Growing up in the small harbour town of Porthleven, Cornwall, Piper Fawkner had always dreamed of bigger adventures. Not that she hadn't loved her upbringing, especially growing up side by side with Sebastian and William Clemens.
Born at the same hospital a day apart, to then end up living on the same street, they had become firm friends. Especially when they all then started at Porthleven Community Primary school.
Endless summers spent playing in the harbour and causing mischief to the local fishermen. Some locals would even describe them as rascals - but purely as a term of endearment.
Sebastian was the eldest of the two by 7 minutes and he was known to his nearest and dearest as Seb. His hair was a beautiful shade of honey blonde with piercing green eyes that always seemed too old for his years. He was always a deep thinker with quiet confidence to match - some would even describe him as brooding.
William or Will, on the other hand, was the polar opposite of his brother in personality. He shared the same beautiful shade of hair, but his eyes were a deep shade of blue that radiated a constant look of mischief. He was outgoing, flirtatious, and carefree.
The 3 of them had been inseparable until Piper left at 18 to attend the University of York.
Sadly, that was the last time she had been home and the last time she had seen Seb and Will.
Now, at the age of 27, it was time to finally go home.
Hi readers - I hope you enjoy this book. It's my first one so I really hope that anyone who takes the time to begin reading it will appreciate it. Thanks all!
As Piper navigated the long journey home from London, she began to reminisce about a time just before she had left for University. Piper, Seb, and Will had decided to go for one last blowout at their local The Ship Inn. It was a 17th-century pub that overlooked the picturesque harbour of Porthleven and was a firm favourite amongst the locals. Many a night the fishermen's wives had watched their husbands take a tumble down the steps after one too many pints of the local brew. Piper always loved the beer mats and brasses that adorned the walls and ceiling making the quaint pub a home from home. As always Seb had sat quietly drinking his pint of Tribute, listening to the dulcet tones of the fishermen telling their sea-worthy tales. Will as ever, was joining in on the camaraderie, reveling in the stories of bygone years. Piper sat drinking her pint of cider, noticing that Seb was much quieter than usual. "Earth to Seb," Piper said.
As Piper pulled up in her Fiat 500 outside her parent's semi-detached cottage thoughts of her life in London disappeared. Her parents were George and Merryn Fawkner and they were born and bred in Porthleven. They were married at the tender age of 19 and Piper followed 3 years later. When Piper was 5, her brother Miles was born. Sadly Miles died of Leukemia at the age of 7 which completely devastated them all. It was something that her parents never spoke about and Piper never pushed the issue. But there wasn't a day when she didn't think of him. He was born with baby blue eyes and a mop of blonde hair and he had the most adorable nature. He would have been 22 now, and Piper had no doubt that had he have lived, he would've been an exceptional human being. It was early evening in May and Piper could feel the gentle breeze coming through the window gently teasing her face. "Right, move your backside maid!" Piper said as she wound up the window and exited her car
As Piper sat drinking tea, she listened as Will brought her up to speed on his life after she'd left.It turned out he'd trained to be a PE Teacher at the local Primary school. Looking at his body, this didn't surprise her. She could see from the jeans and the t-shirt he was wearing that there wasn't an ounce of fat on him. No doubt he had the ladies swooning over him. Especially as he had always been outgoing, flirtatious, carefree, and now, downright sexy!The feeling left Piper feeling confused - this was Will her childhood friend. The boy she'd spent running about naked with as children. And now, she was looking at him in a completely different way. And how sweet that he'd made the effort to come to her parents to greet her."It's so good to see you, Piper. When your parents told me you were coming home I knew I had to be here. So what are your plans now you're back?". Will asked.Talk about being put on the spot " Erm, I haven't thought that far ahea
Entering her old bedroom Piper stepped back in time. Her room was exactly the same as the day she'd left. Even the posters of Bruno Mars and Katy Perry still adorned her walls. Piper made a mental note to ensure she took them down. It was incredibly embarrassing for a woman of her age to still have her bedroom littered with her teenage self!Piper stood looking in the mirror - her hair was still a deep auburn that fell past her shoulders. Her eyes were a deep shade of blue and her skin was still as pale as the day she was born. In her eyes, she had always looked unremarkable, but people always commented on how beautiful she was. At a size 16 and 5ft, 9 Piper was what you would politely call curvaceous - at least that's what she had been told by her lovers in the past. Well if you could count only 2 men as lovers. She had even been likened to a younger Christina Hendricks on more than one occasion. If only!She hadn't always looked like this. As a teenager, she was too
Will couldn't stop thinking about Piper. His boyish friend had turned into a beautiful woman. He closed his eyes as he imagined Piper underneath him. Her auburn hair spread across his bed, her large breasts bouncing up and down as he thrust into her.If only it wasn't a dream! Although he was torn as Piper was his childhood friend and he had never even thought about her in a sexual way. That was until he opened the door and embraced her, feeling her curves mold into his body. Was it wrong to think of her this way? Did she feel the same? Never in a million years did he think he would be aroused by the sight of Piper.But how should he approach it? Just asking her out felt too awkward, especially as it would come out of the blue to her. Maybe he could talk to Seb about the best way to approach it?So far Will had only managed to mark 2 of his pupil's papers. His concentration level was completely shot and he was being counterproductive.After al
