She stopped speaking. There was silence while Bob fiddled with the recorder. He pressed a button and finally stood up. ‘That’s a wrap,’ he said, and suddenly, as if a switch had been thrown, the others let out an ear-splitting cheer. Mavis and Sarah started to clap, and soon Frank and Tim and even Freda joined in. Evie, smothered with hugs and pats on the back, shook her head, embarrassment taking over where moments ago it had been the furthest thing from her mind. She had spoken the truth. So why did she feel so vulnerable and idiotic now?
It was at least another minute before she found herself standing in front of Michael. The others melted away, with a final whispered, ‘Go for it,’ from Sarah as she grabbed her bag and headed for the door. Evie turned to Michael and pulled a face.
‘Well,’ she said. ‘This is a bit–’
She didn’t get any further. Michael pulled her into his arms and kissed her. And Evie, finally understanding that this was a time for action, not words, sank against his body and kissed him right back. She had no idea what would happen next, no idea what would become of Cupid’s Way. She only had right here and right now. But for a little while at least, that would have to be enough.
Chapter 29
Through the fog of pleasure and desire, a thought pushed its way to the surface. Evie could feel Michael right through to her core, the sense of him and the force of him absorbing her in a way she’d never known before. But at the same time she knew this wasn’t fully okay. There was still unfinished business, and she could not give herself over to her feelings until the business was done. One way or the other.
She had to put the desk between them to stop his hands reaching for her again. ‘Control yourself,’ she told him. ‘Michael, stay where you are. We need to talk.’
‘Not more talking,’ he said, striking the side of his head in mock horror. ‘We’ve done nothing but talk since we met, Phoebe Sloan. Give a guy a break.’
‘No break. Not until you tell me what you intend to do about Cupid’s Way.’
Michael stretched his eyes wide. ‘Are you holding me to ransom now?’
‘If I’d thought it would work, I would have done it long ago,’ she said, only half joking.
‘Ah. Okay then. I guess it’s time for me to make a decision. A million pound deal or the woman of my dreams. It really has come down to the wire.’
‘You better believe it.’
Evie put her hand on her chest. Her heart was pounding, but this time not with nerves.
The woman of his dreams?
A million pound deal?
She’d always known the stakes were high for Cupid’s Way, but had never really considered how they were placed for him. Maybe he’d lose his job if he decided to pull out now. And how would she feel about that? Could they really make something work between them with so much sacrifice going on?
Michael was watching her. He smiled. ‘I’ve made my choice,’ he said. ‘And I choose the way of Cupid.’
She tipped her head to one side. ‘You mean, Cupid’s Way.’
‘I mean what I said. That little guy with the arrow – he’s got a hell of a lot to answer for.’
‘Are you sure? I mean, are you completely, absolutely sure? You’re not just saying it for my–’
‘Evie, stop talking. Don’t you think the guy who’s just given you what you want more than anything in the world deserves a kiss? And perhaps a thank you while you’re at it?’
Evie obliged, swinging her legs over the desk to get to him as quickly as possible. Michael lifted her into the air, holding her aloft as though she were made of gossamer, and Evie threw back her head and laughed.
‘This is amazing!’ she cried. ‘I can’t believe you’ve finally given in.’
He lowered her to the floor and regarded her solemnly. ‘I made a business decision, Evie. I haven’t given in to anything. We’d better get that straight up front. Wouldn’t want to get off on the wrong foot again.’
Evie had no idea what the hell that meant, but before she had chance to work it out, Michael was striding towards the office door, calling for her to follow.
‘Don’t you want to give the others the good news?’ he said. Evie grinned, and bounced across the room behind him. She burst out into the vast space, expecting a row of hopeful faces turned towards her. The sofas were empty, and the only person in sight was the guy with the spiky hair.
‘They went down,’ he said, pointing with his finger. Evie sprinted to the balcony and leaned over. Six floors down, the residents of Cupid’s Way were milling about in the clear white light of the atrium.
‘Hey,’ she called. ‘Up here.’ Seven faces turned upwards. She looked at Michael one last time, wondering for one heart-stopping moment whether he’d truly meant what he said. He nodded. Evie beamed, then leaned out over the balcony even further. ‘He said yes,’ she cried. ‘Cupid’s Way is safe.’
The others took a moment to process her words. She could see them looking at each other, shaking their heads. The polished woman on reception frowned at the disruption, but a couple of workers on the other side of the atrium were sticking their heads out of their cubicles, sensing the excitement. Evie called down again, telling them they weren’t dreaming – it really was going to be okay.
‘They seem happy,’ Michael said, as they watched the cheering and back-slapping from on high. Mavis was sobbing into Frank’s chest, and Evie felt a pull. She should be down there with them.
‘Thank you,’ she said to Michael. ‘I don’t know what made you change your mind, but I’m so glad you did. This means the world to them. And to me.’ She sighed, thoughts racing through her head at a hundred miles an hour. ‘Will you get into trouble? I mean, Dynamite Construction have only just taken over McAllisters, haven’t they? What will happen now?’
