Sunlight over Crystal Sands: A gorgeous uplifting romantic comedy perfect to escape with this summer

by Holly Martin

  Lyra swallowed, unable to take her eyes off him. ‘And you’ve had this with a woman?’

  Nix nodded. ‘Two actually.’

  ‘And what happened?’

  ‘The first woman we had seven glorious years together.’

  ‘But you’re not seeing her now.’

  ‘No, she… I haven’t seen her for three years.’

  ‘So it didn’t work out,’ Lyra said.

  ‘It worked out absolutely fine for those seven years,’ Nix said, somewhat defensively.

  She decided to move on. ‘And what happened with the second woman?’

  He stared at her for the longest time. ‘I don’t know, maybe it’s a work in progress.’

  Did he mean her? Had he felt that amazing connection too? Then why the hell had he run? None of this made any sense. And if he was talking about her then his assumption that he still stood a chance with her after what he did was very misguided.

  ‘If you’re talking about me, then it’s more like finished business,’ she snapped, grabbing the file on Jack and Heather’s wedding and standing up. ‘I’m going to see Skye.’

  And with that she walked out of the office.

  Cones at the Cove was a bright blue wooden building with large glass windows to make the most of the beautiful view over Emerald Cove. There were oversized chessboards and Jenga outside, which would probably prove popular with the children. The café was currently closed but thankfully the door was open and, as Lyra walked inside, she could hear music drifting out from the kitchen. There were large booths and smaller tables dotted around the room and the driftwood-style tables, seaside paraphernalia hanging from the ceilings and beautiful paintings on the walls gave the whole place a distinctive coastal vibe. One entire wall was taken up with lots of ice cream machines that no doubt held lots of different flavours. This place definitely looked fun and she could see why Jack and Heather had been charmed by it.

  Lyra moved over to the kitchen door and stopped as she peered through the little window. There was a woman – presumably Clover’s twin, Skye, as she looked so much like Clover – and a very large man dancing together. The woman was quite visibly pregnant and the man had his hands on her belly as they moved around the room, with eyes only for each other.

  Lyra swallowed down the lump in her throat because they were so obviously completely in love with each other. She’d never had anything like that. She’d had men she was in love with and who she’d thought had loved her, but she’d never had a man look at her like that.

  She pushed the thought from her head that said Nix had looked at her like that when they’d laid in bed together.

  She didn’t know whether to interrupt them but Jack and Heather’s wedding was coming up quite quickly and there was a lot to sort out before then. Having given herself all the weddings to take care of, Lyra didn’t even feel she could ask Nix for any help.

  She knocked on the door of the kitchen and watched the couple quickly break apart.

  The woman came to the door and opened it.

  ‘Hello, I’m so sorry to interrupt. I’m Lyra, part of the new events team.’

  A large smile spread across the woman’s face and she stuck out a hand. ‘I’m Skye and this is my husband, Jesse. Great to finally meet you. Clover has been going on about you and Nix for weeks, about how impressed she was with you. She’s been dying for you both to start.’

  ‘Well that’s nice to hear. I’ve been looking forward to starting here too.’

  Lyra gave a little sigh because she had been looking forward to this job so much and now it felt tainted. She couldn’t let Nix ruin it for her.

  She moved forward to shake Jesse’s proffered hand. ‘This place looks great. It’s not just a café, it has real character.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Skye said. ‘I know I’m biased but I love it. Anyway, what can we help you with?’

  ‘Well, we have a wedding, one of those last-minute jobs, and it’s a couple who met here in your café,’ Lyra said.

  ‘Heather and Jack? Yes, we know them. They’ve been here so often since that first night, they’re regulars now. They even got engaged here.’

  ‘Yes, it seems they love the place too. So much so they actually want to get married here.’

  ‘Here?’ Jesse said. ‘Is that legal?’

  ‘Well, not actually tie the knot here, I think they’ll do that up at the hotel, but hold the reception here. I came to see if you think it’s a viable option.’

  ‘Oh, how exciting,’ Skye said, turning to see what Jesse thought.

  ‘We’d have to close the café to the public,’ he said. ‘But it’s only for one day.’

