by Georgia Hill
Jed tried to look unfazed. ‘Yes, Ma.’
‘This is what you’ve given up your consultancy work for?’
‘I thought you’d be pleased I’d finally found what I want to do. And this is what I want to spend the rest of my life doing.’ Jed sounded mystified. ‘I don’t understand. You thought it was a good idea when we talked on the phone.’
‘But really, Jeremy. This place? It’s hardly more than a greasy spoon.’
Millie jumped up. No one, no one insulted her café. ‘Excuse me, Millie Vanilla’s is a lot more than a greasy spoon. Not that there’s anything wrong in that,’ she added hotly. ‘I cook all my food myself and use the best, locally sourced organic produce.’ She drew herself up. ‘And I’d be happy to prove how good my food is.’ She held out one of the laminated cards that served as a menu and wished it wasn’t so dog-eared. ‘If you’d like to choose something? Specials are changed daily and are on the blackboard. Feel free to go inside and have a look.’
Alex stood too. ‘I’m sure Mother didn’t mean any offence.’ He glared down at her, the dull light glinting on his glasses. ‘Did you, Ma?’
It seemed to check Vanessa. She got up. ‘Of course I didn’t, Millie,’ she trilled. ‘Please don’t think that. It’s just that it’s so very different to what Jeremy had led me to expect. And, if he’s planning on investing rather a large sum of money, I felt it best to check it out beforehand.’ She gave a tight smile. ‘And I have. So lovely meeting you, Millie, my dear.’ She took her eldest son’s arm. ‘Alexander, I’m very warm. Could you take me back to Lyme Regis now please? I think I’d like to have a cold drink before we go out to lunch.’ She twisted her mouth at the jug of lemonade. ‘One without quite so much sugar.’
Alex gave Millie an apologetic look. She had the strong impression he often stepped in as peace-maker. He pulled a face at Jed and led his mother away.
Millie collapsed onto the chair opposite Jed. She was too furious to remain standing.
Jed stared out to where a row had broken out between two families vying for the same tiny patch of beach. A pulse was beating in his cheek.
‘Well?’ Millie demanded.
He scuffed his deck shoes on the sandy concrete. ‘She’s a bitch.’
Millie relaxed a little. ‘I’m glad you said it. I couldn’t really insult your mother, having only just met her.’
Jed traced a trail of lemonade down the outside of his glass. Staring at his sticky finger he licked it moodily and then blew out a long breath. ‘She isn’t always like that. It’s just she’s a bit prickly about me giving up my job and,’ he hesitated and then looked Millie straight in the eyes, ‘She’s obviously not very happy about me investing in the café.’
‘I rather gathered that.’ Millie’s mouth twitched. ‘It’s almost funny, when you think about it, isn’t it? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who was such a blatant snob. Sorry,’ she added, ‘I know she’s your mum, but she really is.’
‘I know.’ Jed stared morosely at the pattern his shoes had made on the floor.
‘Still, if I agree to you investing, although it would be nice to have your mother’s approval, it’s not the end of the world if she doesn’t.’
Jed shifted uncomfortably again. ‘The thing is, Mil. That’s the problem.’ He glanced up out of troubled eyes.
‘What do you mean?’ Millie had a horrible feeling what he was about to say wasn’t going to be good news. She edged onto the rim of her chair, her heart thumping. ‘Is there something you haven’t told me, Jed?’ Her voice went very hard. ‘Is there something else you’ve lied to me about?’
Chapter 41
‘What?’
Millie jumped up and began pacing back and forth across the terrace. She put her hands to her ears, as if to massage in what she’d just heard. ‘No,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘Tell me again.’
Jed dropped his chin to his chest in frustration. ‘I only have a little spare cash at the moment,’ he began. ‘What with Blue Elephant not paying me the full fee as I didn’t complete the contract and, oh, I don’t know, it’s quite expensive living down here.’
Millie stopped pacing and glared down at him. She thought about the expensive dates he’d taken her on and felt a twinge of guilt. She’d be happy with just a bag of chips on the beach. As long as they were together. ‘Well, it’s only expensive if you let it be. What about your car?’
