A Match Made in Devon

by Cathy Bramley

  I could have kissed him. Although I still hadn’t seen any sign of the food.

  He rubbed the back of his neck shyly. ‘No problem. Anyway, I like a challenge so I used my initiative and – feast your eyes on this!’

  He opened up the back of the van with a flourish to reveal six cardboard boxes printed with the logo of a Thai restaurant.

  ‘A takeaway?’ My jaw dropped; my fancy dinner party was courtesy of the Siam Palace takeaway. ‘You ordered in?’

  He gave me a lopsided smile, which pushed a dimple into his cheek. ‘Okay, I bent the rules a bit. But it is the best takeaway in Devon. All authentic, all homemade by a lady from Chang Mai. Had to drive nearly forty miles for this.’ He pointed to the heated pads underneath the boxes. ‘But don’t worry, it’ll be piping hot.’

  I felt myself calming down. Catherine had said Sapphire loved this sort of food and if the aroma was anything to go by it was going to be delicious. Everything would be fine. Better than fine. It would be a huge success.

  ‘You,’ I said, throwing my arms round his neck, ‘are a hero.’

  ‘All in a day’s work.’ Jude laughed softly in my ear. ‘Cash most welcome.’

  There was a cough from behind us and I turned to see Theo watching us, a concerned frown on his face.

  ‘Deliciously Devon has arrived!’ I said brightly.

  ‘So I see,’ said Theo with a thin smile. ‘Just in time, the ladies are asking if dinner is nearly ready.’

  ‘It is,’ said Jude, picking up two boxes at once. I picked up a third. ‘All we need to do is transfer it from the takeaway cartons.’

  Theo’s face folded into a frown. ‘Takeaway?’

  ‘Stand aside.’ I winked at him as we walked past to go inside. ‘Hot stuff coming through.’

  Two hours later, the girls were getting ready to go back to Penguin’s Pad to play some after-dinner games Catherine had planned. No male nudity whatsoever. I needn’t have worried. About anything. Theo and Jude were clearing up while I made up some pots of coffee for them to take over. I’d been on the go all day and felt exhausted. But happy. Very happy. Tonight couldn’t have gone any better if I’d brought in the royal caterers to the Queen. Sapphire had loved the decorations, the food had been declared delicious and so authentic, and the conversation had been lively and full of fun.

  Sapphire wrapped me in a hug as she stood to leave.

  ‘Thank you so much for tonight. I can scarcely move,’ she groaned, patting her tiny taut stomach. ‘Your caterer is amazing and so knowledgeable about Thai food.’

  ‘I’ll pass it on,’ I said, somehow managing to keep my face straight. What she hadn’t seen was Jude whipping his takeaway menu out of his jacket pocket every now and then to remind himself what all the dishes were called. I was proud of both men; he and Theo had done a sterling job and had been really good sports amidst all the teasing and banter you’d expect from an excitable group of girls who, by Catherine’s reckoning, were now on bottle of champagne number thirty-five.

  ‘You’ve made a good impression on our guests,’ I said when I handed Jude an envelope full of cash to cover his hastily scribbled invoice. ‘When is Angie coming back? Just in case next time you can’t rely on the takeaway.’

  ‘End of June, so try not to call until then, I can’t take the pressure.’ He grinned, reaching a hand instinctively to where the thin silver scar traced a line above his ear. His hazel eyes were framed by strong brows and crinkled at the corners when he smiled. He bristled with energy. Shorter and stockier than Theo but in a good way. In a solid muscly good way. ‘But in the meantime we could catch up over coffee one day, or a drink at The Sea Urchin?’

  I was taken aback. Eliza had implied that he kept himself to himself, that he preferred his dog to people. Having said that, I’d found him nothing but charming tonight and I’d really like a chance to get to know him better.

  ‘Sure,’ I said with a shy smile.

  ‘I know Deliciously Devon didn’t quite supply what you were hoping for tonight but …’

  Oh, I don’t know.

  ‘But there might be more opportunity for us to work together as Brightside Holidays grows?’

  So he wanted to talk business … My smile slipped a bit.

  ‘I’d like that,’ I managed to say brightly.

  He picked up the box containing the food warmers he’d borrowed from the Siam Palace and I followed him outside.