‘That takeover wasn’t only about Cupid’s Way, Evie.’ He moved away from the balcony and turned to face her. ‘McAllisters had financial problems. We – DMC – got information that the board would vote against Roy McAllister in a takeover bid. It was a business deal, pure and simple.’
Evie blew out a long breath. ‘So Roy was voted out by his own board? Ouch.’
‘He didn’t take it well. Seems some of their problems were down to his own creativity with the truth. Which clearly runs in the family.’
‘Zac wasn’t so very bad,’ Evie said, aware that he was gauging her reaction. ‘He meant well.’
Michael shrugged. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and led her towards the lift. ‘Whatever. I hear he’s moved to Scotland. Which is just about far enough away, in my opinion.’
Evie grinned, happy to know that her suspicions about Michael’s jealousy had been spot on.
The lift doors opened and they stepped in. ‘So what now?’ she said. ‘If you own McAllisters, then you also own four of the houses in Cupid’s Way, along with Sandy Beaumont’s old place. I’m assuming the council still need their new medical centre. What are you going to do?’
‘Done,’ he said. ‘All done. Nothing for you to worry your pretty head about.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘We’ve already settled on a new site for the medical centre, and our deal for the housing stock land is unaffected. We thrashed it all out with the council last week.’
‘You did what?’ Evie stepped back and looked at him. ‘You did all this last week?’
Michael nodded, clearly chuffed with himself. ‘After the planning meeting, yes. I found out about Roy McAllister’s troubles and the plan just sort of slotted together.’
‘So you knew the whole time you were watching that video that Cupid’s Way was already safe? You let me record my own message just for fun?’
He leaned in and kissed her. ‘And it was fun, Evie. It was one of the best moments of my life.’
The lift doors opened and Evie and Michael were surrounded in seconds. Frank was shaking Michael’s hand, pumping it up and down, while Sarah and Mavis hugged Evie till she could barely breathe.
‘We did it,’ Bob Peacock
said, planting a hot hand on Evie’s back. Evie smiled and nodded. She would make sure Michael let them think their video had been the clincher. They deserved that, every one of them.
They moved as one towards the exit, plans being made to go to the nearest bar and celebrate. Evie slipped in by Stig’s side and touched his arm.
She said, ‘Are you coming with us?’
He tugged at his neckerchief and shook his head. ‘I don’t think so, Evie. Not my cup of tea. In fact, I’d rather just go home and have a cup of tea.’
She smiled and kissed him on the cheek, inhaling the staleness of his skin and his clothes. ‘You’ll be fine now, Stig. We’ll all be fine. And you don’t have to be on your own all the time. You know that, don’t you?’
He touched the brim of his cap and walked away. Michael appeared by her side and waved in the old man’s direction.
‘Has he gone already? I was hoping to thank him again. Your friend is quite a character. The stuff he gave me about McAllisters … Well, let’s just say I didn’t even want to ask where he got it. He must have friends in high places.’
Evie stared after Stig, her jaw dropping. He was Michael’s source? She laughed then, and said, ‘Or friends in low places.’ Like dumpsters and wheelie bins.
Michael linked his arm through hers. As they followed the others down the street, flanked on both sides by tall buildings and brick and glass, Evie asked the question that he’d still not answered. What would happen to Cupid’s Way now?
‘I had this idea about a kind of cooperative,’ he said. ‘I was thinking I could rent the five houses back to the residents’ association for some kind of nominal fee, then you could head it up for me. Run the show. Rent out the empty houses, invest the proceeds back into the street, that kind of thing. Not sure if it would work, though.’
Evie looked away, not able to trust herself to speak just yet. But Michael hadn’t finished. ‘You’d have to live there, of course. Maybe move into number three? It’s empty now, but I’m sure we could find some funds to do it up. Shame there isn’t a builder living there anymore. Although I heard he was a bit rubbish, actually.’
Evie shut him up with a kiss. And then another. And they stayed like that for a while longer, mirrored over and over in the glass buildings, holding each other and laughing in the sunlight.
Chapter 30
‘And this is where the community office will be. We’re stealing a bit of space from the lounge, but once the new kitchen is knocked through there’ll be plenty of room.’
Evie showed Mavis and Frank the plans, but she could see they were already glazing over. She didn’t mind. So much had happened in the last few weeks she figured it would be a while before they got back to their old selves again. They’d even stopped bickering, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. She pulled out her mood board, packed with colour samples and snippets of fabric and cut-out pictures of favourite pieces of furniture. She said, ‘This should give you a better idea,’ and let them look it over while she sipped her tea.
Outside, Sarah and Eloise and Cissy and Pip were getting Cupid’s Way ready for their official celebration party. It was going to be big. Once news had got out about the relocation of the new medical centre, the residents’ efforts to save the street had made the front page of the city papers, and as predicted, the video went viral on YouTube within days. Tim was now in charge of the Cupid’s Way website and blog, and Bob had promised to keep the videos coming; he’d got rid of the ancient video recorder and was using Alun’s iPhone. Tim told him they were called Vlogs, something Bob had found hysterically funny.
