by Georgia Hill
The script wasn’t going according to plan. Yes, okay, when she should have been indulging in light banter and pre-coital flirting, she’d fallen asleep in the car and may well have snored. It wouldn’t have been pretty. But weren’t men supposed to be permanently gagging for sex? And here was the man of her dreams turning down her offer. Maybe she’d had too much garlic soup at dinner? Or she wasn’t his usual brand of sleek blonde? Lust shrivelled in her loins. Bugger.
Jed’s hand returned to her cheek. He trailed a finger down her face. ‘Do you – can you trust me, Millie? Before this goes any further, there’s something I have to do.’
Millie found herself nodding. ‘I trust you.’ She did. She didn’t have a clue why, but she did.
Jed exhaled, as if her answer had mattered a great deal to him. ‘Good.’
He reached over and unclicked her seatbelt. He was very near. Tantalisingly so. She could smell his hair and feel the heat coming off his skin. She wanted him so badly it hurt. It actually hurt. She gave a little gasp of need.
He gave her a rueful look. ‘Let’s get you inside before I change my mind.’
Chapter 12
Millie was in such a state the following morning that she hardly noticed who came in to the café, what they ordered and, more worryingly, what she served them.
What had Jed got to sort?
Why did he have to go to Paris? When would he back?
Why hadn’t she thought to ask for his mobile number? Why hadn’t he given it to her?
Why did his upper lip jut out slightly more than the lower and made her want to take it between her teeth?
‘What is the matter with you, girl? Since when do I eat chocolate cake?’ Biddy’s sharp voice made Millie jump.
‘So sorry, Biddy. It’s my special today, but I’ll get you your usual scone.’
‘And a biscuit for Elvis.’
‘Of course.’ Millie caught a sympathetic look from Arthur as she glided back into the kitchen. She was walking on air. Who would have thought one kiss could make her feel like this? And if his kiss was that powerful, what would …
‘Millie!’ roared Biddy. ‘Arthur’s not got his tea yet.’
Millie forced herself to concentrate. At this rate there would be no Millie Vanilla’s for Jed to come back to. Banishing a vision of his long tanned body rumpling her nautically striped sheets, Millie slapped herself on the cheek and went to work.
As she came out, bearing a tray of tea for Arthur and scones for Biddy, Zoe and Sean came in. According to Tessa, Zoe was making the most of any free time by spending it with Sean, working with Ken in his studio.
‘Hi, Millie,’ Zoe said and blushed. ‘We’ll sit over in the corner, if you don’t mind. Thank you. Oh, hi Granddad,’ she called to Arthur. ‘Mum said she’d be over later. Got a couple of frozen casseroles for you.’
This was deeply worrying. Zoe never blushed. And she was never that polite.
Millie served Biddy and Arthur and watched, from the corner of her eye, as Zoe and Sean pressed themselves into the corner table and gazed adoringly into each other’s eyes. The intensity!
‘There’s no sugar in this bowl,’ Biddy yelled.
Buttoning down the urge to tell Biddy where to go, Millie forced a smile and murmured she’d go and get some.
‘What did she say?’ Biddy said irritably to Arthur. ‘What’s going on in here today? I’ve a good mind to take my custom elsewhere.’
Millie served Zoe and Sean their hot chocolate and was beckoned over by Arthur. ‘Come and sit yourself down for a minute, my dear,’ he said. He looked comically over his shoulder, as if spies might hear. ‘I’ve got some information about that new place opening on the high street.’
Millie poured herself a coffee and, having glanced around to check if anyone needed anything, perched on a chair next to Arthur. ‘Do I have to give you a password before you tell me anything?’ she hissed, wide-eyed.
Arthur looked blank.
‘You know, “The moon is full and the sea is calm,” sort of thing.’
Arthur raised his eyebrows in a way that made Millie feel about five. ‘You might not be laughing when you hear this, my dear. This new café, Blue Elephant, is opening next weekend.’
Millie sat back in dismay, all flippancy gone. ‘So soon?’
Arthur nodded.
‘I’d been hoping it wouldn’t be ready for ages.’
‘Apparently they’ve been beavering away behind those boarded-up windows. Want to catch a bit of the trade as soon as possible. Establish themselves before the new tourist season starts.’