‘Well, I took over the lease on that.’ He shrugged. ‘I needed something to get around in.’
‘And it didn’t occur to you to buy something older? Cheaper?’
‘False economy. I need something reliable.’
Millie sat down again. ‘And this money, the money you planned on investing in Millie Vanilla’s, it’s held in an account?’
‘Yes.’
‘And what, you get an allowance from it or something?’
Jed shook his head. ‘It’s not quite an allowance. The money was from Dad’s family. It went into a trust for us. We’ve been getting a smallish sum every year and get the remainder when we’re thirty-five.’
‘Sounds like an allowance to me,’ Millie said drily. ‘But what has your mother got to do with it? I still don’t understand.’ Millie screwed up her face. ‘Funnily enough, it’s not a problem I’ve ever had to deal with.’
Jed sighed and then went on patiently. ‘I have to go to Ma’s accountant and give him an idea of what I plan to spend the money on. That is, the money you’re calling an allowance. I can’t access the lump sum at all until I’m of age.’
‘Okay,’ Millie said, slowly.
‘The problem is, if he thinks I’m being too extravagant or splashing out on something he thinks Ma wouldn’t approve of, he passes it to her. She gets the final say and she won’t agree the bank transfer if it’s something she doesn’t approve of.’
‘So that’s why she came today. To see whether I’m a good investment?’ Millie gave a harsh laugh. ‘I think we know the answer. She spread her hands helplessly. ‘I thought all your wealth came from your job?’
Jed had the grace to look embarrassed. ‘It does. It did. But, you know what they say, you spend up to what you earn. The job gave me spending money, but I knew I could always back it up with some from the trust. As long as Ma approved.’
‘Oh my God!’ Millie sat back, her palms to her cheeks, a horrified expression on her face. ‘I’ve just realised what you are.’
‘What do you mean, what I am?’ said Jed, irritably.
‘You’re a trust-fund kid.’
‘And you wonder why I was reluctant to tell you, Millie? You made your feelings very clear about this sort of thing when we were on the beach that day.’
‘I did. And you could have told me then, couldn’t you?’ Jed didn’t answer. ‘You’ve never really had to work for anything, have you?’
‘I worked, Millie,’ he said tightly. ‘I worked damn hard and I was good at it.’
‘But you didn’t have to. You could have lived off this trust, couldn’t you?’
He blew out an exasperated breath. ‘But I didn’t. Both Alex and I work.’
‘But you didn’t really need to,’ Millie persisted. ‘You’ve never really known what it’s like not to have money, have you? Or to live under the threat of not having any.’ She paused and then went on, ‘There have been times I didn’t know how I was going to pay the electricity bill, the business rates, or whether I had enough to pay my suppliers at the end of the month. You’ve never known what that feels like, have you?’
‘No. Not exactly.’ Jed kicked at a pebble. ‘Of course I haven’t, Millie! But what’s this got to do with anything?’
‘It’s the whole point. Whatever you’ve wanted you’ve bought. Be it a holiday or the latest fashionably expensive watch.’
‘Jeez, we’re not back to that argument, are we?’
‘Yes, maybe we are.’ Millie sat back and gazed at him sadly. ‘I nearly let you into my life completely. I nearly let you invest in my business.
My livelihood.’
Jed reached out and took her hands in his. ‘And I still can, Millie. We could do marvellous, wonderful things with the café. It could be the next Hive Beach Café, if that’s what you want it to be.’
Millie eased her hands from his. ‘And what would happen when we hit a rough patch, Jed?’ she said gently. ‘When trade isn’t so good. When the profit margins are down. Blue Elephant is still a threat. It could wipe me out completely. What would you do then? When you couldn’t buy that four hundred-pound jacket you’d set your heart on, or when you told yourself you needed a newer car? I couldn’t run my life, or my business, knowing you were running to your mother and asking for the next allowance.’
‘Do you really still think me so shallow?’
Millie was silent for a moment. Then she said, ‘I don’t know, Jed. Maybe that’s the problem. We still don’t know one another well enough. Maybe we’re rushing into something too quickly.’
‘I love you.’
