Teapots & Tiaras: A sweet and clean Christian romance in London and Cambridge (Love In Store Book 5)

by Autumn Macarthur

  Josie chuckled. “A hunky best man.”

  Anita rolled her eyes and didn’t dignify that with a reply. “Are you okay if I make a phone call? I need to check Mum can manage Daisy. Otherwise, hunk or no hunk, I won’t be going anywhere but home.”

  Josie nodded.

  Mum was with Daisy and had no plans to go out. Dad would be home from work soon too. And she’d rung the hospital. Jen’s condition had stabilised a little.

  Anita smiled down the phone. God blessed her with the most wonderful adoptive parents. She loved that they chosen her. They really and truly wanted her, not any baby. Unlike her poor desperate birth mother, who obviously hadn’t wanted a baby at all.

  If Mum was here, she’d hug her, too.

  The only person she didn’t dare to try hugging was Matthew. He’d push her away and accuse her of being childish. She deserved better.

  Surely God had the right man for her somewhere. A man she could marry and have a family with. A man who would love her and never leave her.

  Maybe it was time to try the dating agency again.

  Chapter 8

  Matthew marched along Oxford Street ahead of Anita and Beth, who walked arm in arm, chatting about something he couldn’t quite hear over the constant roar of passing red buses. Thankfully, they’d given up any attempt to include him. After so long in Africa, the crowds and the noise frayed his nerves. Getting to the restaurant offered challenge enough, without needing to make inane small talk too.

  He stiffened his back, and his jaw tightened. Out with an engaged couple, inevitably the two singles would be treated like a couple too. It felt very like a date, his first for a long time. He’d feel safer tiptoeing across a minefield than through the social niceties involved.

  Especially when the woman in question was Anita. High-maintenance, highly opinionated, and far from the type of woman he’d ever consider dating.

  Of course, it wasn’t a date. One meeting to work out a schedule for wedding rehearsals and any other necessary duties. That was all.

  Thankfully, Anita seemed equally reluctant to treat it as a date.

  He slowed as they approached the Italian restaurant James had chosen, so the girls could catch up. “Here we are.” Taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders, he held the door open for them.

  Anita surprised him with a sunny smile. “Thank you.”

  “He’s here already!” Beth’s delighted voice rang out as she waved to James on the far side of the restaurant. She hurried across the room, and then threw her arms around him.

  He could forget any concerns this wasn’t a love match. Unlike her feisty friend, Beth seemed sweet, gentle, and well spoken. She and James might come from different backgrounds, but he’d seen enough to satisfy himself they were well suited. Their engagement made perfect sense now he’d met her.

  Anita followed more slowly. “Let’s give the lovebirds a few moments together,” she murmured with a wry smile and the hint of an eye roll. “They haven’t seen each other for nearly twenty-four hours, after all.”

  Walking behind her between the tables, he forced himself not to notice how her flowing black skirt swished against the curve of her calves with each step. Or how delicate her ankles were above those high heels. Or the way tiny curls escaped from her hairdo clustered on the nape of her neck.

  He snorted at his stupidity. If he saw all that, his attempts not to notice were clearly unsuccessful.

  Discipline. Willpower. That was his answer.

  Anita Kiernan attracted him far more than she should, but he could turn that off as simply as flicking a switch. The same way he’d learned to turn off hunger, pain, emotion, and other weaknesses.

  James turned from embracing Beth to clap him on the back. “Matthew Coalbrooke! You haven’t changed at all, old chap. Still bearded like a pirate. How many years has it been since we last met?”

  Matthew added it up. “At least eight.”

  James hadn’t changed, either. He still had the same stoop, unfocussed expression, thick glasses, and floppy brown hair. He looked exactly what he now was, a Cambridge physics professor.

  “Please, sit.” James waved to the opposite side of the booth.

  As expected, he ended up sitting next to Anita. Beth and James hunkered together, holding hands and smiling at each other.

  He passed Anita a menu and said nothing.

  James blinked across the table at him. “I’m so glad you’ve finally met Beth. Aren’t I the most blessed man in Britain to have won her back after all those years apart?”

