The travelling van was parked in a prime position. Verity perched on a rock just in front of it. It was dusk, and in the clear sky one star was shining brighter than the rest. ‘I reckon that’s you, Granny,’ she murmured. ‘And I reckon you’ll be happy I’m here. But what I want to know is what you were doing here.’ Unless Betty could shed any light on the postcard, she might never know.

  This time tomorrow she would be in Amsterdam.

  Verity was beginning to wonder exactly how she wanted her future to look. Suddenly the thought of going home wasn’t filling her with excitement. She knew she wanted more than the same old same old.

  Looking at her phone, she saw a text message from Ava, which she’d missed whilst she’d been in the pub.

  Not long until our proper adventure begins.

  Verity had counted down the days, crossing them off on the calendar that hung on the kitchen wall, wanting nothing more than to get away from the street and her past. All she’d wanted was to breathe freely and begin to live again, without feeling uncomfortable or worrying when she was going to bump into the new residents at number 50. Today she had found that freedom for the first time in ages.

  She inhaled the sea air. Even though she was happy, the night held a feeling of sadness, and Verity knew exactly why. In less than twelve hours, Sam and the island had both cast a magic spell over her, and she couldn’t get either of them out of her thoughts. She didn’t want to leave the island, but tomorrow she would be gone.

  Chapter Seven

  For the next thirty minutes Verity sat on the rock in front of the van with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She knew she should be trying to get some sleep before her early start but she was wide awake, her mind whirling from her time on the island.

  ‘It’s a beautiful sight, isn’t it?’

  Verity jumped up and spun around.

  ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.’ Sam was standing behind her holding two drinks. ‘Here, one’s for you, hot chocolate. I always get one from the Cosy Kettle on the way home.’

  ‘I didn’t hear you at all.’

  ‘You were lost in your own little world there for a moment, I thought you’d be fast asleep by now.’

  ‘I should be but here I am, wondering what tomorrow will bring.’

  ‘Clogs and windmills are my guess.’

  Verity smiled, taking the hot chocolate from his hand. ‘Thank you, and thank you for paying my bill at the pub, that was a really nice surprise.’

  ‘I thought it was the least I could do, especially as the start of your day wasn’t as good as the end.’ He pointed to the sky. ‘I caught the sunset when I was walking to the pub. It was stunning tonight, the warm blaze of golden orange stretched far and wide as the sun dipped behind the horizon. I never tire of that view. You’re lucky you got such a clear night tonight despite that dreadful weather this morning.’

  ‘There are millions of stars. It’s so pretty. Do you want to sit?’

  Without hesitation Sam slipped next to her on the rock and stared out over the horizon.

  ‘Was it a busy night at the restaurant?’ The Sea Glass Restaurant was now in darkness except for the fairy lights trailing the jetty and those entwined around the deck of the boat.

  ‘It’s always a busy night, it doesn’t matter what time of year it is.’

  ‘I’m not surprised. You’re a man of many talents – not only the proprietor of such an exquisite-looking restaurant but also a singer-songwriter.’

  ‘It keeps me sane.’ He smiled warmly at her.

  ‘Your fan club seems to like it. You’re very popular on this island.’

  ‘Popular with some, not so popular with others.’ He didn’t look in her direction as he drank his chocolate, instead staring out towards the cliffs.

  Verity took a sideward glance at him and studied his face.

  ‘Why not so popular with some?’ she asked, taking her chance to satisfy her curiosity about Amelia’s comment about Sam earlier, at the bar.

  He took a swift glance towards her. ‘You can’t please all of the people all of the time,’ he replied with a shrug. ‘Did you enjoy your evening?’

  Verity noticed the swift change of conversation, but she went along with it, sensing it wasn’t something to pursue right now. ‘I did. I’m glad I made the effort to go to the pub. I had a great night. Clemmie and Amelia are so lovely.’