  ‘I’d like to find out more about the lifeboat house too. You seemed really upset that it’s for sale?’

  Jude’s brow furrowed instantly as he slid the box into the back of the van. ‘Yeah, I am. Long story, but I don’t want to see it sold. It’s such a great place, full of possibility.’ He stopped suddenly as if a thought had occurred to him. ‘How are you fixed to come and see it now – just you and me?’

  He smiled at me in the darkness and a cool breeze fluttered over my bare skin still hot from an evening of hostessing. The sky was clear, a pale moon sat regally amongst the stars, in the distance I could hear the gentle roar of the waves and the air was fragrant with wild garlic, bluebells and the ever-present aroma of the sea. A walk on the beach with Jude would be lovely.

  ‘Why not?’ I felt my insides ping. ‘Come back in while I fetch a jacket.’

  Theo was in the hallway waiting for us.

  ‘Nina,’ he said abruptly, ‘I need to talk to you about something as soon as the ladies have gone.’

  ‘But I was about to go out with Jude.’

  ‘It can’t really keep,’ he added. ‘It’s about Kate.’

  ‘Sure,’ I said, swallowing my disappointment. ‘I’ll be right there.’

  ‘No worries. We’ll do it another time,’ Jude murmured. He picked up his dinner jacket from the chair in the hall and shrugged his arms into it. ‘I’ll be off.’

  The girls appeared en masse from the kitchen ready to go back to the cottages.

  ‘Do you have to go?’ Ruby sidled up to him and stroked his arm. ‘Catherine wants us to play boring games. We need a man to liven things up.’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Jude laughed shyly.

  I stifled a smile. For some reason I didn’t like to dwell on, I didn’t want him to join them.

  ‘Oh, I insist!’ Sapphire called from the doorway, beaming. ‘It’s been such a fun evening.’

  ‘And the fun is only just beginning,’ said Catherine mischievously.

  ‘Kidnap him!’ yelled Belinda, one of the Maidens of Mayfair cast. And then a gang of women descended on him and Jude, with a silly grin on his face, disappeared into a sea of blonde hair, false eyelashes and rather a lot of bosom.

  ‘This is refreshing,’ I said, pulling the collar up on my jacket; the breeze down on the beach was much sharper than at Driftwood Lodge. ‘After the heat of that kitchen.’

  Theo and I were padding across the soft sand. It was after eleven o’clock and unsurprisingly it was deserted. The cove was in darkness, just the reflection of the moon on the water and the occasional flash of light from ships far away on the horizon. I was intrigued to find out what Theo wanted to tell me. It must be serious; he’d been very adamant about talking to me immediately. I was a willing listener, but a part of me couldn’t help wondering what might have happened if it had been Jude on the beach with me instead.

  Theo shook out a rug he’d brought in a rucksack and set it down on a dry part of the beach in the shelter of the rocks. I sat down obediently and pulled my knees up to my chest.

  He drew a bottle of wine and two plastic cups from his rucksack and poured us both a drink. I wished he’d brought a flask of tea instead. Or some strong caffeine to keep me awake.

  ‘So what did you want to talk about?’ I said with a yawn.

  He sipped his wine and looked out to sea.

  ‘Since the call came from London about this hen weekend we’ve hardly had a chance to think. I thought it would be nice to share a moment.’

  ‘It is,’ I agreed. Although right now I was thinking
about what Jude was getting up to with eleven women and Catherine’s games.

  ‘I think they’ve enjoyed it,’ he said, settling back against the rock. ‘You were wrong, you see, about your London friends wanting posh restaurants and shops. That quiet one, Virginia, said she’d never been anywhere so quaint.’

  ‘Theo,’ I said softly, ‘I thought you wanted to talk about Kate?’

  He knocked his wine back and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘I do. I think she’s trying to tell me something.’

  I sat forward, all ears. ‘Has she been in touch?’

  He shook his head and cast his eyes down. ‘Not at all. Which is my point. The last email I had from her was that one about Bruce Nutley’s booking. At the time she said some nice things. That she was pleased I was making a go of the business and finally thinking about the future. But I’ve emailed her several times since, keeping her updated, asking her opinion, and she’s ignored them all. Reading between the lines, I think what she meant before was that she was glad I was managing without her because perhaps she has no intention of coming back.’

