The Break Up: The perfect heartwarming romantic comedy

by Tilly Tennant

  ‘This is only because Fluffy is our cat.’

  ‘Obviously.’

  Lara looked towards the house. She sighed. This was a terrible idea. This was possibly the worst idea she’d ever had. They could make as many promises as they wanted to the contrary, but if she went inside with him now it would all start up again and where would that lead them?

  But then she looked back up at him, dark eyes full of promises, of memories of better times, and she knew that she didn’t want to be alone.

  ‘I’d like that,’ she said. His hand closed around hers. She should have slipped hers free, shaken him off, but she didn’t. It felt too good, too right for that. It felt like comfort and friendship and, if there was nothing else on offer, God knew she needed some of that right now.

  ‘Come on,’ he said, leading her to the door. ‘I’ll fix us a drink.’

  Twenty-Three

  Lara turned up the dial on the oil-fired radiator and sat back at her desk. The office of Songbird Wedding Services was well equipped to deal with cold weather but a particularly bitter late-winter snap had tested her facilities to the limits. She looked up as the door opened, bringing a blast of icy air into the room.

  ‘Ugh! Shut the door!’

  ‘Sorry, boss.’

  The door slammed shut. Lara grinned and took the mug that was being offered.

  ‘Maybe you should start making your drinks in here rather than trekking to the kitchen in the main house every time you want to brew up.’

  ‘Maybe you should know your place and stop having opinions on how I run my office,’ Lara said with a fake scowl. ‘You can be replaced, you know.’

  ‘I thought I was being replaced. Just as soon as Betsy comes back. That’s no threat at all, is it?’

  Lara’s grin spread. She rolled up the case from a fairy cake and threw it at the occupant of the other desk.

  ‘Oi! What was that for?’

  ‘I felt like it.’

  ‘Seems a bit harsh!’

  ‘You’ll have to clean it up now.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Well, you forced me to throw it so technically it’s your mess.’

  ‘My God, you’re an absolute nightmare to work for; so unreasonable! Thank God Betsy is due back this week! I don’t know how she puts up with you but she must be some kind of saint!’

  ‘I’m not that bad, surely?’ Lara teased. ‘I mean, there must be some perks to working with me…’

  ‘Well, I suppose the lunch breaks are pretty good.’

  ‘Pretty? Is that the best you can do? Surely the lunch breaks are like little pockets of heaven on earth?’

  ‘Well…’

  Lara put her coffee down and walked slowly to the other desk. She leaned over it. ‘Is it lunchtime yet?’ she whispered.

  ‘It’s ten thirty.’

  ‘Close enough,’ she said, leaning in closer. ‘Do you want your lunchtime treat now?’

  Theo grinned. ‘Well, I do think I deserve a medal for helping you out over the past few months. But as there are no medals on offer, I guess I could settle for that.’

  She pulled him into a fiery kiss.

  ‘We’re not getting much work done,’ he said as she let go.

  ‘So tell the boss,’ Lara said.

  ‘I am telling the boss. She’s not taking much notice.’

  ‘Hmm. The boss has decided she doesn’t care.’

  She kissed him again. And then the office phone rang.

  Theo gazed dreamily at her as she left his desk and went to answer it.

  ‘Betsy!’ she said, grinning at Theo. ‘We’ve just been talking about you!’

  ‘No we weren’t,’ Theo mouthed, but Lara just threw another ball of paper at him.

  ‘Seriously?’ Lara squeaked. ‘That’s so exciting! Hang on, I’m coming to open the gate now!’

  Lara leapt up, grabbing her keys from the desk drawer. ‘Betsy’s here with the baby!’

  Without waiting for Theo’s reply, she rushed out. The garden was icy, the shrubs dusted in sugary frost, and if she’d been less excited she’d have taken more care on the path. As it was, her footing went suddenly and, with a squeal, she landed on her back, looking up at the sky. As she pushed herself up to sit, Theo appeared in front of her.

  ‘Are you OK?’

  ‘I’m fine,’ Lara said with a sheepish grin. ‘Just clumsy.’

  ‘I can’t leave you for a minute. Have I got to start carrying you everywhere now?’

