Summer Loving

by Spicer, Rivka

  Irritated now, Elise levelled him a steady gaze. “I wasn’t aware it was in my contract to nursemaid your son when it comes to explaining the obvious.”

  For the first time he cracked a smile. “Touché Miss Waterford. Nice to see you have some fire in you. No doubt you are aware by now that this has the potential to become a media storm?”

  She shrugged helplessly. “This is all new to me. I can’t understand why anyone would be interested in me.”

  “It’s a fairytale of the finest order.” He leaned back in his chair. “You, the penniless girl from nowhere, and my son...the obscenely wealthy Prince Charming. It’s a Cinderella Story. Of course the public is fascinated by it. Thousands of girls cry themselves to sleep every night wishing they were you.”

  There was nothing she could say to that. She couldn’t even argue his point despite her irritation at being described as a penniless nobody. “So what are your intentions?” She asked eventually and he steepled his fingers, resting his chin on them.

  “If I ordered you to stop seeing my son, would you?”

  “No.” She stared him down defiantly. “Who my friends are is not your decision to make. And if you had any respect for your son you’d realise that it’s not your business who his friends are. He’s old enough and ugly enough to make his own decisions.”

  “Ordinarily yes, but love makes fools of us all Miss Waterford. I only want to protect my son and from what Anton tells me, Taylor is clearly in love with you.”

  “Then shouldn’t you be speaking to Taylor about that?” She suggested drily. “He knows I’m with someone else. I can’t tell him how to feel. Besides, isn’t this all great publicity for the magazine? Two or three months down the line everyone will have forgotten about this but you’ll have made millions.”

  “How very mercenary of you.” Amusement was evident in his tone. “I have to say, I admire your balls. It’s unfortunate that Taylor wants you. You’d be an interesting asset to the company.”

  “I am an interesting asset to the company.” She pointed out. “Since I started blogging, traffic to the site has increased by more than tenfold.” She left unsaid that getting rid of her would damage the magazine’s ratings but he understood. She could almost see the cogs turning behind his shrewd eyes.

  “You will come to dinner with us this Sunday.” He announced abruptly and she stared at him, trying to figure out where he was going with this.

  “I have plans.” She told him shortly. “My boyfriend’s family invited me for Sunday lunch.” It had been more of an open invitation than a specific one but this week they’d just have to go.

  “Then Saturday should be fine.”

  “I have a class I can’t miss on Saturday evening.” She shot right back and there was a brief flicker of amusement in his eyes.

  “When can you come for dinner Miss Waterford?”

  “When I am invited without an ulterior motive. I will not be used as a pawn in your publicity game Mr Stone.”

  He sighed. “I can see why my son likes you.” He gave a twisted grin. “It’s rather refreshing to be put in my place. Very well. I will leave you alone. Just do not harm my son.”

  “I won’t.” She got to her feet and walked to the door but before she got there she paused and turned back to him. “Tell him my resignation will be on his desk on Monday morning.” Without giving him a chance to respond she slipped out of the door and walked unsteadily towards the lifts. She didn’t know if she’d just made a massive mistake but this wasn’t her life. She didn’t want to be involved in power games between London’s financial players. She felt a sudden yearning to be home in her own bed in Scotland and it ached so fiercely it was like the oxygen had been sucked out of her lungs.

  She was barely out of the building when her mobile began ringing. Checking the display she saw it was Taylor and sent the call to voicemail and set the phone to silent. She didn’t need to speak to him right now, she was so torn between anger and sadness. He could wait for another day, preferably when she was packed and on a flight back to Scotland.

  When she got back to the apartment Nathan was waiting in the hall. She hadn’t given him a key so he was sat against the door with a bag of shopping that looked like the makings of dinner.

  “Sorry.” She helped him up. “I had a meeting at the office.” She took a deep breath. “I resigned.”

  “You what?” Realising she was upset he dropped the bag of shopping and gathered her in a hug. “Oh honey, I’m sorry. I know you were enjoying the job.”

