The South West Series Box Set

by Rebecca Paulinyi

  Beth smiled, both at the book and his comment, and didn’t answer. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about anyone reading her scribblings…

  ***

  Two hours passed by quite happily, and before they knew it the shop was closing and they had five books between them to purchase. Had she not known how low her bank balance was in danger of running, Beth would have bought more, but she was happy with the two Agatha Christie novels she’d ended up with as they strolled out of the shop. The shops were emptying as they wandered back towards the cottage they were staying in, but the pubs were filling up, and they passed cheerful looking beer gardens filled with people enjoying a pint and the September sunshine.

  “Do you enjoy working at Greenway, then?” he asked as they meandered up the hill.

  “I do,” Beth said, giving the question a little thought before answering further. “And I know it’s no great career, and that I’m barely earning above minimum wage, but the place is gorgeous, the history is fascinating and it inspires me to write. I feel so much more excited to get up every day and go to work than I’ve felt in any other job I’ve been in. ” She blushed. “Sorry, you probably didn’t need that much information in answer to a simple question!”

  When Caspian smiled, she noticed a slight dimple around his lips, and she marvelled at how young and carefree he could look in one moment, and so brooding and concerned the next. “As long as you’re happy in a job, I don’t think it matters what it is - and like you said, it gives you the chance to be creative, too.”

  “And what about your job?” she asked. “It sounds very important and stressful - do you enjoy it?”

  He too seemed to consider his answer before giving it; she wondered if anyone had ever asked it. “Yes,” he said. “I think I do. I’m good at it - if that doesn’t sound too arrogant - and I know what I’m doing. I don’t find it too stressful, although the travelling backwards and forwards can be a bit exhausting. But sometimes I get the train, which is nicer, and the sea views when you go through Dawlish always make me feel like the journey is worth it.” They reached the top of the hill and both glanced back to look at the setting sun sparkling on the ocean. “Sorry, I’m rambling.”

  “I like to hear you talk,” she said with a soft smile. “Do you ever consider just living in London or wherever permanently? Just coming to Devon on holidays?”

  “Do you think I should?”

  Beth shook her head, afraid to admit on a third date - although a rather unconventional one - that she really would not want him to move away. “No, but I’m guessing you’ve considered it?”

  “I have,” he said, as they continued round the corner to the cottage. “And my mum insists I don’t need to live down here for her. To be honest, I’m not just in London - I travel around a fair bit to other cities, so even if I did live there, it’s not like I would be able to stop travelling all together.”

  “But you’d be a hell of a lot more central there than living in Devon,” she said, unsure why she was giving him reasons to move away.

  “It definitely sounds like you’re looking for reasons to get rid of me!”

  She shook her head. “Just trying to understand…”

  “I’m not sure I understand myself most of the time,” Caspian admitted. “So I’m afraid I don’t think you’ll have much luck. But please, feel free to keep trying!”

  “Oh, I plan to,” she said with a grin. “Now, I think it’s about time we tried out that hot tub…”

  ***

  As Beth was still wearing her swimming costume under her dress, she skipped straight out into the secluded little garden and, waiting for Caspian to join her, peeled off the dress and let it drop to the floor.

  “Are you trying to seduce me?” Caspian asked with a cheeky grin.

  Beth shook her head. “Me? Never. I’m just getting into the hot tub to enjoy the sunset. Are you going to join me?”

  He nodded. “Give me two minutes.”

  Beth slipped in to the hot bubbles alone, facing out so she could see the expanse of the ocean as the orange and red sunlight hit it on its way down. The day had been exhilarating so far, and she wasn’t sure she could ever remember having so much fun with someone she was dating. Her muscles ached after the surfing, along with the walking they had done that day, and she enjoyed letting the warm water soothe them.

  It didn’t take long for Caspian to reappear. He had changed back into his trunks - an event Beth was sad she had missed - and was carrying two glasses of wine.

  “Where did that appear from?” Beth asked, reaching out to take one as he climbed into the water beside her.

  “Does it sound bad if I told you I brought it with me?”

  Beth laughed. “Do you always bring wine away with you?”

  He shook his head, looking a little bashful. “Honestly? I was a bit nervous about the weekend. And since every date we’ve been on has included wine…”

  “You thought it would make things less awkward?”

  He nodded.

  “And is that why you’ve brought it out here?”

  He shook his head. “I haven’t felt awkward for a second. I’m just not really used to going away with anyone…”

  She took a sip of the crisp white wine and let out a contented sigh. “So why did you bring the wine out now?”

  He shrugged. “I just thought if I was going to enjoy a beautiful view, with a beautiful woman, it would be made even nicer with a cold glass of wine.”

