‘Thanks, Daisy,’ Fi said, quietly.
Daisy knew this was the moment they needed to discuss what had happened between them. Part of her dreaded it, but she also wanted to clear the air between them and get back to how they’d been before Aaron’s arrival in Jersey.
‘I’m so sorry you had to get caught up in his snide mind games,’ she said. ‘I don’t even think he fancies me anymore. I suspect it’s more that he’s so used to following me and tormenting me that he didn’t know how to stop.’
‘I’ve no idea what Seb said to him,’ Fi said, pulling a face, ‘but I know that the shock of him arriving home a day earlier than we’d expected and catching Aaron with his hand around my throat probably wasn’t the best way for them to meet.’
‘Oh Fi, that’s horrible,’ Daisy said, shocked to hear this news. ‘He was probably taking Gabriel’s put-down on the beach out on you. I’m so sorry.’
Fi absent-mindedly rubbed her throat around which she’d loosely tied a scarf. ‘It’s fine now. He’s gone and I have a feeling he won’t be back in a hurry. The fact that he used to bother you and your mum only tells me that he picks on those he considers weaker than himself. Now he’s met Gabriel and Sebastian, I can’t imagine he’ll be bothering either of us again in too much of a hurry.’
Daisy didn’t care that they were on duty she stepped closer to Fi and gave her a tight hug. ‘I’m so relieved we’re friends again; I hated it when we fell out.’
‘Thanks to the guys it wasn’t for long,’ Fi said. ‘I feel such an idiot for believing some moron over you. I think I was a bit jealous by the things he was saying about you.’ She sighed. ‘I’m never going to believe a bloke over a friend again.’
They sat back down at the counter. ‘Seb showed me the magasine that Aaron had in his rucksack after Sebastian had his driver take him to the airport and put him on a plane,’ Fi said.
‘Why? What was in the magasine?’ Daisy had seen a few copies of The Jersey Scene since her arrival but couldn’t understand how that might have got into Aaron’s hands.
Fi lowered her voice. ‘Apparently there was a write-up in one of the English newspapers about Jersey being the place to visit, great local seafood, loads of brilliant restaurants, that sort of thing. There was a picture of you in it,’ she added. ‘You were painting at Beauport and someone had taken your picture. They didn’t put your name but Aaron noticed you. He was boasting about contacting the journalist who did the write up and how he persuaded him to give him the photographer’s email address. The guy probably had to listen to one of his convincing stories and eventually told him where you’d been painting. I suppose it was a process of elimination knowing you’d been a receptionist at a hotel before and tracking you down from that. After all, Beauport isn’t far from here and it was somewhere you could walk to paint.’
‘Sly bastard,’ Daisy said, stunned at his resourcefulness. ‘Mind you,’ she said. ‘If him coming here meant he’s now been deterred from following me ever again, then it was probably worth it.’
‘Too right,’ Fi said. ‘I still can’t believe I was taking in by all his crap.’
Daisy sympathised completely. ‘I’ve been where you are, so don’t feel guilty. Aaron is very plausible. He’s good looking and can be so kind and funny. It’s a shame he has this other, darker side.’ She gave Fi a nudge. ‘You’re lucky your brother and Gabriel warned him off, I’ve had a nightmare with him for the last few years.’
She thought back to the times he’d barged his way into their flat, watching her as she tried to remain calm in front of her mother.
‘He’s sick,’ Fi said. ‘By the sounds of it I’ve had a close call with him.’
‘You have,’ Daisy said, relieved. ‘I’m sure we’ve seen the back of him now.’ She willed it to be the case. She couldn’t bear the thought of having to keep watching over her shoulder anymore.
‘He’s gone now,’ Fi said a concerned look on her face. ‘But it must have been frightening having him turn up here and then lie like he did about you.’
‘It was as if I’d fallen back into a nightmare,’ she admitted, shivering at the thought of him.
‘It must have been,’ Fi agreed. ‘He really is good looking,’ she added thoughtfully.
‘Who is?’ Gabriel asked coming out of the hallway at the side of the reception area.
