It didn’t make any sense. “She’s in finance though, not property. Why would she be interested in this, do you think?”
Betty stared at her for a moment. “Finder’s fee, that’s what Claire reckons.”
“You’ve shown this to my mum? She never said anything.”
Betty frowned. “Why would she?”
She had a point. Bella had been so focused on Megan, and she and her mum had more than enough to chat about since her return without needing to discuss Nicki’s antics. “I’m sure it’s nothing,” Bella said, hoping to reassure Betty. “It could be something she picked up somewhere or was given. Who knows?” She changed the subject. “I really want to know how you are now the weather’s turned?”
“A bit dodgy on my feet, my love, but fine apart from that. My rheumatism plays me up a bit in this damper weather, but I’ve got nothing to complain about.”
“Good. You must let me know if there is anything I can get you, or do for you.”
Betty smiled. “Jack’s always checking on me and bringing me things that I need. He takes me for breakfast, too. That’s how I caught up with all Claire’s news.”
“Of course.” Remembering the date, and what Betty had had to deal with the previous year, she said, “It’s Halloween today. If you get any of those little sods throwing eggs at your windows, you let one of us know, won’t you?”
“Yes. Tony, the fisherman, has already spoken to me. He only lives down the way and he’ll sort the little devils out if they make a mess of the place.”
It occurred to Bella that most people Betty’s age would be nervous to live alone with kids trashing their place. As she spotted Jack walking past the window, her stomach did a flip and she focused on remaining composed.
“Here’s young Jack now,” Betty said beaming from ear to ear as he entered the room. “Good morning, lad,” she called. “How are you with all that’s going on?”
He frowned. “Nothing much going on in my world,” he said, glancing at Bella quizzically. “Not that I’m aware of.”
“Why, what have you heard?” Bella asked the older lady. She knew that nothing much passed her by, and with most of the neighbours paying her visits throughout the week, Betty didn’t have to walk far to know exactly what was happening in the village.
The older lady shrugged her skinny shoulders. “I couldn’t possibly say.”
“Has Mum been talking to you?” Bella asked without thinking. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she cringed. “That is to say…”
Jack folded his arms across his chest. “Hang on a sec,” he said, staring at Bella intently. “What does your mum know about me that I don’t? Come on, tell me.”
She desperately wanted to, but prided herself on never breaking a confidence.
“Bella?” All amusement in his navy-blue eyes disappeared.
If her mum had already told Betty, then she would no doubt have told her childhood best friend – Jack’s Aunt Rosie. Everyone knew Rosie was incapable of keeping a secret.
Bella tried to work out how best to tell him. Then, remembering how good a friend he’d always been to her, especially lately, helping her with the autumn market and delivering stock to her customers, she said, “Nicki’s planning a secret wedding for you.”
Betty dropped her walking stick. Jack stared at Bella for a split second before picking up the stick and handing it back to the older lady.
“Why?” he asked, looking dumbfounded at the news.
“I don’t know. Because she wants to marry you, presumably,” she said, confused by his question.
Jack’s mouth slowly drew back into a smile, and then he began to laugh.
Shocked, Bella exchanged glances with Betty, who looked as surprised as she was by his reaction.
“I thought Mum had told you,” she said.
“Not about that, lovey,” said Betty. “I thought you were going to tell him about that actress who’s staying up at one of Lexi’s cottages on the hill.”
Irritated with herself for reacting without thinking things through, Bella groaned. “No, Jack already knew that news. And she’s not an actress, she’s a reality star.”
Remembering the fog, and Megan’s predicament, Bella stood up to leave. Hearing Jack’s quiet laughter, she turned to see him wiping his eyes. Annoyed with him for not taking her seriously, she added, “I don’t know what’s so funny about a surprise wedding. Anyone would think you liked the idea.”
His laughter stopped. “I can’t think of anything worse, to be honest,” he said. “I suspect you probably misunderstood what you heard. We’re not even dating, so I doubt Nicki would waste her time planning a wedding for us. It doesn’t make sense.” He shook his head. “Who told you, anyway?”
