Читать книгу The Lavender Bay Collection - Sarah Bennett - Страница 25

Chapter Fifteen

Beth set the tray of borrowed glasses down on the front counter and adjusted the handset under her ear. ‘I’m not ready, it’s going to be a disaster,’ she wailed into the phone.

Deep laughter greeted her declaration sending little tendrils of warmth curling through her. ‘Stop being a wimp, you’ve worked your arse off all week and everything is going to be fantastic.’ Sam paused. ‘And if it’s a disaster at least your guests can enjoy all that delicious food Eliza and I made for you.’

It was her turn to laugh. ‘Is that your idea of a pep talk? Why do I even bother with you?’

‘Because I’m the best kisser in Lavender Bay.’ The man had a point—not that she’d been getting any lately. Getting the emporium ready for opening was taking up every waking moment of her time and they hadn’t had a chance to put any of their ground rules into practice. Her life was distinctly lacking in anything remotely resembling a fling.

Exaggerating a sigh, she swapped the phone to her other ear and started pulling sheets of cling film off the bowls of nibbles she’d set out on every available surface. ‘Yeah, I vaguely remember you having some basic skills in that department.’

‘Basic? Basic?’

Whatever he said next she missed because she was laughing so hard she dropped her phone. ‘Damn!’ She bent down to scoop it up and knocked her head on the corner of a shelf. ‘Ouch.’

‘What was that? Are you okay?’

She rubbed her head. ‘I’m fine, just a little karmic rebound, that’s all.’ Closing her eyes, she sucked in a deep breath. ‘Tell me I’ve got this.’

‘You’ve got this. You do. The emporium looks great, especially the local art collection. I think it’s inspired. Mum and Dad will be there to lend a hand, not that you’ll need it. And you can tell me all about it later.’

‘Thank you. You might be a basic kisser, but your pep talks are on the money.’ She lowered her voice to a husky murmur. ‘If you’ve got time to work on your skills, there’s a couple of boxes I could do with a hand with in the stock room.’

‘Temptress.’ He heaved an exaggerated sigh. ‘Much as I’d love to take you up on such a delightful invitation, this basic kisser has to go because we’ve got a walk-in looking for a room. I’ll call you later, okay?’

They’d both agreed that work came first, but she couldn’t hide her frustration. ‘Okay.’

‘Hey, no sulking, it’ll be great.’ He hung up and consequently missed her outraged squawk. She was seriously starting to regret asking him to be honest all the time. Checking her watch, she did a quick mental calculation. It would be early in Florida, but her mum had always been an early riser. She shouldn’t have left it this long; dutiful daughters called their mothers every fortnight. It was another part of her mum’s happy family charade. It was a miracle word hadn’t already got back to Linda, although she’d cut ties pretty thoroughly after leaving the bay.

Bracing herself with one hand on the counter, Beth scrolled through her address book and pressed dial.

‘Hello?’

‘Mum? It’s me, Beth.’

‘Hello, stranger. So you haven’t dropped off the edge of the earth then? I did wonder when I hadn’t heard from you.’

Beth bit back a sigh at her mother’s snippy tone. The amazing thing about phones was that they worked both ways. She might not have called, but neither had Linda—not that it would occur to her, of course. ‘I wanted to make sure I caught you before you started your day, I know how busy you are.’

‘Well actually, it’s a good job you did call now because the girls from the bridge league are meeting for breakfast at the club this morning.’ Girls might be stretching it a bit, even with the extensive amount of plastic surgery popular amongst them.

‘I wanted to let you know that Eleanor left the emporium to me in her will, and I’ve decided to take over running it.’ She took a deep breath, then hurried on. ‘In fact, I’m hosting an opening party this evening.’

‘But what about your job in London? You can’t possibly hope to manage a shop and keep up with all your other work at the same time. What were you thinking?’

Realising her knuckles had turned white where she was gripping the counter so hard, Beth forced her fingers to unclench. ‘I was thinking that my job wasn’t making me very happy, that I was being taken for granted. Running the emporium is a real challenge, Mum, and I’m having fun being my own boss for a change. I thought you’d be happy for me.’ She hadn’t really, but it was worth a try.

‘Happy?’ Beth winced at her mum’s shrill tone. ‘You’ve thrown away all your prospects to run that smelly, shabby hovel. I knew I shouldn’t have left you in that woman’s care. She’s brainwashed you!’

‘Eleanor was a wonderful friend to me, and it was only through her kindness that you were free to start your new life with Reg. Please don’t speak ill of her.’ It took effort not to raise her voice, but getting into a full-blown fight with her mum wouldn’t do any good. Linda hated Lavender Bay and she would never understand why not everyone else felt the same way.

