The doorbell rang, disturbing their reverie, and everyone turned towards the young man who entered the gallery, laden down with brown paper sacks from the local Chinese takeaway. Mia drew a reluctant Daniel back towards the main group and she watched admiringly as Maggie marshalled her young assistants and Aaron into action. Plates, cutlery, napkins and drinks were soon distributed and everyone settled on a big white sheet that Maggie threw across the tiled floor.
It was possibly the most bizarre picnic that any of them had ever been to but there was a sense of camaraderie amongst this group of relative strangers. Everyone pitched in and the general chatter quietened as plates filled and then gradually emptied. Mia nudged Daniel into eating something and she pressed a cold bottle of beer into his reluctant hand. ‘One won’t do you any harm, Daniel. We’re not exactly the party-hard crowd now, are we?’ He stiffened visibly at what she had meant to be a joke and Mia gave herself a mental slap for being so insensitive.
She cupped her hand around his head and drew his face down close to her, uncaring of the audience sprawled in a circle before them. ‘Look at me.’ Her voice was firm and she made sure to hold his gaze, keeping her hand in place to hold his head still. ‘You are mine now, and I will take care of you. I am not going to let anything bad happen to you, Daniel. Your past is just that.’ She leaned closer and pressed her lips to his. He returned the pressure briefly and then they drew apart as another knock at the door heralded the arrival of Pat and Bill.
Daniel looked a bit wild around the eyes when he realised who the new arrivals were, but Mia didn’t give him time to work up into a full-blown panic. She jumped to her feet and pulled him up with her. Before he could blink, he was enfolded in Pat’s arms and Bill was right next to her, his hand resting on Daniel’s shoulder, smiling broadly at him. Madeline and Richard joined them and Daniel was powerless to resist the sweet, powerful warmth of their joint affections.
Mia slipped away from the group and headed over to where Maggie and her two young assistants were standing. It was time to face the problem head-on and work out what to do for the best.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Daniel found himself in front of some of his pictures, the untouched beer going warm in his hand. Bill and Richard flanked him, discussing the images in front of them. Richard was explaining about the progress made at Butterfly Cove to Bill and Daniel chipped in with the odd remark. It was a slightly surreal experience and yet he felt more grounded and more in control as every minute passed in their company.
He’d been adrift since the loss of his own parents and it wasn’t until that moment that he realised just how much he was gaining through his relationship with Mia. It wasn’t just her, although she was the lodestone that charged his heart now. Somehow he had also gained a family. A hotchpotch of people who were unrelated by blood but who all wanted the best for each other and would drop everything to help one another.
Daniel looked around the room and exchanged a resigned grin with Aaron who was similarly hemmed in by Madeline and Pat. The ladies had their arms looped through his and were talking a mile a minute across him, but they were keeping him close. Aaron and by extension Luke were also a part of this new family they were building and Daniel was glad to see his friend relax under the attentions of the two older women. He’d had such a difficult time, losing his mother so young and then dealing with his stepmother’s bitterness. Aaron was in desperate need of some mothering and it looked like Madeline and Pat were going to provide it.
Whether he liked it or not.
Switching his attention to the third group in the room he grinned at the sight of Mia and Maggie, heads close together as they plotted away. The two gallery assistants were tidying up the remnants of the meal, ferrying everything to the small kitchen area in the rear of the gallery, opposite Maggie’s office. Maggie was very animated in her conversation and Mia was nodding along in agreement. Christ only knew what they were cooking up between them.
Daniel thought he’d better go and find out, but before he could excuse himself, they stopped talking and Mia clapped her hands sharply together to draw everyone’s attention. Her hair stuck up in all different directions as usual. Her face, bare of make-up, was pale apart from the dark smudges under her brown eyes. She’d never looked more beautiful to him.
She fiddled with a hole in the sleeve of her jumper as she spoke, the only betrayal of any reluctance she might be feeling. ‘I’ve had a chat with Maggie who has explained the situation. There isn’t any way to get out of the opening night tomorrow, so we are going to make the best of it. I know this isn’t what you wanted, Daniel, but Maggie has convinced me it’s the right thing to do. If we cancel now, there will be so much attention on us and we won’t be able to control it.’