‘Not you,’ Daisy joked. ‘Well, you are of course, but we weren’t talking about you.’
‘Oh thanks.’
‘Daisy, where’s that thing?’ Fi asked. She looked at Gabriel. ‘You’ve just missed my brother; he was looking for you.’
‘He was?’ Gabriel asked, looking disappointed. ‘That’s a shame.’
Daisy held up the business card. ‘He wanted me to give this to you and asked if you could call him. There’s something he wants to discuss with you.’
Gabriel looked intrigued. ‘OK, I’ll call him now.’
The girls waited impatiently for him to speak to Sebastian.
‘I saw your dad checked out earlier than expected,’ Fi said. ‘Did he say goodbye to you before he left?’
Daisy shook her head. ‘No, but that’s pretty typical of him. I don’t think he was very pleased with my lack of interest in playing the dutiful daughter. I’ve never really spent much time with him and I don’t really need to find a new parent at my age. Mum was the only parent I was ever close to and I’m happy with that.’
‘You’re lucky; I never knew my mum.’
Daisy opened her mouth to speak, but it took a few seconds for her to think what to say. ‘Oh, Fi, I never knew that. Can I ask why?’
‘She died just after I was born. My dad and then my uncle pretty much brought me up, with Seb’s help of course.’
Daisy was stunned. She’d always assumed that Fi’s life had always been fun and carefree. ‘That’s so sad.’
Fi gave her a vague smile. ‘I suppose it’s not as if I knew her to miss her, but I did envy my friends for their closeness with their mothers. You, for example, I know you said your mum was unwell but it must have been incredible to be everything to someone.’
Daisy thought back to the intensity of her relationship with her mother and smiled. ‘I miss my mum but living with her could feel suffocating a lot of the time,’ she admitted.
‘I suppose so,’ Fi said. She thought for a moment. ‘I didn’t ever miss out on attention because I was always spoilt and loved by those around me. Even Harwood, my uncle’s and now Seb’s butler, he’s always looked out for me. It would have been nice to have experienced having a mother though.’
‘Yes, I can imagine it would have been,’ Daisy agreed.
Gabriel came off the phone from speaking to Sebastian. ‘You’ll never guess what Sebastian’s offering to do,’ he said, his eyes lighting up with excitement.
Daisy couldn’t help laughing, relieved for the change in subject. ‘Going by the look on your face, I think I can take a pretty good guess.’
‘He’s going to sponsor the rest of the project,’ he said, shaking his head in amazement. ‘He said he’s always been interested in conservation, but up until now hasn’t made the time to actually get involved.’
‘I’m so thrilled for you,’ Daisy said, delighted to see him so happy.
‘Me too,’ Fi said. ‘I told you I had a wonderful brother.’
‘Thanks, girls,’ he said, giving Fi a kiss on the forehead and Daisy a kiss on the mouth. ‘Things can get underway again.’
Daisy was thrilled for him, but a little saddened that she would have to say goodbye to him once again.
He must have noticed her expression change because he added, ‘You’re coming with me, I hope.’
‘I can’t,’ she said. ‘I have to finish the season here at The Encore.’
He leant over the reception desk and cupped her chin in his hand. ‘I know, but the project won’t get underway again until the end of September, so you’ll be able to fly out with me. If you want to, that is.’
S
he squealed, forgetting where she was. ‘Of course I want to come with you.’
‘Good, then that’s settled.’
‘I’m so pleased for you both,’ Fi said quietly behind them.
Daisy and Gabriel let go of each other and turned to face her.
‘I’m sorry, Fi,’ Gabe said. ‘You’re welcome to come out and visit any time you like, you do know that, right?’
Her face lit up. ‘I’d love to.’
‘Sebastian said he’d come out and see what we’re doing and how it all works, so you could travel out with him. It’ll be fun to meet up again. I’ll be able to show you what I’ve been working towards.’
‘How long will we be out there?’ Daisy asked, unable to hide her rising excitement.
‘For most of the winter months,’ Gabe said. ‘We should be back here in the spring, so if you want to work another season here at the hotel, you’ll be back in time.’
