Chloe’s Cornish Christmas (The Blossomwood Bay #7)

Chapter Twenty Eight

‘Shall we go back to the farmhouse?’ asked Nick.

‘No, I… well, I’m staying at the Dog it’s a much-needed fresh start. She loves the way of life, the sunshine, the outdoor living. In fact, she told me to get on with the sale as quickly as I could so she can invest her half share of the proceeds in a new home overlooking the beach and the Pacific Ocean. But here’s the thing.’

Nick paused again, this time to reach out and take her hand in his.

‘Spending time here brought back memories from my carefree childhood, when I helped in the orchard, drove the tractor, ran through the fields chasing butterflies, and I had no idea what was going on behind the scenes at home. Being here this time, even in the rain and the snow, it felt… well, it felt right. I fell in love with the countryside, with the farmhouse, with the village and its inhabitants, with cider-making, and cocktail-making, and Christmas tree decorating, and biscuit baking, and watching funny festive films…’

Nick gave her hand a squeeze.

‘You forced me to look at life from a different perspective. You’ve had a series of difficult challenges to contend with, and yet you still find fun and enjoyment in everything you do. You love inventing new cocktails, creating hand-drawn labels, helping out at the village pantomime, wearing outrageous Christmas jumpers. And you weren’t afraid of people judging you, you just threw yourself into everything that was going on in the village, making a contribution, having fun. I loved everything we did together.

‘So, when Dan and Amanda put their offer in for the farmhouse, the wrench of its impending loss was intense. The thought of never being able to see the blossom form on the apple trees or taste Uncle Martyn’s cider again almost gave me a panic attack. When I was in Guildford I spent every minute of my time there trying to raise the cash to buy the remaining half of the farmhouse so that Aunt Ruth can have the fresh start she wants and I can come down here and start really living my life – as an apple grower and an artisan cider maker. And, if you’ll forgive me for being less than honest with you, with you by my side helping me do that. We can launch our new cider and do all those other things you suggested. I particularly liked the “sponsor a tree” idea you had.’

Nick leaned back against the driver’s seat, his face wreathed in sadness.

‘But I couldn’t raise the funds. Apparently, a small orchard in Cornwall isn’t a risk worth taking. So, after finally rediscovering my passion for Cornwall and all the wonderful things it has to offer, I’ve lost the chance to do something about it, which means that now there’s a buyer, I’m heading back to Guildford, or maybe even London.’

Nick turned to look at Chloe.

‘If you’re still thinking about returning to the legal profession there, perhaps you’d consider letting me take you out on a date when you’re settled? However, I’d completely understand if you never want to set eyes on me again after the pantomime tomorrow night. I did lie to you, and I’m sorry, but I hope that you can see that I did it for the best of reasons. Before I let you join your friends in the pub, I want you to know that I… well, that I’ve fallen in love with you, Chloe. You’ve shown me how to face up to what happened in the past, accept that it can’t be changed, and understand that all we can do is head into the future with determination to be the best person we can be.’

Chloe stared at Nick, waiting for everything he’d just said to sink in. Unsurprisingly, one phrase above all the others stood out and she replayed his words over and over again in her head, a smile beginning to play at the corners of her lips.

‘You love me?’

‘Yes, I love you, and one of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t tell you the truth about all this… stuff when I first met you. If I had, we could have avoided all this upset and the misunderstandings.’

‘I love you, too, Nick.’

Nick’s eyes widened. ‘You do?’

Chloe smiled, tears collecting along her lashes, and within seconds, his lips were on hers, softly, gently, and then with more insistence, more passion, as she returned his kisses with the same enthusiasm, her desire mounting until she finally broke away to catch her breath. She saw the emotion in Nick’s eyes and she knew he had meant every word he’d said to her, and as she remained there, indulging in even more of his delicious kisses as wispy snowflakes fell languidly around them, an idea started to form in her mind.

‘Is it still your dream to build a recording studio?’

Nick laughed. ‘Of course, even more so after my stint as the pantomime’s highly proficient DJ.’

‘Sound engineer!’

‘Sorry, sound engineer. It’s made me realise that I need to make room in my life for music; it’s what makes me happy and I plan on doing a lot more of those things from now on. It might be a few years before I get my own personal recording studio, though.’

‘What if you didn’t have to wait?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘It’s just an idea, but it could be…’ Chloe paused, then pushed forward. ‘We could do it together.’

‘Do what together? Make music?’

‘Well, we could do that, but I was thinking the other half of the studio could be an artist’s studio for me.’

Nick stared at her in confusion.

‘I’m not sure I—’

‘What if I use my insurance money, when it eventually comes through, to help you buy Fairholme Farm? We’ll be partners; we’ll run the cider-making business together, alongside my brand-new gin distillery, of course, and we’ll turn the second barn into a recording studio and an artist’s studio, where we can offer music classes and art classes. We can also run Great Cornish Bake-Off competitions in the farmhouse, and organise summer treasure hunts through the orchard, and evening picnics to watch the sunset, and…’

‘Oh my God, you’d do that?’

‘Yes, I’m sure I’ll be able to raise—’

But Chloe didn’t get any further. Nick pulled her into his arms and kissed her, and kissed her, and kissed her, until her heart soared with unbridled joy that she had found the person she was meant to be with, in a wonderful place that already felt like home. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was.