Mia held out her hand to him, drawing him to her side, his lodestone, always. Daniel raised her hand to his lips and pressed a heartfelt kiss to the centre of her palm. Why he’d worried for a moment about her reaction to the situation was beyond him. She was a practical, sensible person at heart, and he’d been stupid to let his own fears blind him to that for even a moment.
‘You’re sure about this? You really don’t mind that strangers might buy some of these pictures and own a piece of our life?’ Daniel struggled with the idea still. He’d never meant for these images to belong to anyone other than himself and Mia and this was the first time he had not wanted to share his work with anyone else.
‘Just think about it as great advertising, Daniel. We can tell people the story of Butterfly Cove, share our plans, and who knows, we might get a few of them interested in a break by the sea.’ Mia grinned cheekily and Daniel just shook his head, knowing he was defeated.
He shrugged at Aaron who had a gleam in his eye. You know she’s right.’ His friend rubbed his hands together. ‘There are bound to be lots of your artistic mates along. We can tell them about the studios too. We’ll be booked solid before you know it. I’ll give Luke a call and he can bring copies of his designs over. We can set up a display in one corner.’ Never happier than when he was contemplating a financial deal, he drew out a notepad and started jotting down numbers at a dizzying rate.
Maggie cleared her throat and stepped forward. All eyes turned to her. ‘The biggest problem we have is there is no design here, no story to tell people. I was confused by Nigel’s demand to put everything up on display but now I get it. He wanted to sell everything, make as much money as he could and hope Daniel wouldn’t find out. We can’t open on Thursday like this, but I’m not sure where to start. We normally plan for weeks…’ Maggie trailed off as she contemplated the walls around her.
Daniel knew she was right but he didn’t know where to start either. His exhibitions had typically been themed around a single topic, and whilst the images had often been of a personal nature, the subjects had not been his own life. Madeline asked about some of the previous exhibitions and Maggie explained about the theming structure.
The conversation whirled around him. He couldn’t separate himself from the images enough to get any kind of perspective and a wave of nausea swept through him. The Chinese takeaway was a lead weight in his stomach and he felt beads of sweat pop out on his forehead.
Suddenly, Mia was there by his side, ushering him into the bathroom at the back of the gallery. She pressed him down onto the closed lid of the toilet and ran the corner of a towel under the cold tap. Daniel let her soothe him, as she had the very first day they met. He sucked in oxygen, trying to maintain some control over his unruly stomach. What a wimp.
Everyone had rallied around him and here he was hiding in the bathroom, trying not to puke on the love of his life. He kept his eyes closed as she wiped his face with the cool towel and tried to focus on what needed to be done to try and bring some order to the chaos on the walls outside.
Mia took the towel away and ran it under the water again before encouraging Daniel to put his head down so she could apply the damp material to the back of his neck. ‘Stop thinking so hard, Daniel, jus
t for a few minutes.’ She combed her fingers through his dark hair.
The motion was hypnotic and he let himself drift away on a little wave of bliss as the sickness in his stomach subsided and rational thought seemed possible again. He lifted his head slightly and Mia laughed as he found his face buried in her breasts. She started to step back, but quick as a shot he snaked his arm around her waist and kept her pressed up against him.
He took another deep breath and drew strength from the familiar scent of her soap, a lingering trace of sugar, and that essence that was purely her own. She smelt like home and Daniel felt his body stir unexpectedly. He turned his face to nuzzle her breast through her shirt and smiled in satisfaction as she gasped and arched into him.
A hesitant knock on the bathroom door had Daniel cursing and Mia breaking away, cheeks flaming like a teenager caught in the back seat of her boyfriend’s car. She pulled the bathroom door open in a rush and Daniel angled his body slightly away from the open door to hide the evidence of his arousal. It was Claire, Maggie’s assistant, and she stammered out an apology for interrupting. Mia waved the apology off, glanced down and hurriedly folded her arms across the damp patch on the front of her T-shirt.