Millie bit her lip. ‘I suppose that makes sense.’ She could kick herself. There had been no time to think through the refurbishment of the café and she hadn’t even tried out any new menus. She looked around. Who was she kidding? Biddy always had her coffee and scone, the kids drank hot chocolate and Arthur was loyal to his pot of tea. They weren’t exactly the customers to go for the sort of exciting flavour combinations she’d eaten last night. She couldn’t see Biddy enjoying brill and citrus couscous. With a heavy heart, she tuned back in to what Arthur was saying.
‘They’re opening a Blue Elephant in Berecombe,’ he was saying, ‘and Taunton and Honiton is next on the list and then Exeter. That’s if all goes well here.’
Millie snorted. ‘And why shouldn’t it? With so many branches close together they’ll be able to buy in bulk cheaply. And completely undercut my prices.’ She put her head in her hands and groaned.
‘I’m so sorry, my dear, but I thought you’d like to know.’ Arthur’s voice was full of concern.
She forced herself to look him in the eye. ‘Thank you, Arthur. I appreciate it.’ Then a thought struck. ‘How do you know all this?’
‘Dennis, the chairman of the trading committee, told me.’
‘Fuck.’ Millie caught herself. ‘Sorry, Arthur.’
He gave a small smile. ‘A certain level of profanity is acceptable in the circumstances, my dear.’ He patted her hand. ‘But you have no need for concern. This café and the Blue Elephant place are two very different animals, as Zoe would say.’
‘Maybe.’
‘Now, don’t look so gloomy. Think about it. You’ve lived alongside Kosy Korner and The Plaice Place all these years.’
‘I have. But you’ve got to admit they both offer different things. People go to a chip shop for, well, chips and the KK does its roast dinner carveries. The Blue Elephant will sell the same things as me – coffee, cake, sandwiches, that type of thing. They’ll be in direct competition with me.’
Arthur straightened. ‘I’m positive it will all be fine. When the tourist season begins there’s trade enough for everybody.’
‘That’s the problem, Arthur. I’ve got to get to the next season.’
‘Things that tight, eh?’ He looked shocked.
Millie didn’t trust herself to speak. She nodded.
‘Oh, my dear, I’m so sorry.’
‘Arthur, I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t have this place. I can’t do anything else.’
He patted her hand again. ‘I’m sure it won’t come to that. Look, I’ll get my thinking cap on, shall I? See what I can come up with.’
‘Oh, Arthur, would you? Thank you.’
‘Best be off. Don’t want to leave Daisy too long.’ He stood up.
Now it was Millie’s turn to look shocked. ‘Oh, Arthur, I feel awful, I haven’t even asked after her!’
Arthur’s face clouded. He tucked his scarf around his neck. ‘I’m still waiting for test results. Never an easy time, is it?’
Millie rose and gave him a hug.
He shook her off. ‘Now, dear girl, don’t be too nice to me. That’s when the waterworks start. I’ll be off.’ And, with a quick wave to Zoe, he’d gone.
‘What were you two whispering about so secretly?’ Biddy asked, obviously miffed at being left out of the conversation.
Millie said the first thing that came into her head. It wasn’t a complete l
ie. ‘Oh nothing much. Think Arthur’s worried about vet’s bills and poor Daisy being so ill.’
‘Hmph, he needs to man up,’ Biddy said, sourly. ‘Eyes too near his bladder. Always said so.’
Millie ignored her, collected Arthur’s plate and mug and went into the kitchen. All romantic thoughts of Jed had fled.
Chapter 13
If Millie needed a diversion from worrying over the café, she got it on her early-morning dog walk across the beach two days later.
Trevor saw him first. With a delighted bark, the dog belted across the flat wet expanse of sand.
The sun was shining in Millie’s eyes, so she could only see his silhouette but she’d know his walk anywhere. Confident, covering a lot of ground in a short space of time. Summed the man up, really.
Jed. He was back!
She ran up to him, but wasn’t in time to stop Trevor from jumping up and covering his jeans in wet sand.
‘Hi, Millie. Thought I’d join you,’ he yelled over a volley of barks.
