Secrets and Tea at Rosie Lee's

by Jane Lacey-Crane

‘I love you, Abby,’ he muttered.

  ‘I know you do. I love you too. How long have I been here?’

  ‘A couple of days. You lost a lot of blood, but the bullet went straight through without hitting anything important. You were lucky.’

  ‘Yeah, funnily enough I’m not feeling that lucky.’

  ‘Well, this news ought to cheer you up, then.’ Matt walked over to the window and looked out. ‘We found the money.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘The missing million. We found it.’

  ‘Where?’

  Matt smiled. ‘Scotch Jimmy had it.’

  ‘And he let Egan threaten us for it? Why didn’t he say something?’

  ‘Because he didn’t know he had it.’

  I was confused. ‘How can you not know you have a million pounds? It’s not easy to hide.’

  ‘I know. Apparently, Dad came to him just before he turned himself in. He gave him some boxes of stuff to look after, told him it was old photos and papers. Told Jimmy to keep it safe for him. He said he’d be back for it one day.’

  ‘Jimmy never looked in the boxes? Wasn’t he ever curious?’

  ‘Probably, for a while. Until he had another drink at least. Jimmy was drunk a lot of the time.’ Matt chuckled. ‘Dad put the boxes in Jimmy’s lock-up but over the years they got buried under whatever job lot of crap he was trying to shift at the time.’

  ‘Bloody hell! There’s been a million pounds in cash, just sitting in a lock-up garage under boxes of cheap cigarettes and hooky designer jeans, for twenty years?’

  ‘Yep. Jimmy reckons all the recent drama sparked his memory. The question is – what do we do with it now?’

  For a few brief moments I conjured up some happy images of what life might look like if we had that kind of money; so many things I could do for Lucy, for Flo, for my new business. It would be life-changing for all of us.

  Penny for ʼem?’ asked Matt.

  I sighed. ‘Just imagining myself in my new apartment, complete with views of the River Thames and a twenty-four-hour concierge service.’

  ‘Nice. I was thinking more along the lines of a private jet and a chauffeur, but we can go with your idea.’ Matt smiled and we both burst out laughing.

  ‘Ow, stop it. Everything hurts,’ I said. ‘We can’t keep it, Matt. We have to hand it over to the police.’

  He nodded. ‘I know. Doesn’t hurt to dream though, does it? You never know, maybe the bank will give us a reward for returning it?’

  ‘Give a reward to the children of the man who robbed it off them in the first place? I can’t see it somehow, can you?’

  Matt chuckled. ‘Nah. Probably not.’

  I lay back on my pillows and looked around the room. ‘Am I allowed visitors? Where is everyone?’

  ‘We’ve all been taking it in turns to sit with you since you were only allowed one person in here at a time.’

  ‘All of you?’

  ‘Yeah. Me, Lucy, Liz and Flo, we’ve all been here.’

  My heart sank a little; I’d obviously been mistaken when I’d heard Jack’s voice before I blacked out.

  ‘And Jack,’ added my brother. He smirked. ‘You were disappointed when I didn’t say his name, weren’t you?’ He wiggled his eyebrows, mocking me.

  ‘No. Maybe. Oh, shut up.’

  ‘He’s been here the whole time, Abs. Ordering the nurses about, making sure you got the best treatment. He refused to leave.’

  ‘Where is he now?’

  ‘Went to get a coffee, I think.’

  ‘He doesn’t drink coffee, only tea.’ I smiled at the memory. ‘I want to see Lucy. Can you call her? In fact, call everyone. I want to see my family.’ Grateful tears were sliding down my face. Matt wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt and coughed.

  ‘All right. But first you need a doctor to check you over. Okay?’

  I nodded.

  *

  After I’d been poked and prodded by a team of doctors and nurses, I finally got my wish; I was surrounded by my family. Lucy, Liz and Flo took it in turns to hug me and to cry with me, but they were tears of joy and relief.

  ‘I can’t believe this is what happens when I leave you on your own,’ said Lucy. ‘I know I said you should get out and do things, but this is bloody ridiculous.’

  ‘I know. Sorry. But I’m fine, really.’ I wiped the tears away from her face and tried to reassure her. ‘Everything’s all right now. Egan’s gone, so no more excitement for me.’