  ‘How many guests are we talking about?’ Skye said.

  Lyra consulted the file. ‘It’s quite a small wedding, currently forty-eight guests.’

  ‘We have seating for sixty so it’s doable,’ Skye said, thoughtfully. ‘But what are their plans, are they wanting a proper three-course meal here?’

  ‘Yes, that’s the idea.’

  ‘Oh wow,’ Jesse said. ‘I’ve never done a wedding menu before. I help out in the hotel kitchens twice a week so I have experience of cooking food other than desserts, but this might be a bit beyond my skills.’

  ‘No it isn’t. You could do this, and me and Melody will be here to help you,’ Skye insisted.

  ‘What kind of food are we talking about?’ Jesse said.

  ‘I can send you over some sample menus from previous weddings and events we’ve held in the hotel to see what we normally do,’ Lyra said. ‘And that’s the kind of thing we’ll be sending to Jack and Heather for them to choose from, though they might have more specific ideas.’

  Jesse nodded. ‘But what about a dance floor? We don’t really have anywhere big enough to accommodate that in here and the tables are all fixed in place.’

  ‘The hotel has its own marquee that we’ve used for different events before,’ Skye said, visibly getting excited. ‘We could put it up outside. We can push the bifold doors back and have a large doorway between here and the marquee. They can dance in there and have desserts on tap in here.’

  ‘This sounds promising,’ Lyra said. ‘The request to use this place only came through yesterday so why don’t I invite them down here to have a chat and we can discuss what they would like for their day? Then you can decide whether we can accommodate them or come up with an alternative. We might even be able to pin them down to a menu choice too.’

  ‘Good idea. It’d be great to chat through with them how they envisage it,’ Skye said. ‘Oooh, this is exciting. Bea will be delighted.’

  ‘Bea?’

  ‘Our daughter,’ Jesse said.

  ‘She loves watching the weddings at the hotel, I think she has a bit of a romantic heart,’ Skye said.

  ‘Ah, every little girl loves a good old-fashioned fairytale wedding,’ Lyra said.

  ‘And Jack and Heather are definitely the fairytale couple,’ Skye said. ‘It was one of those love-at-first-sight moments, it’s very romantic.’

  Lyra cleared her throat and hoped she didn’t look too disapproving; she would have to keep her pessimism to herself.

  ‘Right, well I’ll get back to the office and give them a call,’ she said. ‘I’ll keep you posted.’

  She waved goodbye and walked back through the gardens. It was a glorious summer day and an array of colourful flowers were in full bloom as she made her way towards the hotel.

  She looked down at the file and sighed. This love-at-first-sight wedding was going to be a touchy subject for the next few weeks. It wasn’t that Lyra didn’t believe in it, because she did; she was a big romantic at heart. She loved reading all those lovely romance books with the guaranteed happy ending, she was a sucker for wonderfully cheesy romantic movies, and she’d seen enough of her friends and family tie the knot and get their big happy ending to know it did exist. But for her it just never happened. She’d fallen in love too many times to count and had her heart broken too many times too. She�
�d vowed she wouldn’t be so foolish and give away her heart again, and then along came Nix and her carefully constructed walls had been yanked down.

  She had felt that connection with Nix, it had been unlike anything she’d ever felt before, but yet again she’d ended up hurt.

  So she would arrange this wedding and she’d pour her heart and soul into it because someone ought to get their happy ending, even if for her that door was now firmly closed.

  Nix was typing up a table plan for an upcoming fiftieth when there was a knock on the office door, which was a bit odd. If it was Clover or any other member of staff they would have just come in. As Lyra still had her headphones in and hadn’t heard the knock, he stood up to answer it.

  There was an elderly lady on the other side, wearing a stunning emerald cloak with shell patterns sewed on it.

  ‘Sylvia O’Hare,’ the lady said, sticking out her hand.

  Nix couldn’t help but smile at the bold introduction. However, the name rang a bell.

  ‘Nix Sanchez.’ He shook her hand, finding her grip surprisingly strong.

  ‘Ah, the other half of the events team. I met your partner earlier, she seems lovely.’

  Nix nodded, politely. ‘She is.’