Millie felt tears threaten. ‘I know you do.’ In a strangled voice she added, ‘And I love you, but I’m not sure it’s enough.’
‘I can’t believe you’re saying this. How can I prove myself to you? What can I do to make myself worthy of you?’ He blew out a frustrated breath. ‘Am I ever going to be good enough for you? Am I ever going to reach your sky-high standards?’
Millie felt a pang of guilt. He looked so desperately unhappy. But how could she trust her business to someone who had never fought as hard as she’d had to? How could she trust herself to him? And then there was his mother.
She took his hands back into hers. ‘Everything inside me, every pore of my being wants to be with you. Believe that, Jed. But every time I let myself, something seems to get in the way. Your mother turning up today, for instance.’
‘I’ll get a business plan together to show Ma. I’ll convince her it’s a sound investment.’
Millie shook her head. ‘But she’d never really accept me, would she? To her I’d always be the reason you threw away a promising career. In her eyes the café would be the thing you’d squandered your inheritance on. And if it made a loss or closed down – and those are very real dangers, Jed, then she really would never forgive me. Or, more importantly, you. And I could never come between you and your mother.’ She swallowed, her throat aching with unshed tears. ‘You only get one of those in a lifetime.’
Jed stood up. He pushed a frustrated hand through his hair. ‘You are the most stubborn, pig-headed woman I’ve ever met.’ He softened the words with a short laugh. ‘Most of the girls I’ve dated actually see my money as a bit of a bonus. I dare say a lot of them have only gone out with me because I was wealthy. But you, you Emilia Fudge, can only see it as this insurmountable barrier. That it makes me some feckless youth who can’t budget and has no idea of the cost of anything, or even what hard work is.’ He sat down, deflated and took her hands again. ‘And you know what? I’m not going to give up on you. On us. I’m going to prove I’m worthy of you. I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do but I’ll bloody well do it. You’ll see.’ He gave an impish grin. ‘And now seems the best time to start.’
Millie sat and watched as Jed’s tall figure dipped in and out of the crowds as he strode along the promenade. Had she done the right thing? Was Jed really capable of working alongside her, or would he blow the first month’s takings on some luxury, some frippery? Her heart shifted. So this is what happened when you dared open your heart. She wished she could just run away. From everything. She put her head in her hands. ‘Why couldn’t it all be simple?’ she moaned.
She was still there when Clare arrived for her shift.
Chapter 42
Dora clutched Mike and Ellie’s hands as they took yet another curtain call. It was the third time the cast had been brought back onto the stage. The dusty little theatre was alive with excited pleasure. Dora was shaking and delirious with adrenaline. There was nothing like the magic of theatre and the first night had gone better than any of them had expected.
She blinked hard as flash bulbs popped as the press photographers went into a frenzy. The audience rose to their feet, clapping and cheering. Before she knew it, the other actors backed away and left her and Mike to take a bow on their own. Mike raised Dora’s hand to his mouth and kissed it, sending the audience into raptures.
‘Kiss her’, someone shouted from the front stalls. ‘Kiss her properly!’
Mike, high on the night’s success and a wicked look lighting his blue eyes, drew her to him. ‘Thank you,’ he mouthed. ‘Thank you so much.’
Dora shook her head a little. She began to reply, but his lips crushed hers and the noise hit the roof as the crowd roared its approval.
He set her down again and they grinned inanely at one another.
‘Don’t think this is quite Regency etiquette, Captain Wentworth.’
‘Do you think I give a bugger?’ he replied and kissed her again. When he released her this time, he whispered against her ear, ‘I need to talk to you. Catch you at Millie’s party?’
She nodded, too fizzy with relief that the play had gone well to wonder what he wanted.
Then the moment was broken as her hand was grasped by Ellie as the others joined them for one final curtain call.
Chapter 43
Dora cornered Millie on the café’s crowded terrace. It was the first time she’d had the chance to speak to her.
The cast had been greeted with cheers from the other guests, who had formed a rowdy arch in their honour. The champagne flowed freely and Dora had drunk just enough to begin to wind down from the whole giddy experience of the first night.