  ‘Oh, darling, don’t say that,’ interrupted Liz. ‘We’ve got plenty of excitement to look forward to. We just need to keep you away from guns and spanners, that’s all.’ She gave me a wink and I laughed.

  ‘Ow! That hurts.’

  ‘Take it easy, love. You need to rest. Tell her, Matt.’ Flo busied herself adjusting my pillows and straightening my sheets. I placed my hand over hers and she looked at me with watery eyes.

  ‘I’m not going anywhere any time soon, Flo. All right?’ She nodded and pulled a hanky out of her sleeve to dab her eyes with.

  The room was full of people and flowers and balloons, but there was something missing. Still no sign of Jack. I didn’t want to care that he wasn’t here, but I did. I saw Matt glance at his watch. ‘Visiting time’s almost over. We should let Abby get some rest.’

  Flo looked surprised. ‘No, it ain’t, we’ve got ages.’

  Liz and Lucy gave each other frustrated glances and Matt shook his head.

  ‘No, Flo, we have to go now.’ He emphasised the ‘now’ in a way that made me suspicious and caused Flo to hastily tuck her hanky back up her sleeve and grab her handbag from the chair. ‘Yes… right… we should go. Take care, Abby, I’ll see you tomorrow. Ta ta.’

  Matt laughed as he came to kiss me goodbye. ‘See ya later, sis.’

  He walked to the door, holding it open for Liz and Flo, who both gave me a wave as they left.

  ‘What’s going on, Lucy?’

  She put on her jacket and came over to my bed. ‘You deserve only the best, Mum, and that’s what I think you’ve got in your future. If you let yourself have it, that is. You’ve just got to trust what you’re feeling and not be afraid.’ She leaned down and kissed me before walking to the door, pulling it open to let someone in – it was Jack. ‘You’ve got nothing to be afraid of, Mum, not anymore,’ she said, before closing the door and leaving us alone.

  Jack stood by the wall, looking down at the floor, and I knew that Lucy was right: there wasn’t anything to be afraid of.

  ‘Matt said you went for a cuppa,’ I said, sitting up. Jack looked up at me. ‘Where did you go for it? Ceylon?’

  The smile that lit up his face was dazzling. In an instant, he was beside me. He didn’t speak, just carefully took my hand in his and leaned his forehead against mine. I closed my eyes and relished the feeling of him, this amazing man. I felt his tears splashing onto my cheeks and when I looked up into his eyes, the pain that I saw took my breath away. I reached up and touched his cheek and he turned his face into my palm and kissed it.

  ‘I’m here, Jack, and I’m fine.’

  ‘I thought I’d lost you. When I heard that gun go off, Matt had you in his arms and you looked so pale, so lifeless. I…’ He shook his head, trying to get rid of the memory.

  ‘It was your voice I heard.’ I hadn’t dreamt it; he was there.

  ‘I came back. I had something to give you. I pulled up outside the café just as you followed Matt back inside. Then I heard the gun. Why did you do that? Why did you go back inside?’

  ‘Because he’s my brother. I wasn’t going to leave him.’

  ‘But you could have died. I could have lost you, forever.’ His beautiful face was etched with fear and pain. ‘You’re everything I want in this world, Abigail. I can’t lose you. I won’t.’

  ‘You still want me? Even though I currently resemble a circus freak?’

  ‘You’re mine, Abigail, and I am yours. No matter what. Everything that’s happened, everything that
may happen, it’s nothing compared to the way I feel about you. You are the love of my life.’

  ‘And you are mine. I love you, Jack. I’ve always loved you.’

  He took my face in his hands. ‘Damn, I wish I could kiss you right now.’

  ‘You can try.’

  He hesitated for a minute before leaning in and kissing me gently on the lips.

  ‘You can kiss me like that any time you want,’ I said.

  ‘You’re amazing, do you know that?’

  ‘I’m coming round to the idea.’ I smiled and he kissed me again. ‘What did you want to give me? You said you came back that night to give me something.’

  ‘I did. I still have it, if you want it. We can wait though, there’s no rush, if you’re not ready.’

  ‘I’m ready.’

  He reached inside his jacket pocket, pulling something out. My heart was pounding as he took my hand. He looked adorably nervous; taking a deep breath, he held out a small box.