  Anita kicked his foot under the table. Her narrowed eyes promised dire consequences if he gave the wrong answer.

  Matthew quirked an eyebrow in a way he knew would annoy her, happy to keep her waiting for his reply. Impossible to wait too long though, for James and Beth’s sake.

  He gave James his honest answer, which probably was the one Anita wanted him to give. “You’ve chosen wisely. I’m sure the two of you will be very happy together.”

  James beamed. “Not long until we’re married. I’m glad we don’t need to wait much longer.”

  The waiter came to take their orders, so Matthew held back the question burning in his throat. As soon as the waiter left, clutching an armful of menus, he took the opportunity.

  “Anita tells me your mother is busy planning your wedding. How is she? I gather she’s been unwell.”

  Unwell was an understatement.

  His friend’s face clouded, and his shoulders slumped. “I wanted to talk to you about that. See if you know anyone who can help. We hoped at yesterday’s visit she’d get the all clear, but the news isn’t good. Her cancer has spread. Unfortunately, it’s an unusual type and doesn’t respond well to chemo.”

  Anita reached across the table to James and Beth. “Oh, I’m sorry.” Tears shone in her eyes.

  Overly emotional, for someone she couldn’t possibly know well. But it seemed she genuinely did care for Lady Tetherton-Hart.

  Matthew nodded slowly, drawing a deep breath. Her oncologist had emailed him details of the type of cancer and the treatment difficulties. A problem he regretted being drawn into. Cancer treatment wasn’t his speciality. But for his friend’s sake, he had to try.

  “I still have professional contacts in London and Cambridge. I’ll ask around, see if there are any suitable clinical trials. I’d like to meet with her, if I can? I’ll need her written permission to discuss her care with other doctors. Is she at the Mayfair house or Tetherton Hall?”

  “Back at the Hall. I know she’s planning a lunch for us all sometime, but if you need to see her sooner, we can arrange it.” Grief edged James’s twisted smile. “She had what amounted to a Damascus Road moment when I told her I was marrying Beth whether she liked it or not. She’s a changed woman. We have to trust that God has a plan and a purpose. And keep hoping for a miracle.”

  “We’ll all pray for her,” Anita exclaimed.

  Thankfully, the waiter reappeared with their garlic bread before she could get them holding hands and praying out loud. He had his faith, of course, but it didn’t extend to public prayers in a restaurant.

  Anita, however, bowed her head before eating, too. As if she sensed his critical gaze on her, a defiant glint shot from her eyes when she raised her head.

  “My parents always taught me to give thanks. Didn’t yours?”

  “Both my parents died before I turned four. My grandfather raised me. He taught me everything appropriate for a Coalbrooke.” More than a note of repression deepened his voice.

  Anita had no need to know anything about his background. Grandfather’s discipline had done him good. Growing up in a cross between boot camp and a military academy prepared him well for working in a war zone.

  She simply glanced to the ceiling with a God-give-me-patience air, smiled, and then bit into a slice of garlic bread with the same gusto she approached everything else.

  “When do you plan to go out to Coalbrooke House?” James asked. “It’s an hour’s d
rive or so from Cambridge, isn’t it, out in the fens?”

  “Yes, but I don’t intend to visit.” Matthew shrugged. “I’ve been in touch with the estate manager. He has everything under control. I have no reason to go.”

  “But it’s your home.…” James trailed off when the waiter arrived with their meals.

  Matthew stretched out his legs, thankful for the interruption. James loved Tetherton Hall. Matthew didn’t have the same feeling for Coalbrooke House. He’d spent more time at boarding school than with his grandfather. The place was merely a building. It meant nothing to him.

  Nothing wrong with that. Becoming attached to places and people held you back.

  Over the surprisingly good food, the conversation turned to other topics.

  “Do either of you have anything arranged for Saturday evening?” Beth asked in her sweet quiet voice.

  Tempted to make an excuse to escape whatever she had planned, he chose honesty. The chance of another opportunity to verbally fence with Anita had nothing to do with it. Simply doing what was right.

