by Lynsey James
‘You know me,’ I said with a guarded smile, ‘I’m always making bad decisions. Like offering you advice earlier.’
His eyes fell to the sticky mahogany beneath him. ‘I’m sorry about going off on one at you. I was a dick and I shouldn’t have been. You were only trying to help. It’s appreciated, believe me. Another round?’
He started pulling George’s pint when I nodded and suddenly, an idea popped into my head.
‘Listen, I don’t know whether you’d be up for this but there’s a book club that meets every Wednesday called the Broken Hearts Book Club. It’s for people who are going through a hard time; they read books and talk about how they’re coping. Maybe you should come to a meeting? Could help you find a solution for this place.’
‘That’s a really kind thought Lucy, but a book club isn’t really my sort of thing and I can’t just leave this place unattended to swan off to a book club meeting.’
I smiled and nodded, but for some reason I couldn’t let it go, ‘You could bring them to you then, rent them the back room every second Wednesday or something? Then you could still be a part of it, just at every other meeting.’
He pushed himself off the bar with his fantastically muscly arms and folded them across his chest. ‘The renting thing isn’t a bad idea, but I wouldn’t have the time to join the group.’ Placing the three glasses in front of me he smiled guardedly, ‘Here you go. That’ll be eight-fifty.’
My heart sank; I felt disappointed that the club wouldn’t be gaining a new member. Especially one who needed help as much as he did. As I handed over the money I couldn’t help feeling that there was a reason he was resisting my attempts to help him.
‘I just thought you might like the support, that’s all.’
Like the utter legend she was, Elle returned just in time to help me with the drinks and I walked away from Jake, throwing him a glance over my shoulder.
As it happened, George didn’t choose an obscure song to sing. He chose the karaoke classic Mr Brightside by The Killers and the three of us belted it out for all we were worth. While I was up there on the makeshift stage, it didn’t matter who was glad to see me back or not. As I danced around the little stage with Elle and George, it was all about having fun and making an absolute fool of myself. I was able to let go and not worry about the secrets lurking in the background, or the voices in the back of my mind whispering that I didn’t deserve to be happy. For four glorious minutes, I was Lucy Harper, normal girl and terrible singer.
Elle and George shared a drunken kiss outside my parents’ cottage while I looked out over the water. The same burning question churned in my mind: should I stay or should I go?
My heart whispered at me to stay and although every instinct I had fought against it, I knew the whisper would soon become a shout I couldn’t ignore.
The only question was whether I was brave enough to listen.
Chapter Six
I woke up the next morning with a mammoth headache and an all-too-clear memory of the night before. The same nagging tug to stay here and lead the Broken Hearts Book Club was still present, ruining any notion that it had been alcohol-fuelled. It had been there since I’d tumbled into the book club meeting and didn’t look like it was going away any time soon. As I got out of bed in search of water and comfort food, I couldn’t fight the urge to make my home here, help these broken-hearted people and possibly myself in the process. I’d been handed this beautiful fresh start; all I needed to do was reach out and grab it with both hands. Luna Bay had always held a special place in my heart, but I still wasn’t sure if I could really come back after all this time.
Would the people let me? Would I let me?
The sound of the doorbell ringing disturbed my train of thought and made my head pound even harder.
‘Christ alive, who’s this?’ I murmured, bundling my cardigan tighter as I stomped downstairs to open the door and nearly jumped out of my skin to find Jake standing on the doorstep.
‘Morning,’ he pursed his lips like he was trying desperately hard to suppress a smile. ‘Feeling a bit delicate?’
I groaned and started patting down my wayward hair, which currently resembled a bird’s nest. ‘You could say that. I think it’s safe to say I won’t be going near alcohol again for a long time.’
‘I’ve heard that umpteen times before.’ His smile won the battle and broke out onto his face, I was secretly quite glad. ‘Anyway, I just stopped by because your mate left his jacket in the pub last night. One of the cleaners found it so I thought I’d pass it on.’