  ‘I don’t ever want to be without you again. I want you in my life forever. You have my heart. Abigail, will you marry me?’ He opened the box and there, nestled in the folds of white silk, was the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen. My eyes filled with tears and I couldn’t speak, I just nodded. He took the ring out and slid it onto my finger. It was a perfect fit.

  ‘How did you know my ring size?’ I asked, holding up my hand and watching the ring sparkle in the light.

  ‘I know everything there is to know about you, Abigail. You are my world.’

  ‘And you are mine,’ I said. ‘I love you, Jack. Always.’

  Jack was my past, and for a long time that was where we’d been trapped, but not anymore. He wanted to be part of my life and I wanted to be a part of his. We were meant to be together. I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.

  Epilogue

  One Year Later

  ‘If you don’t get that tray of canapés out there now, you will find yourself on the sharp end of my very bad mood,’ yelled Liz.

  The object of her frustration, a young waiter clutching a tray of smoked salmon and cream cheese whirls, blurted out a garbled apology and then fled from the kitchen. I shook my head. ‘Your people skills never cease to amaze me.’ I turned my attention back to glazing the mini raspberry tartlets on the tray in front of me; I was anxious for everything to be perfect. It was a very important day, after all.

  ‘People are my thing, Abby, what can I say? It’s a gift.’ She leaned over and grabbed a tartlet, popping it into her mouth before I could stop her.

  ‘Oi! Hands off.’ I stepped back and admired my work. The tray of glistening red pastries looked perfect. I handed them to a passing waitress. ‘Could you take these for me, please? They need to go on the main table, over by the wall. Thank you.’ I glared pointedly at Liz as I spoke. ‘See, it doesn’t hurt to be polite.’

  ‘You do your thing, I’ll do mine. It works better that way – you should know that by now.’ She smiled and nudged me with her hip as she passed. She was right, we did have very different ways of working, but after almost a year in business together we’d found an approach that was proving to be a recipe for success. Our catering and event management company was going from strength to strength. After a few quiet weeks at the beginning, which had been a bit scary but expected, the bookings had started coming in thick and fast. Between my food and Liz’s contacts, we were booked solid for the next twelve months. Product launches, company events, weddings – you name it, we catered for it.

  Building my own business had given me a real sense of accomplishment. I finally felt as if I was in charge of my own destiny. Life wasn’t just a series of unfortunate events that happened to me anymore; now I made things happen, I got to choose. The woman of a few months before, the one who’d felt as if she were drowning under the weight of her own past, was gone. I didn’t recognise her any longer.

  ‘Abby! We need some more champagne glasses. Where are they?’ Flo pushed her way through the kitchen doors, holding an empty tray. ‘And what are you doing still in that outfit? You’re supposed to have got changed by now.’

  ‘All right, all right. Just checking a few last details,’ I replied, pulling off my apron. ‘The glasses are in the box by the door. Get someone to help you, though, don’t do it on your own. That box is heavy.’

  ‘Stop fussing, I can manage,’ Flo said.

  ‘No one is doubting that, my darling,’ said Liz, going over to the box of glasses to lend Flo a hand. ‘We’re just here to assist.’

  ‘Well, that’s all right, then. Here, you take the tray. I’m going back out to make sure those bloody waiters are doing their jobs properly. Honestly, I have to follow them around barking orders or else they just stand there looking gormless.’

  I shook my head; I knew that wasn’t the case. All our staff were very efficient and responsible, but Flo liked to make sure they knew who was boss. She and Liz were remarkably similar in that respect.

  ‘You go get ʼem, Flo.’ Liz chuckled. Flo bustled back out through the doors.

  ‘Don’t encourage her,’ I said. ‘We’ll have a mutiny on our hands.’

  ‘It’s fine. They all love her. She’s like their surrogate grumpy gran.’

  ‘And what does that make us?’ I asked.

  ‘Utterly fabulous, darling, as always. Now, Flo’s right, you should get changed. You need to be out there – it’s an important day for you. Here.’ She tossed me a brown leather holdall. ‘Go and change in the loo. It’ll be quicker.’

  ‘What about you and Flo? You need to get ready too.’