  ‘Very,’ he said. ‘We all grew up together here on the island so they feel like my annoying little sisters. But Amelia pulls a good pint and Clemmie takes after her grandmother and is a fantastic baker.’ Sam pointed to a couple paddling in the shallow waters at the far end of the bay. They held hands, pulling each other along and laughing before they shared a kiss under the moonlight. ‘The best time of the day to swim at the bay is after the sun goes down.’

  ‘Very romantic, but probably unsafe and I bet that water is freezing.’ Verity gave a tiny shiver at the very thought.

  ‘Bracing is what it is. Have you ever swum in the sea under the moonlight?’

  ‘Isn’t that something that just happens in books or the movies?’

  ‘There’s nothing more invigorating than swimming late at night. You should try it.’ He gestured towards the water.

  ‘Are you suggesting I should try it now?’ Verity sounded alarmed. ‘I can’t get in the sea at this time of night, I’ll freeze to death. I’d never make it to Amsterdam.’

  Sam laughed. ‘Midnight swimming is one to tick off the bucket list.’

  ‘Thankfully I haven’t got a list in my bucket, only sea glass, and even if I did, I’m not sure swimming in the sea at this time of night would make the cut.’

  ‘Don’t knock it until you try it.’ There was a mischievous glint in his eye.

  ‘Are you serious? Are you actually suggesting we get into the water for a swim?’

  ‘Embrace it. Do something spontaneous. Take a risk. Create memories on your last night on Puffin Island.’

  ‘My only night on Puffin Island.’

  ‘One night on Puffin Island, I rest my case.’

  ‘You’re incorrigible.’

  Verity had to admit, he’d got her thinking. Never in a million years would she do anything spontaneous. Everything in her life had always been planned, even down to the Friday night food shop. Routine was her guiding light, and she realised now it had led her into a rut. Richard had never suggested embracing life the way Sam was now.

  ‘All I can think about is how cold the water will be. I’m shivering just thinking about it.’

  ‘Mind over matter. Cold water improves your mood.’

  ‘And does your mood need improving?’ She stared at him. ‘I’m not sure mine does.’

  ‘There’s always room for improvement.’ He tipped her a wink and Verity gave him a playful swipe.

  ‘And what if someone sees us?’

  Sam stood up, his eyes glistening as they locked on hers. He took Verity’s empty cup and tossed it in a nearby bin, then stretched out his hand.

  ‘You worry too much.’

  Verity hesitated for a second. A bright shining star in the sky once again caught her eye. Something was telling her that she’d stumbled upon this island, and adventure, at a time when she needed it most in her life. There was room for lots of new memories. After all, the ones from the last few years hadn’t been that memorable. No more sensible Verity – it was time to embrace life and take chances.

  Throwing caution to the wind, Verity took his hand. Excitement fizzed inside her as they walked with wide smiles across the sand and along the short jetty towards The Sea Glass Restaurant. Her heart was racing at a pace she hadn’t experienced in a long while.

  ‘Do you normally invite strangers for late-night swims?’ Verity was intrigued. The girls in the pub had suggested that Sam kept himself to himself, romantically, and to her this was extremely romantic, something you’d do in the first flush of love.

  ‘No,’ came his reply.

  Walking away from the lights of the bay she dared a sideward glance at him, only to find he was looking back at her with the most kissable smile she’d ever laid eyes on. Her hormones were on fire, that smile had such intensity.

  ‘I swim off here most evenings in the summer. Don’t worry, no one can see us from the shore.’

  ‘It’s pitch-black. I can’t see a thing⁠—’

  ‘Except for the moonlight,’ he interrupted. ‘And the stars.’

  When they reached the back of the restaurant, she saw a private decking area with steps leading down to a secluded lower deck. Sam lifted a small hatch and flicked a switch and immediately a dim light shone across the deck and onto the water.

  ‘Wow! How beautiful.’

  ‘After a busy shift I usually spend half an hour here to wind down before I head home.’

  ‘I think I would too.’

