Summer of Love

by Sophie Pembroke

  ‘These aren’t half bad,’ Max said, flicking through the months of work and love and labour, learning to frame the shot, learning to use his equipment to best effect, to hone his eye to see the potential picture in everything around him, right up to the ones taken that week, with Lily’s delicate fingers and beautiful designs. ‘Not that I’m any real judge. I sort the business side; the other guys provide the talent.’ He tossed the portfolio back down onto the desk. ‘I’ll tell you what. We don’t have a photographer here, and maybe you could be a good addition. But what we need a hell of a lot more now Phillips has gone is a good accountant. You take on the financial side of things here, for a reasonable fee, and I think the collective will vote you in on Thursday.’

  ‘That sounds fair.’ Actually, it sounded like a bloody good deal. He’d get to build up his photography business slowly, while still earning money at what he knew and was good at. Maybe eventually he’d want to change the balance of that, but for now, it was too good to be true. And Alex tended to be very suspicious of deals that sounded too good on paper. ‘Any other conditions?’

  ‘Just one.’ And there it was. Whatever Max wanted that Alex wouldn’t want to give. He’d offered him exactly what he needed, and now he was going to make it conditional on something impossible. ‘Make sure Lily doesn’t go back to Edward.’

  ‘What?’ Not exactly what he’d been expecting. ‘Why would you think she’d listen to me?’

  Max gave him a lopsided smile. ‘Because I saw the way she looked at you the other day. And I know she’s never looked at Edward like that.’

  The words hit Alex right in the solar plexus. Wasn’t that just what he’d come home for? To find someone to look at him that way, the way his parents looked at each other, the way his brother looked at his sister-in-law? But not Lily. Yes, he was attracted to her. And yes, he liked her. She was fun to be around, and good to talk to. But he still barely knew her, not the woman she’d grown into, instead of the girl she’d been.

  Except… it felt like he did. The time he’d spent with her that week had been comfortable. Easy. Right.

  Lily said she didn’t ever want to get married, but that had been in the heat of the moment, in the crazy fallout of her sudden broken engagement. But she’d spent seven years with Edward, because she loved him. Not to mention the fact that Cora thought she’d go back to him. And he’d place money that Evelyn would be trying to talk her into it.

  But she shouldn’t. Alex knew, deep in his bones, that Edward wasn’t the man for Lily.

  He couldn’t let her marry him. Just couldn’t.

  ‘Okay,’ he told Max. ‘You’ve got a deal.’

  A Cheshire Cat smile spread across Max’s face. ‘Then welcome to the Mill.’

  Chapter Eight

  Really, if she’d thought about it, it was hard to think of a worse time to break off her engagement. Quite aside from her mother’s hysterics, Lily now had to deal with everyone at the Mill. They’d be concerned about her, she knew, but they were also a load of old gossip hounds, so they’d want the scandal, too.

  On a normal day, she could have dealt with them one at a time, as they stopped by the shop in dribs and drabs to see how she was. They’d need another excuse to stop by, of course, so some might have even brought her coffee, or cake.

  Not today. Today was committee day, which meant they all got to bombard her with kindness and questions at once, totally legitimately. And once they found out she was championing the latest addition to the Mill’s team… Chances were, they’d all jump to the exact same conclusion that Cora had.

  Taking a deep breath, Lily opened the car door and stepped out into the Mill car park. Maybe she could make it to the shop and at least get a cup of tea before the meeting – and the inquisition – started.

  No such luck.

  ‘Lily!’ Tessa waved at her from the gates, running to catch up. It could be worse, Lily supposed. Tessa was one of her best friends at the Mill. She and her fiancé, Jack, ran the glassblowing studio across from hers, and they’d collaborated on some beautiful earring sets. Lily had even made Tessa’s wedding jewellery for their beach wedding later this summer.

  It really would be very rude to ignore her. Unfortunately.

  With a sigh, Lily paused by the car and waited for Tessa to reach her. ‘Hi, Tess. Everything okay?’