  Of course, lovely didn’t come close to describing Lyra. There was something about her that made him smile so damned much. Well, at least that’s how he’d felt when he first met her. Today’s Lyra was very different to the one he’d made love to the week before.

  ‘We had a nice chat before, very… enlightening,’ Sylvia said, fixing Nix with a look that suggested Lyra had told Sylvia every single detail about their wonderful night together, which he highly doubted. Although it was clear she certainly knew something, or at least thought she did. ‘But in all the excitement of our little chat, I forgot to talk to her about my party.’

  ‘You’re having a party?’ That was why the name seemed familiar: he’d seen it on one of the files.

  ‘Yes, it’s a book launch, the publication of my hundred and fiftieth book.’

  ‘Wow, that’s quite some achievement – that definitely needs a big celebration. I wrote a book once, a children’s book about beavers. I tried to get it published but with no luck. To get a hundred and fifty books out there in the world is a really big deal.’

  ‘Ah, children’s publishing is notoriously hard to get into. Fortunately for me, I write about sex and love and there’s always a huge appetite for that.’

  He felt the smile spread across his face. ‘Maybe that’s where I’m going wrong.’

  ‘If you ever fancied trying your hand at writing romance, I could definitely give you a few pointers. But I’m sure you could find your own inspiration. Maybe your lovely colleague could help you with that.’

  Nix smirked. Sylvia definitely knew something. He decided to move the subject away from sex. He was pretty sure Lyra was listening to at least some of this conversation.

  ‘So you wanted to discuss your party. Come in for a second and I’ll just grab your file.’

  Sylvia followed him into the office and Lyra smiled and waved. ‘How nice to see you again.’

  Nix suppressed a snort of laughter. Judging by Lyra’s tone of voice, the last conversation with Sylvia hadn’t been an entirely pleasurable one. Maybe Sylvia had talked to her about sex too.

  He flicked through the files on his desk and found Sylvia’s. ‘Why don’t we go outside into the reception to discuss this, leave Lyra in peace?’

  ‘Oh, I thought I’d discuss it with both of you.’

  ‘Lyra is in charge of weddings, I’m in charge of all the other events,’ Nix explained. ‘So it will be me who will be handling your party.’

  ‘Well that’s a very efficient way of handling the events.’ Sylvia tapped her lips thoughtfully. ‘Although I know that Clover hired the two of you so you could work together, not separately. Wouldn’t it be better to work as a team, discuss the events with each other, help each other to carry the load?’

  Lyra smiled sweetly. ‘We decided that this way worked better. Then the clients will always have the same point of contact.’

  ‘And this new arrangement is nothing to do with not wanting to work together after your… last meeting?’ Sylvia said.

  Nix watched Lyra blush furiously. He hated that this conversation was making her feel awkward.

  ‘We discussed it and, based on our previous experience in this role, we both thought it was for the best,’ he said. ‘But you don’t need to worry, I’m more than capable of helping you plan the most amazing launch party for your book. Shall we?’ He gestured for her to leave the office, which Sylvia did.

  Lyra flashed him a grateful smile as he went out.

  Sylvia slipped her arm into his as they walked into the reception area. ‘Nix, I’m very much looking forward to getting to know you properly.’

  Nix kept the smile fixed on his face. Why did he get the feeling that getting to know him was going to involve asking lots of personal questions about his relationship with Lyra? Or the lack of one.

  Chapter Nine

  There was a knock at the office door later and the door was tentatively pushed open before Lyra could even get up.

  She recognised Aria, the hotel manager, instantly; she’d met her at the interview. Lyra knew that Aria was the oldest sister, though she didn’t look anything like the twins.

  ‘Hello,’ Aria said. ‘Sorry to interrupt. It was so quiet; I wasn’t sure if anyone was in here. Thought you’d both gone out to lunch.’

  ‘No, just… working away,’ Lyra said, standing up as Nix did the same. Obviously he recognised Aria too.

  ‘I’m Aria, the hotel manager.’ Aria stuck her hand out to Lyra who had reached her first.

  Lyra shook her hand. ‘I remember you from the interview, it’s good to meet you again.’

  She noticed there was a man outside the office holding the hand of a little girl.

