his league, so why had he shied away from a simple expression of gratitude?

  Up in the apartment Leo was also taking stock of those embarrassing moments outside the house across the way when Amelie had tried to thank him and been repulsed.

  She wasn’t to know how much she’d got through to him during the evening by just being there, and how much he’d known it would be a mistake to let those kinds of feeli
ngs take hold. The outcome of it was that it had to stop.

  As from Monday morning it was going to be strictly business and nothing else between them. He’d played his part in making her welcome. Now she was on her own, socially and at the practice.

  The hire car they’d arranged for her was there, waiting to be used, so he was going to suggest to Harry that she should do some of the house calls on her own, leaving him free of the close contact with her in his car, which couldn’t be avoided.

  He was as easy with women socially as he was with men, but it was all on the surface. With Amelie it wasn’t like that and he knew why. It was as he kept telling himself, she was different, natural, easy to be with, and had a special kind of charm of her own.

  With regard to what she thought of him he’d had a few laughs at the Angel Gabriel description and decided she was way out there. Angelic he was not! Caring and compassionate, yes, maybe, but never that!

  The curtains were still drawn at the house across the way when he got up the next morning and he wondered if Amelie really was intending going down to the beach to introduce herself to Ronnie.

  When he glanced across again, after having a shower and the leisurely breakfast that was part of the pleasure of Saturdays, the curtains had been opened and he caught a glimpse of Amelie as she passed the surgery in the direction of the beach.

  She was dressed for swimming with her suit on under a sarong and was carrying a towel, so was obviously a woman of her word, he thought wryly, and wished he hadn’t made the suggestion of her getting to know Ronnie. He had to admit that he liked having her all to himself.

  He was already dressed for tennis and had an hour to spare before Naomi was due to call for him. If he put on some speed he might catch Amelie before she got to the beach and persuade her to change her mind.

  When he arrived at the headland he saw it was a vain hope. She was already down there, chatting to Ronnie, and there was no way he could intrude.

  She looked upwards suddenly and he moved into the shadow of a nearby tree, hoping that she hadn’t spotted him skulking up there. She was a pleasure to have around, he thought, but life was becoming more complicated by the minute.

  Turning quickly, he headed back to the village and a morning on the tennis courts with Naomi that he wasn’t going to enjoy as much as he usually did because each time the ball came over the net Amelie’s face would be in the way.

  She had seen him up on the headland. The white shirt and shorts he was wearing had made him stand out amongst the rocks and shrubs above and Amelie thought surely Leo wasn’t so keen to get her off his back that he’d come to check that she was following through their discussion of the night before and having a word with Ronnie?

  He was gone in a flash, most likely watching the time for his game of tennis, and she thought sombrely that he need have no further concerns on her behalf. The message had come over loud and clear the night before and no way was he going to see sight or sound of her out of surgery hours from now on.

  In fact, she would go even further than that and ask Dr Balfour if she could start doing her share of house calls on her own as she felt confident enough to do so. If he agreed, the only time she and Leo would be in contact was during the morning and afternoon surgeries when for most of the time they would be closeted with their patients.

  Her feelings were a mixture of rejection and annoyance with herself for letting her attraction to Leo blind her to the fact that he was just doing the polite thing by looking after her as he had been doing, but he need exert himself no further.

  From now on she would be back to her own coping self, the self that he had yet to see, and after being told by the lifeguard that he would welcome her presence on the beach in the evenings and would speak to the authorities regarding her refresher course, he’d even suggested that she join him this very evening to get a feel for the role.

  She’d agreed with the suggestion promptly. It meant that what would have been a lonely weekend wasn’t going to be so bad because she would be spending most of the time with her other loves, sun, sand and the never-failing tides.

  But what would it be like to be loved by the man she’d only known for such a short time, yet couldn’t stop thinking about? The same man who’d made it quite clear the night before that she was just an encumbrance, so he wasn’t going to look in her direction was he? She wasn’t his type.

  Still, her spirits were lifting as she walked around at the side of the lifeguard and listened to what Ronnie had to say about the organising of beach patrols and the dangers that were never far away.

  There were lots of parents with children milling around and teenage lovelies out to attract young males by pouting in front of cameras, which prompted Ronnie to comment that he had a daughter their age.

  ‘Yes, so I believe,’ she told him. ‘You are the father of Maria, the young nurse at the surgery, aren’t you?’

  He nodded. ‘That I am. Maria has mentioned you often. So what do you think of Bluebell Cove? I hear Dr Fenchurch has been showing you around.’

