by Jane Keene
“He wrote us a letter, me, Aaron his son, and Maisey.” At the mention of Maisey’s name Victoria felt her stomach contract.
“Mickey explained that he did not want to wait around to die, he wanted to die with purpose. It’s all so overwhelming he encouraged me to live my life and be with the person I love.
I also spoke to the investigating officer, he explained about Dermott, and that what happened to you was a welcome coincidence for Dermott. He wanted to scare you, and when they thought you and I were involved, they saw it as an opportunity.”
He looked at her as he said this, Victoria had to be sure, she wanted so much to believe him, but there was one issue that they needed to clear up.
“What about Maisey?” she asked tentatively. It was Ryan’s turn to be confused.
“What about Maisey?” he retorted wondering what on earth Victoria was talking about.
“It’s clear that you two have something between you. Liz saw you two together, and lately she has been everywhere you are. I thought she might mean something more to you.” As Victoria said the words out loud she realised that they sounded a bit silly, but she couldn’t help feeling like this, she had felt foolish before, she was not going to make that mistake again. Ryan let out a laugh.
“It’s not funny, how dare you laugh at me!”
“Victoria, Maisey is like a sister to me, we have worked together for years.”
He moved over to sit next her, he took her hand in his.
“I am a little worried though.” he said quietly.
“What are you worried about?” replied Victoria.
“You have not said anything in reply to what I said, I am not even sure you feel the same about me”.
Victoria moved closer to Ryan, he could see tears in her eyes; she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips.
“Of course I feel the same way, you dumb eejit! I love you too”. Ryan felt his chest swell and happiness flood his system, he lifted Victoria onto his lap and pulled her close to him, and this time their kisses were more intense and held a promise of a night of passion and fulfilment.
Chapter 33
Victoria and Ryan were lying entwined in each other’s arms, she felt so content and at peace within herself. But she knew in about 10 minutes she would have to get up for work, it was the first time she really did not feel like getting out of bed and going to work. She started to disentangle herself from Ryan.
“Hey, where do you think you are going?”
“I have to go to work, speaking about work, what is going to happen to the Café? Will Aaron reopen it?”
Ryan tried to grab Victoria back into the bed but she dashed out of his reach, he sighed and lay back down.
“Well, Maisey and Aaron now own it together, so I suppose it will reopen soon”
“What! Maisey owns the café? Will you be going back to work to there?” Victoria still felt a little uneasy about Maisey and Ryan’s friendship.
“No I am not going back. I don’t need to be there anymore.”
“But I thought you loved working there? What will you do, how would you support yourself?” The ever so practical side of Victoria was coming through, for someone whose career meant everything to her, it was unfathomable not to have one.
Ryan laughed and rolled onto his stomach, he loved watching her naked body.
“Yes, um, another confession. I, um, I don’t really have to work.” Victoria turned from her closet, “What do you mean you don’t have to work? Everybody has to work!”
He sat up and pulled the sheets over his legs, “I made a lot of money once-upon-a-time, so I am fiscally very sound, and I never have to work again in my life time”. Victoria’s mouth dropped.
“Then why were you working in the Café? Surely, you would be on the French Riviera living it up, champagne, girls and all day parties.”
Ryan laughed again, he got up and put his arms around her, “Mm, you smell so good”, and he nuzzled into her neck and started kissing her lightly. She pushed him away slightly. “You still have not answered my question.”
Ryan grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. “After my involvement with Jack and his gang, I went to college and studied hard, formed a business. Lucky for me, it did really well, and somebody came along and bought it for a lot of money. But I always felt that I had to watch my back, I did not want to attract too much attention to me or my family. So, I bought the Café, right about the time I met Mickey. He was getting over the death of his wife, and he needed something to focus on. I made a deal with him that he could have the Café, and I would work there like a normal employee, anonymous just an ordinary guy making coffee. I really enjoyed it; it made me feel part of something again.”
“So why don’t you want to go back there again?” asked Victoria, she was going to be so late for work, but she would blame it on the traffic.
“That chapter of my life is over”.
“How do you know for certain that you are not in danger anymore?” Victoria asked seriously.