“I’d rather not say.”
He narrowed his eyes, amusement twinkling from them. “Are they a reliable source?”
Why wasn’t he worried about this? she wondered. “I thoughts so, or I wouldn’t have believed it. What are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing. It’s supposed to be a secret.” He shook his head. She could see he thought the whole thing was ridiculous and wasn’t taking it seriously. “I’ll wait and see if it turns out to be anything and deal with it then if I need to,” he said.
“Good idea, lad.” Betty coughed. “What are you doing here anyway?”
“I promised to take you and Claire for a fry-up at Sacha’s this morning, remember?”
Betty waved at him to help her stand. “I do now.”
“I’ll leave you both to it,” Bella said, kissing Betty on the cheek and zipping up her jacket before going to the door. Jack might say that he and Nicki were finished, but he always seemed to jump whenever she told him to. Bella couldn’t help wondering if they would ever truly be finished. There was no way she would ever entertain a relationship with someone who was still in love with, or at least closely connected to, his ex-girlfriend. And that’s exactly what Jack appeared to be.
“Are you hungry?” Jack asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“What?”
“You seem deep in thought and I wondered if maybe you wanted to join us?”
“I’d love to,” she said honestly, relieved he didn’t have a clue about her thought processes. “But I’ve got to go and break the news to Megan that there’s little chance any flights will be coming in today. The magazine crew for the photo shoot and interview will have to wait until the fog lifts before coming in, unless they can get here on the ferry.”
“And when the flights are cancelled that’s usually booked quickly.”
“She wants to hope that this fog doesn’t settle for the next three days,” Betty said, dolefully, handing her stick to Jack while she put on her coat. “By the looks of it, all the planes are going to be grounded for a time yet.”
“I hope not,” Bella said, aware Betty was probably right.
“Why does it bother you so much?” Betty asked.
“Because Lexi and I have to entertain her while she’s here,” Bella explained. “Please don’t tell anyone else that she’s staying.”
“Why not? She’s hardly Sophia Loren. I can’t imagine anyone is going to be interested in her staying in the village.” Betty frowned as she concentrated on doing up her coat buttons and pulling on her gloves. “I’ve never heard of the girl.”
“Why don’t you invite her to the café for our small Halloween party?” Jack asked.
Bella was grateful to him for giving her something to suggest to Megan. With all the excitement of her mum’s unexpected arrival, and Megan coming to the island, she had forgotten all about the event that Sacha and Alessandro had suggested to various locals.
“I can’t see that she will want to join us, but I’ll ask anyway.” She took a deep breath to brace herself for whatever was about to happen. “Right, I’d better get up that hill and break the news to Megan, if Lexi hasn’t already seen the fog and told her.”
“Good luck,” Jack said. “If you need backup, you
know where to find me.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
By the time she reached Lexi’s cottage, it was obvious to Bella that Betty had been wrong. The news of Megan’s secret visit was already local knowledge. Bella groaned, noticing several faces she recognized, milling about, trying to look as if they were supposed to be walking up and down the hill near to the cottages.
It didn’t take her long to discover that Lexi also knew.
“Bugger off,” Lexi bellowed, hands on hips, glaring at two men who seemed to be taking multiple photos with expensive looking cameras. More people seemed to be arriving by the minute, stopping to hang around to get a glimpse of Megan. “She’s not coming out,” Lexi added. “So, there’s no point in waiting.” Spotting Bella, she waved frantically at her. “Come inside.”
Bella apologized as she gently elbowed her way through the throng outside the cottage. “Excuse me. Nothing to see here,” she said, turning to face the crowd from the front door. “It’s freezing, so you may as well go home. Or,” she said, spotting one of the photographers shivering in an anorak that had seen better days. “You could go to the café down on the boardwalk. Summer Sundaes, it’s called, on the right-hand side. Why not warm yourselves up with a coffee and something to eat.”
