The Waffle House on the Pier - Tilly Tennant Page 0,22

have you decided?’ Declan asked, turning to Sadie again.

‘It’s not really up to me,’ Sadie said.

‘But what about your family? What have they said?’

‘Mum thinks it ought to be sold. Ewan agrees but I don’t think Dad is convinced.’

‘And what about you?’ he asked, and Sadie saw that serious man again, the one reserved only for her these days, the one that made her feel as if the ground was giving way beneath her. She gave her head a slight shake.

‘Doesn’t matter what I want.’

‘Doesn’t it?’

‘It ought to be about what Gammy wants, if anything.’

‘Hmm, you said that the other night but—’

‘The other night?’ Melissa cut in.

‘Oh,’ Declan said, seemingly oblivious to the sharpness of her tone, ‘we bumped into each other when Sadie was checking up on the waffle house.’

Melissa said no more, but she suddenly looked as if someone had shoved half a lemon into her mouth.

‘You’ve always been very fond of Sadie’s grandparents, haven’t you, Dec?’ Natalie said with the utmost innocence, chancing a keen glance at Melissa. She seemed to be enjoying a new sport she’d just invented on the spot: Melissa-baiting. ‘You were very close when you and Sadie were going out, weren’t you? Like an extra grandson… They spoilt you rotten…’

‘I was there often enough, that’s for sure,’ Declan said, continuing to be blissfully unaware of the dark shadow crossing Melissa’s features. She still looked gorgeous, but more sort of evil gorgeous now. And she also looked like a woman determined to put an end to the current conversation.

‘We’d better find a table,’ she said, nudging him hard. ‘Our food will be out in a minute and the waiter won’t be able to find us.’

‘I’m sure Josiah can shout up,’ Declan replied. ‘And he’s hardly going to miss us – it’s not like the place is packed.’

Nobody could deny that he had a point. Apart from the five of them, there was only one other occupied table in the garden. They looked like a family of tourists – it was usually easy enough to spot them.

‘Still…’ Melissa said lamely.

Georgia had run out of strawberries in her drink and had now started on the slices of cucumber. ‘We were just about to drink up and leave anyway,’ she said.

‘I might get another actually,’ Natalie decided. Sadie stared at her. They had agreed to leave after a quick round because they all had things to do. What was Natalie up to? Sadie had a feeling that she might be in the mood to cause mischief with Melissa – she was often in the mood to cause mischief with anyone unfortunate enough to be in the vicinity. And maybe Natalie thought she was doing Sadie a favour, giving her more time to sit with Declan, but she wasn’t – far from it. However, once Declan spoke again it was clear that Sadie was stuck with Natalie’s unasked-for favour.

‘In that case maybe we can sit with you for a while,’ Declan said.

Natalie looked at Georgia. ‘Shove up,’ she said, before patting the bench next to her for Declan to sit.

Declan took the offered space, leaving Melissa to take the only other available one, next to Sadie at the other side of the table. While there had never been any observable animosity between the women – despite Melissa being fully aware of Sadie’s past with Declan – the situation they found themselves in now was still one neither would have chosen.

‘It seems like ages since I’ve seen the gang together,’ Declan said.

‘Well, we’ve been out and about,’ Natalie said. ‘So I don’t know where you’ve been.’

‘Clearly not in the Listing Ship,’ Georgia said.

Declan grinned. He turned to Melissa. ‘When I was at school with these three they were inseparable, always up to some mischief, but they were jammy; the teachers never managed to catch them, even though they knew.’

Melissa tried to smile and Sadie had to feel a little sorry for her. Sea Salt Bay could sometimes be the sort of place where it was hard to fit in if you hadn’t been born there. It wasn’t that it was unfriendly or unaccepting, but everyone who grew up there together also grew close. It was almost like the town was one big, extended family and there was a shared history so entwined that it was often hard for a newcomer to insert themselves into the fabric of it.

It had to be doubly hard for Melissa. Not only had she not grown up in the bay, but she was now