  “It wasn’t worth it.” Before she realised it, her face was wet and her shoulders were shaking.

  “Come on.” He said gently, steering her towards the door. “Let’s get the kettle on and you can tell me all about it.”

  As he made dinner she relayed the conversation with George Stone and he frowned. “What an ass. You’re right...resigning was the right thing to do. They need you more than you need them so maybe they’ll learn a lesson. Who knows?”

  “But I don’t know what to do now Nathan.” She’d stopped crying but she was still miserable. “You still haven’t explained all that stuff on the news this morning. I don’t know if I should stay here or just get the first flight back to Scotland. I’m so angry with you. I feel like I’ve been lied to non-stop and I’m so homesick for my cottage.”

  He looked stricken. “Please stay!” He ran his hands through his hair. “Look, my grandfather is a very wealthy man. It’s true. It’s also true that I’m his favourite and that Harry and I both have trust funds but there were conditions attached to those trust funds. He wanted us to understand the value of money. Like my father before us he insisted that we live the first 30 years of our lives as normal people in normal size houses with normal jobs and normal financial worries. There were no bail-outs, no loans...nothing. I’ve spent my fair share of nights lying awake worrying about how I’m going to pay bills. It’s a good lesson to learn. You’ve been to my mum and dad’s house. Did you think they were rich when you met them?”

  She shook her head. “No, they just seemed like regular people.”

  “My dad has more money than Harry and I combined will.” He explained. “But he knows what it means. He invests it, he gives a lot to charity and they live a comfortable life but he spent 3 decades learning the lesson that it shouldn’t be frittered away on pointless things. If you become too spoilt to deal with it responsibly then you’re wasting the decent things you could do with it. You see all these spoilt little rich kids crashing and burning on drugs and alcohol and for what? What have they achieved with their lives? The money isn’t going to change me. I’ll be the same guy, probably in the same house and maybe even with the same job...I’ll just never have to lie awake at night worrying anymore.”

  “I get that. I really do.” Elise nodded. “What I don’t understand is why you thought Taylor has more? I mean...the minute you start getting into six figures it doesn’t really matter what the number starts with.”

  “It’s not about the money. It’s about the lifestyle.” He frowned as he tried to think how to explain it. “Taylor grew up in different circles to me. He knows people. He moves among the rich and famous. There is nothing that man couldn’t give you with a few words in the right ears and that’s not something I can do for you. I can’t give you all your dreams on a platter in the way that he could.”

  “And is that still what you think?”

  “No.” He came around the worktop and gathered her in his arms. “I think that if you have the kind of dreams that are all about money and connections then I haven’t learned the lesson my grandpa is trying to teach me.”

  “I can’t believe you ever thought me shallow enough to be concerned by it.” She didn’t hug him back, shaking her head. “I’m so confused Nathan. Do you mind if I stay on my own tonight?”

  “No it’s okay. I understand.” Slightly subdued he let her go and they ate their dinner in near silence.

  This will be my final blog for this magazine. Sim
on has his profile and he’s ready to start dating. I think he learned some important lessons about love...that sometimes you have to look for the best in people and remember them that way. It’s like when someone you love dies. You see them in the hospital and for the longest time that’s how you remember them – pale, frail and wasted. But over time you remember other things...the memories you shared, all the love and the laughter. After a while those memories don’t even hurt anymore and you start to feel a little joy in them. When that’s happened it’s time to let go and move on and soon you’ll wake up one day and realise that you haven’t thought about them for a while. For a couple of hours you’ll be scared and shaken and then, slowly, you’ll accept it and life will move you on once again. Sure, you’ll cry every now and then when their favourite song comes on the radio or on a particularly poignant anniversary, but that sorrow will be tempered with joy and if you’re really lucky you’ll spend some time realising how knowing them made you a better and stronger person. That was the lesson Simon needed to learn and I think he’s on the first few steps there.

