by Holly Martin
Sylvia nodded, absently rubbing the soft leather with her thumb. ‘Maybe I will.’
Chapter Fifteen
Jesse knocked on the door of Clover and Angel’s cottage and let out a heavy breath. Noah and Angel had invited him round for a few beers and Skye had practically pushed him out the door of the café when he’d told her. He’d been inclined to say no as he knew Skye needed the help in the café, and because he recognised the offer for what it was, some kind of well-meaning interference. But apparently turning it down hadn’t been an option.
Angel opened the door and grinned when he saw him, stepping back to let him in.
‘Come on in, we’ve just put the pizzas on.’
Jesse stepped into the house and immediately Clover’s cat, Orion, wound his way around his legs. He leaned down and scratched between the cat’s ears.
He stood back up and noticed the TV was on.
‘I thought we could watch the game,’ Noah said.
Jesse looked closer to see they were watching an ice hockey game and smiled to himself. Of course, he was Canadian, so he must like ice hockey. He didn’t have the heart to tell them that he’d watched fewer than a handful of games in his life.
‘Sure,’ Jesse said. ‘You guys follow hockey?’
‘Oh yes,’ Angel said. ‘We watched it a lot when we were living in the States.’
That was plausible, although for some reason he still suspected they’d chosen it for his benefit, not theirs.
‘Who’s playing?’ Jesse said, sitting down on the sofa.
‘Erm…’ Angel looked at the TV, ‘Dallas Stars and Calgary Fire.’
‘Flames,’ Noah quickly corrected.
‘Yes, that’s right,’ Angel said.
Jesse smirked.
Noah sat down next to him, handing him a beer, and Angel settled in on the chair. Noah was surreptitiously trying to look at his phone and Jesse glanced over to see that Noah was looking at a web page that was describing hockey.
‘That’s a good power play,’ Noah said.
Angel looked over and subtly shook his head at Noah.
‘I mean, they had a good power play, just before you came in,’ Noah said.
Jesse smiled. They clearly had the same amount of knowledge about hockey as he did, or a complete lack of it. He decided to have a bit of fun with them.
As the green team broke out towards the goal, Jesse pointed with his beer. ‘That winger has a brilliant mountain manoeuvre.’
‘Oh yes, I agree,’ Noah said. ‘One of the best mountain manoeuvres I’ve ever seen.’
‘Oh, did you see that from the Flames,’ Jesse said. ‘That was a handball.’
‘Outrageous,’ Noah agreed.
Jesse glanced over at Angel, who clearly wasn’t buying any of this. It was possible that Angel might have a bit more knowledge about hockey than Noah did.
‘Oh come on, ref, that was offside,’ Jesse said.
Angel slowly smiled, cottoning onto what Jesse was doing.
Suddenly the crowd on the TV erupted into cheers as evidently one of the teams had managed to score a goal.
‘Amazing,’ Angel said, clapping. ‘And that was a triple point goal too.’
‘It was?’ Noah said, looking at his phone again briefly. ‘I mean, yes, it was. Well done, Flames.’
‘It was the Stars,’ Jesse corrected.
‘Yes, of course,’ Noah said. He glanced over at Angel and then at Jesse, realisation dawning on his face. ‘You guys are taking the piss, aren’t you?’
‘I have no idea about hockey,’ Jesse admitted. ‘Other than I know they have to get the puck in the goal, that’s about it.’
‘There is no such thing as a mountain manoeuvre?’ Noah asked.
Jesse shrugged. ‘Not as far as I know.’
Noah laughed and shook his head. ‘Twat.’
‘Sorry, I couldn’t resist.’
‘Let me turn it off,’ Angel said.
‘No, leave it on, it’s fun to watch. Even if none of us have any idea of the rules, we can still cheer the goals when they happen, even if they aren’t triple-pointed goals.’
Angel laughed. ‘Sorry mate, that was hugely stereotyping to assume you liked hockey, we just wanted to make you comfortable.’