  ‘Yes, he has been most kind. As for Bluebell Cove, it’s lovely. I would like to live here.’

  ‘So what is there to stop you?’

  Instead of answering directly, she replied, ‘I don’t know anyone here.’

  ‘You soon will,’ he assured her. ‘Working in the surgery and helping out down here, you’ll be known to everyone in no time.’

  As they strolled around there was no cause for alarm. Everyone was behaving sensibly, and as Amelie listened to Ronnie describing the job and indicating the danger spots on the part of the coastline that he and his fellow lifeguard were in charge of the day dawdled along.

  After his earlier furtive appearance on the headland Leo stayed away from the cove when the tennis was over and made his usual Saturday afternoon trip into the town, but by the time he arrived back in the village he was feeling that he couldn’t avoid Amelie any longer.

  He told himself it was to make sure she was all right after his rejection of her kiss on his cheek that she’d bestowed upon him, which was true in part, but the main reason was that he just wanted to see her, if only for a short time.

  He felt that if only he would let her, she could bring a different dimension to his life, but the problem was he wasn’t ready for it. The way he’d behaved when she’d kissed him had been proof of that.

  On Amelie’s part, her vulnerability was plain to see, and from the little she’d told him about her life till now it wasn’t surprising.

  Now she’d come to Bluebell Cove, where he’d found himself taking her under his wing, reluctantly sometimes and at others with great pleasure.

  It had to stop. She’d had enough upsets in her life. He didn’t want to be responsible for another. Added to that his own past had been far from easy, and the pain of it still clung to him, as did the dread of ever having to go through something like that again, and to avoid it he’d chosen the kind of life he’d been living ever since.

  Until now he’d had no doubts about it, but along had come Amelie and everything was changing. He had to call a halt. She knew nothing of his past and the reason why he’d never turned to anyone else after losing Delphine.

  He had never opened his heart to anyone and did not want to put his burden onto her.

  She was the first person his glance rested on when he’d parked the car and was walking down the slipway. She was wearing a scarlet bathing costume that was the same colour as the dress of the night before, and once again the colour made a vivid contrast to her hair and the smooth olive skin of her face.

  Ronnie was beside her as they chatted to a group of holidaymakers all in a happy mood. She looked carefree and relaxed amongst them, so much so that he turned on his heel and retraced his steps back to the car.

  Leave well alone, he told himself as he reversed out of the car park.

  Amelie didn’t get a glimpse of him on that occasion. She was too engrossed with the people she was meeting down below, but Leo wasn’t
out of her mind, far from it. She’d been longing to see him all day. After him telling her what he’d had planned for the weekend, she’d been following him in his various pursuits in her mind, and not having seen him on the causeway she reckoned that he would be somewhere either in the town or on his way back.

  Yet what did it matter where he was? He could at least have rung her first thing or called at the house for them to make peace. Though why should he? Leo had explained the night before in no uncertain terms the reason for his presence in her limited social life. So instead of fretting she should be grateful that someone like him had been prepared to take the trouble.

  She left the beach in the early evening with a promise from Ronnie that he would be in touch as soon as he’d spoken to the powers that be, and windblown and sun-kissed she decided to have an early night.

  That resolve was short-lived when Harry Balfour rang to invite her to supper. ‘We usually have a few friends round on Saturday nights,’ he said, ‘and thought that maybe you would like to join us.’

  ‘Our home, Glades Manor, is about a mile out of the village. If you don’t want to walk, the car we’ve hired for you is on the practice forecourt in readiness for Monday morning and Leo has the keys.’

  ‘I think I would prefer to walk,’ she told him, ‘and thank you for inviting me, Dr Balfour. I would love to come.’

  Having already been told how Leo spent his Saturday evenings, she doubted he would be there, so there shouldn’t be any awkwardness to cope with from that direction, and as she showered and dressed for the occasion in the red dress once again, it felt odd.

  There hadn’t been many days since coming to Bluebell Cove that Leo hadn’t been a part of, she thought, and knew that the pleasant and interesting time she’d spent with the lifeguard on the beach, and the unexpected invitation to supper, were not going to make up for it.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  WALKING towards Phoebe and Harry’s house in the warm summer evening was pleasant exercise and when Amelie eventually stood in front of the beautiful old building situated in a green glade that was surrounded by the fertile fields of Devon, it wasn’t hard to guess from where the name of Glades Manor came.