‘Oh, I might have known I’d end up being the bad guy in all this, when all I’ve ever wanted is what’s best for you. You’re throwing your life away, Beth. I hate to see you throwing away all that potential so you can play at being a shopkeeper.’ A loud sniffle followed the outburst.

When Beth didn’t jump in to placate her, her mum huffed, her crocodile tears abandoned almost as quickly as they’d started. ‘Don’t expect me to wish you good luck. If you have any sense at all you’ll sell that place and use the money towards building a proper future.’

Beth closed her eyes and prayed for patience. Why had she honestly expected anything other than this? ‘Nothing’s set in stone, Mum, but if I do decide to sell it then surely it’s better to be able to offer a going concern rather than an empty shell?’

Stony silence. She bit her lip, refusing to let herself get upset. Well, I just wanted to tell you about the opening tonight. I’ll give you a call sometime and let you know how I’m getting on. Bye, Mum.’

She hung up before her mum had even finished saying goodbye, disappointment weighing her shoulders down. There was no time to brood as someone knocked on the front door. Flipping the lock, she fixed a big smile on her face and opened it. ‘Welcome! Oh, it’s you.’

‘Jesus, B, that’s the scariest expression I’ve ever seen. If you’re not careful, you’ll scare off all your potential customers.’

‘I just got off the phone to Mum.’

‘Oh, God, no wonder you look ready for a scrap.’ Libby bustled in a large box under her arm. ‘Wow, it looks great in here.’ She grabbed a handful of peanuts and stuffed them in her mouth. ‘I’m starving!’

Slapping her hand away from the bowl, Beth laughed, her friend’s vibrant personality the perfect foil to her mother’s coldness. ‘You work in a chip shop, Libs, how can you possibly be starving?’

‘Ugh! Are you kidding? If I never see another saveloy in my life, it’ll be too soon.’ She turned in a circle. ‘Where can I put this?’ She started pushing some of the carefully positioned bowls aside.

Beth leapt forward. ‘Hey, it took me ages to get these in the right place.’ Easing Libby aside, she shifted a plate back six inches to the left. ‘What’s in the box, anyway?’

‘Be patient.’ Libby pulled her tablet out from her shoulder bag and started fiddling with it. She clicked on an icon and Eliza’s face filled the screen. ‘Finally! Did she open it yet? Put me somewhere I can see what’s going on.’

‘Hold your horses,’ Libby scolded. She held the tablet against her chest, pointing it at Beth. ‘Can you see now?’

‘I can see her belly button. Nice blouse, by the way, Beth. Very classy.’ Libby lifted the tablet higher. ‘That’s it, hold it there!’

‘God, you’re bossy.’ Libby nodded at Beth. ‘Eliza and I wanted to say we both think what you’re doing is amazing, and we couldn’t be more proud of you.’

‘And we know you’re going to be a runaway success,’ Eliza chipped in.

‘I was getting to that bit,’ Libby rolled her eyes. ‘So, anyway, we wanted to get you something to celebrate your new venture.’

A familiar tingle started behind Beth’s eyes and she blinked rapidly to chase away the impending tears. ‘You didn’t need to do that.’

‘Oh, hush, of course we did. That’s what best friends are for.’ Libby said. ‘Now open the box.’

The top of the box had been folded in on itself and she tugged one of the long flaps free. A pile of pink tissue paper greeted her. Lifting the other flap, she lifted out handfuls of the paper to reveal a bubble-wrapped rectangle. A gold label she recognised secured the wrapping in place. Pausing, Beth, glanced up. ‘What did you do?’

Libby grinned. ‘Open it.’

Fingers shaking, she peeled the label and folded back the bubble wrap. ‘Oh. Oh my God.’ Inside a white pine frame was a delicate watercolour rendering of a small section of the promenade from the perspective of someone on the beach. Sitting in the centre, slightly larger than the buildings to either side was a beautiful rendering of the emporium, complete with its brand-new stripy awning and a sign showing the new name.

No amount of blinking was going to hold back the tears this time. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she snivelled. ‘Just beautiful. Thank you.’

‘Oh, B, not your makeup!’ Libby dumped the tablet on the counter to fumble in her pocket for a tissue. ‘Deep breaths, deep breaths, come on now.’ She flapped her hands in front of Beth’s face as she pressed the tissue hard against the corners of her eyes.

