My face is completely flushed at this sudden turn. “I’m not—Nobody’s having – What is wrong with you two?!”
My aunts each lift brows at me in creepy synchronization.
Well, I refuse to be intimidated by this. “That whole thing is a myth anyway.” I glance towards the dark hallway where miniature portraits of all the Winter women hang. Rubbing the birthmark on my wrist, distractedly, I grumble, “Don’t tell me you believe that nonsense.”
A slap on the back of my head makes me cry out in indignation as Aunt Vee scolds me, “Don’t disrespect your ancestors!”
I make a face but on seeing the thunderous look on her face, I relent, “Fine, I’m sorry.”
Aunt Helen then takes my hand. “Do you think this Elaine will try to harm your diner?”
I feel hesitant to even talk about this actually. “She’s from England. She shouldn’t have any influence here. But seeing that she’s also a businesswoman with businesses set up here, I can’t say for sure.” A determination settles inside me and I my press my lips together into a thin line. “I’d like to see her try and stir up trouble for me.”
* * *
Half the day goes by with little trouble and to my surprise, I don’t see Finn come in, although he usually does. The morning rush comes and goes and I wonder where Finn is. There are a handful of people in the diner, along with Sharon and Ben. Sharon is helping him do his math homework and I chat with them, idly. I even talk with the friendly woman about how she is progressing with Danny.
Ben has become much friendlier with Sharon in these two months and it pleases me to see it. Sharon and I went to school together but she went to another University than me so we didn’t get to know each other that much. But she seems to be a good fit for Danny and I can see how much she loves him.
I walk to the kitchen to check on the afternoon lunch prep and when I come out, I see two older women enter the diner. I don’t recognize them so I assume they’re from the West part of town. We don’t get a lot of people from there since that’s more of richer neighborhood with fancy restaurants and cafes. From the way the women are dressed, I can see that they’re quite well off.
They look around the diner with haughty faces, their expressions revealing disdain and I arch a brow.
If they’re not happy here, they can damn well go elsewhere.
But customer service is important, so I put on a brilliant smile, and welcome them, “Hi! What can I get ya?”
They stare at me before one of them whispers loudly, “Is that her?”
My eye twitches as I try to maintain my smile. “Would you like to see the menu or would you like to try the special of the day?”
The taller of the two women straightens up and looks down her nose at me. “I’ll have some coffee.”
The other one runs her eyes over me and smirks. “I’ll have the same.”
I try not to sound impatient as I reply, “All right. Which kind?”
They stare at me.
I gesture to the large beverage board hanging behind me. “There are a lot of different types.”
“Can’t you just get us some coffee?” the shorter woman says, loudly. “Honestly, the service here is terrible. I just want some coffee!”
I grind my teeth, the smile growing painful on my face. “Yes, but what kind? Do you want black or with milk or a Latte?”
The taller woman gives me an angry look. “Look here. Don’t waste our time. Just get us something with low fat and low carbs.”
I blink at them. Are they deliberately trying to be difficult? I nod, stiffly, and prepare two lattes with almond milk and sugar free syrup.
I put them on the counter and wait for them to pay for them and take the drinks away, but they just make themselves comfortable in one of the booths. The women aren’t old. they’re more like middle aged. And between meals, the diner has a self-serving policy which is clearly stated on the board behind me in large block letters.
The shorter woman snaps her finger at me, “Bring the drinks here.”
I lift my brows and I can see some customers looking up in horror at the way the woman is behaving.
Even Jerry abandons his crossword to look over, a heavy frown on his face.
However, it’s Ben who speaks up, “Sharon, why is that woman snapping her fingers at Clara?”
Sharon glances up and there’s a dark expression on her face before she says, not bothering to keep her voice down, “Sometimes people have been raised with no manners. Make sure you never learn from them. They’re no better than uneducated apes.”
People’s lips twitch upon hearing her.
The faces off the two women grow bright red and the shorter woman jumps to her feet, screeching, “What did you just say, you little harlot? Do you know who I am?!”
“An uneducated ape?” Ben offers, innocently.
The woman’s eyes narrow with rage, and spittle flies out of her mouth as she screams, “You little bastard!”
People are on their feet at her words.
My body goes rigid with fury. “I think it’s time you leave.”
Sharon is also on her feet and she looks pissed off. “If you don’t know how to behave in public then maybe you shouldn’t be here!” She’s folding up her sleeves like she’s about to throw down.
I suddenly have a bad feeling that she’s about to jump the woman and not knowing whether to laugh or cry at the display of temper, I end up having to step in front of her, looking down at the two women, repeating, “I think it’s time you leave. You’re disrupting the environment and you insulted a child. We don’t tolerate this sort of behavior.”
The shorter woman gives me a furious look though her eyes hold a sly gleam as she glances at her companion and then she says in a loud obnoxious tone, “We don’t want to be served by a gold digging slut either. We know all about how you dug your claws into that rich man who came to town, knowing that he was engaged, Clara Winter!”
I stare at them, my blood running cold. “Excuse me?”