  “Not that I know of,” he said. “Though the Trust has arranged some interviews and speaking engagements. I’ll need to check their schedule.”

  His hands fisted in his lap. He’d do his duty, of course, but he had to find some way to get back to his clinic in Africa. Anyone could do the fundraising talks, even Anita. She’d be good at it. But very few had his skills to save lives in the field. He somehow felt devalued, here in England without his work.

  Anita shook her head. “I have nothing planned yet, either. I think Mum will be home to look after Daisy, though I need to check. I don’t have a date arranged for Saturday, though it’s a possibility. What are you planning?” Her voice stayed light, but she aimed a suspicious glance at the other girl.

  And she mentioned a possible date. A twinge of jealousy surprised him.

  “We have a meeting with the vicar who’ll be marrying us.” Beth smiled. “He’d like to meet you both. He takes marriage preparation seriously, including counselling the entire wedding party. You could have dinner at my house afterwards.”

  Anita laughed. “Matthew, if you go, remember I told you to duck. James always forgets and bumps his head.”

  Beth rubbed James’s forehead tenderly and grinned. “It’s okay. He’s banged it so often he must have lost all sensation there now. Where there’s no sense, there’s no feeling, as my dad always says.”

  “That could be true.” James smiled and put his hand over Beth’s. “But as it still always hurts, I must still have some sense.” He squinted across the table. “Are these more Christian Match-Up dates you’re thinking of, Anita?”

  She expertly twirled her spaghetti onto her fork and finished a mouthful before answering. “Not saying. I know you only want to take the mickey out of me, James Tetherton-Hart. Again.”

  “Not at all.” James shook his head. “I was only wondering. Interesting slogan they have for an Internet dating service. ‘Let God light the flame.’”

  “Well, let’s just say He hasn’t lit any flames for me yet.” Anita’s tone rivalled the balsamic vinegar on his salad for acid. Then she smiled. “I still have a few more on my list of possible matches. And there will be some new profiles. You know what they say, good men are like London buses. You don’t see one for ages, then three come along at once.”

  Matthew gave the obligatory smile at her flippant words, but somehow they left a sour taste in his mouth. “So how does it work? You have a list of what you want in a man and the system matches you up? Like you’re shopping for a new pair of shoes or interviewing job applicants?”

  His fingers clenched on his fork. Some emotion he couldn’t name and didn’t want to feel bubbled in him at the idea of Anita dating random strangers.

  She lifted her chin. The gleam in her eyes warned she’d respond to the edge in his voice with fighting spirit.

  “Something like that. I know you think I’m frivolous. I do have a list. There’s no point me dating a man who doesn’t want children. I’d like someone near me in age. I’d like to have some shared interests. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  Her tone clearly indicated she didn’t care what he thought, and he was nowhere near making it onto her list.

  He was fine with that. She wasn’t on his list, either.

  “Nothing wrong at all,” Beth said.

  Anita groaned. “The only thing wrong is, so many people don’t tell the truth on their profiles. On a Christian site!” She snickered wryly. “Mr Right must be out there somewhere, but so far I haven’t met anyone I’d say yes to a second date with. Most of them, once we met, I wished I hadn’t said yes to the first date. Quite probably they thought the same about me.”

  She raised a hand and threw James and Beth warning glances. “And that is not a cue to discuss my dating disasters. I’m sure Matthew isn’t the least bit interested.”

  James chuckled. “Matthew will be far too busy with his work to waste time dating. I was too, until I met Beth again.”

  His smile for her overflowed with sticky sweet romance. Something Matthew had never felt for anyone and had no intention of ever feeling for anyone.

  “Right.” He nodded. “I have no time for relationships. My calling is too important to me. If I marry now, it will only be to a woman who can be an asset in the mission field.”

  If he could get back there. Bitterness twisted in him. It appeared his duty might be to stay in England, run the Trust, and settle down to sire a Coalbrooke heir, instead of doing any medical work. A loathsome thought. He loosened his clenched grip on his fork and attempted to twirl spaghetti on it. The pasta wiggled away, like his hopes.

