eyes and thick curls, coupled with the way she reached out and pulled me in for a suffocating hug, she couldn’t possibly have been anyone other than Sophie’s daughter. I was rather taken aback to be greeted like a long-lost relative as opposed to a stranger, but I shouldn’t have been surprised really.
‘Mum has told me so much about you,’ she beamed. ‘I can’t believe you’ve got her surfing the net. I’ve been trying forever! And now Sam tells me that last night you pulled off the most amazing evening Wynmouth has seen in years. I can’t believe I missed that. Had I known I would have definitely made it back in time, but I was with my aunt Blossom in Norwich, and hadn’t spoken to Mum all week—’
‘Hope,’ said Sam, catching her hand and giving it a squeeze, ‘slow down. You’re making me feel light-headed.’
‘Sorry,’ she laughed, taking her hand back and covering her mouth, ‘I’m just so excited to be back! It feels so good to be home. I’ve got tonnes to tell you.’
She was off and running again and Sam looked at me over the top of her head and grinned. I was fast beginning to feel like I’d been steamrollered, but in a good way.
‘Well,’ said Sam, quickly butting in the next time Hope drew breath, ‘you don’t need to tell us everything you’ve been up to in the next three seconds, do you? We’ve got plenty of time to catch up, especially now Tess has extended her stay.’
I was surprised that he had included me in their party, but something told me I was going to be seeing a lot of Hope in the next few weeks.
‘I’m so pleased you aren’t rushing off,’ she said to me. She sounded genuinely delighted. ‘Now we’ll really have a chance to get to know each other. I know Mum’s very fond of you already.’
I was very fond of her too, but I didn’t get the chance to say that.
‘Shall I make us some coffee?’ Sam suggested. ‘We’ve got a couple of hours before I have to open and there’s no clearing up left to do. You two could get to know each other a bit better now and we can talk about last night and what we’re going to do next.’
‘All right,’ I accepted, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to be the third wheel or that he would have much of a chance to say anything if Hope carried on talking at the same speed. She certainly didn’t need caffeine to get her fired up!
‘Great,’ said Sam.
He clearly didn’t mind me sticking around, but I felt a little foolish. I had thought there had been this great spark between us, but I’d obviously read it all wrong. Sam definitely wouldn’t have made a move on me knowing that his other half was on her way back to Wynmouth. He just wasn’t the type to play the field. Was I so love-starved that I’d mistaken a simple friendly hug as a lead-in for something more? Thank goodness we had been interrupted. I could have ended up making a right fool of myself otherwise.
‘What on earth’s the matter with you two?’ Hope frowned, sounding disappointed. ‘Why are you talking about drinking coffee in here? Have you not seen the sunshine?’ she added, pointing at the window.
‘It is warm out,’ I agreed.
‘Exactly.’ Hope beamed. ‘Let’s forget the coffee and take a breakfast picnic down to the beach instead.’
That sounded like a lovely idea to me. I had already been thinking that Sam didn’t leave the pub anywhere near often enough. Relieved that I hadn’t made a fool of myself with her boyfriend, I felt Hope and I had the potential to get along very well and, as I hadn’t acted on my misinterpreted feelings, slipping Sam back into the friendship box shouldn’t be any problem at all.
‘What do you think, Tess?’ Hope asked, turning her beautiful brown eyes back to me. ‘Does that sound like a plan to you?’
‘It sounds like a perfect plan,’ I heartily agreed.
Sam groaned and shook his head.
‘I’m going to be utterly outnumbered now the two of you have got your heads together, aren’t I?’ he moaned.
‘Utterly!’ Hope and I chorused in perfect synchronicity before bursting out laughing.
Chapter 9
It was a relief to discover that my concerns about taking on the role of third wheel in the presence of the recently reunited couple were completely unwarranted. There were no embarrassing quick kisses or lingering looks