She saw him nodding and whispering to the woman next to him and left them to it. As soon as she was inside, Bella closed the door and leant against it. “They’re keen, aren’t they?”
“These bloody paparazzi blokes, they’ve been here since I woke up. I hate to think of the pictures they’ve got of me looking harassed.”
“Maybe they won’t use any of them,” Bella said trying her best to placate her friend.
“Yes, well I hope you’re right.”
Bella followed Lexi through to the living area where a sulky Megan was slumped on one of the chairs. “She’s told you then?”
“What? That I’m bloody stuck here for at least the next twenty-four hours? What do you think?” She flicked her hair over her shoulder.
Bella sat on the arm of Lexi’s chair. If Megan’s intention of treating her stay in the village as a mini break had already worn off, then she’d need to find some way of keeping the girl entertained. “It doesn’t have to be that bad,” she said, hurriedly trying to think of something soothing to say. “You must be exhausted from all the interviews since you won that competition. Why not make the most of a couple of days’ peace and quiet? It’ll all start up again once the magazine crew arrive for the photo shoot and interview.”
“Yeah, she’s right,” Lexi said, mouthing a thank you at Bella.
Bella could only imagine how much of a drama queen Megan had been since realizing she was stuck on the island.
“No,” Megan shouted. “She’s wrong. What if someone else grabs the attention of the papers while I’m here? They’re only after the latest fad and I happen to be the focus of their attention at this moment in time. Or, I was, until I was persuaded to come here.” She stormed out of the room, slamming the door loudly and stomped upstairs.
“That went better than I’d expected,” Bella joked, wishing as much as Megan that the fog hadn’t descended. So much for Megan’s vulnerability from the night before. It was as if she was two people.
“I can see what she means,” Lexi said, standing up. She dried two coffee cups and put them away. “She hasn’t eaten anything much since she got here. I really think this is stressing her out in a big way.”
Bella hated seeing anyone in distress, but couldn’t think how to help. “Has she spoken to her manager yet?”
“About a hundred and fifty times,” Lexi groaned, hanging the tea towel over the handle on the front of the oven, which looked like it had never been used. “She’s on her way over on the next ferry, but she won’t get here until tomorrow morning.
“Is she bringing the magazine crew over with her?”
“I don’t think so. Apparently, they want to fly in and out of the island on the same day, so will wait for the fog to lift.” She wiped the worktops. “Do you think it’s going to be here for the next few days?”
Bella wasn’t sure whether Lexi hoped the fog would be one of the three-day visitations that the island occasionally experienced, so that she could earn more from Megan’s stay, or whether she wanted her gone as soon as possible.
“Who knows?” she said. “We’re going to have to find a way to entertain her though. She’ll go stir crazy if she’s stuck inside all day.”
“She’s not the only one,” Lexi said. “But I daren’t leave her, not if I’m being paid to take care of her.”
“We need to get her out for a walk. It might lift her spirits to do something. She’ll also feel better if she eats, I know that works for me. Although with me, it’s usually chocolate that cheers me up the best.”
Lexi laughed and instantly covered her mouth. “Stop it,” she said, glancing up at the ceiling. “I don’t want her to think we’re laughing about her.”
Neither did Bella. “We’d never be that nasty.”
“She doesn’t know us well enough to realize that,” Lexi said. “What can we suggest? There are paps outside, waiting for her to come out so they can take photos.”
Bella thought for a moment. “I know,” she said, an idea developing in her mind. She thought it through quickly, hoping her plan would work. “I can ask my mum and Jack’s Aunt Rosie to come here. Then you and Megan can swap coats and hats with them and leave.”
“Okay, well so far this makes no sense at all,” Lexi grinned. “Go on.”
“Mum and Rosie can pretend to be you and Megan, so that you two can leave.”
Lexi frowned. “I can’t see how this will help Megan.”
