Wish You Were Here – Part 4. Cressida McLaughlin

down here, sorting through my aunt’s things, finding out the truth about her and my dad – it seemed safer, easier to stay away.’ His lips flickered in a half-smile. ‘Though it hasn’t turned out to be easier.’

      ‘It hasn’t?’ she asked.

      He shook his head, his smile growing, his fingers reaching up to brush her cheek, and then Darcy yelped, bounding out of the waves towards them, soaked and happy. She ran straight to Robin, putting damp paws on her knees and shaking herself, so that Robin squealed and Will shot off the rock, away from them.

      ‘Darcy,’ Robin laughed, trying to shield herself from the impromptu shower, even though it was too late. ‘Is that because you were mad with me too?’

      ‘It’s because she’s missed you,’ Will said. ‘And for that, I’m very glad. If she hadn’t been eager to see you, I might have got the full force of her greeting.’ He sat back down warily, keeping his eyes on Darcy, who seemed content to settle at their feet and dry in the sunshine.

      ‘I’ve missed you too,’ Robin murmured. She glanced at Will, at his golden-flecked hair, his long neck, his tanned arms. ‘I’m sorry for not telling you about Tim,’ she said. ‘But I only did that so you wouldn’t jump at the possibility of a quick sale when going through Tabitha’s things seemed like such a challenge. I wanted to get to know you before you disappeared again. It was selfish. I don’t want Tim developing Tabitha’s house into flats – I don’t think he’d even be allowed to, if that Jane Austen plaque was real – but not telling you to begin with was so I’d have more time with you before that became a possibility. Though, when you arrived, I wondered whether Tim or his boss, Malcolm, had prompted your visit to Campion Bay in the first place.’

      ‘No, I came because I’d broken up with Annie and needed to get away from Kent for a while. And the thought of Aunt Tabitha’s house, sitting here untouched and empty, had been niggling away at me. It was sheer coincidence that I turned up when Tim started to get interested.’

      ‘That makes sense,’ Robin murmured. ‘But you need to know that Tim and I – we’re so far in the past, now. And even if there were flickers of attraction between us when I saw him again, they’ve been obliterated by – by you. From the moment you stepped into Starcross, I didn’t want you to go. We’ve only known each other a short time, but already, you’ve changed my life, Will.’ There. She’d said it. She chewed her lip, forcing herself to stay quiet while he absorbed the words.

      He didn’t reply immediately, and she could see the tension in his broad shoulders. He was frowning, his eyes scanning her face. She wanted to reach up and touch his lips with her finger; wished he’d put his hand back in her hair.

      ‘Robin …’ he started.

      ‘You don’t have to say anything,’ she rushed, suddenly afraid of what was coming, of him rejecting her, finally and completely.

      He winced, pressing his lips together before he spoke. ‘Tim’s made an offer on the house.’

      Robin felt an unpleasant tingling in her toes, and the butterflies in her tummy started flapping frantically. ‘OK,’ she said slowly. ‘He’s given you a concrete figure?’

      Will nodded. ‘And it’s … ridiculous, the amount he’s willing to pay.’

      ‘So you’re going to take it?’ It came out as a whisper.

      Will closed his eyes, ran his hands over Darcy’s ears. ‘No. I mean, not yet. I haven’t finished sorting out Tabitha’s things, and I’ve told Tim that I won’t even consider it until that’s done. I’m not accepting his offer of help, either. It’s something I need to do alone, for my aunt’s sake. But he took me to his office and showed me the plans – he’s already done a lot of the groundwork. He’s a very confident guy.’ She heard the bitterness in his voice at these last words, her shoulders sagging at the inevitability of it all.

      ‘So once you’re done, you’re going to sell?’

      He stared at the sea for so long, she thought he hadn’t heard. When he turned towards her, his eyes were on fire, as if they’d absorbed the sun’s heat. ‘I don’t know,’ he murmured. His gaze held hers and then travelled down to her lips, to her hands resting in her lap, then back up. ‘I haven’t been here long, and I – I’m not sure if I can make this my home. Some of it’s been so hard, so challenging, and some of it …’ His brows lowered in a flicker of a frown. ‘Some of it has felt too good to be true.’

      ‘It doesn’t have to be,’ she said quietly. ‘It can be your reality. Life is good here.’

      ‘I’m not talking about this,’ he said, indicating the shimmering water.

      Robin held her breath, but Will didn’t elaborate. She could sense his conflict, knew that he was holding back, despite the charge between them, so overwhelming she could hardly think straight. She clasped her hands on her knees, and tried her best to sound nonchalant. ‘You don’t have your own home now, since moving out of Downe Hall, do you?’