Ryan took her hand, “Jack wanted to get me back and the only way he could was by either killing me or someone close to me. When Mickey got in the way of the bullet it was a way of releasing me from that “debt”. Even though Jack was killed in the process, no other member of the gang had a score to settle with me, so as far as they are concerned the “debt” has been paid off. So, now I am free now to start over and do something else. Which brings me to my next question. Are you happy in your job?” Victoria laughed out loud.
“Of course I am happy! Why do you think I fought so hard to keep it?” As she heard the words coming out of her mouth, they sounded a bit empty. Since she had returned to work, it was not the same as before, she didn’t feel the excitement and same level of contentment she use to feel. Ryan tapped the corner of his mouth in a pondering gesture.
“What would you say about coming to work with me, in our own business?”
“Ryan, I don’t know how to make coffee if that’s what you thinking!”
“No silly, I am starting up a new IT company, and I am going to need a legal adviser. I cannot think of anyone else but you. We can hold private business meetings, nobody to clock us in each morning.” He smiled playfully at her and pulled her back into bed.
Chapter 34
The sunlight streamed in through the blinds of Café de Maison, the shop was full of patrons. Maisey stood at the back of the Café and watched people talking, laughing, holding meetings. This is what Mickey meant; the place was magical in how it brings people together. She hugged her arms close to her body; it had been difficult in the beginning and after three months of hard grind to get the Café back open, and of course trying to do all this with Aaron as her business partner.
He had been so challenging to start, but they had eventually worked out a system whereby they did not need to see too much of each other. The main focus was the success of the business and this strategy seemed to be working.
Maisey’s thoughts were distracted by the sound of giggling from the office. Nobody was supposed to be back there. She marched down the passage and opened the office door; Breda was sitting on the desk flashing her bare legs at Aaron who did not look too phased by what was going on. Maisey felt her blood boil. Breda was meant to be serving customers not flirting with the boss!
“Breda!” she shouted from the door. Breda jumped up so fast the papers on the desk went flying all over the room.
“Oh, hiya, Maise. We were just discussing this.” Breda held up a white envelope with gold printed writing on it. Maisey moved over and took it from Breda’s hands, she smiled as she read the contents of the letter, it was an invitation to Ryan and Victoria’s wedding. She was so happy that Ryan had found someone to share his life, he really deserved happiness. Ryan and Victoria had invited her and Billy over for dinner a few nights back. Their new house was beautiful, and they both looked so happy. Maisey sighed, maybe it will happen for her, but for now she had other things to focus on. That’s when Ma
isey suddenly remembered why she was there in the first place, she held the door open for Breda and said impatiently “Breda, your customers are waiting!”
Breda pulled a sour face at Maisey, flashed a killer smile at Aaron, and sashayed out the room. Maisey sighed again and shook her head and said to Aaron, “that girl drives me insane. I wish she would focus on her work as much as she does on her social life.”
Aaron got up from behind the desk and walked right up to where Maisey was standing. He placed his hand lightly on her arm. She could feel the heat generating from his body, and her body was reacting to it, which irritated her even further.
“I don’t know why you are so hard on her; at least she lives her life. Are you feeling a little jealous?” His breathe faintly caressed her neck, and it made her knees go weak.
She swatted his arm away. “Please, why on earth would I be jealous of Breda!”
The whole encounter had her senses reeling; she took one more look at Aaron who was now back behind the desk and stalked out of the room. When she got around the corner, she leant back against the wall; it felt as if her heart was beating out of her chest. If this is what things were going to be like around here, she was in for one interesting year!
About the Author
Jane Keene lives with her husband, two children, their corgi pup and orange Maine coon cat called Pumpkin. She resides in a seaside town in South Africa, making occasionally trips to Ireland and Europe during the summer.
She is a lover of chocolate and reading. Lots and lots of reading. If there is no chocolate, then it’s wine, if there is both then she has them together.
She was a teacher for over 15 years and spent a couple years in Europe following her husband around after his business adventures. This is where she started writing and getting inspiration for her books, in the small romantic towns and villages in Ireland, France and Portugal.
You can follow Jane Keene and keep up to date with her latest books at www.janekeene.com.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janekeenebooks
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/janekeenebooks
***
If you enjoyed this book, then I’d like to ask you for a HUGE favor. Please, please, please would you be kind enough to leave a review for this book on Amazon?
Your love (or criticism) would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for reading!
