Bella Osborne - Ottercombe Bay – Part Four - Shaken and Stirred

Published by Avon an imprint of

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street,

London, SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2018

Copyright © Bella Osborne 2018

Cover illustration © Kim Leo

Cover design © Head Design 2018

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 e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, 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.

Source ISBN: 9780008258153

Ebook Edition © June 2018 ISBN: 9780008258146

Version 2018-03-23

For my mum – thank you.

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page Part Four BELLA OSBORNE

Copyright Copyright Table of Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Acknowledgements Keep Reading … About the Author Also by Bella Osborne About the Publisher Published by Avon an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2018 Copyright © Bella Osborne 2018 Cover illustration © Kim Leo Cover design © Head Design 2018 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 e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, 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. Source ISBN: 9780008258153 Ebook Edition © June 2018 ISBN: 9780008258146 Version 2018-03-23

Dedication Dedication Table of Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Acknowledgements Keep Reading … About the Author Also by Bella Osborne About the Publisher For my mum – thank you.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Acknowledgements

Keep Reading …

About the Author

Also by Bella Osborne

About the Publisher

Daisy was standing on the cliff top watching the small boat carry Guillaume further out to sea. The wind cut through her coat making her shudder. She had a bad feeling about this. What should she do?

She took a deep breath. Guillaume had been a slippery character in the past but he’d never been in any serious trouble. There were a few cash and carry fiddles, but she had no reason whatsoever to suspect he was up to no good now. Daisy felt a little better for this thought process. Perhaps she just needed to go and have a large glass of wine and forget about it. Yes, that was exactly what she would do. Another gust of night air gave her the nudge she needed to go home. It was times like this she missed her old motorbike.

She had a long chat to the man in the fish and chip shop whilst he explained the secret to his excellent fish and chips, and she did a good impression of someone rapt by the deep-frying process whilst her brain continued to mull over the situation with Guillaume. If it was some big romantic gesture then what on earth could it be that required a small motorised boat to be out on a choppy sea?

Walking home her phone beeped. For a moment she hoped it was a text from Guillaume saying he was back, but it was just a silly game demanding attention. But next to the game app was the Find My Phone app and it was calling to her. She had Guillaume’s phone set-up; well, assuming he still had the same phone and it still worked. She slowed her pace, clicked the app and hoped it would show he was in Weymouth. A small dot started to flash. The small dot was way offshore and it wasn’t moving.

The wind was getting up now and she knew the impact that would have on the sea. Whatever her guess as to why Guillaume had taken the boat out, the fact remained he was now way offshore in a tiny boat in the dark with little sailing skills and a possible storm brewing. Daisy fumbled with her phone as her brain fumbled with her dilemma. Eventually she called Jason and proceeded to offload all her concerns in one long diatribe.

‘Daisy, stop. One thing at a time. Is Guillaume in danger?’

‘He might be.’ She bit her lip when she thought about it. The non-moving dot in the English Channel might simply mean he had broken down. She didn’t want any harm to come to him, especially if he was off doing something romantic for her when she had no intention of reigniting their relationship.

‘Is this a lifeboat call out?’

‘I don’t know, I don’t think so,’ said Daisy, feeling overwhelmed by confusion.

‘Right, I’ll meet you at Locos in five minutes. Okay?’

‘Okay, thanks.’ Feeling somewhat relieved she ended the call and flicked up the Find My Phone app. The dot was still stuck in the middle of the blue mass of ocean but it was no longer in range. Perhaps the boat’s engine had failed and he’d drifted out there. Maybe Jason was right, perhaps it was a lifeboat call out.

She stopped for a moment and looked around her. She wasn’t sure why but she had an odd sensation someone was watching her, but there was nobody there. At least she couldn’t see anyone. It was dark now and the wind was starting to whistle around the town, which meant the sea would be starting to cut up rough. She put her head down and strode off towards Locos.