  ‘That’s quite a leap.’ I blinked at him. ‘She’s miles away, Theo. Give her a chance.’

  ‘I’ve given her several chances. I even sent her a message this afternoon letting her know that Brightside Holidays has gone live on the Coastal Cottages website. Still nothing. I mean, that was her ultimate dream. And I’ve done it. We’ve done it. You and me.’

  ‘But the time difference, access to the internet … there could be a perfectly reasonable explanation for her silence. Perhaps she’s ill?’

  He looked up at me, almost hopeful for a second, and then shrugged.

  ‘Time to face facts, Nina. She obviously no longer cares about me or our marriage. Which made me think: perhaps she was right to leave me, perhaps without Ivy, our family can never be fixed.’

  I could see how much it hurt him to utter these words. Maybe this was a self-preservation thing; preparing himself for the worst. Just in case. But I didn’t think the worst would happen, he was simply over-reacting.

  I covered his hand with mine. ‘Don’t say that. Look how far you’ve come in these last few weeks. You’ve been on fire since the hen party arrived. And when Kate comes back you’ll be able to pour that same energy into your marriage.’

  Theo’s curls riffled in the wind and he laughed softly to himself.

  ‘At first all this hard work was to impress Kate, to win her back. I took on board her ultimatum and together you and I have smashed it. But I realized today that I’m not doing it for her any more. I’m doing it because I want it. I want a life here.’

  ‘That’s good!’ I clonked my plastic cup against his. ‘That’s really good news.’

  ‘I think so.’ Theo smiled shyly. ‘And if Kate doesn’t want me, then there are plenty more fish in the sea.’

  That was an unexpected plot twist. I’d given up my time – willingly, admittedly – to rise to the challenge of Kate’s ultimatum. With the sole purpose of reuniting two people who loved each other. Not to groom Theo ready for the dating scene. I wasn’t sure quite what to say.

  He topped up both of our wines, although mine was barely touched. ‘You love it down here too, don’t you?’

  Behind him, the lights from the village twinkled on the clifftops; above us, the moon reigned over a velvet sky sparkling with stars and at our feet gentle waves lapped at the shore. No TV location manager could have done a better job of creating a romantic scene.

  He reached towards me and brushed a stray hair from my cheek and my heart thumped.

  ‘I love it.’ My voice came out as a squeak.

  ‘Perhaps you could stay?’ he murmured. ‘For ever.’

  A seagull squealed from the rocks behind us and the harsh noise startled us both. I leapt to my feet. ‘We ought to be getting back.’

  He jumped to his feet. ‘You’re right. Of course, let’s go.’

  ‘Please don’t give up on your marriage,’ I said, as we repacked his rucksack. ‘I came here to help you win Kate back. That’s still our goal, isn’t it?’

  He nodded but didn’t meet my eye. ‘But what happens if she’s removed the goalposts altogether?’

  ‘Then you build your own,’ I said softly. ‘For you.’

  My heart squeezed for him as we trudged back to Driftwood Lodge and I sent up a silent message to the heavens hoping that Kate would get in touch with him soon.

  That night, sleep didn’t come easily. My head was full of Sapphire and Ruby’s differing quests for fame, mistaking Jude for the stripper and then Theo and his revelations on the beach. My body, on the other hand, was so exhausted that I could barely be bothered to get undressed and when I did I couldn’t find my nightshirt and ended up crawling under the covers naked.

  The hen party across the courtyard had turned rowdy and I put my earphones in and listened to some music and must have fallen asleep. At three, I was woken up by a screech of laughter from the cottages and when I looked out lights shone through the downstairs window of Penguin’s Pad and the party was still in full swing. Jude’s van was still there too. There was something about Jude that intrigued me; he was attractive, of course, with an infectious laugh that made me laugh too. But it was more than that, and the thought that I’d like to get to know him better sent me to sleep with a smile on my face. And a lovely dream it was too.

  An annoying choking, ratchety noise woke me up. It sounded like a poorly engine. I lay there for a few seconds willing it to stop, and despite keeping my eyes shut tight I could feel the sunlight streaming through the gap in the curtains.

  The engine noise stopped and there was a loud metallic slamming sound.