  ‘It couldn’t hurt,’ Lara said with a coquettish look that made him chuckle as he helped her to her feet.

  ‘Give me the keys,’ he said. ‘I’ll get the gate while you go back to the office. It’s safer all round that way.’

  Lara almost began an argument. Old habits die hard and she was used to doing everything herself, unable to let even the smallest task go. But then she remembered the progress she’d been making in that regard, and the promise she’d made to let Betsy have a lot more responsibility once she was back at work, and she relented. She held up the keys for him.

  ‘Thanks.’

  A minute later, she was rubbing her backside, trying to dry her wet trousers in front of the heater when Theo came back with Betsy and her baby. She raised an eyebrow when they were followed in by a young man, though her surprise didn’t stop her from running to Betsy to get a look at the bundle she carried in a papoose.

  ‘Oh, he’s growing so fast!’ she cooed. ‘And getting more gorgeous every day!’

  ‘He smiles all the time,’ Betsy said. ‘Even in his sleep. And he’s rolling now – I have to watch all the time because the minute you turn your back he’s off rolling across the room and out the door.’

  Lara ticked a finger beneath the baby’s chin and he offered a beautiful smile in return. Lara broke into one of her own.

  ‘How are you so handsome?’ she said softly. ‘How is that even possible?’

  ‘I remember when you used to say that to me,’ Theo cut in with a grin.

  ‘Oh, but you can’t compete with this little man, can you?’ Lara replied.

  ‘Oh, Lara…’ Betsy said. ‘This is Reece.’

  ‘Corey’s dad?’ Lara said, extending her hand in greeting. The slight young man who had been standing silently behind Betsy since they came in looked awkward. He blinked hard and ran an uncertain hand through mousey hair before he responded. Lara supposed he knew that she knew all about them and perhaps was wondering what Lara thought of him. She gave him her brightest, most friendly smile in a bid to reassure him that she wasn’t about to judge, although she couldn’t help but muse on the fact that he was here at all.

  ‘Yes,’ he said, shaking Lara’s hand before slinking back into the shadows again.

  ‘Reece has been coming over this week to learn how to look after Corey,’ Betsy said. ‘To help out when I come back to work. I mean, you’ll be starting your engineering apprenticeship soon, won’t you?’ Betsy asked, turning to Reece, who nodded. ‘But you have Fridays off so you’ll be having Corey to give my mum and dad a break.’

  ‘My mum will be there too,’ Reece said, as if to reassure himself of the support more than anyone else. Lara supposed it was only natural to feel nervous at the prospect, but she couldn’t be anything other than pleased that he was taking an active role in bringing up their baby, especially as Betsy had stated categorically that she didn’t want a romantic relationship with him now and that he didn’t want one either. If they could work well together as a parental team, that was the best anyone could ask for and a lot more than some children got. And they both seemed to get along quite well in spite of the new responsibilities that must have seemed truly daunting at times.

  ‘So I thought he ought to come here to see what I do and to meet you, so you’d know him in case he has to come and get me for anything ever,’ Betsy continued.

  ‘I’m glad you did,’ Lara said. ‘It’s lovely to finally meet you, Reece.’

  ‘So,’ Betsy said, turning to Lara again. ‘Are you
excited to have me back?’

  ‘Of course I’m excited to have you back,’ Lara said with a laugh. ‘Your replacement has been absolutely useless.’

  ‘She bullies me!’ Theo said with a mock whine. ‘Come back and save me, Betsy!’

  ‘See what I mean?’ Lara said. ‘Can’t take orders at all.’

  ‘Again with the bullying!’ Theo said. ‘I don’t have to work here, you know; I’m a world-renowned musician!’

  ‘You don’t work here,’ Lara said. ‘You just hang around and look pitiful until I give you a biscuit.’

  ‘What, like Cupid?’

  ‘Where is Cupid?’ Lara asked, looking around the office. ‘Don’t tell me he ran out when you opened the doors just now.’

  ‘He’s got to go out sometime,’ Theo said. ‘Probably feels like he’s joined a cult being stuck in all the time.’

  ‘Cupid?’ Betsy frowned. ‘Who’s Cupid?’

  Lara looked sheepish. ‘The cat. We sort of renamed him.’

