Once they’d helped the shoppers get what they wanted, ringing up a satisfying total at the cash register, Josie turned to her with a puzzled expression. “There’s a man in the saucepan section who’s been there ages. I’m sure I saw him before the last crowd came in.”
Anita peered past the forest of stainless steel cookware to an unmistakable tall figure.
Dr Matthew Coalbrooke.
He must be less of a celebrity than she thought. No one else appeared to recognise him.
What was he doing here? After they stopped for petrol yesterday, he’d asked questions about Beth. She’d gotten the distinct impression he didn’t think her friend was good enough for James. Surely he wouldn’t descend to spying on Beth?
It certainly looked like it.
Anger flared, hot and sharp and sudden. If he’d come to snoop, he could forget it. She’d escort him off the premises, and she wouldn’t hesitate to call security if he refused. Grateful for the extra inches her red heels added, she stiffened her shoulders, ready to square up to him.
She’d only taken one step in his direction, when a commotion broke out near Beth’s office. The Bridezilla. A tiny pretty blonde, with a strident ugly voice.
“I’m not letting you arrange my wedding list for me. If I’d known the store stocked so little of what I want, I would never have let Mummy bring me here.”
Her volume control needed serious adjustment.
“But we can order in everything you want by next week. It won’t be a problem.” Beth’s attempt to placate her held puzzlement.
“I don’t care. You should have it in stock now. Who’s in charge here?”
Throwing a glance back at Matthew, whose stare at the girl displayed the disapproval and surprise she couldn’t permit herself to show, Anita glided into action. It needed every ounce of her self-control to swallow a put-down the bride-to-be wouldn’t forget, and behave with professional calm and decorum.
“Ms Forrest manages her own section, but I’m the head of this floor. My name is Anita Kiernan. How can I help with your problem?”
The girl stamped her little foot, neatly shod in the new season’s bead-embellished Tod’s. “I’m not the problem—it’s her. She’s incompetent. She has none of what I want. My wedding has to be perfect. It has to be.”
“Of course.” Anita kept her tone calm and placating, though she stifled a strong urge to slap the girl. “Every woman wants perfection for her wedding. Ms Forrest has helped many brides get the wedding they’ve dreamed of. It’s such a shame you feel she can’t do the same for you. We’ll be very sorry to see you go of course, but one of the other stores may better suit you.”
She threw Beth a quick questioning glance and got a nod, accompanied by an almost imperceptible eye roll. “Or you can go back in to Ms Forrest’s office and let her explain how she plans to help you facilitate your dream wedding day and ensure you get all the lovely gifts on your list, too.”
“Oh, okay then,” the bride huffed, in a less than gracious tone.
Josie appeared with a beautifully laid tea tray, good enough for a royal visit. Where she’d found the tiny perfect petit fours, Anita couldn’t guess.
“Thank you.” She smiled widely at her assistant as she took the tray and carried it into Beth’s office. “Here’s a complimentary afternoon tea for you and your mother while you discuss your requirements with Ms Forrest.”
The Bridezilla sniffed. “I’ll give you a second chance,” she condescended, as though doing Beth a huge favour.
“Thank you, Ms Kiernan.” Beth winked as she closed the office door behind her and her customers.
“Phew, that was close. Good thinking on the tea and cakes, Jo. Thanks! Now, is that man still lurking?” Anita peered around the department, but he seemed to have disappeared. “Would you mind the floor while I look for him?”
As soon as Josie walked back to the kitchenware desk, Matthew appeared, dark and silent as a panther springing on its prey.
Anita lifted a hand to press on her chest, unsure whether to laugh or shout at the man. First, she needed to get her bounding heartbeat under control. “Please! You almost gave me a heart attack. I know you can resuscitate me if needed, but let’s not take any chances here.”
He laughed. “Agreed. I’d rather not have to.” His head tilted toward Beth’s office door. “You managed that well.”
“Thank you.”
