A well-written short read, but quite an engaging story nevertheless. Joy and Rich meet in unusual circumstances and it is love at first sight. Fate has brought them together, so even though there are doubts, these are unfounded.
It was Joy’s first time kayaking along the seashore at Amble; the perfect day for her first attempt. The plan was to follow the shoreline between the mainland and Coquet Island; she had long wanted this to be her first destination when she felt brave enough to head out to sea. With a new job, this would be her last chance for a while. The lighthouse looked amazing with the sun behind it and Joy wondered if anyone still lived there; there was a romance about the place and she felt sad that it might be left empty and unloved. So it is just Joy and the water, but she never saw the wave coming. Rich didn’t like to think what might have happened if he hadn’t gone for a swim; if he hadn’t needed to be on Coquet that morning. But he was there and had seen her go under. Did she know about the current, or how beautiful she looked? Something stirred inside Rich, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Joy was getting too close to the sandbar; he had tried to warn her, but then her kayak just tipped, with the strap of her helmet catching on the rock. It wasn’t easy getting Joy to the shore and he was sure she was dead. Joy wakes up to a man kissing her, but she thinks he is attacking her and pushes him away. Rich likes the way Joy looks at him; both scared and hungry at the same time, so once their wet clothes are off, Rich didn’t hesitate. Rich didn’t know her name, but one look at her and he was lost. Joy didn’t know Rich’s name but somehow she felt like she knew him, had always known him; there was a connection between them, but Joy needs time to mull over Rich’s words. Rich gives Joy his telephone number but every time she rings him, there is no answer and she begins to think he is ghosting her and she is surprised by how hurt she feels. Joy didn’t want to have feelings for him, didn’t want complication in her life; she wasn’t looking for love but it seems to have found her anyway. Joy didn’t know that Rich had left his telephone at the Lighthouse, or that he wondered why she didn’t admit to being as excited as he was. Rich has no intention of giving up on love, not when Joy had made him feel things he had never felt before. It is when Rich runs his eye down the list of new starters that he smiles for the first time that day. They were meant to be together after all; he isn’t a big believer in Fate, but the fact that her name is there tells him everything he needs to know. A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and my comments here are my honest opinion.