  The deck housed a minibar, a table and a small cosy settee with blankets and cushions. It was surrounded by lanterns, and when Sam took a box of matches from the minibar and lit the candles inside them, the deck started to glow.

  ‘It’s the perfect setting,’ she observed.

  ‘I can happily sit here for hours looking out over the waves.’ Sam kicked off his shoes and took off his tie. Within seconds the shirt was off his back.

  ‘What are you doing? You’re crazy!’

  ‘It was written in the stars that – in fact, in that big bright one up there’—he pointed—‘that I was going to meet a girl with a funny accent…’

  ‘Hey! There’s nothing funny about my accent,’ she protested. ‘And as much as I like to pretend that that star is my loved ones watching over me, that’s Polaris, the bright star that is always visible in the night sky.’

  He grinned. ‘How are you so knowledgeable about stars?’ He didn’t avert his eyes from hers as he undid his belt and let his trousers fall to the floor. He stood there in his boxer shorts.

  Do not look down, do not look down, Verity repeated internally.

  ‘Because I listened at school.’

  ‘Brains as well as beauty.’ He grinned.

  They were still staring at each other. Verity had to remind herself to breathe.

  Finally, she couldn’t help it any longer. She glanced down and promptly burst out laughing.

  Sam pretended to look offended.

  ‘You have puffins on your boxer shorts!’

  ‘I have twenty pairs of these. They were selling a job lot in the pub and as I live on Puffin Island I thought, “Why not?” It gets better,’ he said, turning around and waggling his bum. The boxer shorts had the day of the week written across the backside.

  Verity laughed wholeheartedly, then kicked off her shoes.

  ‘In for a penny, in for a pound,’ she murmured, thinking there wasn’t a cat in hell’s chance that Ava would believe a word of what she was going to tell her about her only night on Puffin Island. She slipped out of her dress, and was soon standing in front of him in just her underwear. His eyes still didn’t leave hers. The only thought in her head was Why, oh why, had she chosen the worst possible off-white underwear set? It had seen better days – but the last thing she’d anticipated that morning was that she’d end the day standing semi-naked in front of the handsomest near-stranger she’d ever seen. Yet here she was, about to take a swim under the stars.

  He pointed at some life jackets hanging on the side of the boat. ‘Would you like one?’

  Verity didn’t hesitate; the answer was yes. It wasn’t because she wasn’t a strong swimmer, more to cover up her shameful underwear and create an opportunity to sneak a glance at his bum again when he turned around. Just like the rest of him, it was toned to perfection.

  Sam picked a life jacket off the rack and held it open while she slipped her arms into it. He turned her to face him and zipped it up, then tightened the chest strap. Verity was now standing extremely close to him and their faces were only centimetres apart. ‘When you enter the water, your breathing may be all over the place for a moment, so try and keep it controlled and don’t panic – it’s quite normal. Are you ready? I’ll get into the water first.’

  Sam climbed down the ladder attached to the side of the boat and Verity watched as he slid his perfect body into the water. He didn’t gasp or even flinch, the cold water seemingly having no effect on him whatsoever. He was holding on to the bottom of the ladder, bobbing in the waves, and she saw him take a small, belted loop from the side of the boat and fasten it around his wrist. Then he clipped on another rope that hung over the side of the boat.

  ‘What’s that for?’ she asked.

  ‘Just a safety measure, so if you get cramp or become too weak you can pull yourself by the rope back towards the boat. It’s securely fastened to the deck.’

  ‘You really aren’t selling this to me as an enjoyable prospect, you know,’ she said, suddenly becoming nervous. ‘Cold water swimming is clearly not for the faint-hearted.’

  ‘Once you’re in you’re going to love every minute of it. Swimming beneath the moon and the stars…what more could you ask for?’

  ‘I’m sure I could come up with something.’

  ‘Less talking, more action. Come on, at this rate the sun will actually be rising by the time you get in.’

  ‘Very funny,’ she replied.

  Sam moved to the side of the ladder as she descended.