  Tessa nodded, her coppery curls bobbing around her pixie face. ‘I just… I heard about you and Edward, and I wanted to say how sorry I am.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Tessa did look genuinely heartbroken at the failure of her engagement. Obviously, despite what Alex said, not everyone had known what a colossal mistake she’d nearly made. Or maybe Tessa was just so loved up she wanted everyone to be as happy as she was. Just like Cora. ‘But, really, I think it’s for the best.’

  Tessa’s forehead crumpled into a frown of incomprehension. ‘Well, I just wanted to say, if you need anything, you know where we are.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Lily said again. She had a feeling she’d be saying it a lot today. ‘See you at the meeting?’

  Tessa nodded and bounced off in the direction of her studio, and Jack, and her perfect, loved-up life.

  ‘If love makes you so blind you can’t see who people really are, I’m well out of it,’ Lily muttered. But only once she was sure Tessa couldn’t hear her.

  The committee meeting took place, as always, with the Mill members scattered on chairs around several of the circular wooden tables of the Mill cafe, sipping tea and eating pastries. Max rattled through the usual business while Lily fended off sympathetic looks and murmurs of condolences with a business-like expression and utter concentration on the matters at hand.

  Until he reached the latest bid for a studio at the Mill.

  ‘Right, next up. I’ve spoken to you all about Alex Harper, the photographer who wants to join our collective and take up the empty studio. You’ve all seen his portfolio. So, floor’s open for comments and questions.’

  She couldn’t look too eager or too concerned. Couldn’t let on that it mattered to her at all that Alex have a place here, unless she wanted to fuel the latest gossip even more. So Lily looked down at her notes and waited for someone else to speak.

  ‘I have to say,’ Jack said, eventually. ‘It would be great to have an accountant on site. But only if he’s willing to use those skills. If he’s giving everything up to be a photographer, will he want to be helping out with our accounts as well?’

  ‘He says so. I think he wants the regular accounting income while he builds up the new business,’ Max said mildly. Lily kept staring at her pad.

  ‘He hasn’t been doing photography very long though, has he?’ Across the table, Kimberley, the ceramics artist, spoke around a mouthful of pain au chocolat.

  ‘His portfolio was good, though,’ Tessa said.

  ‘Yeah, but if he’s still so new, is he going to be able to build up that business at all?’ Kimberley argued. ‘Or are we going to be an artists’ collective with an accountant in one studio?’

  Lily gave up on being neutral. ‘He had his first wedding booking yesterday. And he’s done all the photography for my new catalogue.’

  Knowing looks were exchanged across the table. Lily sighed.

  ‘I heard you got him that booking, though,’ Kimberley said.

  ‘I did,’ Lily admitted, knowing exactly what everyone was reading into that.

  ‘So how can you be sure he can do it on his own?’

  Lily looked to Max for support, but he merely raised his eyebrows and motioned for Lily to continue.

  ‘Okay, look. He’s a friend, so of course I’m going to speak up for him. But he’s bloody good – at photography, not just accounting. He’s given up his whole way of life to move home and make a go of this. He’s going to give it everything he’s got, and he’s going to succeed. Trust me.’

  No one else spoke until Max said, ‘Okay, then. Shall we vote?’ and Lily held her breath as she waited for the result.

  * * * *

/>   Lily paused outside the cottage, reluctant to knock. If Alex had heard the gossip, she’d probably be the last person he wanted to see. Yes, they were friends, and they’d agreed to accompany each other to a couple of weddings. But if everybody in town thought he was responsible for breaking up her engagement, that probably wouldn’t help his quest for a perfect bride to fit his new life.

  On the other hand, her loitering outside his house wouldn’t look much better. And she was actually there on legitimate Mill business. Amongst other things.

  Raising a hand, she rapped her knuckles against the door. Alex’s parents had owned one of the older cottages, on the outskirts of the village. Hollyhocks and delphiniums peeked above the wooden fence, and a climbing rose had taken over the left side of the building. Nothing like the tidy, low maintenance garden Edward had installed at his cottage. This one looked lived in. Loved.

  The door opened, and Alex grinned out at her, allaying some of her fears. ‘Let me guess. Now I’ve destroyed your engagement it’s time for us to elope to Vegas and come back with adopted twins in tow?’