‘I didn’t want to interrupt but I had an idea about the exhibition. I don’t want to presume, of course; I just thought it might be of help.’ The young woman was practically stuttering with nerves.
Mia smiled in encouragement. ‘We are in dire straits, Claire, and you’ve already been amazing with your support tonight. Any ideas you have will be gratefully received.’
Claire blushed and explained her idea in rushed tones. ‘I was looking at the pictures and thinking about how lovely Butterfly Cove must be. And then it struck me. Every image is about metamorphosis. You’re taking the ugly chrysalis of a ruin and transforming it into a beautiful butterfly. Just like the name says.’ She ducked her head shyly. ‘And I can see a change in your perspective too, Fitz. Sorry, Daniel. A growth and transformation in the way you frame your images. I’ve always been a huge fan of your work, see, that’s why I came to work for Maggie.’ She cut herself off with a wave of her hand. ‘This isn’t the time for a fan-girl moment.’
Mia nodded enthusiastically. She clearly liked what she was hearing, but Daniel was struggling to get his head around the young woman’s perceptive analysis. It felt too personal, too raw for public consumption. If she could see it, so would everyone else.
‘I’ve already asked the others and they really like the idea—’ Claire cut off when Daniel stood up abruptly, and she took a nervous step back from the doorway.
Mia turned to face him, the bright smile on her face turning to a scowl when she saw his own hesitation. Planting her hands on her hips, she crowded him back against the bathroom wall. It should have been comical—her diminutive presence shouldn’t have been intimidating when he was so much taller and broader—but Daniel felt himself shrink slightly under her fierce gaze.
‘You ungrateful sod! Everyone is trying to do everything that they can to help you and this is how you react? Do you have a better idea? Do you?’ Her sharp tone demanded a response. Feeling like a heel, he couldn’t do anything other than shake his head.
‘Then get the fuck over your artistic temperament and say thank you!’ Mia whirled away from him, brushing past poor Claire who was still lingering just outside the bathroom door. Daniel winced. Mia marched back into the main gallery, in full flow now. Several less-than-flattering comparisons flowed behind her to slap him in the face as her diatribe continued unabated.
Daniel bent to pick up the towel that had fallen to the floor when he’d stood. He folded it neatly, hoping Claire would take the hint and leave him in peace. He took his time with the task but could still feel her shy presence just outside the door. With a sigh, he lifted his eyes to meet his own reflection in the bathroom mirror and spoke, both to himself and to Claire. ‘I’m sorry. I do appreciate your efforts today, tonight, whatever.’ He glanced at his watch and frowned; it was getting late. ‘I don’t think you can understand how hard it is for an artist to hand over control of their work in the way you are asking me to.’ He turned away from the mirror and he saw a flash of pain in the young woman’s eyes.
Christ, man! Will you listen to yourself? The kids who worked for Maggie were all art students, hoping to gain experience and here he was acting like some superstar and dismissing the girl as not being able to understand what it meant to be an artist. Daniel turned and placed his hand on her shoulder. ‘Claire, I’m sorry. I’m acting like a colossal dickhead, and I had no right to be so dismissive of you. I’m tired and stressed and stupid. This is what London does to me. I can’t wait to get out of here and back home.’
He paused and grimaced. Mia had moved on from his personality faults to a monologue about dirty socks and bed-hogging. ‘Assuming I still have a home to return to. Which doesn’t sound too promising at the moment.’
Claire giggled, and he squeezed her shoulder gently. ‘Seriously, I appreciate your idea and Mia is right, I have no clue what else to do about the exhibition so let’s give it a whirl.’ He steered the now beaming girl towards the main room and paused as everyone turned to face him. They were all smiles, seemingly enjoying his discomfort, and Daniel felt himself shrink inside a little.
He wanted to run, but knew he had to face this challenge. They’d come all this way to help him and he owed it to them all not to let them down. He swallowed hard, his hand still gripping Claire’s shoulder, holding her slightly in front of him like a shield. ‘I think Claire has come up with a great idea. The theme for the exhibition will be Metamorphosis. I’d like to group the images into three discrete sets—Past, Present and Future. I’d appreciate your help again tomorrow—that is, if you want to stick around. I’ve been such an utter idiot.’