  I too have learned a lot about love on this journey. I came into this project with this naive idea that internet dating was all about a formula, that finding love was almost like following a recipe, but it’s not. Looking for love is a profound and life-changing experience in which being honest is the bottom line. You have to be honest with yourself, honest with the people around you. And being honest with yourself is a brutal process. Sometimes being realistic about yourself is a question of raising your self-esteem, not lowering it. You have to believe that you are worthy of love and when you’ve spent years believing yourself worthless, with society reinforcing that, it’s almost impossible to achieve. You have to be honest about your hopes and dreams, the things that mean the most to you.

  Loving is about honesty and being brave enough to accept the truth. Love is about having fears and sharing and facing them together. Love is about learning who we are, where we came from and how we came to be the people we are today. Love is amazing and complex and anyone who has found it is both honoured and blessed. I’d like to say this journey helped me to get there, to find love, but it’s a lesson I think I’ll be learning for the rest of my life.

  Mr X, I don’t know who you are but I ask you to be honest with yourself. There is a reason you will not reveal yourself to me and perhaps that reason is one you need to look at the roots of. I wish you well and when you are ready to move on I hope you will allow me to help you on your own journey to love. One day you’ll have a dream for your future that will not be based on someone else...it will be all about you.

  Thank you for reading, all of you. It has been an honour.

  Elise pressed send and closed her email account straight away. She couldn’t bear to look at her emails. She didn’t know if Taylor would be angry with her or angry at his father for forcing the issue. She was still angry with Nathan and she was angry at Mr X for making her question everything.

  Chapter 12

  On Friday she slept in until almost midday and awoke to the front doorbell ringing persistently. Eventually she got up to answer it and Nathan was out there. “Why aren’t you at work?” She mumbled sleepily, slouching through to the kitchen as he followed her into the house.

  “The library called.” He sounded unhappy. “There are reporters camped outside. They decided it was best if I didn’t go in today.”

  “Oh.” She slumped at the kitchen table and he poured her a coffee. “Are the phones all still unplugged?”

  “Yeah.” He grinned ruefully. “I didn’t plug them in when I left last night. I did keep one on my mobile that I thought would make you laugh.” He pulled out his phone and dialled his voicemail, putting it on speakerphone and setting it on the counter between them. There was an automatic voice recording of the time and then the phone crackled.

  “Nathan this is your Grandfather. I thought you’d like to know that George Stone has been on the phone asking me to lean on you in the hopes you’d influence that lovely young lady of yours to return to work. I told him he could take his ‘lean’ and park it between his rear end and something spiky. I assume that was the correct thing to do. Now, I don’t know what is going on with the situation but I am deeply upset that you haven’t brought her to meet me when your parents are so clearly taken with her. Your mother has agreed to move the family dinner to mine tomorrow. I’ll send a car. You did good son. I’m proud of you. She’s a corker. Looking forward to seeing you both tomorrow.”

  He hung up and Elise burst out laughing. “Did he really tell George Stone to sit on something spiky?” She giggled incredulously and Nathan laughed too.

  “Yes I think he did.”

  “Your granddad and I are going to get on brilliantly.” Still giggling she finished her coffee and went to get dressed while he made lunch. She hadn’t forgiven him, not by a long shot, but he was trying to make it right.

  They managed to slip in and out of dance class without being noticed and got back to the flat to find Harry and Amanda sat outside waiting for them.

  “We couldn’t get either of you on your phones.” Harry explained. “We figured you’d be home alone and maybe in need of moral support so we brought dinner and movies and prepaid mobile phones that nobody knows the numbers of.”

  “If I wasn’t so hung up on your brother I think I’d kiss you.” Elise joked to Harry as they all entered the flat. “I’ve been going crazy stuck inside.”

  “Anyone would.” He bumped her shoulder affectionately. “Never mind. Once Grandpa Redwood has met you he’ll probably want you to stay out at the mansion with him. Loads of space, top notch security. Much more freedom.”