  James interrupted his unwelcome thoughts. “But what about children? Once we’re married, Beth and I aren’t waiting to try for a family.” Again that sappy, sentimental gaze passed between them.

  He stiffened his spine. “At some stage I’m obliged to produce an heir, so the Coalbrooke name doesn’t die with me. Until then, I have absolutely no interest in finding a wife or having a child.”

  Anita dropped her fork with a clatter. “Poor kid, bred for no other reason but to inherit a name. It’s wrong. Every child has a right to feel wanted.”

  “What does that mean, wanted?” His lip curled. “I grew up knowing my value as the heir to Coalbrooke House and the service I could offer God through the mission. It was enough for me. It will be enough for my child too.” Even as he spoke, the hollowness of his words echoed in his chest. But they were all he knew and all that mattered in his world.

  Anita shook her head. “Will it? I was found abandoned as a baby in a cardboard box, then shifted around between foster homes until the age of two, but I still had a more loving childhood than what you’re talking about. I know my parents chose me. They wanted me, not just any kid, and that feels so special. It showed me a hint of how God loves us. Your child will miss out on that.”

  He blinked. He’d imagined a stable and secure upbringing gave her that bouncy self-confidence. It appeared otherwise.

  Even so, she couldn’t possibly understand what being raised a Coalbrooke meant.

  “My child will grow up with something more important than mere feelings,” he gritted through compressed teeth. “Duty, honour, and a sense of what is due to the Coalbrooke name.”

  She snorted. “Oh, that will be enough to make any child happy, I’m sure. You were scathing about my list of requirements for who I’ll date. But I’m sure you have a list too, for the oh-so-suitable mother for your heir.”

  Though her words needled him, he couldn’t help noticing how her heightened colour suited her. “I—”

  “Let’s work out our plans for Saturday night,” Beth interrupted before he could say more.

  Anita nodded, though the pointed glance she cast him promised she wasn’t finished with their discussion.

  “Matthew, my house is in a little village not far from Cambridge,” Beth said. “You and James could catch a bus out to my house i
n time to be there around five thirty. The meeting with the vicar at the church will only take an hour or so. After that, we’ll have a quick dinner, and I’ll drive you home. How does that sound?”

  He barked a sharp laugh. “Fine.”

  “Fine,” Anita echoed. “Provided Mum can look after Daisy.” Her tight-lipped smile didn’t reach her eyes.

  “James and I have lots more planned for this summer.” Beth glanced anxiously between them. “Punting and picnics and lunch at Tetherton Hall. We’d love for you both to come along, too.”

  Anita raised her eyes to meet his, and they spoke as clearly as words. They can try pushing us together, but they can’t make anything happen between us.

  Good. He was glad she felt that.

  Because though he saw a surprising amount to admire in Anita, he had no intention of allowing anything to happen, either.

  Chapter 9

  Anita hobbled onto the porch of Beth’s little cottage, unable to appreciate the beauty of the summer evening or the rose-covered, thatched village houses as she usually did.

  Impossible to appreciate anything when she was sweaty, barely able to walk, and worst of all, horribly late for the Saturday meeting with Beth’s vicar.

  Another disaster date. The most awful one yet.

  After her squabble with Matthew during dinner on Tuesday, and his scathing attitude about her using a dating agency, she’d looked up the new profiles on Christian Match-Up as soon as she got home. Strolling in this evening to tell him she’d had a perfectly lovely date today would have been the ideal comeback.

  So much for her pride. And her plan.

  Thankfully, Beth was sweet enough to forgive her for messing up so badly. Whether she could forgive herself was a massive question mark.

  She knocked, not expecting an answer. They would have gone to the church without her by now. If only she’d been able to phone.

  The door opened abruptly. Startled, she jolted back a painful step and had to grab the frame for support. Matthew filled the opening, and her stomach clenched. His forbidding scowl, staring right past her as if she didn’t exist, made him more Dr Bluebeard than ever.