  “Now I think you’re trying to seduce me,” Beth said.

  “Always.”

  The view and the wine really were gorgeous, but they were quickly forgotten. Their wine glasses were placed on the side of the tub, barely touched, as they moved closer in the water. The teasing words, and a day of being physically so close to one another was clearly having an effect, and Beth felt as though sparks were jumping from her skin. She let Caspian take the lead as his fingers trailed down her bare arm, making her shiver in spite of the warm water surrounding her. They had not stopped talking all day, but now they fell silent, absorbing themselves in the feeling of the cool evening air on their skin, the warmth of the bubbles and the electricity from their touching bodies. Beth wasn’t sure who moved first, but when their lips were almost connected, she felt his hand on her waist pulling her closer, before his lips pressed to hers and she felt her body melt into his. Her ams wrapped around his neck and her legs around his waist, closing the space between them as he ran his lips down the side of her neck.

  “Beth,” he murmured, and the sound of her name on his lips made her groan.

  “Caspian,” she whispered, pulling his lips back to hers for another kiss that felt like explosions were going off around her.

  It was only when she pulled away to take a breath that she realised it wasn’t just the kiss; there really were fireworks going off in the sky above her. Blue, green, red flashes, each reflected in the calm ocean below them, the moon and the dark sky the only indicator of the amount of time they had spent kissing in that hot tub.

  “They’re really there, right?” Caspian whispered into her ear. “Not a figment of my imagination brought on by your lips?”

  Beth couldn’t help but laugh. She turned herself to face them, not moving from his lap, and they watched together as the lights exploded in the sky and then fell dramatically to the ocean below. “No, I’m definitely seeing the fireworks too.”

  The bright lights and explosions, however, could not distract either of them from the proximity of their bodies, from the promise of what they had started.

  “Have you got a towel?” Caspian asked, and Beth shook her head.

  “You know me,” she said. “Always spontaneous, never prepared.”

  “I feel like that pays off sometimes!” he said with a laugh. “I think we’re going to have to make a run for the bedroom then, stop us freezing once we hit that night air…”

  “Think we can make it to the bedroom?” Beth asked, a sparkle in her eye as the las
t firework fizzled out in the air.

  Caspian took her hand and pulled her up, and they tried not to knock over the wine glasses as they dashed into through the double doors, the cold air making their previously warm skin prickle. Beth was shrieking by the time they’d made it into the bedroom, a room she hadn’t seen when they arrived. It was simple again, with a blue and white checked duvet on a double bed, and two matching nightstands, with a large clock above the door.

  “We’re booked in for dinner in half an hour,” she said, a little breathless.

  Caspian reached round to click the clasp of her bikini, letting it fall to floor. “I think we’re going to be a little late…”

  ***

  Beth stretched out her arms on the white pillows and smiled at Caspian lying next to her.

  “Worth being late for dinner for?” he asked, propping his head up on his arm.

  “Oh, I think so… but we really should ring them if we want a table still!”

  “I need a shower first,” Caspian said, with a stretch of his tanned arms.

  “Me too,” said Beth, watching as he got out of bed without a stitch on. She was a little more shy and kept the blue checked duvet cover over her body as she sat up.

  “Want to join me?” Caspian asked with a cheeky grin.

  Beth laughed; “I’m not sure that’s the quickest option… but who am I to argue! Let me just ring the restaurant.”

  A quick phone call and a not so quick shower later, and they were both dressed and ready to head out. Caspian wore his black jeans with a crisp white shirt that he left open at the collar and Beth found her eye drawn to the patch where his tanned skin contrasted so deliciously with the shirt. She wore a summery blue dress covered in butterflies with a pair of flat shoes; after all the walking they’d done today, not to mention their surfing and other activities, there was no way she fancied wearing a pair of heels. Besides, they would be walking to and from the restaurant since it was not that far - and the views were spectacular, and the weather so pleasant.

  As soon as they left the cottage, Caspian took hold of her hand, and she smiled at how quickly the gesture felt natural.

  “What a perfect day,” she said as they strolled down the hill back towards the beach. “I mean, I don't like brag about my date-planning-”

  Caspian interrupted her “No, you should do - it has been an amazing day. An amazing date!” He paused to kiss her and she marveled at how spectacular things really were turning out. Who could have known, two short months ago when she complained in a nightclub that she couldn’t find the fireworks, that her life could change so drastically.

  Chapter 23

  Beth had spent a while on her lunch breaks at work researching different restaurants in the area. This one had great reviews and great views, and so it had seemed like the obvious choice. Floor to ceiling windows looked out over the ocean, which was only just still visible. Although they were late, they were seated quickly and were soon enjoying cocktails as they looked out over the bay. Beth smiled at the sight of Caspian drinking the pink and orange creation with an umbrella; it seemed so at odds with his stern exterior.