  ‘You have got to be joking!’ yelled a voice.

  I got up, wrapping the duvet around me, and stood looking out of the window. Across the courtyard, at the upstairs window of Kittiwake’s Cabin I caught a quick flash of pink skin and blonde hair before the curtain was quickly drawn. And immediately below my window was Jude.

  What was he doing here so early?

  My breath caught in my throat as the penny dropped: he hadn’t been home. He was still in last night’s clothes, his white shirt streaked with oil, and was trying to open the bonnet of his van. He fiddled with the catch for a moment and flung it up and then he dived under it out of view.

  Who had I just seen at the window across the courtyard? Had he spent the night with one of our guests? I racked my brains trying to remember who was staying where. Not Sapphire, thank goodness, she was in Penguin’s Pad. Not Virginia, she had brown hair? Catherine or Ruby? I shuddered. How could he? I mean, he was a free man and all that, but surely there was some sort of caterer’s code: thou shall not sleep with the one you feed or something.

  I gripped the duvet tightly under my armpits before opening the window, making sure it was covering my assets; he’d seen them once already and didn’t need a second viewing.

  ‘Quite the party animal, aren’t you?’ I called. Did that sound casually amused, or a bit waspish? Possibly the latter. ‘I didn’t expect our caterer to still be here for breakfast.’

  He reappeared from underneath the bonnet and frowned. ‘Yep. Van won’t start. Thank goodness football practice is cancelled this morning, or I’d be in even worse trouble.’

  A football player; that explained the trim physique and the lovely toned bum … I gave myself a shake and leaned my elbows on the window sill.

  ‘Who will you be in trouble with?’ I said, arching an eyebrow. ‘Angie?’

  ‘Far worse than that.’ He wiped his hands on his trousers. ‘I need to get back for Mabel, a neighbour let her out last night and first thing this morning, but she’ll be bouncing off the walls ready for a walk.’

  ‘Oh, poor Mabel.’ My concern for his lovely dog instantly took priority over my interest in his nocturnal activities. ‘What do you need, petrol, or oil or something?’

  Jude’s lips twitched. ‘Something. Flat battery.’

  ‘Mu
st have been all that partying,’ I said, unable to resist it.

  My bedroom door creaked open to the side of me and before I had a chance to flip the duvet round my naked bottom, Theo entered carrying a tray.

  ‘I’ve brought you some cheeks … tea. I mean tea.’ He froze, staring at my exposed posterior.

  ‘Theo!’ I yelped. ‘You should have knocked.’

  In my panic to cover my bum, the duvet slipped to the floor. I scrabbled to pick it up, conscious that due to the low windows I’d just given Jude a 360-degree view of myself, but in my haste, I trod on the end of the duvet and stumbled forward crashing straight into Theo and his tray. The mug of tea went everywhere, including a few splashes on my bare skin and a slice of toast dropped to the floor.

  I squealed at the heat from the hot liquid.

  ‘I’ve burned you, I’m so sorry.’ Theo flung the tray on my bed, grabbed hold of a paper napkin and started dabbing me.

  I pushed him away. ‘Please, get off me!’

  ‘Nina!’ a familiar female voice gasped from below the window. ‘And Theo!’

  I grabbed the duvet from the floor and spun round to see who it was. Outside, still astride her bicycle, was Molly, here earlier than arranged, to collect the laundry. She was staring up at me, her brown eyes wide with shock. Jude, on the other hand, was leaning against his van helpless with laughter.

  ‘If you were a gentleman, you’d look away!’ I fumed at Jude who covered his mouth with his hand and tried to look serious.

  ‘Nothing I haven’t seen before,’ he said with a twinkle in his eye.

  Molly looked from me to Jude and back again with a gasp.

  ‘What’s going on?’ she asked, looking bewildered. ‘Why are you entertaining someone else’s husband in your bedroom? Naked?’

  ‘I’m asking myself the same question,’ I said with a nervous laugh. ‘But it’s not how it looks.’

  ‘Although it does look ravishing,’ said Theo under his breath. He joined me at the window and I leapt away from him. ‘Morning, Molly. All just a misunderstanding. I was hoping to surprise her in bed.’

  I glared at him.

  ‘Sorry. With breakfast in bed,’ he stammered.