Jesse raised his bottle of beer. ‘And I appreciate the gesture but we might as well get on with the real reason you invited me here, to talk about Skye.’
‘Oh well, we can talk about her if you want, but genuinely we just thought it’d be nice to have a beer together,’ Noah said. ‘You’re here so often and you do so much to help out at the café. You’re very much a part of our team.’
‘So Skye didn’t coerce you into asking me here?’ Jesse said, grabbing a handful of nuts.
‘I mentioned it to her this morning,’ Angel said. ‘That it would be good to take you out for a beer, and Skye loved the idea. As someone who has travelled the world, sometimes alone, I know how hard it is to not have anyone to talk to when you need it. If you want to talk about Skye, we can do that, if you would prefer not to, then we can keep winding Noah up about the rules of hockey instead. We can sink some beers, stuff our faces with pizza and talk about anything but your relationship with Skye. It’s your call.’
‘We both had our own issues with Clover and Aria when we started dating them,’ Noah said. ‘And while we don’t claim to be experts on love or relationships, we do have experience of dating the Philips women.’
Jesse sighed and took another swig of beer.
‘I’ll just go and check the pizzas,’ Angel said, getting up and moving off to the kitchen.
Noah was silent for a moment. ‘I had a bit of a shitty start in my life, shifted around more foster homes than I could count after my mum walked out on me when I was a kid. So I know what it’s like to have a past that holds you back. I was too scared to let anything happen with Aria in case I cocked it up.’
‘I think that ship has sailed for me,’ Jesse said.
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’ve screwed up, I’ve pushed Skye away. I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to move past that. She says she loves me but…’ he trailed off.
‘Clover pushed me away because she was scared of getting hurt,’ Angel said, coming in from the kitchen with two plates of pizza. ‘And we’re getting married in a few months and expecting our first child. If you love each other nothing is unsurmountable. Travelling the world was my life, now Clover is my entire world.’
‘I don’t think it’s as simple as that. Skye said our relationship isn’t working as it is, I need to come here if we have any chance of having a proper relationship but getting a visa with Bea is proving a lot harder than I thought. If I can’t come here, I fear I’ll lose her. She won’t come back to Canada now. If I can’t give her what she wants, then once my trip is up she wants to draw a line under our relationship once and for all.’
‘I think Skye would be delighted if you came here but what she wants is probably a lot simpler than that,’ Angel said.
Jesse frowned in confusion.
‘I might be able to help with the visa,’ Noah said. ‘At least get you and Bea here temporarily until we can sort something out more permanently. I have some contacts I could tap for advice. Although, as you said, getting Bea here could be a problem.’
‘She has dual citizenship if that makes any difference,’ Jesse said.
‘It does. That makes a big difference,’ Noah said thoughtfully.
‘Surely she can just come here on her own?’ Angel said.
‘She’s twelve, she can’t fly here alone, nor would I want her to. And I can’t bring her with me on my visa. I can’t even have any dependents.’
Jesse glanced at the TV as another goal was scored. He had spent every spare minute he had today on the phone to immigration experts and various departments, he’d done a ton of research online and he still wasn’t any closer to getting an answer. He felt like he was running out of time. He had to give Skye something.
‘I’ll look into it for you,’ Noah said, offering Jesse the plate of pizza.
‘Thank you.’ Jesse took a slice and then passed the plate to Angel.
‘And in the meantime,’ Angel said. ‘Telling Skye what she means to you might be a great start.’
Jesse sighed, taking a bite of pizza. He had to give her more than that but if he couldn’t sort out the visas he had no idea what.
Skye was standing in her kitchen at her cottage, washing up a few mugs, when she heard the front door open. She hoped Jesse’d had a good night with Noah and Angel. Even if they hadn’t been able to help him with their current predicament, she at least wanted him to have some male friends here that he could talk to.
He walked into the kitchen and immediately surrounded her from behind, his large hand across her stomach as he kissed her neck, letting out a low moan of desire against her skin. She smiled, closing her eyes at his touch.