“We need to all act a little suspiciously, as if we’re trying to fool the paps, but not so well that they are fooled. We want them to follow Megan and you.” Bella wasn’t certain it was the best idea either, but it was worth a try.
“What about you?”
“I’ll follow you outside with Jack.”
“Go on.”
“Stop frowning,” Bella giggled. “This will make sense in a minute. Right, so Mum and Rosie pretend to be a diversion, but they get into your car before we speed off with Jack and Megan. We’ll drive off, leading the paps on a bit of a goose chase. Then, when we get a little ahead of them, we drop Jack and Megan off for a romantic walk on the beach. They take their photos, Megan isn’t forgotten, and we haven’t told anyone she’s staying here in the village.”
Lexi thought for a moment, a smile slowly widening on her face. “It sort of sounds like it could work. Why not? It’s not as if we have anything else to do.”
“If nothing else, it’ll give us something to think about until the fog has gone.” Bella’s relief vanished.
“What’s the matter?”
“My mother doesn’t have a mobile and I don’t have Rosie’s number.”
“Call Jack, he should know how to contact his aunt.”
She phoned him, her stomach doing its usual involuntary flip when she heard the sound of his deep voice. “Hi Jack, can you get hold of your aunt and persuade her to come with my mum up to the cottage? We need them here as soon as possible. And you. Lexi and I have a clever plan.”
“I’m intrigued,” he said. “No problem. Leave it with me.”
“Thanks, Jack,” she said, ending the call. Sensing that Lexi was watching her, she looked over at her and grinned. “He’s going to find them for us.”
“Of course he is,” Lexi said, shaking her head slowly.
Bella frowned as she slipped her phone into her back pocket. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m saying nothing,” Lexi said, taking her jacket from where it hung on a peg in the hall and removing her phone from a pocket.
“You’re insinuating something though. What?”
Lexi smiled. “It’s just that your voice always changes when you’re talking to Jack.”
“It does not!” Does it? Bella hoped Lexi was wrong.
Lexi flicked a strand of Bella’s dark hair. “I’m only teasing, but it is true. Anyway, why are you so worried about it? You like him. He’s single, supposedly. I’m sure he has a thing for you, too.”
Wishing her friend was right, but knowing she wasn’t, Bella argued, “That’s where you’re wrong. He sees us as just friends. Anyway, until he gets Nicki well and truly out of his life, I’m staying that way.”
“You know this to be a fact, I suppose?”
Bella sighed heavily. “Yes.”
Lexi frowned. “Oh, sorry, Bella.”
Twenty minutes later, there was a rapid rap on the front door and Lexi rushed through. “Those bloody paps, I wish they’d go away.” A second later, she said, “Oh, it’s you. Quick, come in.”
Bella peered into the small hallway to see who had arrived. Spotting Jack’s messy fair hair, she automatically pushed her hands through her own hair. What’s wrong with me? she mused. She really needed to give herself a good talking to. This infatuation with him had gone on too long and was driving her mad.
Her mother walked into the living room, closely followed by Rosie and then Jack and Lexi.
Her mother winked at her as she walked past. “We’re looking forward to getting involved in your plan.”
“Thanks, that’s good of you.” She hugged her mum. “You’re freezing. Your jacket is far too light for this weather. I’ll lend you one of mine.” It dawned on her that either Lexi or Megan were going to have to wear the thin jacket when they went out. “I wish I’d thought to give you one earlier.”
“Me, too,” Lexi laughed, looking at Aunt Rosie’s glamorous puffa coat. “I can’t expect my guest to get cold.”
“Sorry, I didn’t expect to be swapping clothes when I came out this morning,” Claire said, smiling. “You can wear a scarf under the jacket and some gloves, that should help relieve the cold a bit.”
Bella explained her idea to them.
“What?” Jack frowned. “Why am I going to go on a romantic stroll with her?”
“Are you worried Nicki will find out?”
He shook his head. “No, why?”
Autumn Antics: Escape to the seaside with the perfect autumn read! (The Boardwalk by the Sea Book 2) Page 12
