One Summer in Cornwall by Karen King (best books to read for success .TXT) 📕

room and writing lists of the things we’d do for weeks. I felt like you were the star attraction and no one cared about me. Pathetic, I know.’

‘And I felt like an outsider; you all seemed such a happy family unit. I didn’t feel like I belonged. You had my dad, you saw him every day, whereas he seemed to have forgotten about me,’ she confessed.

‘Parents mess up their kids, don’t they? You can’t blame them, though, they’re just trying to live their life and we’re collateral damage. I guess I understand more now I’m older. God, I’ve had some relationship disasters. I’m just glad there’s been no kids involved.’ He looked over at her. ‘Anyway, I’m sorry and I’d like to make it up to you. That’s why I came here. When Owen told me all the stuff that had to be done to the cottage, I thought it wasn’t fair to leave it all to you. I was in England and had a few days to spare so I thought I’d come and help out. And see if we could put the past behind us. We’re family and I’d like to get to know my little sis better.’

He meant it, she could see that, and she felt a lump in her throat. She’d always wanted a brother or sister, perhaps it was time to embrace that she had both.

She held up her bottle of cider. ‘I’ll drink to that.’

He grinned and held out his, too. ‘Here’s to a better future relationship, sis.’

They clinked bottles. Suddenly she felt really glad that Nick was here, even if it did mean missing the evening with Marcus. Nick was family. And family was just what she needed right now.

Chapter Twenty-Three

‘Breakfast will be ready in five minutes!’ Nick shouted, banging on the attic door.

Hattie rubbed her eyes sleepily. ‘Coming!’

It had been a surprisingly good evening. They’d chatted, drunk, eaten the fish and chips that Nick had insisted on going out to get, saying that Owen had raved on about the fish-and-chip shop in Port Medden so much that he simply had to try some, then chatted some more. Nick had told her all about his partner, Glenn, and how supportive Owen and Raina had been when he ‘came out’. Hattie could tell that he was fond of her dad, and now had a good deal of respect for him.

At some point in the evening, Buddy had flown back into his cage and Nick had quickly fastened the door.

As Hattie reached for her dressing gown, she thought how pleased she was that Nick had turned up unexpectedly. If she had known he was coming, she would have been worried and tried to put him off, yet they had got on so well. He actually felt like a brother. She felt a bit sad about all the years they had both wasted resenting each other, but then maybe they’d had to go through that to be where they were now. And he wasn’t going back until Saturday so she had his help for five whole days. They could get a lot done in that time.

She pulled the belt of her dressing gown tighter, then grabbed a pair of knickers and put them on too, not feeling comfortable totally naked underneath it when she had company.

Not that it had bothered her on Saturday night, when she’d evidently stripped off and laid on her bed, completely forgetting that Marcus was still there. Her thoughts drifted back to Marcus and the previous day on the beach, how they had been planning on spending the rest of the evening together until Nick turned up. Would they have ended up in bed?

Probably. And as much as she was sure she would have enjoyed it she was glad that Nick had interrupted their plans. Marcus was attractive – make that drop-dead gorgeous and incredibly sexy – but she didn’t want to get involved with anyone right now; she needed to sell the cottage and sort her life out, no ties. And, she wasn’t sure she could do casual with Marcus. She had the feeling that getting involved with him would only complicate things, and complications were something she could do without.

The aroma of bacon and eggs wafted up the stairs. This was the second time she’d had a cooked breakfast in as many days. She usually had cereal. She shouldn’t feel that hungry after the fish-and-chip supper last night, but she did.

‘Morning. Sit down. I was just about to dish up,’ Nick said cheerily.

‘This smells delicious. I can see I’m going to be piling on the kilos while you’re here if I’m not careful,’ she said, pulling out a chair and sitting down at the table.

‘Rubbish, there’s nothing to you!’ he scoffed as he heaped bacon and eggs on a plate and placed it on the table in front of her.

He put a plate of bread in the middle of the table and two glasses of orange juice, then came back with another loaded plate and sat down opposite her. ‘Anyway, I don’t do a fry-up every day, it’s bad for my figure too,’ he patted his stomach. ‘But we’re going to need to keep our strength up for the big tidy up today.’

They planned on going shopping for what they needed then doing a general declutter today, then spend the next couple of days cleaning up and painting. She was also hoping to get a new bathroom suite fitted before Friday as she wanted Nick to spend the last day relaxing. ‘I’m not having you coming over and not seeing anything of Port Medden,’ she’d said firmly. She could spend the next week tidying and decluttering upstairs ready for Jonathan to take the photos the following Monday. Nick told her that Owen and his mum had struggled all last year as they’d hardly had any guests at the B&B, which was normally booked up weeks in advance. She felt guilty when she learned how her dad and stepmother