They crowded around him even before he’d finished speaking, the women patting and stroking his arms, the men with shoulder claps and handshakes. He looked over their heads to where Mia stood, hanging back from the crowd. He shrugged at her, and gave her his best hangdog look. His heart surged with joy when she threw her hands up in the air with a laugh. It seemed he wasn’t homeless just yet.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Mia pushed her damp fringe away from her forehead before starting to unpack the next box of wine glasses onto the table in the corner of the gallery. Claire was with her, helping to set up the refreshments whilst Madeline and Pat folded canapé serviettes into pretty shapes, chattering a mile a minute. Daniel was in the office with Richard, reviewing the images they’d selected for ‘Future’. Maggie and Bill were busy arranging the ‘Present’ photographs on either side of the back wall, bracketing the centre corridor.
Aaron had returned, having taken the day off work, and Luke had joined him. The brothers had set up a display in one corner showcasing the house. Pictures of the finished bedrooms and dining room were pinned to a display board, interspersed with photos of meals and cakes Mia had made. Luke’s concept designs for the art studios were fixed to a board next to it, together with internal and external shots of the barn. The blueprints were laid out on a table in front, together with a sign-up sheet the ever-enterprising Aaron had drawn up for a mailing list.
They had decided to leave the gallery last night almost as soon as Daniel had apologised, the general opinion being that a few hours’ sleep and some fresh heads would do a better job than pushing through into the wee small hours. The older couples had disappeared off to the B&B Aaron had secured for them and Mia and Daniel had hopped on the tube with Aaron for the trip to his flat.
Lying in the dark together, Mia had analysed her sudden blow-up at Daniel. Curling close to his side, she had admitted most of her frustrations had been brought on by fear and worry. He’d scared her with his call for help and once she realised that he wasn’t hurt or ill then she’d had to release the tension somehow. He’d accepted her apology, offered his own, and they’d come together in a tender act of renewal.
They had both slip
ped into a dreamless sleep and Daniel had woken that morning full of determination and positive energy. Mia was relieved at the turnaround and hoped it would survive the day and carry him through into that evening’s launch party.
The hammering of a fist on the door of the gallery made everyone jump. Mia clutched a hand to her heart with a startled laugh, while Claire hurried to see who was there. Leaving the quiet, capable girl to deal with their visitor, Mia carried on unpacking the glasses. Voices rose behind her, and she abandoned her task, curious to see what the problem was.
The problem was a rail-thin blonde woman, every inch the model in a jet-black trouser suit and spiked heels high enough to give anyone else a bout of vertigo. Mia rubbed her hands on her scruffy T-shirt, trying not to compare their appearance. The blonde shouldered her way past Claire and stalked into the gallery.
A presentable, if slightly too sleek-looking, man followed behind and they both scowled around the room as they made their way further into the gallery. Flicking her iron-flat hair over one shoulder, the blonde made a beeline for Mia. She paused in front of her, a little too close for Mia’s liking, the pinched expression on her face tightening when Mia folded her arms, refusing to be intimidated.
She glared over her shoulder towards the table and then back down her nose. Mia stood her ground, forcing herself to relax and smile at the woman. She had more than an inkling of who the couple were and she would need a calm head to deal with them. ‘This is a private event. Is there something I can help you with?’ She kept her tone light and breezy, swallowing a grin when the woman’s glare intensified.
‘I don’t know who you think you are. This is my event. You’d better only be here for the setting up. I gave the caterers very specific requirements regarding the staffing this evening.’ She swept a disdainful glance over Mia. ‘You really won’t do at all.’ The sneering tone made Mia’s job all the easier, as did her proprietary tone. This must be Giselle, Daniel’s ex-girlfriend, and the weasel lurking behind her could only be Nigel, the double-crossing bastard.
Sunrise at Butterfly Cove Page 20