‘Bea’s in bed,’ Skye said, knowing that would be the first thing he’d ask. ‘I think jet lag is finally catching up with her.’
‘Yeah, she looked tired earlier,’ Jesse said, pulling her dress strap off her shoulder and placing another kiss there.
‘Did you have a good time?’ Skye said, leaning back into him.
‘Not as good a time as I’m about to have now.’
She laughed and turned round to face him, looping her arms round his neck.
‘What did you do?’
‘We watched hockey.’
She frowned. ‘You don’t like hockey.’
‘I don’t not like it. I don’t follow it or support a team but it was fun to watch it while we talked. They’re nice people.’
‘They are.’
‘I brought you something.’ He leaned over to the table behind him and passed her a parcel wrapped in kitchen towel.
Skye smelt the melted cheese and garlic and her stomach gurgled appreciatively. She eagerly tore at the paper and moaned with need at the sight of two slices of pizza. She quickly wiped her hands and devoured one, groaning with delight. ‘This tastes amazing, thank you.’ She quickly polished off the second piece while Jesse stood there watching her. ‘You know me too well.’
‘I know you never have time for dinner and that you have a real need for savoury food lately. I practically had to fight Noah and Angel for these.’
‘Well that tasted so good, marry me,’ Skye said, licking her fingers.
‘What?’
She looked up at him, wondering if she should follow this line she had accidentally gone down or just laugh it off. If she were to properly propose to him now then she’d at least have her answer about whether they had a future. It would be a simple yes or no.
She swallowed. ‘I have simple needs in a husband, a man that loves me unequivocally and a man that brings me pizza after work.’
He stared at her for a moment. ‘I would gladly bring you pizza every night after work if that’s what it took to make you happy.’
She waited to see if there was any more forthcoming; pizza had been only one half of the stipulations.
‘I would do anything to make you happy,’ Jesse said.
She stroked his face and then trailed her fingers down to his heart, resting her hand over the top of it. ‘Anything?’
He sighed. ‘Anything that is in my power to do.’
She frowned slightly. There was only one thing she wanted from him and that was to hear that he loved her, that he wanted a proper relationship with her, even if that was a long-distance one. If he loved her, then they could work out the rest.
He kissed her forehead, kissing away her frown, and then kissed her hard on the lips, slowly undressing her, his hands devouring her body as she undressed him too. She needed this connection from him. He lifted her onto the table, standing between her legs as he trailed hot kisses across her body, licking across her breasts and making her tremble with need. Jesse slipped his hand between her legs but it was only mere seconds before she was shouting out his name.
He dealt quickly with the condom and was suddenly inside her. She wrapped her legs around him and he didn’t take his eyes from her for a second as he moved against her. That feeling started to build inside her but something was different with the way he was looking at her. He looked… sad. She touched his face, wanting to see inside him.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I don’t think I can give you what you want.’
She frowned in confusion as he kissed below her ear.
‘I’ve tried but I don’t think I can do it.’
He pulled back to look at her and it suddenly dawned on her what he was saying. He didn’t love her. He was sad because he was saying goodbye to her. He might be here until the pudding parade but he was letting her go.
She wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder so he wouldn’t see the tears that were suddenly filling her eyes.
That feeling started spreading through every inch of her, her body betraying her heart. She shouted out his name, clinging to him as she felt him fall over the edge too.
They stayed wrapped around each other for the longest time, their breath heavy.
‘I love you,’ Skye whispered against his skin and although he didn’t reply she knew she would always love him.
Chapter Sixteen
Skye came out of the walk-in fridge carrying a tub of frozen cream she’d prepared a few days before. Jesse had left not long before, muttering that he had something to do, but promising to be back in time for the lunch rush.
She felt heartbroken. She’d thought they’d taken a step forward when he’d told her about his past. He’d even said he didn’t want this thing between them to end and that had given her hope. But to hear him say the night before that he couldn’t give her what she wanted had left her feeling empty. If he didn’t love her then what was the point in carrying on?