‘I’m okay, I’m okay.’ Beth took a deep breath and held it for a count of five. ‘I’m okay.’ She grabbed Libby’s face between her hands to smack a kiss on her lips. ‘Thank you. You’re amazing’ Picking up the tablet, she kissed the screen. ‘You too, Eliza. You’re both incredible and I couldn’t have done this without you.’

‘Nonsense.’ Eliza grinned at her from the slightly smeared screen. ‘You did all the hard work, not us. Take pride in what you’ve achieved, and this is only the beginning. I just wish I could be there with you.’

‘Me too. Maybe you can come and see us again in a few weeks once the weather warms up? You’ll need to work on your tan if you’re going abroad.’ Eliza’s bright smile faded, making Beth wince. Foot, meet mouth.

A knock was swiftly followed by the jaunty ring of the bell over the front door. Beth glanced over her shoulder. ‘Oh, hey, your folks are here. Do you want to say hi?’

Leaving Annie and Paul chatting to their daughter, Beth did a final circuit of the shop, double-checking—or more like quadruple-checking—everything was in place.

Libby came over to join her. ‘What can I do?’

‘There’s a checklist over on the counter…what? Why are you laughing?’

‘Of course, there’s a checklist. I don’t know why I didn’t just look for it in the first place.’ Still chuckling, Libby joined Annie and Paul at the counter where they divvied up the last couple of jobs.

Beth checked her watch. It was twenty minutes to the opening and the first of the artists should be there any moment. The bell over the door rang again, and Beth fixed her ‘I’m confident and organised smile’ in place as she headed over to greet them. She was keen to expand, using the emporium as a showcase for their work. If running the shop didn’t work out for Beth in the long run, she had it in mind to ask whether they’d be interested in taking it on in some kind of collective capacity. It might mean a shift from the current eclectic stock the place carried, but Eleanor had been the one to bring them on board in the first place so a part of her legacy would live on.

Annie edged through the crowded shop towards Beth and handed her a glass of champagne. ‘Everyone else has got a drink so I think it’s time. If you’re ready I can start herding people outside?’

Beth nodded. ‘Thank you.’ She touched Annie’s arm when she would have turned away. ‘It’s going okay, isn’t it? I mean, everyone’s here. The place is packed, and they’ve said lots of nice things. It’s just…’

‘Everything’s perfect.’ Taking care not to knock either of their glasses, Annie swept Beth into a sweet-scented hug. Chanel No.5. Beth smiled to herself as the elegant perfume wafted around them. For as long as she could remember, Annie had kept a bottle of it on her dressing table. She and Eliza had snuck in there to play dress-up and had drenched themselves in the stuff. Instead of getting mad, Annie had sat them both down and showed them the secrets of her make-up bag.

Annie stepped back and clinked their glasses together. ‘You’ve got a huge hit on your hands, especially with the artists. I’ve already talked Paul into arranging for that lovely jeweller to make me some earrings for our anniversary next month. It’s pearl.’

Beth grinned. ‘I get twenty percent commission on any orders placed here tonight so make sure he doesn’t scrimp.’

‘Good point, I’ll talk him into a matching necklace. I pushed two of his babies out of my body so that man owes me.’ She raised an eyebrow. ‘Don’t look at me like that, young lady. Thirty hours of labour for the first and over eighteen for the second. He’s going to owe me for the rest of his life.’

Paul slid his arm around her waist, the other resting on a walking stick Beth hadn’t seen him use before today. Another sign he was taking his health more seriously. ‘And I enjoy paying back the debt, my dearest heart. Come on now, lets get this lot outside before they drink all the booze.’

Watching them go, a tingle of warmth spread through Beth easing her nerves. Most of the people there had been on their feet all day dealing with the worries and stresses of their own businesses, and yet they hadn’t hesitated to give up their evening to welcome her back into their fold. It made her sad to think her mum had never been able to see this side of life in their small town.

Once everyone gathered on the pavement outside, Beth took her place next to the rope the joiners had attached to the tarp covering the sign above the front windows. Libby handed her a teaspoon which she tapped against her glass until the conversation died down. Staring out at her friends and neighbours, she felt the collective weight of their expectations and uttered a silent prayer she’d be up to the challenge.

‘Ladies and gentlemen. I want to thank you all for coming here this evening to help me celebrate the official re-opening of the emporium. I know how much Eleanor meant to you all, and she meant the absolute world to me.’ Beth had to pause for a moment and gather herself. ‘I never expected such an incredible gift and I only hope I can do her faith in me justice. Yes, I’ve made some changes, but this will always be her place.’

She passed her glass to Libby and took the rope in both hands. Please work. Please, please, please. Beth pulled hard and the tarpaulin tumbled down. A sigh rippled around the crowd and she knew she’d made the right choice. ‘Welcome to Eleanor’s Emporium.’

