Meet Me at Pebble Beach: Part Two – In Too Deep: The most feel-good funny and romantic summer read of 2020 Read online

  MEET ME AT PEBBLE BEACH

  Part Two

  In Too Deep

  Bella Osborne

  Copyright

  Published by AVON

  A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

  1 London Bridge Street

  London SE1 9GF

  www.harpercollins.co.uk

  First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2020

  Copyright © Bella Osborne 2020

  Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2020

  Cover illustration © Shutterstock.com

  Bella Osborne asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

  Ebook Edition © April 2020 ISBN: 9780008331245

  Version: 2020-03-09

  Dedication

  For Julie – Everything a sister should be and more.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Keep Reading …

  About the Author

  Also by Bella Osborne

  About the Publisher

  Chapter Eleven

  Regan and Charlie had abandoned their walk on the beach because Regan had too many questions spinning around her mind. They went to the Hug In A Mug café and drank coffee like they had done the previous week – but this time everything was different. Now she knew that Charlie had a brain tumour everything had changed. She was struggling to make any sense of what he was trying to explain to her. It was like her own brain was in shock.

  ‘So what do you want to know?’ asked Charlie. The odd thing was he was exactly the same. His demeanour, his attitude, his smile – all unchanged. How was he so jolly when he was walking around with a time bomb in his head?

  ‘Only what you’re comfortable to share with me.’ She went to pick up her coffee mug but realised she was shaking, so she hastily put it down again.

  ‘I’m comfortable sharing it all with you, Regan. I’ll tell you anything.’

  Somehow this didn’t give her any comfort. ‘How long have you known?’

  ‘Seven months. I took a nasty blow to the head at work. I know, it explains a lot,’ he said, with a cheeky grin. Regan couldn’t pull a smile however hard she tried. ‘And they sent me for a brain scan. That’s when they spotted it. It’s extremely close to my spinal cord so any operation could kill me or leave me paralysed. I decided against surgery because that’s not how I want to spend my life. I’d rather just enjoy my last months.’

  ‘Months?’ It came out as a croak.

  Charlie sipped his coffee. ‘Nobody’s really sure but it looks like it’s growing at a pace.’

  ‘Why are you still working?’

  ‘I’ve got no symptoms. I’ve declared it to the Fire Service and my station commander is really supportive. My crew know so if something was to happen at work they would make sure there was no impact on the public. And I love my job and really need to stay busy.’

  An icy shiver ran up Regan’s spine and she shuddered. ‘I don’t know what to say.’ She couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was young, fit and appeared healthy – none of it made sense.

  ‘Don’t look at me like that. Like I’m at death’s door. I feel fine and as long as I do then I want to carry on with a normal life. I want to squeeze as much fun as I can into every day.’

  Regan joined some dots. ‘That’s why you’re so kind. Why you believe in karma.’

  ‘Hey, I’d be kind without the tumour,’ he scolded, but he was smiling. Always bloody smiling. ‘But you’re right. I’m on a bit of a mission to spread some kindness.’ He gave a self-conscious shrug. ‘I figured someone upstairs might let me stay on earth a little bit longer if I did.’

  Regan was choked. How could this lovely man be dying? He looked the picture of health. ‘Are you sure there’s not been some horrible mistake?’

  ‘Nope. I’ve seen the scan pictures. Bloody great lump. But, you know, I’m still really lucky.’

  Regan shook her head. ‘How on earth do you figure that?’

  ‘Because I know my time is running out. I have a chance to make my last few months count. Some people are taken just like that.’ He clicked his fingers and Regan jumped. She wasn’t seeing the bright side he seemed to have discovered. ‘I want to spend some time with you, Regan. Nothing serious, just some fun. But if it’s all too much, I’d understand.’

  Regan was choked with emotion and didn’t know how to answer. Yes, she wanted to spend time with him, but the thought of what would happen when his time was over was too much to take. ‘I don’t know if I can do this. I can’t think straight. I’m sorry.’

  He reached out and covered her hand with his. ‘No apology needed.’

  Regan popped to the loo, and switched her phone to camera to check her eyes weren’t too puffy. Her face was a bit blotchy, but if she held the phone further away it wasn’t so bad. She leaned back against the cool of the toilet door and pressed the button to FaceTime the one person she always told everything to.

  A pleased-looking Cleo answered. ‘Your timing is perfect. I’m at a very dull drinks reception. Let me duck outside.’ Regan caught a glimpse of a stony-faced Oscar as Cleo made her apologies. ‘Right,’ she said, when the background had changed to sky. ‘How are things with you?’

  ‘I want to talk to you about this guy I’ve met. He’s called Charlie.’

  Cleo blinked rapidly. ‘What about Jarvis?’

  The name gave Regan a physical jolt and the phone slipped. ‘Sorry, I almost dropped you then.’ Regan tucked her hair behind her ear multiple times. ‘Um, we’ve kind of split up.’

  Cleo’s mouth actually made a shocked ‘O’ shape. ‘What? Why didn’t you tell me?’