He handed me George’s favourite leather jacket and I hung it carefully on the banister. It was his pride and joy and had been since he’d picked it up at a vintage market in Camden.
‘Thanks, he’ll be made up to have that back.’ I was aware I was grinning like a loon but I couldn’t stop myself. ‘Do you want to come in for a cup of tea or…?’
I gestured absently towards the kitchen, unsure what I could offer him apart from some breakfast and my most sincere apologies for doing karaoke.
He shook his head and dug his hands deep into his jeans pockets.
‘Can’t stop I’m afraid, got to get the pub open for lunchtime trading. Thanks for the offer though. Listen, I’ve been thinking about what you said about joining the, what was it called, the Broken Hearts Book Club? I’m still not sure on the whole being-a-member thing, but renting out the back room of the pub to them for meetings sounds good.’
‘Really? That’s great!’ I raised my eyebrows, ‘You do know that one day, you might actually have to admit that I’ve had a good idea?’
‘I’ll hold out on that one for as long as I can.’ He grinned and my stomach did a somersault. ‘Tell the members they’re welcome to use the back room any time eh? I heard someone say you were the leader now. Your nana left you the club or something?’
I opened my mouth to contradict him, but changed my mind. Hearing someone else say I was the leader of the club sounded pretty good to me and I didn’t want to ruin it.
‘That’s right! It’s all taking a bit of getting used to, especially since I’d never even been to a book club before coming here. I don’t know what’s happening at the moment, but the club’s mine to lead if I want it.’
‘So you might be sticking around then?’ His tone was hopeful, which I hadn’t expected given our earlier encounters.
‘Maybe.’ I folded my arms and tried not to smile.
‘Good. I’ve got some making up to do with you after my less-than-welcoming attitude before.’
I nodded and smoothed my hair down. Pointless really because I still looked like I’d been caught in a tornado. ‘Maybe you do.’
We exchanged goodbyes and I watched him walk to the end of the street until he disappeared round the corner. I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what, but there was something different about him today, like he’d had a wake-up call about how spiky he’d been towards me earlier. It made me melt a little inside that he’d had a change of heart.
Just then, Elle came striding confidently towards me, carrying bags full of pastries and doughnuts. As usual, she looked flawless. Elle Nicholls even did hungover well.
‘Was that the gorgeous barman from the other night I just saw walking away from here?’ she asked with a cheeky grin.
I nodded. ‘Yeah, he came to return George’s leather jacket. Good job too, else he’d have had kittens when he noticed it was missing!’
Without knowing it, I’d returned my gaze to the corner of the street, as if I expected Jake to double back, sweep me into his arms and… I stopped that train of thought before it went much further. It was wrong on so many levels.
‘Waiting for someone?’ Elle asked with a wink.
I shook my head and made some kind of weird spluttering noise. ‘Don’t be silly! Now let’s get inside and get some bacon rolls to go with those doughnuts.’
When we went into the living room, George was staring at his phone with disappointed look on his face
. Mum called for someone to come and help with the breakfast, so Elle went to join her in the kitchen.
‘You OK?’ I asked, plonking myself down next to him and nudging him.
He nodded and let out a huge sigh. ‘Yeah, just found out I didn’t get the part in The Lion King I auditioned for. Oh well, onwards and upwards eh?’
I linked my arm through his and rested my head on his shoulder. ‘I’m sorry you didn’t get it. It’s their loss, you’re an amazing dancer. Anyway Mister, I want a word with you! You seemed to be getting pretty close to a certain Miss Nicholls last night. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I seem to remember you two having a snog outside the house at gone midnight.’
‘Oh you saw that?’ he said flushing bright red.
‘Couldn’t bloody fail to!’ I nudged him in the ribs. ‘So what are your intentions, young man?’
He shook his head and shrugged. ‘Elle’s beautiful and fun and nice, but I shouldn’t have kissed her. I mean, I’m heading back to London soon–’ he trailed off.