  Aria shook Nix’s hand. ‘And this is Noah, the co-owner of the hotel and my husband.’

  Noah stepped forward and shook their hands too. ‘Great to meet you both, I’ve heard only good things about you. Clover has been singing your praises ever since the interview.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Nix said. ‘That’s nice to hear. And who is this lovely young lady – one of the hotel receptionists perhaps?’

  The little girl burst out laughing. ‘No, I’m too young to be a receptionist and I’m going to be an astronaut anyway. I won’t have time to look after the hotel when I’m in space.’

  ‘No, good point,’ Nix said, seriously. ‘Being an astronaut will take up a lot of your time.’

  ‘This is our daughter, Orla,’ Noah said.

  ‘Pleased to meet you, Orla,’ Nix said, holding out a hand. ‘I’m Nix.’

  Lyra smiled as Orla shook it so firmly she almost bounced Nix’s arm out of his shoulder.

  ‘Nix is a funny name.’

  ‘It’s short for Phoenix,’ Nix said.

  Lyra didn’t know that. In fact there was a lot she didn’t know about Nix, which begged the reason why she’d felt the need to jump into bed with him.

  Orla’s eyes lit up. ‘There’s a Phoenix in my class at school.’

  ‘There’s quite a few of us around. I bet there aren’t too many Orlas though.’

  Orla smiled proudly. ‘I’m the only one.’

  ‘Then I’m even more delighted to meet you,’ Nix said.

  Orla turned her attention to Lyra and offered out her hand in the way the Queen might offer hers out to be kissed.

  Lyra suppressed a smile as she shook it. ‘I’m Lyra. Do you have any of those in your class?’

  Orla wrinkled her tiny nose as she thought. ‘There’s a Laura.’

  ‘That’s a pretty name.’

  ‘I don’t like her,’ Orla said.

  ‘Orla!’ Aria said. ‘We don’t say things like that.’

  ‘She’s mean, she splashed water over me this morning.’

  ‘I’m sure she didn’t mean
to,’ Noah said.

  ‘I splashed her back and then she cried and told the teacher.’

  ‘Orla, that isn’t very kind,’ Aria said. ‘When you next see her, I want you to be nice, ask her if she wants to play with you.’

  Orla sighed theatrically. ‘OK.’

  Aria turned her attention back to Lyra and Nix, obviously a bit embarrassed by Orla’s proclamation. ‘We, er… wanted to invite you both to lunch, introduce you properly to the whole team.’

  ‘That sounds great,’ Nix said. ‘I was just thinking how hungry I was.’

  Lyra wanted nothing less than to have to socialise with Nix, but she knew she couldn’t turn down the invite from her bosses.

  ‘That’ll be lovely,’ she said.

  ‘We can eat in the restaurant,’ Aria said, gesturing for them to go out of the office ahead of her. ‘It’ll be fairly quiet this time of day. Orla will be joining us. She’s not normally part of the management team meetings, but her school closed early today. Apparently there was a burst pipe.’

  ‘Will Bea be at lunch too?’ Orla said, excitedly.

  ‘No, her school did not have a burst pipe.’

  ‘I wish it did,’ Orla said, grumpily.

  Lyra hid a smile as she looked down and, as she glanced across at Nix, she saw he was struggling to suppress a smile too.

  They walked into the restaurant and Lyra noticed Clover, Angel, Skye and Jesse were waiting for them.

  Aria made the introductions and there were lots of handshakes all round. Nix hadn’t met Skye, Jesse or even Angel before.

  There were a few stragglers in the restaurant finishing off their lunch but it was mostly empty. Lyra couldn’t help being impressed by the amazing view over the sea.

  Aria and Noah sat down with Orla, leaving the only space in the booth for Nix and Lyra to sit together. Definitely not awkward, Lyra thought as her leg brushed up against his.

  Orla was given an activity book to work on and was soon busily colouring and sticking stickers everywhere.

  They spent a few minutes discussing the menu options before placing their order with one of the waitresses.

  Aria turned to them. ‘So, we know quite a bit about your professional lives and the jobs you had before coming here, but we don’t know much about your personal lives. Are you married, do you have children?’