Now Freda had been tasked with making enough food to feed the expected hordes who would be descending in about an hour’s time, and Evie was enjoying the calm before the storm, sharing her vision for her new home and luxuriating in the knowledge that from now on she’d not only be living in Cupid’s Way but working here too. Well, for some of the time at least. There wasn’t enough work to warrant a full-time position, but Evie figured something would show up soon. She was banking on her run of good luck lasting a little bit longer. It sure had been a long time coming.
They went back outside, and Evie inhaled the sweet spring air. The bunting seemed to be breeding in the gardens, the fluttering flags in pink and green and pale blue and red strung from every tree and doorway. She turned in a circle, taking it all in, then tipped up her head to look at the McAllister building. Somehow, it didn’t seem quite so looming anymore.
‘I still can’t believe it,’ Frank said, following her gaze.
‘Me neither,’ said Evie. ‘But it is a perfect place for a medical centre.’
‘And community hub,’ Mavis put in. She was most excited about this, having found out that the council were planning on holding classes there for OAPs. Yoga, bread making, knitting a shopper out of old carrier bags, that sort of thing.
Evie said she’d see them later at the party and ducked underneath a paper lantern, making her way back into number three. Her new home-to-be. She stood in the murky living room, watching the dust motes drift lazily through the air. Tonight, Sarah and Tim would be announcing their engagement, and tomorrow they would make official their move into Sarah’s house, leaving Tim’s free to add to the list of rental proprieties under Evie’s management. Next week the builders would descend on Cupid’s Way, but only briefly – finishing off Zac’s old house ready for renting, and getting Evie’s new home ready for her to move into. She breathed in the stale air and smiled to herself, imagining the windows unboarded and the room full of light, and picturing her plans made whole and real.
‘What’s so funny, Phoebe Sloan?’
Evie closed her eyes. She waited for him to cross the room, then laid her head in the crook of his arm.
‘I thought I’d find you in here. You’d move in right now if you could, wouldn’t you?’
Already, he knew her so well.
‘I’ve been advised I should wait for running water and a toilet,’ she said. ‘Although running water really is for wimps.’
‘You could get a tent. Pitch it out there in the gardens. Go glamping.’
‘I might just do that. Fancy staying with me for a night or two?’
‘Now there is an offer that’s hard to refuse.’
He laid the softest of kisses on her mouth, and they stood for a while with their foreheads and fingertips touching.
‘They’re waiting for us out there, you know,’ Michael said, kissing her again. ‘I’m not supposed to tell you. They’ve got party poppers and Champagne. They’re all lined up along the path, waiting for us to come out.’
Evie grinned. ‘It looks beautiful out there, doesn’t it? Come on, you have to admit it would have been a crime to knock down this street. Admit it, I dare you.’
She nudged him in the stomach and he doubled up in mock-pain. ‘Okay, I admit it. But only because you’re threatening me with violence.’
‘You’re a philistine, Mr Andrews, and I’m going to have my work cut out keeping your priorities in order. No more backhander deals or crimes against the environment for you.’
‘You’ll be a secret board member at Dynamite Construction, directing operations from behind the scenes.’
‘I sure will be.’
‘For the rest of your life, I hope.’
Evie looked up at him and smiled. ‘If you play your cards right, maybe.’
Michael took her face in his hands. His eyes made promises that neither of them were ready to speak out loud. Yet.
‘I don’t need luck, Evie Stone,’ he said, kissing her some more. ‘I’ve got Cupid on my side now.’
The End
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About the author
Joanne Phillips lives in rural Shropshire with her husband and young daughter. She’s the author of romantic comedies Can’t Live Without, The Family Trap and Cupid’s Way, and the Flora Lively series of contemporary mysteries. Can’t Live Without was an Amazon top 20 bestseller in 2012 and her books regularly appear on category bestseller lists. Before becoming a writer, Joanne had jobs as diverse as hairdresser, air hostess and librarian, but now divides her time between writing and finding creative ways to avoid housework. She’s a fan of super-dark chocolate, iced coffee and Masterchef.
Books by Joanne Phillips
Can’t Live Without
The Family Trap
Cupid’s Way
Flora Lively Investigates:
Murder at the Maples
Short story collection:
A Life Unpredicted and other stories
Novelette:
The Silence of Juliet Mann
Acknowledgements
Cupid’s Way was a joy to write, and I’d like to thank the following people who helped with the production of this, my fourth book: Jez Phillips, my always-patient husband; Jude White for her brilliant proofreading and editing; Chris Howard for yet another wonderful cover; and finally my special Beta Reader, Bev Howard. As always, I want to send out my heart-felt thanks to all my readers – without you I’d be writing in a vacuum. Every time you download, buy or borrow one of my books you make my world a happier place.
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