  Regan could hardly say Because I’m secretly sleeping in your studio and I feared if I told you about Jarvis the rest of it would come out. She searched for something else plausible. ‘I didn’t want to bother you when you’re away working.’

  ‘I hate not being there when you need me. When did this happen?’

  Regan felt sheepish. ‘A week and a bit ago. I didn’t want to worry you. It’s not like you can do anything. And for the record I dumped him.’

  ‘Right. Wow. I wasn’t expecting that. You sometimes moan about Jarvis, but otherwise you seemed to rub along okay. Are yo
u all right?’

  Regan nodded nonchalantly. ‘Yes. Totally. Completely fine.’

  ‘So who’s this new bloke?’

  Regan took a deep breath and retold Charlie’s sad story. Cleo listened intently until Regan stopped talking and her shoulders slumped. Cleo blew out a breath that whistled through her perfect white teeth. ‘I wish I could teleport home.’

  ‘I wish you could too.’ Regan longed to have a proper chat to Cleo. FaceTime was okay but it wasn’t the same as curling up on a sofa for a few hours.

  Cleo appeared to be processing what Regan had told her. ‘Are you sure it’s not a line?’ she asked.

  ‘You’re a sick individual,’ said Regan.

  ‘Hear me out. I’m just thinking that if it were a line …’ Regan was rolling her eyes. ‘I said if it were a line then it’s pretty well guaranteed to get him a lot of pity sex over the next few months.’

  Regan shook her head. ‘Charlie’s not like that.’

  ‘You said he lied about being a policeman. I’m getting a bad feeling about this guy.’

  ‘But he’s a fireman. That’s still an emergency service so it wasn’t a massive lie,’ said Regan.

  ‘I’m not so sure. I don’t want you getting sucked in by some sob story. I’ve been there and it’s not fun.’

  ‘It’s not a sob story.’

  ‘And you’ve met him how many times?’ Cleo had a look of her mother about her.

  ‘Four.’ Regan’s voice was barely audible. ‘I’ve met him four times.’

  Cleo shook her head. ‘Where is he now?’

  ‘He’s gone. He’s agreed to give me some time to think it over. Not rush into anything. I don’t know what to do.’

  ‘You need to get his story checked out.’ Cleo tilted her head in a teacher-like way as she spoke. ‘He could be a total con man out to fleece you.’ Regan opened her mouth and then closed it again. ‘Just be very careful. That’s all I’m saying.’

  Regan nodded her glum face. ‘I really like him. It’s so sad.’

  ‘If it’s true,’ said Cleo, waving away Regan’s protest before it came. ‘Where are you?’ Cleo leaned in closer to the screen.

  ‘Coffee shop disabled toilet.’

  ‘That’s a relief – I thought you were going to say you’d moved already and it was your new place.’

  Cleo was a bit too close to the mark with her guesswork and it made Regan jolt herself upright. ‘Shitting hell!’ yelped Regan, dropping the phone and scoring a direct hit in the toilet bowl.

  Regan trudged out of the toilet with her phone wrapped in so much toilet roll it looked like she’d mummified it.

  ‘You okay?’ asked a harassed-looking Penny.

  Regan shook her head. ‘Not really.’

  Penny glanced at the queue and then at the clock. ‘I’m rushed off my feet. Kasia has strained her Achilles. But when I’ve cleared this lot we can have a natter if you want?’

  Regan nodded miserably. ‘I can give you a hand if you like?’ She’d been coming there every day for the last three years so she knew her way around the coffee menu. She’d not worked a coffee machine since her days at the restaurant where she’d met Cleo all those years ago, but coffee was coffee and not much had changed.

  Penny looked like she was going to kiss her. ‘Actually, that’d be great. Thanks.’

  Regan grabbed an apron, more so she looked the part than to protect her clothes, and got to work. Penny shouted the orders and Regan soon found her way around the small area. She frothed and sprinkled until Penny declared the shop was closed. ‘What can I get you?’ asked Regan, with a mug in her hand.

  ‘Coconut flat white, please,’ said Penny, flopping into the nearest chair.

  Regan quickly made their drinks and ferried them over. ‘Here you go.’ She’d made herself a large latte. She figured she’d earned it and she wasn’t sure what was for dinner tonight.

  ‘You’re a star,’ said Penny, appraising Regan. ‘Not seen you for a few days. Holiday?’

  ‘Nope. I quit my job.’ Regan hoped she didn’t ask any further questions.

  ‘I don’t suppose you want one here?’ She said it through a laugh as if expecting Regan to dismiss it.

  Regan jolted upright. ‘Yeah. I’d love to work here.’

  ‘Really?’ Penny was frowning hard.

  ‘Unless you were joking … then this is kinda awkward.’ She hoped she wasn’t joking.

  ‘No. The job’s real all right. But weren’t you something in pharmaceuticals?’

  Regan puffed out a sigh. ‘It’s a long story …’ When she’d got to the end, Penny was looking suitably stunned.

  ‘My God. That’s awful.’