Merryn Fawkner eyed her daughter across the breakfast table. Their reunion had been emotional when she saw her daughter for the first time in 9 years this morning. Some would think it strange that it had been so long, and it was. Piper had never wanted to come back and visit and Merryn and George had never left Cornwall.Piper's return was so sudden that her suspicions had been peaked. But as usual, her daughter pretended that everything was fine. But she knew better - Piper was hiding something. All she could do was hope that when Piper was ready she would open up. A problem shared and all that."Have you made any plans today?". Merryn asked."I thought about going for a walk and maybe to the beach. That's the one thing I missed most about living in London. There was nowhere to escape to and it was always loud and busy." Piper replied."That's why dad and I would never come and visit. The thought of being exposed to the hustle and bustle of a big city le
The walk from her parent's cottage down to the beach was a straight road that only took Piper 2 minutes to walk. The sea air assaulted her nostrils and the breeze was comforting against her face. The heat from the sun radiated straight through her body and warmed her from the inside. The sand gently caressed her feet like that of a lover. Nothing could ever compare to this beautiful gem of a town. Piper laid out her towel and sat watching the waves gently stroke the shore. A sense of calm enveloped her that she hadn't felt in such a long time. It was so reassuring to just sit and take in her surroundings. Families were swimming in the sea, making the same memories Piper had as a young girl. The laughter of the children made her smile - this was what life was all about. Piper was disturbed by the loud ringing of her mobile. When she looked it was a private number which she thought was strange. "Hello?". No answer - just breathing."Hello?" again Piper was
Seb finished his second boat trip of the day. His customers seemed happy so he was happy, and getting paid was always a bonus as the boat wasn't cheap to run. He'd been doing fishing trips and coastal cruises since he'd left the Army 3 years ago. When he was medically discharged, he knew immediately what he'd wanted to do. For the 6 years, he was in the Army he'd thought of nothing but home. Being out on the open sea made him feel free and helped him to forget the atrocities he'd seen whilst enlisted. The injury he sustained whilst actively serving was a blessing in disguise as the decision was taken out of his hands as to whether he should continue serving. And now here he was, sitting on his own boat that he'd called Pip, making a living doing what he loved. Sometimes the hours were long, but they kept him busy and out of trouble. Seb kept his honey blonde hair short and unlike his brother Will, he was 4inches shorter and muscular. The Army had made s
The previous day had been a welcome distraction for Seb, and spending time with Piper had solidified their friendship and got it back on track. He was still suspicious of why she was being so coy about her reasons for coming home so abruptly. But pushing the issue might inflame whatever emotions Piper was already feeling. He hadn't heard from Will either which was a good thing. No doubt Will would spit his dummy out when he found out they'd spent yesterday together and even though it was platonic Will would still act like he was hard done by. He seemed to have this misconception that every woman was in love with him and would follow him to the ends of the Earth if need be. Well, there were women out there like Piper, who wouldn't fall for his charms and he knew the kiss they'd shared had meant nothing to Piper. Seb wanted to call Piper and arrange another meet-up with her. Calling it a date brought with it expectations that neither of them wanted, especially Pi
Dale Ridgeley sat in his office staring at his computer screen like it was miraculously going to type up his student report for him. Since Piper had left he hadn't been able to focus on anything, especially work.How dare that bitch up and leave him without a word! He'd come home from work to find that all the stuff Piper kept as his flat missing, and when he'd tried to call her the number had been disconnected. When he'd contacted her work, they'd politely advised him that she no longer worked there and refused to give him a forwarding address or telephone number. He'd even gone in and tried to sweet-talk the stupid fat receptionist into giving him the information, but she wouldn't budge and hadn't even fallen for his charms. He wondered what Piper had told them about him before she up and did a moonlight flit?Well, it was all lies! Whatever she'd said, she was a liar!When he'd realised her mobile had been disconnected, he'd tried calling everyone she k
When Seb called and asked Piper if she fancied lunch, she'd jumped at the chance. She'd spent all morning researching her options about starting work but was still none the wiser. She still couldn't decide whether or not being self-employed was the best way to go. "What's the situation with work?" Seb asked, "Have you made a decision on what you want to do?". "Nope, I feel like I'm just waiting for the penny to drop. I never thought it would be so hard just to make a decision. I'll have to do something soon as my savings are starting to dwindle. Are you glad you're self-employed?". "I like not having anyone to answer to and being my own boss is always a positive. It does have its disadvantages though; work is practically non-existent through the winter months so I have to always make sure I've saved enough money to see me through". Seb answered honestly. "But if you were to go self-employed your work wouldn't be seasonal, so straight away you have an advantag