Somehow, he’d disarmed the anger she’d felt when she first saw him in the store. But he still had questions to answer, and she wasn’t going to pretend he didn’t.
“I missed my lunch break because we were busy. I can take a few minutes off. Could we go into the staff cafeteria to talk?” Her voice came out far gentler than it would have if the incident with the Bridezilla hadn’t stopped her from speaking to him earlier.
His eyes narrowed. “I’m not sure we need to talk, but if you wish, okay.”
She led him to the hidden door behind the elevators, leading into the staff restaurant. As usual for this time of day, it was almost empty. She chose a small table in the corner and sat.
“What can I get you?” he asked. “Tea, coffee, a soft drink?”
His unexpected thoughtfulness threw her off balance. She shook her head.
“I’m fine. I just wanted somewhere quieter where I wouldn’t be nabbed by a customer. Please, sit. I’ll get a crick in my neck if I have to look up at you.”
He sat, raised his eyebrows, and gave an impatient tap of his foot. As if the man who’d just spent ten minutes lurking behind the saucepan display had a million and one better things to be doing than talking to her.
Anita hesitated, and then plunged in. Better to be direct. “Dr Coalbrooke, why are you here? When I first saw you, I wondered if you were spying on Beth.”
He tightened his lips and shook his head. “No matter what I answer, no doubt you’ll remain convinced I was here to observe your friend.”
“I hope I could keep an open mind. But I form my opinions fast about people, and it seems exactly the sort of thing you would feel justified in doing, telling yourself you had the best possible intentions, of course.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “I’m not sure forming snap judgments is anything to be proud of.”
Ouch. That stung. Her eyes darted a challenge to him as she raised her chin. “It wasn’t a snap judgment. Especially if I’m right. Am I?”
He shrugged. “I did hope to see her before James introduces us tonight. He stands to inherit two fortunes, and his gentle nature makes him easily taken advantage of. As his friend, of course I wanted to see the girl he plans to marry, without his presence putting her on her best behaviour.”
“There’s no ‘of course’ about it! How dare you suggest Beth is only after his money.” Her hands formed fists. Despite her hair colour, she wasn’t normally so argumentative. Something about the doctor had her prickles raised like an angry hedgehog.
Help me, Lord. Help me not to go redheaded on him. Even counting to ten might not be enough for this.
“It’s an understandable suspicion when two people from such different backgrounds plan to marry.” His calm rational air implied she was the one with the problem, not him.
Dragging in a deep breath, she tried to match his reasonable tone but failed dismally. “She’s only too aware of the difference in their positions. Believe me, she had her nose rubbed in it often enough, so much so she refused him twice. Did you know that?”
He shook his head.
Infuriated, she continued. “You call me on making snap judgments, but your attitude is positively Victorian. So you’re a doctor, famous for risking yourself to save lives, when all I do is sell teapots and baking pans. But I’m right about this. Your suspicions are completely unfounded and totally ridiculous.”
“I’m sure you would do the same if the situations were reversed.” Harshness seeped into his voice. Arms crossed, back rigid, jaw hard and jutting, his expression dared her to disagree.
She stared ha
rd at the toes of her favourite red high heels counting down from ten this time. Concentrating on that would stop her exploding.
She hoped.
Beth’s wedding was way too important for him to spoil things, after everything she and James had already been through. Her gentle friend would be deeply hurt to know Matthew had thought such a thing of her.
But Beth’s wedding was also too important for her to get on bad terms with the best man.
She clenched her teeth hard to stop unruly words better left unsaid from escaping. Her thoughts and her tongue needed close guard. Best at least to try to be slightly conciliatory.
“Maybe I’d have the same worries, yes, if Beth was rich and James was poor. But I think I’d be more upfront about it. I’m not the type to be underhanded.”
“What you really mean is, subtlety isn’t your strong point.” He said nothing more. Just stared at her down that patrician nose of his.
Arrogant, unpleasant, downright obnoxious man.