  ‘All under control. As soon as Flo comes back I’m dragging her away to get changed upstairs. Off you go, then.’ She waved me away.

  *

  As I stood in front of the mirror, I marvelled at the difference twelve months could make. I was wearing the same red velvet dress that Liz had given me on the day that Jack had come back into my life. But not the underwear – nothing could have persuaded me to try and squeeze into those torturous bits of fabric again. Besides, I’d amassed quite a decent collection of nice underwear of my own recently.

  I adjusted my cleavage a bit and then pulled the clip out of my hair. It tumbled over my shoulders in dark blonde waves and I grinned – I looked good. Even though I did say so myself. My eyes were shining, and I looked happy and confident and strong. This was the me I’d always known was inside somewhere, but I’d let her get lost. Not any more though. There was a light tap on the door.

  ‘Come in,’ I called.

  ‘So this is where you’re hiding. Liz sent…’ Jack stepped into the room and stopped mid-sentence. ‘Jesus, you look amazing. That dress. Is it…?’

  ‘Yes, it’s the same one.’

  Without another word, Jack strode across the room and took my mouth in a breath-taking kiss. He pulled me close to him, his hands snaking their way down my back.

  ‘Hey now, stop that. People are out there waiting for us.’

  ‘They can wait. This is much more important.’ He began kissing along my jawline and then down my neck.

  ‘Down, boy,’ I said, reluctantly pushing him away. ‘I need to finish getting ready. You’ve smudged my lipstick. Here.’ I handed him a tissue. ‘You’ve got Dior on your lips.’ I turned back to the mirror to re-apply and Jack stood close behind me. I watched as he wiped his mouth and then pocketed the tissue. I raised my eyebrows.

  ‘Souvenir,’ he said, grinning. His dark eyes sparkled, and I laughed.

  ‘I love that sound so much,’ he said as he placed his arms either side of me, trapping me against the sink. I looked at the reflection of the two of us – the handsome tech millionaire and me – and we looked perfect. Whereas before I’d convinced myself that a man like Jack – gorgeous, confident, sexy as fuck – was too good for me, I’d come to realise that wasn’t the case. If anything, it was Jack who was the lucky one; he had me. Strong, sexy and with one heck of a talent in the kitchen, I was a force to be reckoned with. I turned
and kissed him gently on the mouth, before ducking under his arm and moving over to the door.

  ‘You do know what you do to me, don’t you, Abigail?’

  ‘Of course. And you love it.’

  ‘I love you.’

  ‘I never tire of hearing you say those words. I love you too. Now come on, people are waiting.’ I held out my hand and Jack took it and kissed the back of it before we made our way out to the waiting crowd.

  *

  ‘I’d like to thank everyone for coming. I want you all to know how happy we are to have you here, sharing our special day.’ My brother Matt waited for the applause to die down before continuing his speech.

  ‘Getting married isn’t something I ever thought I’d do. But when you meet the one, well, you just know.’ Matt wiped away a tear and looked down at his new wife, Sarah, sitting beside him. They looked so in love and it made my heart soar. They’d only been together for about ten months when he’d told me he was getting married and I’d been a bit sceptical. It seemed very quick but then, after I’d seen them together, I knew that Sarah was the one for him. At only five feet two, she was tiny when she stood next to my man mountain of a brother, but she was fierce and fearless, as well as kind, funny and generous of spirit. She was everything my brother didn’t even know he needed. And today, on their wedding day, I was so happy for them both that I couldn’t stop crying.

  After the speeches, and after I’d managed to pull myself together, I sat at the table, surrounded by everyone I cared about.

  ‘I can’t believe he’s gone and done it. Can you, Mum?’

  Lucy and I sipped our champagne and watched my brother and his beautiful new wife glide around the dance floor.

  ‘He looks so happy. I’m so pleased for him. He deserved to find someone lovely,’ said Lucy.

  ‘Yes, he did. And what about you?’ I gestured to the young man that Lucy had brought to the wedding with her. He was currently deep in conversation with Jack on the other side of the room.

  ‘Toby? He’s nice. We have a good time, nothing serious.’

  I winced a bit. Try and be cool, I told myself, she’s a grown-up. ‘As long as you’re being careful, that’s all I’ll say.’