The older woman sniffs in derision. “Miss Merington even came to you in tears, begging you to give back her fiancé and you spat in her face and threw her out.”
Now, I’m starting to get a glimpse of the picture and as the women stare at me, their faces twisted in nasty triumph. I smile. “I don’t even know who Miss Merington is. And I don’t have time to be running around with men who are already taken. And I’m not going to take the word of somebody who calls a little child a bastard, and someone they don’t know, a harlot. If you’re just here to stir up trouble, then get out of my diner.”
The women are facing me and I see the unease enter their faces when a few more chairs behind me scrape against the floor as more people get up.
Finn was right. I have built this diner on the foundation of cultivating relationships with all my customers. And none of them are going to tolerate seeing me bullied.
The two women lift up their chins and the shorter one spits out, “Everyone will soon know what you are, Clara Winter. Then I’d like to see who stands up for you. We don’t want people like you in our town!”
They walk out.
I stare after them, my shoulders shaking with laughter.
A normal person would be upset but I just find the whole thing very funny. So, Elaine hasn’t wasted any time in stirring up trouble for me, huh? I’m impressed at how quick she is but I do have to wonder how she got these two I women to come in here.
“Clara, are you…” Sharon sounds hesitant.
I shake my head, suppressing my smile and turning to face her. “I’m fine.”
“How dare they come in here and say such crap about you?” one of the female customers hisses angrily.
I glance with interest at her. “Do you know who they were?”
Suzy Jameson sneers as she says, “Their husbands own some big businesses in the other part of town and both of them are on the town council. Regina and Denise. Denise was the one who was mouthing off mostly. They like to rub
shoulders with the wealthy and since that part of town is more catered towards their tastes, they tend to stay there.”
I smile wickedly at this. “Is that so?”
Jerry studies me. “Were they talking about Finn?” He has a concerned look in his eye.
I sigh. “He’s not engaged to that woman. I checked. He’s engaged to me.”
“You said yes?” someone asks, excitedly, remembering the incident from last night.
I pause as I realize that this will spread like wildfire. “No. I mean, yes. But please don’t—”
From the looks on the faces there, my words have zero impact, and the diner is filled with congratulations.
I feel flustered by so much attention. Sharon is smiling broadly and I give her a helpless look as she laughs and finally gets everyone to back off.
“So, I take it this is not going to be an isolated incident?” she asks when she finally rescues me.
I shake my head. “I did meet Elaine Merington last night, but she just called me a whore and threatened me.” My smile turns evil. “So I went home and had sex with Finn. Of course that was after clearing up the whole situation with him.”
Sharon’s lips twitch. “So why is she…?”
I skim over the details, avoiding anything that is personal to Finn, basically just giving the woman the gist of the story.
Sharon looks annoyed. “But Finn doesn’t love her.”
“She’s going to try and spread rumors if today was any indication,” I say, lightly.
Sharon’s lips tighten. “Don’t worry. If I hear anything, I’ll set them straight.”
I smile at her. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”
The noise dies down after that but I’m on my guard.
Danny and Nick drop by, and judging from their faces, Sharon has already told them.
When Lucia finds out, she’s livid. “I can’t believe she has the gall to threaten you!” However, she looks uneasy. “I did overhear two patients discussing something like this today. I heard the name Elaine but not your name. If I had known, I would have put them in their place!”
The corner of my lips curl up. “Don’t worry about spreading it around. I just wanted those who were close to me to know that Finn isn’t cheating on anyone.” A sneer forms on my face. “And I’d like to see what little Miss Elaine can do to me aside from attempting to smear my reputation.”
Nick lets out a chuckle. “Well, you are kind of feared. Nobody who knows you would come and say anything to your face. You’ll flay their skin off with your words alone.”
Danny suddenly looks excited and he nudges me. “Hey, text me when something is about to go down. I don’t want to miss this show.”
“Me too!” Nick grins.
I give them an exasperated look. “Don’t you two have better things to do with your time?”
Lucia gives them a withering glance. “That’s true. Shame on you.” Then she turns to me, anxiously. “But you’ll text me right?”
An argument breaks out between the three of them.
Used to this behavior, I ignore them moving on to work the lunch crowd. Not seeing Finn makes me a little despondent and I wonder if this is one of his ways to get me to seek him out. I smirk and taking out my phone, shoot him a picture of a breaking heart.
Twenty minutes later, my lover strolls into the diner, casually, his laptop stuck under his arm, pretending to look surprised to see me. “Darlin’, I wasn’t expecting to see you here!”
I give him a dry look. “I work here. Where else would I be?”
He seats himself at the counter, ignoring the curious gazes of the people whose ears the rumors have reached, and he leans forward to play with my braid, saying idly, “I heard you had some visitors this morning.”
I shrug, indifferently. “We call them customers here.”
He shoots me a narrow eyed look.
I smile pleasantly.
“Darlin’,” he begins in that rakish tone of his after a few minutes. “If someone were to bully you, you’d tell me right? I can’t have someone coming around and upsetting my girl.”
“Sure, I would,” I reply. “But then someone would have to try and bully me first, wouldn’t they?”