‘I’m sorry,’ she gasped, horrified. ‘He really shouldn’t jump up at people like that.’ She bent to grab the dog’s collar and missed. She straightened. ‘Oh, Trev, get down!’
‘It doesn’t matter. These are old.’
Millie, eyeing the cut and the material, quietly disagreed. They looked thoroughly designer to her. Not that she had much experience to go on. ‘He really shouldn’t get into the habit of jumping up at people.’
Jed fussed the dog, who danced around and barked some more. ‘It’s my fault. I called him over. I really don’t mind, you know. It makes a nice change to get out of a suit sometimes and be scruffy.’
‘Is that your idea of scruffy?’ Millie looked down at her own cropped jeans and knee- length baggy grey sweater. It was another of her dad’s. She pushed her hair, made curly by sea spray, off her face and laughed.
Jed looked abashed. ‘Well, it’s all relative.’
With Trevor finally calm, Millie put her arm through Jed’s and turned westwards, in the direction of the café. ‘What brings you out this early?’
‘Thought I’d see what the attraction of a dawn start was and join you on your early- morning dog walk. Oh, and you know, it’s too nice a morning to waste.’
‘Isn’t it just? Glorious. And it’s a spring tide today. The sea has gone out a long way. Loads of space for Trev to run.’
They wandered nearer the edge of the waves, where the dog was trying to tug a deeply buried bit of wood out of the sand.
‘And he never gives up hope with that. Stubborn and persistent, that’s my Trevor.’
‘Wonder who he gets that from?’ Jed said, on a smile.
‘Hey!’ Millie jabbed in the side with her elbow.
‘I believe you promised me a sandcastle building lesson.’
‘What? Now?’
‘Well, the thing is, I have to do this thing called work and you seem to spend all your waking hours running the café. I find I have to make the most of any time I have with you. So, yes. Now.’
Millie stopped and smiled up at him. The chilly air had freshened his complexion and brought an impish gleam to his dark eyes. ‘You’re on.’
He clasped a hand, cold from the wind, around the back of her neck. His thumb hooked around her earlobe and he brought her face closer. ‘You could teach me so many things, Millie,’ he murmured against her lips. He began to kiss her and then yelled.
Millie felt icy sea water hit her wellies and shrieked with laughter as Jed danced around trying to avoid the incoming tide, which had soaked his expensive-looking boat shoes.
She grabbed his hand. ‘Come on then, Scruff Boy. Let’s go and find ourselves a bucket and spade.’
They ran over to a shack on the very end of the promenade, where it met the lane that led to the harbour. The dilapidated sign over the shop read: Barney’s Beach Supplies.
‘Looks in need of a bit of TLC,’ Jed observed.
‘It’s the rough winter weather. Always plays havoc with any paintwork on the front. Barney will repaint before the season gets going proper and it’ll look beautiful.’ Millie looked up at the front of the boarded-up wooden shed with fondness. ‘He does candy floss and yummy toffee apples in October before he closes up.’ She disappeared around the back and yelled out, ‘Barney always keeps a few buckets and spades back here. He does an unofficial lost-and-found service in the summer.’ She reappeared, brandishing a couple of spades and three faded plastic buckets. ‘Come on, let’s find us the right sort of sand.’
‘There are different sorts of sand?’ Jed queried.
‘Oh, you have so much to learn, my lovely,’ Millie responded, looking pityingly at him.
Jed grinned. ‘Apparently so.’
‘Bet mine will be bigger than yours.’
‘Are you challenging me?’ Echoing her tone, he added, ‘Oh, Millie, you have so much to learn!’
Millie gave him a quick peck on the lips and then bobbed out her tongue. She ran out to sea, to the flat sand, a euphoric Trevor at her heels and screamed as Jed began to chase her.
Squabbling like children, they worked furiously to build the biggest castles possible, in a race against the tide.
Watching all their hard work crumble into the sea, Jed put his arm around Millie’s shoulders. ‘I can’t believe I’ve got to the age of thirty-three and not done this before.’ He kissed the side of her head. ‘And you know what?’
‘You’re starving?’
‘How did you know?’
Millie giggled. ‘Lucky guess.’ She put her arms around his waist and hugged him to her. Standing on the beach of her home town and feeling his warm, solid body next to hers, she wondered if she could be any happier. Lifting her face to the sun and to the salty spray, she said, ‘I love it here so much.’