“Right, it’s not. And as you’ve said so, I can be blunt. When you meet Beth with James, you’ll see for yourself she’s no gold digger.”
He tilted his head in a far-from-friendly nod. “I hope I do.” His stern features didn’t soften one bit.
Anita stood. “I’d like you to leave the store now. You’ve seen Beth, so you can go.”
Standing was a mistake. She had the benefit of looking down on him for all of two seconds before he rose to tower over her. Even her highest heels were no help.
He smiled as if glad to have her at a disadvantage. “Actually, I came here with two motives. One was to see Beth. The other was to buy a gift for Lady Tetherton-Hart. I’m sure you’d hate for me to leave the store empty-handed. I hoped Beth would assist me. I planned to introduce myself first, so it would hardly be the spying you accused me of.” His voice poured over her, smooth as cream. He thought he’d won.
Not quite.
“I’m sure Josie, my assistant, will be very happy to help you. Unfortunately, Beth has back-to-back bookings for bridal consultations this afternoon.” She didn’t entirely succeed in keeping the satisfaction from her voice.
Anxious to hand him over to Josie, she hurried to the door. So she’d be forgoing her commission on whatever gift he bought Portia. Avoiding more time with Matthew was worth losing a little money.
Right now, the thing she wanted most, even more than a thigh gap and world peace, was to get away from this annoying man and have nothing more to do with him.
Given her love of food and the state of the world, the first two would need miracles. The third should be possible.
Except for one pesky detail. He was best man for her best friend’s wedding, and Beth seemed determined to throw them together.
Unless she could come up with some good excuses, she’d be stuck seeing more of him over the next six weeks.
Chapter 6
Matthew smiled at Anita’s obvious desire to get rid of him.
She waited at the door, back stiff, chin raised, impatience visible in every inch of her. “Follow me, please, and I’ll leave you in Josie’s capable hands.”
Not so easy. He discovered he enjoyed their verbal sparring, like a game of chess. Anita appeared a worthier opponent than he’d first supposed.
After James telephoned him as he walked away from his frustrating meeting with David, Matthew decided to take the train down to London earlier than planned and come to the store. Meet Beth before their official introduction.
He was honest enough with himself to admit he’d hoped to see Anita again too. If nothing else, she’d be a distraction from dealing with the challenges Grandfather’s death forced onto him. With her cheeks flushed, her eyes glowing, and a wayward curl dangling on her cheek, her beauty transcended mere prettiness.
In comparison Beth, James’s chosen bride, appeared nothing special. Her conventional good looks were pleasant enough, but she set off no sparks.
Unlike Anita.
Not that he planned to spark anything besides more verbal sparring, of course. He knew his duty as the last surviving Coalbrooke.
When he was ready to start looking for a wife, Anita far from met his requirements for a suitable bride. A single mother. Unskilled in anything capable of aiding his work. More than likely in debt.
Nevertheless, her clear wish to hand him over to an associate only more stubbornly enhanced his determination for her to be the one to assist him. He’d use his spontaneous idea to buy a gift for James’s mother to his best advantage.
“Does Josie know Lady Tetherton-Hart?” Because Anita wanted him to hurry, he took his time strolling to the door.
“No.” Her narrow-eyed glance told him she’d guessed his strategy. “But she knows the department inside out. She’s perfectly able to help you choose a gift for Portia.”
“I’m sure she is. But I met James’s mother only a few times, while we were at school. Later, I had more important things to do than enter the society circles she enjoyed. If you’re on first-name terms with her, clearly you know her far better than I do.”
Anita stopped in the doorway. With the forthright manner he recognised as her hallmark, she didn’t hesitate to come straight back at him. “Probably. But as we do nothing but disagree, I don’t understand why you’d choose to spend more time with me. It’s not logical. And I figured above all else, you’d be logical.”
Good argument. It seemed the woman had a brain, and wasn’t reluctant to use it.