Daisy couldn’t believe how well everything was turning out. ‘Perfect.’
Gabriel kissed her quickly, then spotting someone over by the door, frowned and stepped away. ‘Here, sir,’ he said to a grey-haired gentleman struggling with a large leather suitcase. ‘Let me help you with that.’
Daisy returned to her desk and moved her mouse to light up the computer screen ready to check the guest into the hotel.
Gabriel followed him the few steps to the reception counter. ‘I’ll leave your case here for you and go and let the porter know you’ve arrived,’ he said walking away.
‘Good afternoon,’ she said. ‘Welcome to The Encore. Do you have a reservation?’
‘No,’ he said. ‘I, er, wish to book in.’
Daisy smiled at him. ‘One moment, sir.’ She quickly checked the availability. ‘We have a twin room at the rear of the hotel overlooking the valley, and a double at the front of the hotel overlooking the pool and gardens.’
‘I take the room at the back,’ he said.
She had just watched the old man follow the porter to the lift when Gabriel returned to the reception. He smiled at Fi who was busily typing a letter. ‘All right if I step outside with Daisy for a few minutes?’
‘Um, of course,’ she said looking taken aback at the request.
Gabriel ignored Daisy’s quizzical look and waited for her to join him at the front door. They walked outside towards the rose garden.
‘What is it?’ Daisy asked. ‘Is everything OK?’
‘Yes, it’s fine,’ he said checking they were alone. ‘Over here,’ he said, indicating the row of huge pine trees planted years ago along the wall near the road.
They reached the middle pine tree and Gabriel stopped and faced her.
‘What time do you finish your shift?
Daisy checked her watch, wondering why he couldn’t have asked her that inside the hotel. ‘In twenty minutes.’
‘Right, I’ll phone Nan now and tell her that I’ll be bringing you and Mum to her house because I’ve got something I want to tell you all. I’ll then go and chat to Mum and tell her I’ll come and get her shortly and then when you’re finished meet me at the back of the hotel.’
‘Won’t they think it strange that I’m going to be there?’
He stared at her, his dark eyes intent. ‘No,’ he said, his tone insistent. ‘I’ll be telling them about Sebastian’s funding of the project and about us planning a future together.’
‘We are?’ she asked, stepping up to him and hugging him tightly around his waist before he had time to answer.
Gabriel held her close to him, laughing. ‘Yes. We’ve wasted enough time with all this messing around. I want to be with you and I’m fairly sure you feel the same. So, from now on we plan things that will allow us to spend time together.’ He kissed the top of her head. ‘They’ll need something to cheer them up when I tell them about my return to South Africa.’
She nodded and let go of him. ‘I’d better get back to Reception before Fi thinks I’ve left already,’ she giggled.
Chapter Seventeen
Gabriel
It took a bit of persuasion to get Gabriel’s mother to agree to leave the hotel earlier than she’d intended and go with him and Daisy to his grandmother’s house, but she’d given in eventually.
‘I don’t know why this couldn’t have been done over the phone,’ she grumbled, giving Daisy an over the shoulder glance as if it was her fault Francesca had to leave her office.
He parked the car at his grandmother’s and walked around it to open the door for his mother. ‘I wanted you all here together; surely that isn’t so dreadful?’
She groaned, holding up a spreadsheet in one hand and a yellow highlighter pen in the other. ‘No of course not, darling. I’m just busy and I have a lot to do with your father away touring.’
They arrived at the house. Gabriel smiled at Daisy as she stepped out of the car. ‘Come along then; let’s find Nan and get this over with.’
As they walked around the side of the house, he spotted Lydia sitting down at the metal garden table reading a magasine. Gabriel poured them all a refreshing glass of homemade lemonade from the jug on the table and sat down. ‘Thanks for the hurried gathering,’ he said, smiling at Daisy. He noticed she looked concerned. He understood how his mother could make people feel a little intimidated with her booming voice and extrovert personality. She needed to overcome any fear she had of his mother and this was going to be a bit of a baptism of fire, but he wanted Daisy here to witness him telling his mother and grandmother about them being a couple and to see first-hand that she was now part of his family unit.
