The Waffle House on the Pier - Tilly Tennant Page 0,20

‘Whatever. You know I’m right even though I’m not allowed to say it. The only bloke hotter than him in Sea Salt Bay is Ewan and—’

Sadie grimaced, holding up a hand to stop Natalie’s flow. ‘I don’t want to hear that either. No girl wants to hear all the dirty thoughts their best friend might be having about their older brother.’

‘Make that two best friends,’ Georgia said, fishing another strawberry from her drink. ‘In fact, I’m having one right now, and you do not want to know the details.’

‘Ugh!’ Sadie cried. ‘You’re disgusting!’

‘I can’t help it,’ Georgia said with a wicked grin. ‘I’m only human. If he wasn’t your brother you’d see exactly what I mean…’

‘But he is!’ Sadie said, shuddering.

‘Georgia’s got a point,’ Natalie said. ‘I think I might have a filthy daydream coming on too…’

‘You’re both disgusting,’ Sadie said, folding her arms, though she had to laugh despite herself. She pointed an accusing finger at Natalie. ‘And you’re a married woman!’

‘Not for long,’ Natalie said. ‘Just as soon as my useless solicitor gets her finger out and dishes up those documents I’ll be as free as the wind.’

‘Well Ewan won’t be so you can have your pervy thoughts about someone else,’ Sadie said, trying to sound serious but not doing a very good job. She knew half the women of Sea Salt Bay would throw a party if Ewan and Kat ever split up – a few men too – but everyone also knew that it was as unlikely to happen as actual Martians landing on earth. Ewan had met Kat at a lido up the coast and, as she was about as close to a mermaid as you could get, he’d been instantly smitten. He was obsessed with the water and so was she – a match made in heaven if ever there was one. It seemed inevitable that they’d end up together and that they’d make a living from the sea they both loved so much. Sadie knew, too, that this conversation was just the usual harmless banter from her two best friends, even if sometimes they had a tendency to take it just that little bit too far for her liking.

Natalie let out a theatrical sigh. ‘His endearing loyalty to Kat only makes him more attractive – you do realise that, don’t you?’

Georgia nodded. ‘Yes, it’s absolutely no use pointing that out because it doesn’t put anyone off. If I were a girl with looser morals it would make me try harder if anything.’

‘Well, anyone with looser morals can forget it.’ Sadie knocked back a mouthful of lager. ‘Ewan and Kat are made for each other and I’d have serious issues with anyone trying to split them up – we all would.’

‘Don’t worry; your brother is safe,’ Natalie said, grinning at Georgia. ‘Just let us carry on looking and we promise not to touch.’

‘I think you ought to wait until you’ve got rid of the current one before chasing a new one anyway, Nat,’ Georgia said. ‘There’s only so many hours in the day after all.’

‘True.’ Natalie gave a solemn nod. From anyone else the comment might have been overstepping the mark, but even Natalie had to take on board the slightly critical observation with good grace. Going through her second divorce in five years hardly looked good to her, let alone anyone else. Her friends all told her she fell in love too quickly and too deeply to make sensible decisions but she’d never really taken the advice seriously until her second marriage had begun to break down after only six months. Once she’d seen it was headed, irretrievably, in only one direction, she’d been forced to take stock of her life and the way she loved and admit that they’d only been speaking a truth she’d been too close to recognise. Though she joked about it for the most part, in darker, lower moments she had admitted to Georgia and Sadie that she was determined to show more caution the next time love came knocking.

Natalie’s head went up and her gaze to the gates of the beer garden. ‘Aye, aye…’

Sadie turned to look. A couple were carrying a drink each and looking for a seat, the man holding a wooden spoon bearing a number for a food order. Natalie lowered her voice.

‘Speak of the devil and he will appear… And he’s got your nemesis with him.’

‘I wish you’d stop with that,’ Sadie said, her head snapping back round to face Natalie and her