  Betsy looked confused, but the new question hanging from her lips was cut short by Lara giving the office another sweep.

  ‘We’d better have a look for him,’ she said.

  ‘I’m sure he’s fine,’ Theo replied, going over to have a closer look at baby Corey himself.

  ‘He can’t get around well with his dodgy leg; you know that,’ Lara said, her tone more serious now. She might well be in a committed relationship with Theo but they both knew that her cat would always be her number-one guy and, since the accident that had nearly taken him from them, she worried about him more than ever. ‘I’d feel happier if I could…’

  There was a purring sound, and a blue-grey tabby cat appeared from behind the radiator.

  ‘There you are,’ she said, scooping him up. ‘Naughty boy. You got me all worried.’

  Theo turned to her. ‘I think he’s having an identity crisis?’

  Lara pursed her lips. ‘You keep saying that – it’s ridiculous.’

  ‘Well, he keeps hiding – perhaps he’s trying to tell you something.’

  ‘I expect he was just cold.’

  ‘But he is on his fiftieth name now. Probably having a breakdown trying to remember them all.’

  ‘Fluffy, Satchmo, Cupid… I don’t think he cares what his name is. He wouldn’t answer to any of them whatever they are.’

  ‘I’m sorry…’ Betsy interrupted, stroking a hand over Corey’s little head as he fussed and grizzled. ‘What’s his name now?’

  ‘Cupid.’

  ‘What was wrong with Fluffy?’

  ‘Nothing,’ Lara said as Cupid leapt down from her arms again and curled up in front of the radiator. ‘I just thought Cupid because romance is my business, and it’s Cupid because that’s what he does.’

  Theo smiled. ‘Because he brought us together.’

  ‘Exactly. Like our very own little Cupid.’

  ‘Oh,’ Betsy said, throwing a quick grin at Reece, who didn’t grin back, instead looking deeply mortified to be caught up in a conversation that he didn’t have a clue how to respond to.

  ‘A cat called Cupid,’ Theo said, putting an arm around Lara. ‘All the other cats are laughing at him, you know. Only slightly less than they did when he was called Fluffy, but you’re not exactly giving him any more street cred here.’

  ‘The other cats can laugh, but I bet they don’t get yellowfin tuna for breakfast.’

  ‘True. He has got it pretty good here.’

  ‘I think so. There are worse places to live.’

  Corey reminded everyone of his presence with sudden force in the form of a loud wail.

  ‘Oh, I knew he wouldn’t last until after lunch,’ Betsy said. ‘He’s so hungry lately.’

  ‘You need to feed him?’ Lara asked.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You can use the house if you want some privacy. You know where everything is.’

  Betsy nodded. ‘Can Reece come in too?’

  ‘Of course,’ Lara replied. She couldn’t help but feel that even if Reece felt a little uncomfortable watching Betsy breastfeed, it would still be preferable to making awkward conversation with her and Theo, and he hardly seemed like the gregarious type anyway.

  ‘Come on.’ Betsy beckoned him to follow as she left the office and made her way to the main house. Lara watched them go with a fond smile.

  ‘I think maybe that’s going to work out.’

  ‘You think they might get together?’ Theo said doubtfully. ‘Do you think that’s a good way to start a relationship?’

  ‘I don’t know about a relationship, but they seem keen to make a go of parenthood as a team, and that’s not a bad result, is it? A lot of lads wouldn’t want anything to do with the baby, but he seems willing.’

  Theo came up behind her and circled his arms around her waist, leaning into her. ‘You know you sound about sixty when you say that.’

  Lara nudged him with her elbow and laughed. ‘Thanks so much. I just mean that it’s good to see them taking it seriously. I had my doubts at first.’ She turned and looked up at him. ‘Which reminds me; I wanted to ask you something.’

  ‘You don’t have enough sugar in your coffee? I’ll get right on it.’

  ‘Never serious for a minute, are you? We’ve been together for almost a year now and I think it’s going well, right?’

  ‘I think so,’ he said, kissing her nose. ‘I suppose you’re not too taxing to be around.’