‘Last load.’ Beth promised herself as she yanked open the dishwasher door and wafted away the steam billowing out. Her feet were killing her—the heels had been a huge mistake, even if they’d been a perfect match for her blouse and pencil skirt. First thing tomorrow, she was going online to look for some pretty flats. She scrunched her aching toes inside her fluffy slippers and sighed in relief. Now if she could only find a full-body slipper to ease the stiffness in the rest of her. ‘Last load,’ she muttered and bent to empty the glasses from the dishwasher.

She’d just placed the last glass in the slotted box they’d come in when the bell at the back door buzzed. Grumbling about the strain in the back of her calf, she limped down the stairs. Common sense kicked in the second before she pulled open the door—she was alone in the place after all. Flipping on the exterior light, she squinted at the large shape on the other side of the frosted safety glass. She checked her watch, it was past eleven. A frisson of fear shivered through her and she took a reflexive step backwards. ‘Who is it?’

‘It’s me.’

‘Sam?’ The security chain rattled as she slipped it off and opened the door. ‘What are you doing here?’

He held up a bottle of champagne and a polystyrene box. ‘I bought you dinner.’ Her stomach rumbled reflexively, and he smiled. ‘All those sausage rolls, and I bet you didn’t have a single mouthful all evening.’

Her hand settled on her noisy stomach and warmth flooded her cheeks. ‘I was a bit busy. By the time I thought about it, the plates were empty.’

He lifted the box towards her. ‘Tonight’s special was chicken curry.’ Her mouth watered at the thought of it. ‘I didn’t get around to eating either. That drop-in guest turned out to be a pain in the arse. He hated everything about his room, even down to the brand of the freebie toiletries. I ended up giving him a bottle of fancy shower gel Mum gave me for Christmas and changing out the pillows. About the only thing he didn’t complain about was the curry, so it must be good.’

Beth laughed and held open the door to let him in. ‘You should have come to the party, I had nothing but happy customers.’

‘Really? That’s fantastic. We definitely need to toast that.’

Beth locked up and followed him up the stairs and into the kitchen. ‘One more glass and I might fall over. What I missed out on with the nibbles, I more than made up for with drinks. Every time I turned around, someone was there to refill my glass.’

He paused in the act of pulling plates out of the cabinet. ‘We can have a soft drink, it’s no big deal, I just wanted to celebrate with you.’

Sliding her arms around his waist, she pressed against the broad, solid warmth of his back. ‘Open the champagne. If that chicken curry is as good as you claim I might just take advantage of you.’

Sam turned in her arms. ‘That sounds like the booze and the aftermath of the adrenalin talking.’

She pressed a row of kisses along his jaw. ‘Maybe a little, does that matter?’

His arms dropped to press her tight against him for a moment, before he eased her gently away. ‘It matters. I wish all the way down to the ache in my groin that it didn’t, but it matters. We’re going to eat this curry, drink a pint of water each, smooch a bit on the sofa and then I’m tucking you into bed—alone.’

‘Do you know how annoying it is when you take charge all the time?’ She stamped her foot, immediately regretting her show of petulance when her toes began throbbing again.

‘You’ll thank me in the morning when you don’t have a hangover or any morning-after regrets.’

He had a point, although she doubted there would be anything to regret about letting him into her bed. Opening the cupboard next to him, she grabbed a couple of pint glasses and carried them over to the sink. ‘You’re probably right. After all, being such a mediocre kisser doesn’t give me much hope for your prowess between the sheets.’ She bit her lip to hold back a giggle as she filled the glasses.

‘Mediocre? When did I get downgraded from basic to bloody mediocre? Your memory must be failing, woman. Here let me remind you.’ Beth found herself hauled around and swept into a tight embrace. Sam’s lips slammed down onto hers, and then he was kissing her so deeply she didn’t even mind the way it made her aching toes curl in her slippers. By the time he released her, she had to clutch the sink behind her so she didn’t slide to the floor.

With a satisfied sniff, Sam wandered away to dish up the curry. Placing the plates on the table, he nodded at the seat in front of her. ‘Are you sitting down? Your dinner’s getting cold.’

‘I’ll be there in a minute, just as soon as my knees stop wobbling,’ she admitted.

The expression on his face could only be described as gloating. ‘Mediocre, huh?’

Gathering the shreds of her dignity, she slid into her seat. ‘Did I say that, I think I meant to say adequate.’ It might have been her turn to gloat as he choked on a mouthful of his curry. She offered him one of the glasses. ‘Water?’