  Regan shrugged one shoulder and lifted her large coffee to her lips. She paused. ‘Do I get the job?’

  ‘Definitely. As long as you don’t mind that it’s only until Kasia is back on her feet. Doctor says at least four weeks for a strained Achilles.’

  ‘Excellent,’ said Regan, and then realised that for Kasia it wasn’t. ‘Sorry. I’m just pleased to get a job.’

  Penny waved her faux pas away. ‘It explains why you looked so glum earlier.’

  ‘Ah … that’s a whole other long story with a very much sadder ending.’ Penny hugged her mug, enthralled.

  It was actually nice to be able to talk to someone. Being alone in the studio had made her realise how much she needed other people. She understood now why old people went to the supermarket just to get human contact.

  Regan relayed Charlie’s situation and was pleased with how she kept it together at the end without triggering the waterworks. Repeating it to someone else made it seem even more real.

  They sat in silence for a while. Penny appeared shell-shocked.

  Eventually she spoke. ‘There’s a big guy comes in here. He’s a firefighter. Talks nonstop and I rarely tune in. But a while ago he told me about a colleague who’d been diagnosed with a brain tumour. I remember it because I thought how unfair it was for them to get something like that when they risk so much for other people. Must have been Charlie he was talking about.’

  Penny had described Beanstalk. So it’s true, thought Regan, although she hadn’t doubted Charlie for a second. A dark cloud was settling above her and she feared it would be a very long time before it moved on. Oddly, she would have been happier if Charlie had been peddling her a line – because even though it would have made him a lowlife at least he wouldn’t be facing a death sentence.

  Regan felt like she was being twisted inside. Part of her was thrilled to have a job, but the rest of her was tormented by Charlie’s news. She had been beyond frugal since she’d left Jarvis, thanks mainly to the terror of realising the few quid she had in her bank account was all she had in the world. She wanted to celebrate her new job with a couple of beers, but she questioned if she should. Somehow it didn’t feel right to be celebrating after hearing Charlie’s revelation.

  Regan had no plans for the rest of her day off. There was nothing and nobody waiting for her back at the studio, so she set off on a mammoth walking tour of Brighton. She strode past the pier and the distant joyful cries of children on the rides, along the seafront, dodging slow walkers and dog leads. The sea air whipped her hair into her eyes, so she left the sea front and walked through the splendour of Regency Square. She loved the white-fronted townhouses that flanked the once private gardens; she liked to imagine what it must have been like to live there when they were first built. Today, though, she couldn’t think about anything except Charlie. She put her head down and marched on.

  She trundled through The Lanes. The quirky little shops and narrow alleyways were like something out of a fairy tale. It was somewhere that usually cheered her up, but today Regan wanted to scream at the happy people walking past her. She’d never really noticed the smiles, the laughter and the carefree tones in voices before, but she noticed now. There were miserable faces too. People who had likely spent their whole lives being miserable. Why wasn’t it one of them with a t
umour and not Charlie? She felt awful for thinking it but she couldn’t help it. What was happening to Charlie seemed so unfair. She really liked him. Who was she kidding? Her feelings were already further up the scale than ‘like’. If she was honest, some of her sadness was at what she was potentially losing. She’d seen something special in Charlie from the start and their relationship had built so quickly. What if he was The One?

  She plodded on, her mind elsewhere, until she reached the market. The smell and sounds of the place always took her mind off things, but today would be a big test. Stallholders were laughing and joking with each other as they packed up for the day. She walked past the bins and today’s unwanted fruit and veg – onions, cabbages and nectarines were the unpopular choices this time. She kicked at a cabbage to release her frustration but missed and almost fell on her backside. She was angry at everything and everyone, but mainly at the unfairness of life and the indifference with which tragedy struck.

  Regan stopped near the cash machine and kicked at the wall. The pain shot up her toe and she hopped away swearing under her breath. A loud woof caught her off guard. Elvis bounded over and hastily sat in front of her looking up expectantly. Despite everything, it made her smile.

  ‘Sorry, Elvis. I’ve no milk on me today.’ She petted his head. Kevin sauntered over. ‘Good news, Kevin. There’ll be coffee again next week. I’ve got a job at the coffee shop.’

  Kevin beamed a smile. ‘Thank you.’ He made it sound like she’d got the job just to get him free coffee. ‘You okay?’ he tipped his head at the wall she’d been assaulting.

  ‘Yeah, fine. Letting out my frustration.’

  He bobbed his head in understanding. ‘There’s a band playing on the pier tonight. And it’s low tide.’ He was looking at Regan as if this should mean something. ‘Me and Elvis sit under the pier and listen for free. The band’s pretty good. You can join us if you like. It might cheer you up.’

  ‘Oh, Kevin. You’re the sweetest person.’ He went all shy and gave Elvis a sturdy pat on his side. Elvis didn’t seem to notice; he was still staring at Regan. Emotion spiked through her. Whilst she really wanted to hate the world and everyone in it right now, how could she? ‘Thanks. I’d love to join you.’