A Starlit Summer by Kate Frost (best manga ereader txt) 📕

reaching his beard and cupping his face. She kissed him again and lingered, playing out in her mind if she should be brave – or reckless – and ask him back to the cottage. She imagined him in her bed and walking naked to the bathroom in the morning.

She pulled away and let go of his face. ‘Do you fancy a walk?’

~

It was a balmy summer’s night, away from the noise and busyness of the pub. Lined by houses and bungalows, the road was quiet with only a few cars passing and it was even quieter once they headed along the narrow lane that led to the hotel the cast were staying in. They turned off before the hotel car park on to a track that joined the coastal path with a view over a deserted Polurrian Beach. The night was starlit, the sea an endless black, the only colour the white surf catching the moonlight as it foamed on to the beach. They were close to civilisation with the hotel on the hilltop behind them and the village only a short walk away, and yet Jenna felt truly disconnected from the world.

Finn’s hand was warm in hers as they walked. Just before they reached the steep path that led down to the sandy beach they stopped. Finn kept hold of her hand as they gazed out over the dark expanse of sand below. ‘Is acting what you’ve always wanted to do?’

‘One of the things. My mum always complains I’ve flitted from one thing to another, although I guess acting’s always been my constant. How about you?’

‘It was kinda expected that I’d go into the family business.’

‘Did you want to?’

He paused. ‘Yes.’

‘You don’t sound sure.’

‘I wanted to be a builder like my dad. I mean, it’s all I know; I’ve been helping Dad since I was twelve, probably even younger. I’m good at it and it’s a successful family business. I’d have been foolish not to go into it.’

It wasn’t hard to hear the justification in his voice. ‘I guess that’s great if there was really nothing else you wanted to do...’

His thumb rubbed along the side of hers in time to the waves breaking on the shore. ‘I wanted to surf, that’s all I did as a teenager and still do, every chance I get. What about you? What do you do when you’re not working?’

‘At the moment downtime is either on my own at the cottage or meeting up with the cast and crew in the evening – like Lily and Amanda tonight.’

‘But back home?’

‘You know, the usual, going out, meeting friends. Go to the theatre, cinema, gigs. I have a gym membership...’

‘That you actually use?’

Jenna playfully slapped his shoulder. ‘I do. I play netball as well and years ago I used to love working on my parents’ garden – not very cool, I know, and a bit odd a teenager being into gardening. I’ve been on a waiting list to get an allotment for the last two years. Never surfed, though.’

‘Never?’

Jenna shook her head.

‘We’ll have to do something about that.’

‘Yeah, you can teach me some time.’ She grinned and he held her hand tighter.

‘So, is that why I always see you in the garden at Bramble Cottage?’

‘Yeah, I love it. Taming it but holding on to its wild beauty at the same time. I find it therapeutic. Maybe it’s because it’s the complete opposite of my job – the nature of being an actor is social, constantly meeting new people, going to auditions. Working on set you’re always surrounded by people – hair, make-up, costume, ADs, lighting, sound, other actors. It’s pretty full on. So gardening is an escape from all that.’

‘I like Jenna the Gardener – it’s the only side I’ve really seen of you.’

‘The acting stuff is a whole other world. It’s weird. Sometimes I feel completely comfortable and a part of the acting world, and other times totally disconnected from it.’

‘Maybe it’s not what you really want to do deep down? Maybe your passion lies somewhere else. Like being outdoors doing what you love?’

His words hung in the night air, toying with her. Jenna knew that right this moment being out here, looking at the ocean was what she loved – the peacefulness, the beauty of the starlit night with the moon reflecting on the glass-like sea.

It also helped that Finn was with her, his hand firm in hers, their shoulders touching sending tingles through her. They remained standing side by side looking out over the beach.

‘This has been a good night,’ she said.

He turned to her and the moonlight caught one side of his face, defining his cheekbone. ‘I’m very glad we bumped into each other.’

‘For that cold beer.’

‘Exactly.’ He leant closer and kissed her. The tingling in the pit of her stomach intensified. Her hand dropped from his and circled his waist which was hard and toned from all the building work and surfing. His hands ran up her sides, finding her face as they kissed each other deeply, the only sound the continual breaking of the waves.

Chapter Fourteen

Jenna drove him home. It wasn’t far, only on the edge of Mullion, walkable but it was late and his friends had already left the pub. Jenna didn’t want the evening to end.

She pulled up outside a large and modern semi-detached house in a leafy cul-de-sac. He turned in the passenger seat to face her. ‘I’d invite you in but my parents are home. Not that they’d care, it’s just... well, it’s not particularly cool living with my folks.’

Was he waiting for her to invite him back to the cottage? Maybe she should... But then again it was probably a bad idea. He was the builder working on her parents’ cottage and she was supposed to be overseeing the work, not actually seeing the builder.

‘No worries, it’s late anyway and I still need to drive back.’

He undid his seat belt and slid his hand on to her thigh. ‘Are you going to be okay?’

‘I’ll