  “I wouldn’t want to impose.” Elise sighed. “I keep thinking I should just go back to Scotland.” The other 3 exchanged troubled looks behind her back.

  “Don’t make any hasty decisions.” Nathan told her. “Let it settle for a couple of days. I bet we weren’t even on the news today.”

  Harry visibly winced and Elise stared at him. “What is it?” She demanded. “What was that face for?”

  “You haven’t seen the news today have you?” He asked miserably. “Haven’t you read your blog?”

  “No to both.” Elise was going pale again. “What’s happened?”

  “You should read it.” He urged.

  “I don’t want to.” Feeling tired and upset, Elise kicked her shoes off. “I’m going for a shower. I’m all sweaty.” Without a word she left the room, leaving the others to it. Nathan helped them empty the bags they’d brought and then went to the computer, switching it on while they crashed on the couches behind him.

  “This is really hard on her isn’t it?” Amanda asked quietly and Nathan nodded, turning to face her as the computer powered up.

  “She’s just a regular girl you know? She didn’t ask for any of this and it’s all just so...alien to her.” He ran his hands through his hair leaving it all spiked and messy. “It was just a job and now it’s a media circus. The sad thing is that she’s so bloody good at what she does. These last few weeks have been a rollercoaster for her but she’s genuinely turned these guys’ lives around. Her blog is so funny and cute...it’s like a little snapshot of her soul and I think people connect with that.”

  “You really love her don’t you?” Harry sounded awed and Nathan nodded, his face lighting up.

  “Yeah, I really do.” His quirky grin appeared and he spun idly in the chair. “She’s amazing. I thank my lucky stars every day that I had the guts to ask her out that day at the library.”

  “You think she’s the one?” Harry grinned. “As in The One with capitals?”

  “I know she’s The One, Harry.” He shrugged. “One day, hopefully in the not too distant future, she’ll be your sister in law. I just haven’t asked her yet. And I know you’re going to tell me it’s too soon, that it’s only been a few weeks, but sometimes you just know. I know and I don’t want to lose her.”

  “I wasn’t going to say any
thing of the sort.” Harry protested mildly. “I think she’s great and you know I’ll welcome her with open arms. I just want you to be happy and I think she makes you happy.”

  “She does.” Nathan turned back to the computer and opened up Elise’s blog. “The bastard!” He swore under his breath and Amanda got up and came over.

  “What’s wrong?” She asked and Nathan sighed.

  “Taylor. He edited Elise’s blog post. She put that it was going to be her last one and he’s removed all reference to it.”

  “Her last one?” She was surprised. “Elise quit?”

  “Yeah she quit.” He scrolled down through the comments looking for the one from Mr X that he knew would be there somewhere. “Taylor’s father hauled her into his office and when he realised she wasn’t going to back down he tried to make her play their media game. She wasn’t interested so she quit. Can you believe he called Grandpa and tried to get him to work on us?”

  “Really?” Even Harry was astonished at that. “How terribly boys club of him. I hope Papa Redwood told him where to stick it?”

  “Of course.” Nathan grinned but it soon wilted when he found the response from Mr X. He pointed at the screen. “I take it this is what the news is all about?” He asked and Harry and Amanda both nodded. “Damn it.” Nathan looked at his watch and then back at the screen. “Well, we’ll tell Elise when she gets out the shower. If she wants to watch it then we will. If not we’ll keep ignoring everyone until they get bored and speak to someone else.”

  When Elise emerged the three of them were sat on the sofa waiting for her looking serious. “You guys look like somebody died.” She moved past them into the kitchen and put the kettle on. “Does anyone else want a cuppa?”

  “Elise, can you come and sit in here for a minute.” Nathan appeared in the kitchen doorway. “We need to talk.”

  “Okay.” Curiously she followed him back to the living room and sat on the sofa opposite. “This feels kinda like an interview.” She joked to lighten the mood. “You, me, a table between us...”