back to Nick’s apartment in the early hours of the morning.
‘I could get used to this,’ Nick murmured against her hair as they lay in bed listening to the wind together.
‘Me too,’ Sam said. ‘Except that you’re flying to New Zealand and I’ve got a pub to run, so we’d better not get too comfortable.’
There was a brief silence. ‘You could always come back to London for good,’ Nick said after a while. ‘The only reason you left was to escape Will Pargeter and that’s all
over and done with now.’
‘Is it?’ she asked doubtfully. ‘I’m still persona non grata at Brightman and Burgess and I can’t see any other PR firms falling over themselves to give me a
job, can you? Not after the kind of headlines I made.’
Nick snorted. ‘Hardly anyone remembers that. Don’t forget you’ve been making better headlines since then, with me. I’m sure you’d get snapped up right away.’
He paused. ‘You could move in here if you wanted to, rent your flat out and make some money.’
Sam pulled away and propped her head up on her hands. ‘You’re serious, aren’t you?’
‘Of course,’ Nick said. ‘I’m not here a lot of the time but you could come and visit me on location and I’d love to have you around when I came home. It’s . . . well, it’s a lonely business being an actor sometimes.’
Now it was Sam’s turn to let out a delicate snort of disbelief. Nick had always had women throwing themselves at him every single day – he couldn’t possibly be lonely. Then
again, she remembered him telling her before that he never knew who to trust; a kiss and tell story with the star of Smugglers’ Inn would be worth a lot of money to the papers. And now
she came to think of it, there hadn’t been anyone else for quite a while – not since before they’d decided to go tabloid-official with their made-up relationship. She also had the
growing feeling that something was different about Nick these days. He was attentive and committed – just like a real boyfriend. Sam was beginning to wonder if this had been his real agenda
all along. ‘Nick—’
He reached up to stroke her cheek. ‘Don’t decide now. I’ll be back from New Zealand just before Christmas. Think about it and let me know, okay?’
He drifted off to sleep not long after that, leaving Sam wide-eyed and restless beside him. When she’d left London, she had never dreamed she’d find life in Little Monkham so
satisfying. But working alongside Nessie to restore the pub had proved unexpectedly rewarding and the Star and Sixpence was so much a part of her now that it would be a real wrench to leave. And
then there was her sister: they were a team; it wouldn’t be fair to abandon her, even for a life of glamour with Nick Borrowdale. Sam had made a lot of friends in the village, too,
she’d miss them if she went back to London. But she couldn’t say she wasn’t tempted. London had been home for most of her adult life and she’d be lying if she didn’t
admit there were times when she missed the bright lights, the excitement of the city.
She lay back against the cool cotton pillow and stared at the ceiling. And then there was Joss: angry, confused Joss, who couldn’t decide if he wanted her or hated her. She hadn’t
thought about him once while she’d been with Nick, but back in Little Monkham it was a different story. And now that Nick was going to be away for weeks, did that mean she’d find her
mind straying back to the way Joss’s lips had felt on hers more often?
Maybe Nick was right, she thought, turning into him and snuggling against his shoulder. Maybe spending more time in London was a good idea.
The letters lay on the coffee table in front of Nessie and Sam. It was early evening, the bar was in the capable hands of Connor and Tilly, and two glasses of Merlot sat on
either side of the envelopes.
Nessie picked up the bundle and studied the curly handwriting as though it could tell her what was
‘I could get used to this,’ Nick murmured against her hair as they lay in bed listening to the wind together.
‘Me too,’ Sam said. ‘Except that you’re flying to New Zealand and I’ve got a pub to run, so we’d better not get too comfortable.’
There was a brief silence. ‘You could always come back to London for good,’ Nick said after a while. ‘The only reason you left was to escape Will Pargeter and that’s all
over and done with now.’
‘Is it?’ she asked doubtfully. ‘I’m still persona non grata at Brightman and Burgess and I can’t see any other PR firms falling over themselves to give me a
job, can you? Not after the kind of headlines I made.’
Nick snorted. ‘Hardly anyone remembers that. Don’t forget you’ve been making better headlines since then, with me. I’m sure you’d get snapped up right away.’
He paused. ‘You could move in here if you wanted to, rent your flat out and make some money.’
Sam pulled away and propped her head up on her hands. ‘You’re serious, aren’t you?’
‘Of course,’ Nick said. ‘I’m not here a lot of the time but you could come and visit me on location and I’d love to have you around when I came home. It’s . . . well, it’s a lonely business being an actor sometimes.’
Now it was Sam’s turn to let out a delicate snort of disbelief. Nick had always had women throwing themselves at him every single day – he couldn’t possibly be lonely. Then
again, she remembered him telling her before that he never knew who to trust; a kiss and tell story with the star of Smugglers’ Inn would be worth a lot of money to the papers. And now
she came to think of it, there hadn’t been anyone else for quite a while – not since before they’d decided to go tabloid-official with their made-up relationship. She also had the
growing feeling that something was different about Nick these days. He was attentive and committed – just like a real boyfriend. Sam was beginning to wonder if this had been his real agenda
all along. ‘Nick—’
He reached up to stroke her cheek. ‘Don’t decide now. I’ll be back from New Zealand just before Christmas. Think about it and let me know, okay?’
He drifted off to sleep not long after that, leaving Sam wide-eyed and restless beside him. When she’d left London, she had never dreamed she’d find life in Little Monkham so
satisfying. But working alongside Nessie to restore the pub had proved unexpectedly rewarding and the Star and Sixpence was so much a part of her now that it would be a real wrench to leave. And
then there was her sister: they were a team; it wouldn’t be fair to abandon her, even for a life of glamour with Nick Borrowdale. Sam had made a lot of friends in the village, too,
she’d miss them if she went back to London. But she couldn’t say she wasn’t tempted. London had been home for most of her adult life and she’d be lying if she didn’t
admit there were times when she missed the bright lights, the excitement of the city.
She lay back against the cool cotton pillow and stared at the ceiling. And then there was Joss: angry, confused Joss, who couldn’t decide if he wanted her or hated her. She hadn’t
thought about him once while she’d been with Nick, but back in Little Monkham it was a different story. And now that Nick was going to be away for weeks, did that mean she’d find her
mind straying back to the way Joss’s lips had felt on hers more often?
Maybe Nick was right, she thought, turning into him and snuggling against his shoulder. Maybe spending more time in London was a good idea.
The letters lay on the coffee table in front of Nessie and Sam. It was early evening, the bar was in the capable hands of Connor and Tilly, and two glasses of Merlot sat on
either side of the envelopes.
Nessie picked up the bundle and studied the curly handwriting as though it could tell her what was
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