Jed tightened his arm around her. ‘You know what, Millie? So do I.’
Back at the café, they toed off their wet shoes.
‘These are never going to be the same again,’ Jed mourned as he examined his ruined loafers.
‘Oh dear,’ Millie said, without sympathy. ‘Totally unsuitable for sandcastle making.’ She adopted a lofty expression. ‘What you need is a pair of wellies like these.’ Taking her foot out of the left one, she held it up and dripped water from a sodden pink sock. Her face fell. ‘Ah. Think I’ve sprung a leak.’
‘Yeah, that’s exactly what I need, Millie!’ Jed caught her as she giggled and unbalanced. He kissed her soundly. ‘You make me laugh. You make everything so joyous. How do you do that?’ He kissed her again.
‘I don’t know,’ she replied, emerging blinking from the kiss. Wrinkling her nose, she said, ‘Maybe it’s something I put in my famous bacon sarnies?’
Jed groaned. ‘Speaking of which …’
Chapter 14
The following Saturday Millie locked up the café for the afternoon and went along to the grand opening of Blue Elephant. As she flipped the sign to, ‘I’m so sorry, you’ve missed our lovely cakes!’ and turned the key, her heart sank into her Doc Martens. The café had been as silent as a tomb and just as gloomy all morning. She was in no danger of losing trade by closing early. Even the weather refused to sympathise. It was a gloriously fresh and blue day and the sun beat down hard on the concrete of the promenade. Millie shoved on her heart-shaped sunglasses and hid behind her hair. This wasn’t going to be easy.
As she neared the steepest part of the high street there was an air of palpable excitement. Approaching Blue Elephant itself she was accosted by someone in, of course, a blue elephant costume. He gave some passing children a bunch of blue balloons and thrust a glossy leaflet into her hands. It was, inevitably, elephant-shaped and exclaimed she could get a free muffin with her coffee today. Passing the acoustic trio cheerfully playing ’Nellie the Elephant‘, she went in. No expense had been spared for the launch, it seemed.
She paused for a moment to get her bearings. No trace of the old bank remained. Instead, the entrance hall rose uninterrupted to the
ceiling, with a mezzanine level running around half. A spiral staircase led up to the second floor and it had been discovered by the town’s teenagers, who were running up and down, shrieking and giggling. The walls of the café were painted a chalky blue and there was a stunning abstract ammonite-themed mural on one. It had streaks of denim blue and sandy yellow, which was echoed in the striped material covering the banquettes and chairs. Millie took a breath. She’d half-hoped for more naff blue elephants or a cartoon theme. She was disappointed. Even she had to admit the decor was supremely tasteful. And the place was packed. Of course it was. It was the reason why Millie Vanilla’s had been empty all day.
Zoe appeared at her elbow. She tugged her arm. ‘Hi, Mil. Come to vet the competition?’
Millie gave her a weak grin and nodded.
‘Hand over your voucher and I’ll grab us some coffee. Quick, there’s a free table over there.’ Zoe pointed in the direction of a table where two customers were just leaving.
Millie made her way over to it, saying hello and goodbye to the people she knew as she went. Lots of them were her regulars. Perching on the very edge of a bench, she waited for Zoe and looked around. Mr and Mrs Levi, who ran the bed and breakfast on the front waved, as did Percy the butcher, who was sitting with Dean from the White Bear. Millie murmured a greeting to Dave Curzon from the newsagent and to Lola, his girlfriend, who ran a veggie restaurant in nearby Colyton. Even the Simpsons from the Lord of the Manor were here.
Zoe returned, with Sean in tow. They were carrying polystyrene cups of coffee and a paper plate of muffins.
No pretty mismatched pink flowery crockery here, Millie thought bitterly. And no washing up either. But, then again, it was not very eco-friendly. A little glimmer of hope dawned. Maybe that was something she could emphasise at Millie Vanilla’s? She was careful to use eco-friendly and reusable products.
Sean found Zoe a chair and toed it over for her to sit down. The girl looked around, a half-impressed, half-horrified expression on her face. ‘Awesome, isn’t it?’