‘You all know that the funding of my project was rescinded unexpectedly,’ he began.
‘Yes, darling,’ his mother said. ‘I wish your father and I were in a position to help you in some way. We both know how important this is to you and how hard you’ve worked on this.’
‘It’s fine, Mum,’ he said wanting to reassure her. ‘I want you both to know that earlier today, Fi’s brother, Sebastian Fielding, offered to sponsor the project.’
‘Oh, darling,’ Lydia clapped her hands together. ‘That’s splendid news. I knew his father and uncle when I was younger,’ she said. ‘We mixed in the same circles in the sixties and seventies.’
His mother beamed at him, as he knew she would on hearing this news. ‘I’m delighted for you. You deserve his support. Well done, you.’
‘Thanks, Mum.’ He drank some of the tart lemonade, relishing its coolness. ‘I don’t know if you knew,’ he said glancing at his mother and grandmother. ‘But on my recent trip to South Africa, Bella joined me and while we were there we got a divorce.’ He heard his grandmother’s sigh of relief and suspected she knew what was coming next.
‘It seems a bit of a drama bothering to go to South Africa to do it?’ Francesca said. ‘Why didn’t you just wait until you could be divorced over here?’
He thought she might react in this way. ‘Neither of us really wanted to stay married, but couldn’t divorce in Jersey until we’d been married three years. We both also needed to go there to check the situation with the project and as both of us wanted this divorce as much as the other we made a point of sorting it out. We were married there and it wasn’t too difficult.’ He focused his attention solely on his mother.
‘I still think it was a bit unnecessary to rush it like that, Gabriel,’ his mother argued.
‘I did it because I want to be with Daisy.’
‘Daisy?’
His mother scowled at the woman he loved and not wishing Daisy to feel uncomfortable, he added. ‘Yes, we met in Vietnam when I was travelling. She knew about me coming from Jersey, but not where I lived, or that my family ran a hotel, so it was a coincidence when she ended up working for you.’
His mother didn’t look too convinced. ‘Really?’ she asked, looking doubtfully at Daisy.
Daisy smiled. ‘I’m sure this is all a bit of a shock,’ she said. ‘But I can assure you I had no idea about Gabriel’s connection to The Encore when I applie
d to work there. I know him as Gabriel Wilson: you and your husband have different last names, so how could I connect him?’
He watched his mother considering this question and then shrugging. ‘I can see how that’s possible,’ she said eventually. ‘But I still don’t see the urgency for a divorce.’ She hesitated and then narrowed her eyes first in Daisy’s direction and then Gabriel’s. ‘Unless, of course, there’s a reason you haven’t shared with us?’
It took a moment for him to register what she meant. Knowing how she wasn’t ready to be a grandmother, he knew that she wasn’t making this assumption with any joy in her heart. He glared at her. ‘There’s only one reason. I’m in love with Daisy and want to be with her.’
‘Do leave the boy alone, Francesca,’ Lydia said. She turned her attention back to Gabriel and Daisy. ‘I’m very happy for you both.’ She smiled at Daisy. ‘We’ve become quite close since you began working at The Encore and I’m delighted that my grandson has found someone as perfect as you to be with. I hope you’ll both be very happy together.’
‘Well, so do I,’ his mother relented angrily. ‘I was merely being curious.’
Before his mother and grandmother could descend into an argument, he held up his hand to get their attention.
‘Would you two mind if Daisy and I went for a walk on the beach?’ He hoped Daisy didn’t mind him taking her away from the table, but wanted to give his mother a chance to speak privately with Lydia. They could discuss his relationship with Daisy without her having to witness any nastiness from his mother and he knew Lydia would defend Daisy in any way necessary. He also wanted to spend some time alone with Daisy while she wasn’t working and they had a chance to be alone.
‘Good idea,’ his mother said. ‘You two go and spend some time together.’
If her tone hadn’t been so gentle, Gabriel would have worried that his mother had an agenda, but although she was a talented actress, he knew her too well for her to fool him. Aware that his grandmother wouldn’t mind him leaving them alone to muse over his recent announcement, he stood up.
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