‘What’s up?’ I said, swatting his arm playfully.
‘Listen, I was wondering if you’d made any decisions on staying here for a bit? Cos if you were, I was thinking of hanging around as well. Just for a couple of months. I don’t have any shows coming up and I’ll get a job pulling pints or something. That’s what I do when it’s quiet anyway; so I can see about getting some shifts at The Purple Partridge. I’ll pay rent or split the bills; the lease is up on the flat next month and I’ve got enough money. Do you think that’ll be OK?’
‘Well, to tell you the truth, since I went to that book club meeting I’ve been thinking I might stick around for a while. It’d be great to have you here too; my mum and dad will be made up that you’re staying. They loved you when they met you last Christmas.’
‘Breakfast’s ready!’ Elle came through from the kitchen and leaned on the door frame.
George smiled, ‘Let’s go and get these amazing bacon rolls then shall we? Here’s hoping they cure this hangover!’ I couldn’t help noticing that his face visibly brightened when his eyes met Elle’s.
He skulked off in search of food before any awkward questions could be asked.
‘What was that all about?’ Elle hooked her thumb over her shoulder.
‘Oh nothing, he’s thinking of sticking round here for a bit longer than he’d planned, that’s all.’ I paused for a second. ‘And so am I, as it goes.’
The last part caught her attention and she snapped her head round to look at me.
‘Really? I thought after everything that happened here, you’d be dying to get back to London.’ She realised she’d used the word “dying” and muttered ‘sorry’.
‘Me too,’ I admitted, ‘but then I went to a Broken Hearts Book Club meeting. Well, I kind of dropped in on one actually and it was amazing Elle; all those people using books to get past the hard times in their lives. In her will, Nana Lily said she wanted me to be leader of the club for three months minimum and I’m thinking of giving it a go. If I don’t like it, I can pass the baton on to someone else, but if I do then great.’
Elle still didn’t look convinced and fixed me with a shady look. ‘What about this amazing job in events you’ve got back in London? Why would you want to leave that to come up here and run a book club?’
I craned my neck to check that my parents weren’t within earshot then lowered my voice to a low hiss. ‘About that… I might’ve exaggerated a tiny little bit.’
‘How much?’
‘OK a lot; I got the sack from that job just before I came up here.’
Elle’s cornflower eyes widened in surprise. Even when she was shocked, she still managed to look like a china doll. If she wasn’t my oldest friend, I thought, I’d hate her.
‘I’m going to get bacon rolls for us then I want to know everything.’ She swirled back towards the kitchen and I knew I was in for a classic Elle Nicholls interrogation, then she threw a smile to me from over her shoulder reminding me of just how much I’d missed her.
After a full breakfast and much needed shower I felt ready to brave the outdoors. So we headed over to the Moonlight Café. George had been put off from coming after we’d told him there’d be large amounts of girl talk involved.
Still suffering from our hangovers we worked our way through a stack of chocolate brownies with Diane throwing suspicious glances our way every few minutes, and I slowly filled Elle in on my wreck of a life.
‘Yours sounded so bloody perfect, I couldn’t say “oh yeah, I’ve just been given the elbow from my dream job!” Not when you were telling us about surfers and snorkelling off the coast of Australia.’
She reached over and put a manicured hand on mine. It was so comforting to have her back in my life after all this time, especially when things were so uncertain. Elle had always known what to do and say.
‘You should’ve just been honest from the start Luce. You should know by now I don’t care about any of that stupid stuff. Sure, I’ve travelled loads of places, but you don’t have to lie just because you’re going through a rough patch. Anyway, from what you said earlier, good things are just around the corner. Especially if you stay and take over the book club.’
Those words made my heart soar; so different from a couple of days ago when they prompted it to sink to my shoes. Meeting the group and sitting in on one of their meetings had had a bigger effect on me than I’d thought.