  “How’s your niece?” he asked.

  “Fine, thanks, or so my sister tells me when we talk - running her ragged apparently, so she’s clearly recovered from her trip to A&E!”

  “Did you say she’d moved to the area fairly recently?”

  “Last Christmas. It was all rather sudden and out of character!” Beth sipped her drink, mindful that having already had wine and not much to eat, it was liable to go straight to her head.

  “Now I am intrigued!”

  “She was a lawyer in Bristol,” Beth said, taking another sip of her cocktail, which tasted dangerously non-alcoholic since she’d seen the amount of alcohol that had gone into it. “Married to a doctor. Then she walked in one day to find him sleeping with some blonde from work. In their bed.”

  “Scumbag,” Caspian said - a response Beth heartily approved of.

  “Indeed. So she came to Totnes, to get her head together, then ended up buying a café…”

  “She bought a café?” Caspian looked a little incredulous.

  “Yep. Found a flat share, planned to go back to Bristol once she’d got herself together. Then she met a handsome police officer…” Beth grinned. “Fell in love, fell pregnant and they’re getting married this Christmas!”

  “Wow,” Caspian said. “Talk about spontaneous…”

  Beth laughed. “The funny thing is, before that she was so predictable. Everything organised, five-year plan, hell, probably a ten-year plan!” She paused; “A bit like you, really.”

  “I’m not sure I have things as planned out as you imagine…”

  “You are a bit of an enigma,” she said, tucking into her meal that she had barely noticed arriving.

  “Does she still practise law?” Caspian asked between mouthfuls.

  “She’s started again on the side - although how she has time with a ten-month-old and a café, I don’t know.”

  “Can I meet her?”

  The question surprised Beth. When had she last introduced a guy to her family? It was certainly a rare occurrence. And this was only a third date.

  But…

  “Do you want to?”

  “Yeah. If you’d be happy for me to.”

  “Okay. We can go for coffee sometime.”

  Caspian smiled.

  “Can I meet your mum?” Beth asked, feeling like that was a further leap forward - but that if she didn’t ask now, it might be a very long time before she felt she could. And she was very intrigued to meet his mother, the woman who kept him anchored in this small town.

  “You’ve already met my mum,” Caspian said, and Beth felt he was stalling for time.

  “As a tour guide. Not as.” She reached around for the word that described this deliciously intense thing between them. “Not as someone you’re dating.”

  “My mum’s not met anyone I’ve dated since I was sixteen.”

  “How old are you now?”

  “Thirty-one,” he answered.

  “Surely she’s had enough time to get over the last one then?”

  He gave a short, sharp laugh. “She was a goth with a pierced lip and black lipstick,” Caspian said. “I’m not sure she’d ever say she was over it!”

  “Teenage rebellious phase?”

  Something like that,” he said, emptying the rest of his glass. “But yes, if you want to, you can meet my mum.”

  Beth grinned. “Good.”

  When the bill was brought to the table, the waitress automatically placed it in front of Cas, which irritated Beth. She reached across to grab it, but before she could, he placed his hand over hers.

  “Let me get this.”

  “I invited you in the date, I pay. That’s the way it works,” Beth insisted.

  “But when dates are as epic as this,” he said, reaching into his pocket for his wallet with his other hand, “It’s only fair we split some of the cost. Please?”

  She didn’t know whether it was his plea, his compliment or the look in his eyes as they met hers, but her ire cooled and she withdrew her hand.

  “Okay. If you insist.” If truth be told, the whole weekend had been rather expensive, and a little help wouldn't go amiss.

  ***

  Hand-in-hand they strolled across the beach, which was now bathed in the inky light of the night sky, reflections of the moon bouncing off the water and making it glint and shimmer before them. The sand was cooler now, and Beth took off her shoes to feel it between her toes, despite Caspian laughing at her.

  “When you don’t grow up by the sea, you appreciate these things more!” she insisted. “I feel like I’m in a movie.”

  The alcohol and the perfection of the day had left her feeling a little giddy, and she added occasional skips to her step as they traversed the almost deserted beach. It looked completely different than it had earlier in the day, but Beth thought it was possibly even more beautif
ul.

  “Tell me something,” Caspian said, watching her intently.

  “Tell you what?”

  “Something about you. Something other people don’t know.”

  Beth thought for a moment, finding it a little harder to put her thoughts into words than she had done before the alcohol. “Okay,” she said. “But you’ve got to promise not to judge me.”