  Lily rolled her eyes. ‘That would be nothing more than the Felinfach locals would expect. But no, actually, I’m afraid this isn’t a booty call.’ Lily kept her eyes firmly on his face, rather than taking in the way his jeans stretched across his thighs, or how his unbuttoned shirt collar made her thoughts wander to how it would look completely undone. Not a booty call, she reminded herself.

  Alex stepped back, letting her into the cool hallway of the cottage. ‘Well, if you’re not after my body, what can I do for you?’

  Lily clamped down on the part of her brain that was merrily coming up with a list of things Alex could do for her, preferably in the privacy of his bedroom. Not being engaged any more was not a good enough reason to seduce the first attractive man she saw. Even if she had been harbouring a crush on him for twelve years.

  God, single for five minutes and she was already looking. Was it so ingrained in her psyche that she had to be with someone to be happy? Well, tough. She was going to figure out who Lily wanted to be now before she even thought about letting anyone else into her life.

  ‘Business first,’ she said, and smiled at him. ‘The committee voted this morning. You’re officially in.’

  The grin that split Alex’s face was infectious, and Lily found herself returning it as he flung his arms around her. ‘That’s just the best news. Thank you so much.’

  Lily shrugged as he let her go, trying not to let on how just having him so close made her heart race. ‘You did the work – your portfolio, agreeing to take on the accounts. I just put you in the right place at the right time.’

  ‘Well, thank you for that, anyway. I couldn’t have done it without you.’ He took a step back, and Lily felt her lungs relaxing again, letting the air in. ‘How about a celebratory drink?’

  Lily considered. She’d walked from her mum’s, so technically there was nothing stopping her. And a drink might make the next part of the conversation go more smoothly. ‘Sure.’

  ‘Bull and Frog?’ Alex asked. ‘Or have you had enough of being talked about today?’

  Lily winced. ‘Just a bit. Got anything in here?’

  Alex yanked the fridge door open. ‘Beer or wine?’

  ‘Either’s fine.’

  Staring at her over the fridge door, Alex said, ‘I thought leaving Edward would mean you’d actually ask for what you want for a change.’

  He had a point. ‘Wine, then. White, for preference.’

  ‘Your wish is my command.’ Alex pulled the bottle out with a flourish and grabbed a glass from the counter, filling it to the brim. ‘So, what else did you want to talk about?’

  Lily followed him through to the lounge, dropping onto an oversized sofa and tucking her feet underneath her. ‘How are you settling in here? It’s looking very homey already.’ She glanced around her, taking in the sweater flung over the arm of the sofa, the pile of proofs on the dining table.

  ‘Getting there,’ Alex said, sitting beside her. ‘Dad had cleared out a lot of old stuff after Mum died, so there wasn’t much left to sort through, really. And I’ve almost unpacked all the boxes from the flat, which is a start.’

  ‘Did you bring this sofa from London?’ Lily snuggled deeper into the cushions. ‘Or was it your parents’?’

  Alex shook his head. ‘Neither. That’s the one thing I bought especially for my new life in Wales.’

  ‘So it’s a settling-down sofa,’ she said, amused. Alex really did seem to be taking this settling down thing seriously. She wondered how long it would last.

  ‘That’s exactly what it is.’ Taking a long drink from his bottle of beer, Alex eyed her speculatively. ‘So, did you really come here to talk about home furnishings?’

  Lily sighed. ‘No. Mostly I came to tell you about the Mill. But now that I’m here…’

  ‘Let me guess. The gossip.’

  ‘I suppose it was too much to hope you wouldn’t have heard it.’ She shook her head. ‘I really am sorry.’

  ‘Not your fault.’ Tilting his head to look her in the eye, he asked, ‘It’s bothering you?’

  ‘Isn’t it you?’ It had to be, surely? No one could ignore an entire village talking about them.

  But Alex just shrugged. ‘Not really. I mean, it’s not what I’d choose, but they’ll forget about it soon enough.’

  ‘You mean, if we just show them we’re only friends?’

  ‘Sure. But, to be honest, they’ll get bored of us either way.’

  Now, that didn’t sound very likely. ‘I think you might be underestimating how much this town loves to talk about me screwing up.’ She’d heard at least two people that day muttering about how “it was only a matter of time” when they thought she couldn’t hear them.