‘I mean I haven’t fully decided yet,’ I replied with a coy smile, popping another brownie into my mouth. ‘But it’s looking likely.’
‘Good! I’m going to stick around for a bit too, I reckon. No idea how long for though; knowing me, I’ll get itchy feet again before too long. So what’ll be your first act as chairwoman of the Broken Hearts Book Club?’ Elle asked.
Her timing couldn’t have been worse. Diane had come over to clear our plates away and was now looking at me with utter disbelief.
‘You mean you’re actually going to lead the club?!’ she said, her voice tapering off to a hoarse whisper. ‘I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous in my life! You haven’t been here for eight years since you ruined poor Maggie’s life! It’s bad enough that you being here is rubbing salt in her wounds, but what could you possibly know about anything?! You’re practically a child; you couldn’t hope to help us deal with any of our problems!’
I sighed. I’d been expecting something like that from her. ‘I’m thinking about it, yeah. Initially, it’ll just be for the three months Nana Lily mentioned in her will, but after that we’ll see. I know it sounds a bit mad, but I’ll only do it if I feel like I can give it a hundred percent. If I decide to lead the club, you can count on me to do a good job.’
She took the plates and stormed off behind the counter, muttering angrily under her breath as she went. When she thought nobody was looking, she heaved a sad sigh and her face crumpled for a moment. Then, as quickly as she’d stopped, she started up again, serving customers and giving the impression she was perfectly OK.
Elle and I left the Moonlight Café and went out onto Luna Bay high street. It was a charming little cobbled street lined with whitewashed buildings containing, amongst others, a general store, a bakery and a florist. Coloured awnings jutted out onto the street in various ice cream colours, enticing buyers in to sample the delights the shops inside had to offer. I saw some other members of the club, either in their work environments or walking down the street. Jean was in her little shop selling assorted knick-knacks and Cath was popping into Frank’s corner shop. As I watched them go about their daily business, I noticed again how sad and lost they looked. Although they had the book club as a place to talk about their grief, they had nobody to guide them or help them to move on.
Maybe that was where I could come in.
Nana Lily’s inheritance was giving me the chance to make a real difference to people’s lives. Although the members each put up a front for the world, I could tell they were all mired in their own tragedies, crying out for
someone to help them.
That person, I decided, was going to be me.
Chapter Seven
My parents were ecstatic.
It was official; I was staying in Luna Bay.
I felt both excited and nervous: the village had been my home for the first eighteen years of my life and I loved it, but nonetheless it was strange knowing I’d be sticking around for longer than I’d planned. However, I was going to be leading a book club for broken hearts and helping the members to be happy again.
What could be better than that?
Of course, it involved coming clean about being sacked from my job in London. To my surprise, my parents took it quite well.
‘You could’ve been marched out the building with an armed escort for all I care,’ my dad said. ‘We’re just glad to have you home!’
Mr Shields was gutted to have been robbed of the chance to earn some juicy commission by selling Rose Cottage, but reluctantly handed the keys over and promised to have all the legal stuff – transfers of deeds and titles, changes to the Land Registry etc. – sorted within a month or so.
‘Remember Miss Harper, if at any time you choose to step down as leader of the Broken Hearts Book Club, the cottage will then be put on the market,’ he warned just as I was leaving. Every conversation I had with him always seemed to have a sting in the tail.
To mark my decision to settle in Luna Bay – for three months at least – Elle, George, my parents and I went to The Purple Partridge.
‘I’d like to propose a toast.’ Dad stood up with his glass of Prosecco. ‘To my lovely daughter Lucy, who’s moving back home after eight years in London. Welcome home darling, it’s great to have you back.’
The others raised their glasses and a collective ‘to Lucy’ echoed round the table. I got more than a little misty-eyed and had to hide some stray tears running down my cheeks.
‘It’s good to be back,’ I choked out. ‘I’ve really missed this place.’
