Confetti at the Cornish Café: The perfect summer romance for 2018 - Phillipa Ashley

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it already.’

      She smiles. ‘Hey, I’ll let you into a secret. A few of your dad’s family and mine aren’t thrilled with me supposedly stepping into your mum’s shoes, moving in with an older man and having a baby with him. Your Auntie Serena’s made no secret of the fact she thinks I’m a bit of a slapper.’

      ‘Auntie Serena has always been a nasty piece of work,’ I say, sliding at a look at the crow-like woman dressed like she’s going to a funeral, sniffing one of my savoury rosemary scones with suspicion. ‘She seems jealous of anyone who’s happy or successful. Mum couldn’t stand her either.’

      ‘We had no choice but to ask her, she was your mum’s great auntie.’

      ‘It’s fine. It’s your – Freya’s – day and I’ll keep out of Serena’s way.’ I don’t want to have a “mishap” with a smoothie or a glass of wine, I think, as I have had with Mawgan Cade in the past.

      ‘Come and have your photo taken with Kyle and Freya now we’re in the warm. It would be lovely to have a picture of the three of you together.’

      Grateful for Rachel’s efforts to make me feel comfortable, I join Kyle, Rachel and Dad for a family photo, even though I feel a bit like a cuckoo in the nest. It’s definitely a situation I could never have imagined six months ago.

      As I see people admiring the place and praising the buffet, I can’t help a warm glow of pride myself. I’m glad I suggested holding the christening tea at Demelza’s. After we’ve posed for some photos by the cake that Rachel’s cousin made, the sound of corks popping from the servery startles Freya. She throws her tiny arms out and opens her huge blue eyes for a few seconds. Her lips part and everyone holds their breath waiting for her to let out a wail but then she settles back into a snuffly sleep. Rachel puts her in her Moses basket while Cal hands round glasses of Prosecco and Robyn distributes the cake.

      ‘I hope no one minds me doing this but I’d like to propose a toast,’ Cal says, holding his glass up. ‘To Freya Penelope. Wishing her a long and very happy life!’

      Everyone raises their glasses and echoes his words, even Auntie Serena manages to lift her glass of orange juice a few inches.

      ‘And I’d like to congratulate her parents, Gary and Rachel, on producing such a beautiful daughter, and Demi and Kyle on their new sister. Wishing you every happiness,’ Cal adds.

      People raise their glasses again. My dad steps forward, shuffling nervously. He clears his throat and the room hushes in anticipation. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dad give a speech and my palms feel damp with nerves at what he might say.

      ‘Thanks for the kind words, Cal. And thank you all for coming to welcome Freya into the world. She knows how to time her entrance: on the day after Boxing Day during the great storm that caused so much heartache and flooded our cottage.

      ‘Now I’m sure there are many on St Trenyan who wouldn’t agree with this but every cloud does have a silver lining. If it hadn’t been for that flood, we wouldn’t be standing here now, enjoying this fantastic spread and the hospitality of Demi and Cal.’

      Under my cardigan, my arms break out in goosebumps. Dad’s going to say something … about me – I know he is and I don’t know if I can handle it.

       CHAPTER SEVEN

      ‘Demi will probably hate me drawing attention to her like this and, love,’ he looks straight at me, ‘it’s not easy for me to say it, either, but the ill wind that brought that storm was one of the better things that’s happened to me lately. It’s no use me pretending that things have been smooth in my family since Penny died …’

      Rachel’s arm slips through Dad’s. He pauses and when he goes on his voice is shaky.

      ‘But then I met Rachel and she helped bring back the light into my life.’

      There are a few ‘ohs’ and quiet murmurs of support from my cousins and a family friend. Kyle stands up straighter and his lips are set in a line as if he’s trying to suppress any emotion.

      A hand rests lightly on the small of my back. Cal knows instinctively that this situation is tough for me, even if I know Dad had to get things off his chest. I don’t know what I’d do without Cal sometimes and that realisation makes me feel exposed and raw. Letting down my guard and allowing myself to care about people again has been terrifying at times. It’s as if I’m being swept along by a current, unable to stop myself even though I want to.

      ‘As you know, Rachel, Freya and myself were forced out of our cottage by the floods on Christmas Eve,’ Dad goes on. ‘We were sleeping on the floor of the community hall and due to circumstances, we had nowhere to go. You could say we were homeless. Even though we knew we’d eventually have a place to go, for a few days, we experienced how that felt and it wasn’t an experience we’d care to repeat. We thought we’d be spending our Christmas on the floor of that hall.’

      Rachel looks down at the floor and back up again, her eyes suspiciously bright.

      ‘Anyway, chance brought us in the way of Demi and Cal and, cutting a very long story short, they put us up here at Kilhallon, as you know. Family life is a shaky business at times, to say the least. We’ve had more than our share of rocks that we’ve foundered on. I’ve not been the best skipper, to use a seafaring phrase, and I’ve run my own ship onto the rocks in the past and my crew has suffered.’

      I see a few gentle sympathetic smiles, but I’m digging my nails in my palm. Cal’s hand now rests at my waist. I grip the stem of my glass tightly. The people in front of me swim in and out of focus. My nose itches but I must not cry.

      ‘But we’re in sight of the harbour again now,’ Dad goes on. ‘We’re safe and in our home and thanks to the flood, I have all my girls and my son with me for the first time in way too long. I’m thankful for that …’ His words are racing by as his nerves get the better of him. I half want his speech to be over too, though I know he had to say these words and I needed to hear them.

      He raises his glass and declares, ‘To my family. Rachel, Demi, Kyle and Freya. Thank you and good health and happiness to you all.’

      He lifts his glass to his lips, takes a sip then puts it on the desk. While everyone is toasting us all, Dad sits down and Rachel kisses him.

      ‘Are you OK?’ Cal whispers.

      ‘Hmmghh.’ It’s all I can manage.

      Freya suddenly lets out a loud yawn and everyone laughs.

      ‘She’s letting me know what she thinks of my speech,’ Dad says. ‘Good job I left it there.’

      People laugh in relief and normal chatter resumes.

      Kyle joins us. ‘I’m glad we’re all together again, even if it has been a tough journey. Would be good to have a proper catch-up while I’m on leave.’

      ‘How long are you back for?’

      ‘Only this week. Then it’s back to Catterick for my unit before we’re deployed to Cyprus for six months. I’m a corporal now,’ he says, proudly.

      ‘Wow, you’ve done well. Dad said you’d done two tours of Afghanistan over the past few years. That must have been tough.’

      ‘It wasn’t a walk in the park but my mates helped me through.’

      I know he’s downplaying how horrible it must have been … and dangerous. I suppress a shudder. ‘I wish I’d known exactly where you were. I’d have called you and written to you.’

      ‘No, you don’t. Dad worried about me enough, I didn’t need you fretting about me day and night. It’s history now and I’m going into a training role soon so I’ll at least be in the same country for the foreseeable future.’ He pauses. ‘I’m

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