Will was starting to get annoyed at Piper giving him the silent treatment, anyone would've thought he'd cheated or something with the way she was carrying on. So he told a little white lie? It was for a good reason and with the best of intentions. He just wanted time alone with her. Well, enough was enough - today he was going to go and confront her, and bring her a nice bunch of flowers to help sweeten her up. Flowers bought, he made his way up to her parent's house and rang the bell. Hopefully, Piper would answer the door as he didn't feel like trying to explain to her parents why he'd turned up bearing flowers. They weren't naive enough to believe he was just being kind. For all, he knew she might've already told them of the events of that night. A shadow came into view and as the door opened Will held his breath but put on the biggest smile he could muster. Piper stood there with a look of complete annoyance "What do you want? Generally when someone
By the time Piper got home, it was past 11 pm and both her parents were asleep. She carefully crept up to her bedroom and quietly got changed into her pajamas. Easing into bed she reminisced over the night and how perfect it was. Seb had walked ger home, said goodnight, and left. He was a true gentleman and Piper loved him even more for it.When she checked her phone she realised there was a text message on her phone. Opening it she stared in horror "You can't keep ignoring me you BITCH! Hiding won't protect you! Escaping London won't protect you either!".It was from an unknown number and she knew enough to know that they'd used an online text service in order to remain anonymous. She started shaking and her heart rate quickened. All she wanted was to be left alone, to forget her past and look forward to her future. There were times she wished she'd just stayed in Porthleven where she was safe and then none of this would've happened.Telling her parents w
Seb and Piper sat and talked well into the evening just like old friends. There was no awkwardness, no expectations and he seemed so relaxed which he hadn't been in all the time she'd been home. She noticed he was still guarded whenever she tried to turn the topic onto his time in the Army. He wasn't hostile, he would just start looking uncomfortable and then start directing the conversation elsewhere. She also noticed his face would light up whenever he talked about working on his boat and he talked endlessly about it. She loved listening to him and watching him smile so naturally. His skin was gently sun-kissed, but not enough that he looked too tanned and the hairs that were poking through his top were just the right shade of blonde. These were things that Piper was just observing without any kind of hidden agenda or lustful thought. She was done with men for the time being - it was time to finally focus on herself. Her thoughts were broken by Seb "Fancy s
Piper was still reeling from the news that Will had tricked her. After Dale she had sworn to herself that she would never let another man manipulate her again. By the end of their relationship Dale had left her a shadow of her former self. The term 'gaslighting' was the perfect way to describe how Dale had made her feel while they were together. London held so many awful memories and now Will had tainted her time back home.Instead of going to the pub for a drink, Seb had suggested that they go back to his cottage which was walking distance from the harbour with a quick stop on the way to grab some beers and wine from Porthleven supermarket. Seb knew enough to know that Piper didn't want to be around people and who was he to judge?As Piper walked into Seb's living room she realised how minimalistic it was, but then again that was his nature so why should it surprise her. There was a simple grey sofa with a white coffee table in the centre of the room and the wal
The look on Seb's face said it all - he was completely dumbfounded. Piper felt so bad! She didn't mean to blurt that out! What was she thinking? No doubt he thought she was a hussy now! If he was rude and standoffish before this then he was going to be even worse now. "I don't understand?" Seb now looked confused, "What do you mean you kissed? How on earth did that happen? And when exactly?". "Last week after we saw you at the pub. Will walked me home and one thing just led to another. I'm not actually sure how it happened, but I know too much drink was involved". Piper exhaled guiltily. "Oh, you mean after your date in Helston?". Seb asked sarcastically. "What?" Piper asked shocked, "It wasn't a date! Will asked if I wanted to go for drinks in Helston so I said yes. And anyway, it was you who was on a date that night!". Now Seb looked really confused as he started shaking his head "Whoa, I don't think I was. Where the hell did you get that fr
Seb was mooring his boat when he looked up to see a familiar face standing looking out at the harbour. Piper looked so lost and forlorn that it made Seb curious and sad at the same time. It looked like she needed a friend right about now. "Piper". Seb shouted waving in her direction and ushering her to come over. "You look like someone with a lot on their mind? Fancy coming for a boat ride?". Piper was completely taken aback - Seb offering her a ride on his boat without any kind of hostility directed at her? "Erm... if you're sure? I thought you were too busy though?". "I think I can make time on this occasion". Seb replied seriously. "Hop up, and we can sail the seven seas!" Looking at Piper's face his attempt at a joke had fallen flat. Then again, he wasn't known for being a joker. Piper climbed aboard and took a seat without saying a word. Seb could sense that she just needed some quiet time for now so he started the boat and exited