“I value logic highly, yes. Way ahead of mere sentiment, weakening us with emotion and leading us into foolish mistakes. But it seems far more logical for me to ask the one person available who knows Portia best to help with the gift.”
She smiled triumphantly. “That would be James. Her son, of course, knows her better than anyone. Why not ask him to come in and help choose a gift?”
Matthew blinked, remembering the distant and haughty socialite who’d swept into their school to visit once or twice a term. Though James was several years behind him, they’d struck up a friendship over a shared interest in chess and science, as well as being among the few boys still boarding at school over many of their holidays.
The woman he recalled didn’t strike him as the type a son would get to know well. Any more than he’d gotten to know his own mother before she died. Once they’d produced the obligatory heir, it seemed going off and pleasing themselves meant more to these women than their sons did.
Something gripped at his heart and twisted.
Before it could take hold, he suppressed it. Feelings had no place in his life. Feeling sorry for oneself least of all. Anita assessed him well. Logic trumped emotion—every time.
He kept his answer smooth, hiding any gratification over besting her. “Ah, but James can’t today. He’s likely to be stuck in a scientific meeting until after six o’clock. That’s why he asked me to meet Beth here and escort her to the restaurant, where he’ll join us.”
Anita threw him a startled glance, sapphire eyes wide. “You didn’t tell me that earlier.”
“You were too busy accusing me of spying. Yes, I did want to see Beth on my own. But I’m also carrying out her fiancé’s instructions.”
Despite his attempt to hide his triumph, his voice perhaps did carry a hint of a “Checkmate” victory whoop.
Anita didn’t need to know that when his friend called, he’d been the one to suggest it. James had grasped the solution to his conundrum gratefully.
Her downcast gaze and pursed lips conceded defeat. “You win,” she muttered.
But when she raised her head, her eyes sparkled with fun, rather than anger or disappointment. “This round, anyway.” She laughed. “Next round, who knows. It looks like I’m stuck with you for now.”
“You are.” He smiled.
Her changing moods constantly surprised him. Happy, angry, and now playful, or at least resigned to making the best of the inevitable. Seemed she saw their interaction as a game too, as much as he did.
Re
freshing to spend time with a woman who didn’t pursue him and appeared oblivious to what he thought of her. He hadn’t deliberately eavesdropped, but snatches of her conversation with Beth had floated over to him. “I wouldn’t have him if he begged me on bended knee.”
Assuming she was talking about him, he’d chuckled. Her vehement words stung his pride a little, but also allowed him to relax.
Spending any time together the wedding preparations required would be safe. Free from unwanted imaginings on her part that she was falling in love with him. He certainly had no intention of allowing appreciation of her charm to develop into anything more.
Ms Anita Kiernan would not get the opportunity to decline any bended-knee request from him.
“Follow me.”
As she led him from the cafeteria into the store, she swanned ahead like a woman who knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his eyes off her. Chagrined, he had to admit she was right.
He understood the physiology of it all. Knew how high heels changed the way women walked and altered the shape of certain muscles. But he’d never found the practical application of that theory quite so interesting before.
Far more interesting than he should.
This attraction was a weakness he didn’t need. He should remember what his grandfather taught him. “More bitter than death is the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains.”
But raising his gaze to the way she’d coiled her long red hair at the back of her head didn’t help matters much. He found himself admiring her shapely white neck instead.
Once she entered the shop floor, her professionalism took over. She took a moment to speak to her assistant, a pretty, dark-haired girl. Then she became thoughtful. “So, what does one buy a woman who already has so much? How much are you willing to spend?”
Her eyes rounded at the sum he mentioned. “And there I was worrying about letting you pay for parking and petrol.” She grinned. “I can stop worrying. Your budget extends our choices a lot. I know exactly what you should get her. Beth recommends all her brides add one to their list.”
Teapots & Tiaras: A sweet and clean Christian romance in London and Cambridge (Love In Store Book 5) Page 5