Just then Bea let herself into the kitchen.
Skye fixed a smile on her face and focussed on Bea. She needed something to concentrate on right now rather than saying goodbye to Jesse for good.
‘Hey, any luck with finding the secret door that the mystery key unlocks?’ Skye said, placing the frozen cream down on the worktop with the fresh cream and pureed rhubarb she’d just taken from the fridge.
Bea came over and Skye gave her a hug, which was probably a bit unnecessary seeing as she had seen her only an hour or so before over breakfast. Bea had been such a big part of her life for the last five years – it would be so hard to say goodbye to her too. She held her tight for a second and then busied herself opening the tubs.
‘No, Seamus didn’t recognise the key at all, but he said it looked old so could possibly belong to any of the shops in the high street as those buildings were here first, long before many of the newer houses.’
‘That makes sense,’ Skye nodded thoughtfully. ‘Maybe we can ask at Kendra’s bakery. That’s where the pie was made, so it might be a key to open a storeroom there.’
‘I did ask Kendra but she says there are no store cupboards or mysterious locked doors there, but I don’t think we’ll need the secret cupboard any more,’ Bea said, almost bouncing up and down on the spot. ‘I think I know what the missing ingredient is.’
‘You do?’
‘I told Seamus that there was a secret ingredient in the rhubarb pie and he said he made his rhubarb pies exactly as his dad and grandad used to make it and that they always used the same special ingredient.’
‘Well, what is it?’ Skye said.
Bea did a little drum roll on the worktop. ‘Lavender.’
‘Oh my god, I wonder if that really is it. It’s such a great ingredient, I made lavender ice cream once and it was very popular. And you can pair it with so many things. I’m pretty sure I have some somewhere too. It’s a dried powder and you’d only need a little bit. I’ll get Jesse to experiment with some later. Well done, great detective work.’
‘But then Seamus said that if the recipe specifically mentioned a secret
ingredient, then it might be something else. I asked him what he meant and he shook his head and said he didn’t know but I got the feeling that he did.’
‘Well, that’s a bit mysterious,’ Skye said. ‘Unless he genuinely didn’t know.’
‘He looked… guilty. As if the secret ingredient was something bad,’ Bea said, her eyes suddenly going wide. ‘What if the secret ingredient was drugs? Even back in the Victorian times they were taking opium and cannabis.’
Skye laughed. ‘I don’t think Walter was handing out rhubarb pie laced with drugs.’
‘Well it might have made people think the pie tasted better than it was, or made everyone enjoy the parade a lot more.’
‘Are you suggesting that everyone who attended the parade was high as a kite on some kind of hallucinogenic drug?’
Bea shrugged. ‘It’s a possibility.’
‘Well if we find out that’s true, I think we might have to forego that particular traditional aspect.’
‘Agreed.’ Bea eyed the ingredients on the worktop. ‘What are you making?’
‘Ice cream, want to help?’
Bea’s eyes lit up. ‘Yes definitely.’
She immediately moved over to the sink to wash her hands. Jesse had obviously taught her well.
‘Firstly, we are going to heat up the cream and sugar in a pan. Can you grab that big pan for me?’
Bea did as she was told. Skye told her the measurements and Bea carefully weighed both before adding them to the pan.
‘We’re going to heat it on a low heat, just enough to dissolve the sugar. Keep stirring it, so it doesn’t burn.’
Bea, taking it very seriously, followed the instructions closely.
‘Is this how you make all your ice cream?’ Bea said, stirring carefully.
‘No, actually a local company makes the ice cream in the most popular flavours, strawberry, chocolate, banana, that kind of thing. But I knew I would only outsource it if the company could make it to the same standard or better than I could. I worked closely with them to get a recipe I like and the stuff they send me is very good. But for new or slightly unique flavours, I always make those myself. If a flavour proves popular and I decide to make it one of the regular flavours, then I work with the company to get them to make it.’
