A Perfect Cornish Escape by Phillipa Ashley Page 0,28

said, sharing a glance with Marina.

‘Great. I knew you’d want to join in! And do call me Evie, for goodness’ sake, Mrs Carman makes me feel so bloomin’ ancient! I can’t believe I’m mum to this strapping fella.’ She hung onto Aaron’s arm and he smiled sheepishly before kissing her cheek. ‘He’s my big handsome boy and now I’m going to be a nanna again.’

Aaron grimaced but it was clear he adored his mum.

Marina laughed and caught the eye of Lachlan who had a smile tugging his own lips. It suited him, making his eyes crinkle as he exchanged a glance with her. He was obviously as amused – and perhaps touched – as Marina was by Evie’s love of Aaron and his embarrassment.

‘Come on, Mum. We’ll be late for Gem’s tea party,’ Aaron said, adding, ‘It’s my niece’s birthday.’

‘Say hello to Gemma from me,’ Marina said, knowing Aaron’s sister from her school days.

‘And you must come round for one of my shrimp creoles soon,’ Evie said, finally releasing Aaron.

‘I’d like that,’ said Lachlan, and Marina wasn’t sure whether he was only being polite or not.

Evie turned to her. ‘That goes for you too, Marina. We haven’t had chance to catch up for ages. It’s about time we had a good old get together.’

‘Thanks, Evie,’ Marina replied, feeling a little awkward that she’d been included in the invitation. It was a vague offer, however, so it might not happen.

Evie went off, on Aaron’s arm, leaving Marina and Lachlan alone together.

‘Evie is lovely. She and Troy are both wonderful people who do so much for the town,’ she said.

‘So I hear.’ He smiled. ‘Evie loves her boy.’

‘Yes. His face was priceless when she called him handsome.’

He laughed. ‘Aye. He knows I’ll not let him forget that when we’re back in the office together.’

Marina smiled, heartened by his sense of humour. ‘I can imagine … so, will you come to the fundraiser?’ she ventured.

He shrugged. ‘I hope so. I’ll see how busy I am.’

A little deflated by his response, she pushed on anyway. She’d grown used to not taking no for an answer since she’d had to find funds for the Wave Watchers. ‘I’ll be looking after a stall and helping with the auction. Evie’s our auctioneer, you know, and believe me, you do not want to miss that,’ she said.

He smiled again, so she pressed further. ‘You could drop by quietly on your own, you know? A small place like Porthmellow can be a bit much if you’re new and everyone knows each other and their business. I can see it might not be the most attractive proposition but the fundraiser might be a way of getting the introductions over with in one go.’

‘You mean like a baptism of fire?’ he asked.

He did that thing again. Looking at her intently and listening as if it was a technique to make the other person say more than they wanted or needed to. She gambled on him being unable to resist her throwing down the gauntlet. ‘I mean, yes, it probably would be a baptism of fire, but if you’re up for the challenge, why not?’

‘OK, you’ve persuaded me.’ He smiled, with a piercing look that went straight to her core. ‘I never shy away from a challenge.’

Chapter Seven

‘Roll up, roll up! Welcome to the Search and Rescue Fundraiser! Come on, folks, make sure you visit all the stalls, buy lots of tickets for the raffle and don’t forget to stay for the highlight of the day: our auction!’

Tiff winced as Evie’s voice purred over a loudspeaker next to the lifeboat station. Not that she didn’t think Evie was doing a fabulous job of whipping up interest in the auction. Quite the reverse: Evie was ramping up the anticipation to fever pitch, which only served to make Tiff’s stomach swish like a washing machine. At the moment, it was only on a ‘delicates’ wash, but it wouldn’t take much to set it going into a spin.

This was a little seaside fete, she reminded herself, not a swanky London charity ball. There was no pressure … although, seeing the locals behind their stalls, trying so hard to raise a few pounds for the Porthmellow Lifeboat Station and the Wave Watchers, she couldn’t quell her butterflies.

Luckily the weather gods had been good to them, and by eleven a.m., a healthy number of holidaymakers were mingling with the townspeople. The fundraiser was being held on the quayside outside the station. Everywhere was bedecked with blue and