He studies me, a strange emotion in his eyes.
I heat up a sandwich for him. “What have you been up to all day?”
He shrugs, tearing off a corner of the sandwich I set in front of him. “Got a call from my grandmother who ordered me to escort Elaine to the ball.”
I blink at him. “And you’re so obedient as to do that?”
He grins. “I told her I’d think about it. But I’ll be meeting Elaine here to talk about opening a branch across the road. She’s suddenly very adamant it be opened now. I, however, have other plans.”
“You’re meeting her here?” I ask, surprised.
Finn toys with my left hand and tugs on my ring finger, “What would you say is your ring size?”
I snatch my hand back. “Finn, be serious. Why’d you invite her here?”
“To settle things once and for all.”
I stare at him, not sure what is cooking in that head of his.
He leans forward and gives me a concerned look. “But more importantly, Darlin’, what broke your heart? Come, let me kiss it better.”
I see the devious look in his eyes and dance out of his reach, warning him, “Do I need to hose you down?”
He smirks. “You can try.”
Some people around us laugh, accustomed to the sight of Finn flirting so outrageously while I snipe back, trying not to give in and yet falling nonetheless.
He eats his sandwich, offering me bites every now and then, and talks to me casually about a movie he’s been wanting to see.
“We can stay in and watch it on the big screen TV in the sunroom upstairs,” I tell him. “It’ll be a little cold but we can take a blanket and order pizza.” When Finn’s eyes glint, I have to laugh, “It’s an open room, so don’t even think about trying anything.”
Just as he’s in the midst of teasing me, the sound of the door opening has me looking over and even as my face doesn’t betray anything, I feel a surge of possessiveness and a desire to hide Finn behind me.
“Finn!” a gentle voice calls from behind him.
Finn, who’s tugging my braid, glances over with a casual expression. “Elaine.” He doesn’t say anything else.
The beautiful woman looks a little awkward before she begins, ignoring me completely, “Why did you call me here? We could have met at the hotel I’m staying at or a nice restaurant.” She doesn’t hide her disgust for this place. “Anything would have been better than this dump.”
Finn looks completely relaxed except for the look in his eyes which is frosty and doesn’t meet his smile. “I like this place. In fact, I have quite a lot of hopes for it.”
His words are strange even to my ears and I wave them off, giving a chilly smile to the new entrant. “What would you like to drink?”
Elaine gives me a cold look and ignores me. “Finn, darling, let’s find a more private booth.”
I wonder where she gets such confidence to blow me off when she knows Finn and I are together. Has she tried this before in front of other women, Finn has been dating and it worked?
Time to see if I actually wield any power over my man.
“Finn,” I say, sweetly.
He raises his eyes to meet mine, obviously startled, and looks relieved to see the venom dripping from my eyes.
“Stay,” I state in a soft tone. It’s childish but what do I care?
The delight in his eyes at my sharp order spoken so lovingly makes me wonder if I’ve broken Finn. The alarm I feel is tinged in amusement to see him behaving so subservient.
He doesn’t move from his seat.
Elaine is beginning to look more and more uncomfortable and she shoots me a venomous look.
I just smirk.
“Finn,” she says, softly, elegance in her entire posture. “Why are you
being like this?”
People around us are looking over and most of them who have been privy to the rumors flying around, have stopped their conversations, and are now watching the show.
Some of them have pitying expressions on their faces.
I can’t believe they are buying into the act of a heartbroken lover. I send them a hard look and they immediately avert their gazes. Nobody wants to be at the end of my spiked tongue. Satisfied, I turn my attention my back to my lover.
Finn still’s playing with my braid and I don’t jerk it back from him as I repeat, meeting Elaine’s gaze, steadily, “Would you like to have something to drink?”
It may seem like I’m being cruel but I have met many women like Elaine in my life and I’m not interested in playing her games. The look in her eyes when she looks at Finn is not love but cold calculation. I can bet my diner that she doesn’t even love him but wants something else from him.
The google search on Elaine’s family shows them to be a wealthy family but without any title. Her family has several highly valued investment portfolios that are worth billions. Finn’s family, while it has the Dukedom and lands that go with it, doesn’t compare to the Merington’s vast wealth. Hence, the only two reasons that Elaine wants to invest in Finn’s business could either be that she wanted him to fall in love with her, so she could be a Duchess an attain a royal title. Or that spending time together she could make sure he doesn’t succeed in reviving the family fortune.
I have a strong feeling that it may be number two… she wants her hands on the title
Finn isn’t stupid. The way his mind works, he has to have figured it out. But he hasn’t said anything so I let him hold on to his secrets. But I’ll be damned if I’ll let someone take advantage of my man!
Red is starting to creep into Elaine’s face and she says, her voice tinged with frustration, “Finn, let’s just go somewhere else.”
Finn then releases my braid and there is a look in his eyes that I remember from last night and it stills chills my blood. He turns around on the stool and says, “Clara asked you something. I believe it’s simple manners to respond.”
Wintertime Love: A Christmas Billionaire Small Town Romance Page 17