  ‘Now, the only way to do this is to lower yourself in, then keep moving your arms and legs as fast as you can. If you stop or think about it too much, you just won’t get in.’

  ‘You’re still not selling it to me.’

  ‘How about I make you a promise that when we’ve finished you can sit next to the firepit and choose a drink of your choice from the bar.’

  ‘Now that sounds more of my sort of invitation.’

  ‘You’re stalling!’

  ‘You know me too well.’ Verity took a deep breath and braced herself. She remembered a time when she’d been on holiday in Corfu, at a small hotel in the mountains. The scenery was beautiful and the pool inviting. The warmth of the sun had been scorching and she’d jumped straight in the pool, only to jump straight back out after realising it wasn’t heated. She spent the next half-hour trying to get warm in the sun. Something was telling her this water was going to be a heck of a lot colder.

  ‘There aren’t any sharks, are there?’

  ‘We’re on an island in the North East, I don’t think there are any sharks.’

  ‘Okay, I was just checking.’

  Counting out loud to three, she went to jump but still didn’t let go of the ladder. ‘I’m going for it this time,’ she said, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. She counted again and, taking herself by surprise, let go of the ladder and slid into the water. She gasped. ‘Oh my, oh my, oh my,’ she repeated over and over again. ‘It’s freezing!’

  ‘Cover your neck, you’ll start to relax quicker.’

  Verity was thrashing around, her arms and legs moving fast. ‘Deep breaths,’ said Sam as he pulled her in close and wrapped his body around hers. ‘And relax.’

  ‘That does feel better, I have to admit.’

  ‘Now, when you’ve stopped squirming, look at that view.’

  Verity turned herself around, Sam’s arms still wrapped around her, their bodies moving together in the water.

  Up in the sky the moon shone brightly, reflected in the water.

  ‘Now I don’t know whether I should tell you this or not, but this is the shallowest part of the bay. You can actually stand up in the water.’

  ‘You’re kidding me, right?’

  He grinned. ‘As much as I know you want to keep your legs wrapped around my body,’ he teased, ‘you can stand up. Just like I’m doing.’

  Slowly lowering her feet to the bottom, Verity kept hold of him.

  He grinned. ‘I told you so. Quick, look!’ He pointed upwards and the sky lit up as a shooting star streaked across the black velvet of the night. ‘Make a wish.’

  He hugged her tightly as they watched it disappear.

  ‘What are the chances of that?’ she murmured.

  ‘Did you make a wish?’

  ‘I did, but I can’t tell you as it might not come true.’ Verity knew she’d wasted her wish, as what she’d wished for wasn’t going to come true. She couldn’t stay on Puffin Island for a while longer. She had promised to meet Ava and she wouldn’t let her friend down.

  ‘Let’s swim.’

  They swam next to each other to the jetty and back again. To her surprise, Verity found she was enjoying every second of it and the cold water didn’t seem that cold at all now.

  ‘I’m actually feeling quite liberated,’ she shared, jumping onto Sam’s back and wrapping herself around him. The feel of his skin sent new shivers down her spine, but for totally different reasons this time. She leaned backwards and let her head fall into the water. Sam looked over his shoulder, the glint in his eyes catching in the moonlight, his smile melting her heart. This is what she’d imagined life with a partner to be like, fun and spontaneous, full of laughter and experiences and moments like this together.

  ‘See, just up there?’ He pointed towards the end of the cove and began walking through the water with Verity still on his back. ‘The caves are apparently full of lost treasure. And wait for it… When we get around this side of the restaurant…’

  ‘Woah!’

  The bright light from the top of the lighthouse was suddenly shining a path through the sea.

  ‘I could stay out here all night.’

  ‘I knew you’d like it, but we can’t stay in too long. I can’t have you getting hypothermia on my watch,’ he said, swimming back towards the ladder. ‘Hold on to my waist whilst I pull us back in with the rope. We’re drifting a little.’

  Slipping her arms around his waist she closed her eyes for a brief second. It felt good to be so close to someone.