‘What’s wrong?’ she demanded of Millie. ‘You’ve been looking miserable all evening. Is it that bitch? Jed’s mother?’
Millie shook her head quickly. And then grimaced. ‘No and yes, I suppose.’
Dora sipped her fizz. ‘Well, that’s as clear as mud, then. Spill.’
Millie filled her in. ‘So, I just don’t know if Jed and I can have a future together,’ she finished.
‘Oh hon.’ Dora put an arm around her. ‘I’m sure you can work something out. You’ll teach him the art of money appreciation. So what if he’s a trust-fund kid?’ When Millie looked unimpressed by the comment, she added, ‘Look, you two are meant to be, I just know it. I’ve never seen a couple more in love.’
‘Yeah well, it’s not looking good at the moment. Give me that glass.’ Millie took the flute off Dora and drained it.
‘Slow down, girlfriend. You know you’ve no head for alcohol.’
‘After slaving over you lot for this party, I think I deserve one,’ Millie said bitterly. ‘And maybe another.’
‘You okay, Mil? You don’t seem yourself.’
‘Lot on my mind. Big decisions to make.’ She began to head off inside the café where, courtesy of Phil, a table groaned with food and champagne. She had to come to a halt when Biddy forced her way through the crowd to stand in the middle of the terrace. The woman tapped a teaspoon against her glass, swaying slightly.
‘Someone else who’s been at the champers,’ Dora observed and went to stand with Millie.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ she began, ‘I’d like to congratulate you all on a wonderful night.’ She turned to Mike and beamed at him, but this being Biddy it was more of a glare. He looked distinctly uncomfortable. ‘The Regent Theatre will have a secure future from now on.’
‘Did you put her up to this?’ Dora hissed to Millie.
Millie shook her head.
‘And, my dear friend Joseph Latham would have been very proud of you all.’
Millie turned to Dora in horror. ‘You don’t think –’
‘That old Joe was a client?’ Dora giggled. ‘Why not!’
‘So I’d like to propose a toast. Let us raise our glasses to the Regent Theatre!’
‘The Regent Theatre!’ everyone chorused, more than a little drunk and too wary of Biddy not to comply.
The cheers subs
ided but Biddy hadn’t finished with them. A peculiar and very alien expression came over her.
‘Don’t know about you,’ Dora gasped, ‘But that coy look doesn’t sit well on Biddy’s face.’ She took Millie’s arm for strength.
‘As some of you know, Mr Arthur Roulestone and I have become extremely good friends of late. So good, in fact, that he has just made me an offer of marriage.’ Biddy paused.
‘Did she just simper?’ Millie marvelled.
‘Did she really think this was the appropriate time and place?’ asked Dora.
Biddy apparently did. ‘And I accepted!’ she continued, on a hiccough. ‘So could I propose another toast? To Arthur and Biddy!’
There was a bemused murmur of ‘To Arthur and Biddy’ and a gentle ripple of applause.
‘I’m feeling distinctly queasy,’ Millie muttered.
‘Too much champagne, hon?’
‘Not enough, more like. The image of a nude Biddy and Arthur keeps invading my head. Oh, and she still hasn’t finished. How much has she drunk?’
‘And,’ at this Biddy turned her lighthouse gaze on Millie. ‘As no church would probably have me under its roof, I’d like to ask my dear friend Emilia if she would host the wedding party here. We’d like to get married on the beach.’
‘She’s going to have the dogs as bridesmaids,’ Millie said in awe. ‘I just know it.’
‘And I’d like to have the dogs as attendants,’ Biddy rambled on. ‘Arthur and I, or should I say my fiancé and I,’ at this she giggled, ‘Are thinking a Christmas wedding would be the thing. So, stir your stumps everyone, now we can get this party really started!’
She was about to say more when Mike materialised at her side. ‘Can I be the first to congratulate you and Arthur,’ he looked around, ‘Wherever he is.’
‘If he’s got any sense he’ll have made his getaway,’ snorted Dora. ‘In a very fast car. A Christmas wedding? On the beach? With doggy bridesmaids? And here’s me thinking I’d left the LA lunacy behind.’