  ‘And we’ve got a good balance here – you can be a bit choosier about what gigs you play now that you’ve ditched Jazzy Chas, and we’ve got on well while you’ve been helping me out here. You’ve been here quite a lot so it’s a good indicator of how well we might get on should you choose to be here a whole lot more… Like… permanently…’

  ‘You’re asking me to…?’

  ‘Move in.’

  ‘Seriously?’

  ‘Why not? I wouldn’t ask you to keep working with me because I’d have Betsy back but… Unless you’d rather not let your house go?’

  ‘That leaky old hovel with rent that would be too expensive for a shoe box? I think I could tear myself away.’

  Lara smiled. ‘So you think it’s a good idea?’

  ‘Well, yes, but I didn’t think…’

  ‘It’s OK,’ Lara said with a vague frown. ‘You can say if you don’t want to and I won’t get offended.’

  ‘God, of course I do! I just never imagined you’d want me to!’

  Lara smiled up at him. ‘Why on earth would you think that?’

  ‘Because…’ he sighed. ‘Because you’re so far above me. Because you’re this go-getting, independent, smart, beautiful, savvy woman and I’m just… well I’m just me. A sometimes musician with no discernible prospects.’

  She tapped his chest and smiled. ‘A very sexy sometimes musician with no discernible prospects.’

  ‘I’m being serious now. You really want to be saddled with me?’

  ‘Of course I do. And that reply sounded more generous in my head than it does saying it out loud.’

  ‘I know what you meant,’ he said with a laugh. ‘I still can’t believe how lucky I am to have you.’

  ‘I can’t believe how lucky we are that we met at all. If I hadn’t been looking for Cupid that night and you hadn’t been out looking for him at that same time…’

  ‘We never would have bumped into each other. Well, what I mean to say is you never would have beaten the crap out of me.’

  Lara narrowed her eyes. ‘You’re never going to forgive me for that, are you?’

  ‘One day. I think you have a lot of making up to do first.’

  ‘We could start right now.’

  ‘Betsy’s in the house…’

  ‘She’ll be a while yet…’

  He dipped his head to hers and kissed her, hands travelling down her torso and settling on her waist to pull her in close.

  ‘Yes,’ he said.

  She giggled. ‘We haven’t done anything yet.’

&
nbsp; He pulled away and grinned. ‘Yes to moving in,’ he said. ‘But once I’m here you’re never getting rid of me.’

  ‘Maybe I don’t want to. At the very least we owe it to Cupid.’

  ‘I don’t think us being here together will stop him roaming.’

  ‘Probably not, but perhaps he’ll have more of a reason to roam a little less often and a little less far away.’

  ‘True. I mean, we must be his two favourites, surely.’

  ‘I’m obviously his favourite,’ Lara said with another giggle.

  ‘You’re my favourite too. Have I told you today that I love you?’

  ‘No and it’s almost midday. I was beginning to think you’d gone off me.’

  ‘Never. I love you.’

  ‘In that case, I love you too.’

  Theo gently tilted her head up and pressed his lips to hers once more.

  In the corner of the room, warming himself by the heater, Cupid the blue-grey tabby cat with a wonky back leg and more names than he’d had tuna dinners let out a little mew of approval.

  If your heart was melted by The Break Up then you will be charmed and captivated by The Little Village Bakery – a feel-good romantic comedy with plenty of cake!

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  The Little Village Bakery

  Honeybourne Series Book 1

  Get it here!

  Help yourself to a generous slice of Victoria sponge, a perfect cup of tea and a big dollop of romance. Welcome to The Little Village Bakery.

  Meet Millie. Heartbreak has forced her to make a new start and when she arrives at the old bakery in the little village of Honeybourne she is determined that this will be her home sweet home. Her imagination has been captured by the tumbledown bakery but with no running water and dust everywhere, her cosy idea of making cakes in a rural idyll quickly crumbles.

  Luckily the locals are a friendly bunch and step in to help Millie. One in particular, Dylan, a laid-back lothario, soon captures her attention.

  But just as Millie is beginning to settle in, an unexpected visitor from her past suddenly turns up determined to ruin everything for her. It’s time for Millie to face the skeletons in her closest if she’s going to live the dream of running her little village bakery, and her blossoming romance with Dylan.