  Alex laughed. ‘And a fling with me would be screwing up?’

  ‘You know what I mean.’ Lily gave him an apologetic smile. ‘If they think I left Edward for you, then you actually do up and marry your perfect bride to match your perfect new life… Yeah, they’ll think that’s me screwing up.’ It was always possible that Alex would stick to his plan, after all.

  ‘Okay, if that’s how you feel. We’ll just make sure everybody knows we’re friends, and nothing more.’ He said it so casually, as if it were easy to convince this town of anything. Lily tried not to be stung that the idea of just being friends was so easy for him. Of course, he wasn’t the one who had been nurturing a decade long crush.

  But that was all in the past. She was free and single at last – why on earth would she want to sacrifice that anyway? Friends was best by far, especially since they’d be working at the Mill together.

  ‘That’s what I was thinking,’ she said. ‘Which is why I think maybe we should scrap the wedding plans.’

  Alex raised an eyebrow. ‘The elopement to Vegas, or…’

  ‘The going together plan,’ Lily clarified. ‘Obviously.’

  ‘So you’d rather go to your cousin’s wedding alone? Because I’d sure as hell still like some company at Carrie and Nate’s shindig.’ Was he annoyed? He sounded annoyed. It was kind of refreshing, after years of passive-aggressive responses from Edward.

  ‘Look, it’s like you said. We need to make sure that everyone knows we’re just friends. Going to a wedding together isn’t exactly the way to do that.’

  ‘Why not?’ Leaning forward, Alex took her glass from her hand and placed it on the coffee table. He wrapped his fingers around hers, and a warmth worked its way up her arm. ‘Look, I’m all for letting people know that you left Edward of your own free will and for your own reasons. But I absolutely will not sacrifice our lives to what other people think. You can’t control that, Lily, however much you want to. All you can do is live your own life, your own way, and with a clear conscience.’

  He was right. She knew he was right. But… ‘My mother –’

  ‘Is a grown woman. You wouldn’t expect her to live her life to make you happy, would you?’ Lily shook h
er head. ‘Then why on earth should you do the same?’

  ‘I know. I know you’re right. It’s just… my whole life, this place has been talking about me. When I was with Edward, they stopped, finally. Or even started saying good things.’

  ‘Like?’

  ‘Like… I’d settled down at last. Given up my wild ways.’

  ‘Your wild ways were fun,’ Alex pointed out.

  ‘They were.’ Lily sighed. ‘I know it shouldn’t matter what people say about me.’

  ‘But it does?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  Alex sat back. ‘Okay. Look. What do you want? That’s all that really matters here. Do you want to go to the wedding alone on Saturday, or with me?’ Impatience shone through in his voice. At least she always knew where she stood with Alex, and it was only fair to give him the same candour back.

  ‘Honestly? I want to go with you. I think we’d have fun.’

  ‘So do I.’ He shifted closer again, nudging her with his shoulder. ‘So here’s what we’ll do. We’ll go to the wedding. We’ll relax, have fun, maybe even dance. I’ll tell every single person there that we’re just friends. Then I’ll take you home, not kiss you goodnight, and see you at work on Monday.’

  Lily gave up and smiled. ‘That does sound good.’

  ‘Then that’s what we’ll do.’

  Looking up, Lily caught Alex’s bright blue eyes and knew she was lost. ‘Okay.’

  * * * *

  Alex couldn’t help but feel a little guilty as he drove up to Evelyn’s house on Saturday morning. It wasn’t that he wanted to make Lily or her mother uncomfortable, or to garner more gossip about Lily’s broken engagement. But he couldn’t sit by and watch Lily carry on doing what other people wanted, or even what she thought they expected. That was how she’d ended up engaged to Edward in the first place.

  Not a situation to be repeated.

  Stepping out of the car, he strode up to the door, straightening his tie as he waited for them to answer the bell.

  ‘Oh. You’re here.’

  Evelyn’s sour expression wasn’t going to ruin his day. He gave her his best, charming grin and said, ‘Am I early? I’m sorry. Just couldn’t wait to see what beautiful outfits you girls have chosen for today’s wedding.’