by Jill Mansell
‘I’ve already been to the shop.’ The girl pulled a face. ‘No good. All they had was semi-opaque American Tan. Hideous,’ she whispered. ‘Like old age pensioners wear.’
‘OK. Give me two minutes.’ Daisy was reassuring. ‘I’ll be right back.’
Upstairs she rummaged through her chest of drawers, finally unearthing an unopened pack of ten denier barely blacks. Racing back down to reception, she glimpsed Dev Tyzack’s back view just as he disappeared into the conference room.
‘You’ve saved my life,’ the girl breathed, taking the packet with relief and waving a ten pound note. ‘You’re a star, thank you so much.’
‘You don’t have to do that.’ Daisy shook her head at the money, but the girl pressed it into her hand.
‘I do. I can’t let you just give me a pair of tights, and these aren’t cheap. Please, just take it, then I can go and change.’
It was embarrassing, but the girl was in a rush and she was insistent. Reluctantly Daisy took the ten pound note. She felt like a drug dealer. A fiver, maybe. Ten was too much, but giving the girl change would only heighten the awkwardness.
Anyway, she was right, the tights hadn’t been cheap, they were Aristoc. Daisy was pretty certain they’d cost eight pounds fifty.
***
Daisy’s first proper sight of Dev came at eleven o’clock when the delegates broke for coffee. There was a buzz of enthusiasm about them as they animatedly discussed the meeting so far. Dev, surrounded by people asking questions, glanced up and saw Daisy watching him from the doorway. Smiling in recognition at the girl with the tights, Daisy squeezed her way through the throng towards him.
‘Just checking everything’s OK,’ she said when she reached Dev.
‘Everything’s fine.’ His dark eyes flickered over her, taking in the orange silk shirt, black skirt, and glossy black high heels. Almost but not quite smiling he added, ‘No complaints at all.’
Stop it, stop it, no flirting allowed, Daisy wanted to bark like a sergeant major. I’m not flirting with you and I don’t want you to flirt with me.
‘Right, I’ll leave you to it.’ Keen to prove how busy and efficient she was, she tapped her watch in an efficient and businesslike fashion. ‘Lunch will be served at one o’clock on the dot.’
Dev said, ‘Oh, by the way, when we upped the numbers by eight, I forget to tell you three of them were vegetarians.’
Oh, marvelous. Absolutely great. Bastard.
‘Three? OK. That’s fine,’ Daisy lied, nodding and smiling brightly as if there was nothing she enjoyed more than being told there were three extra vegetarians for lunch.
‘Not really.’ Dev winked. ‘Just a joke.’
Daisy exhaled noisily. Thank God for that. She shook her head and gave him a rueful smile. ‘Nearly got me there.’
‘I did get you there.’
‘Now I’m definitely going.’
‘Better had.’ Dev nodded in the direction of the doorway. ‘Someone’s looking for you.’
It was Josh, observing them with undisguised amusement. Catching Daisy’s eye, he blew her a kiss and beckoned her over.
Dev raised an eyebrow. ‘Who is he?’
‘Someone looking for me,’ said Daisy.
Now why hadn’t she just said, ‘Who, Josh? That’s my boyfriend’? For some reason the words hadn’t wanted to come out.
***
‘Can you believe it? I’ve been stood up,’ Josh complained. ‘Your father doesn’t want me anymore. We had a round of golf booked and he’s blown me off, found a new best friend to play with.’ Looking utterly disgusted, he went on, ‘And worst of all, she’s a girl.’
In her late forties? Hardly.
‘Get yourself some breast implants,’ Daisy suggested helpfully. ‘Slap on a ton of makeup. That might do the trick.’
Josh brightened. ‘Win him back, you mean? Make him realize he’d rather be with me?’ Breaking into song, he spread his arms like Carreras and warbled, ‘Torn between two lovers…’
Actually, not like Carreras at all.
‘Paula Penhaligon sings better than you do,’ said Daisy.
‘How about you?’
‘Me too. In fact anyone sings better than you do, even Ken Dodd.’
‘I meant is that what you are? Torn between two lovers?’ He wagged his eyebrows playfully in the direction of Dev Tyzack.
‘That is him, isn’t it? The one you were so busy chatting up the other day?’
‘You idiot,’ said Daisy. ‘I’m not torn, and he isn’t my lover.’
Josh was laughing at the look of indignation on her face, not in the least bit worried; he didn’t have a jealous bone in his body.
‘That’s because you had the good sense to choose me instead.’ Modestly he added, ‘And I have to say, you made exactly the right decision.’
‘Oh, really?’
‘I’ve told you before. Men like him just sweep women off their feet, then dump them faster than toxic waste. You don’t want that,’ said Josh. ‘Me? I’ll make you laugh and I won’t break your heart. Now be honest, which sounds better to you?’
Daisy grinned. He wasn’t telling her anything she hadn’t already worked out for herself.
‘OK, point made. But you’ve still been stood up by my dad, and I have to get back to work. What are you going to do?’
‘What does any self-respecting bloke do when he’s been stood up? Head on over to the golf club and find someone new to play with.’ His eyes crinkled with amusement. ‘You can stay here and flirt with Dev Tyzack.’
‘But I don’t want to flirt with—mmwphh!’ Daisy gasped as Josh kissed her, briefly but thoroughly, on the mouth.
Just like Indiana Jones.
‘Right, I’m off.’ Affectionately he stroked her left ear lobe. ‘And you can if you like.’
Flirt, presumably.
‘You shouldn’t have done that. I’m in charge of this hotel. Getting kissed in public isn’t professional,’ said Daisy.
‘Don’t worry, nobody was watching. Well, only one person,’ Josh amended with a wink.
Great.
***
Daisy kept her distance for the rest of the day, only looking in to check that everything was running according to schedule before disappearing once more. But when the conference broke up at five thirty, Dev came and found her.
‘We’re having a drink in the bar. Will you join us?’
To drink or not to drink? Daisy, due for a break, breathed in the faint remnants of his aftershave. Josh had taken Tara out for her second driving lesson, which meant the flat upstairs would be empty anyway.
In the mood for company, she capped her fountain pen, stood up, and said, ‘Why not?’
In the crowded bar, Dev bought her a glass of white wine and checked his watch. ‘My neighbor’s looking after Clarissa today. I told her I’d be back by seven. She’ll be missing me.’
‘Your neighbor?’
‘Her too, I expect.’ Dev smiled. ‘Clarissa usually comes everywhere with me, but I couldn’t leave her stuck in the car all day.’
‘I could have helped out,’ Daisy protested. ‘She could have stayed in my office, I’d have taken her for a run at lunchtime.’
‘I didn’t want to impose.’
‘It wouldn’t be imposing. I’m practically her aunt!’
‘You might have been busy. Who was that chap you were talking to outside the conference room this afternoon?’
‘Josh? He’s the one who played the trick on me last week, the old boyfriend from college.’ There, she’d told him now. Still, he’d been intrigued enough to ask. Twice.
Dev looked skeptical. ‘Does he know he’s an old boyfriend?’
‘We’re giving things another go.’ Oh dear, that didn’t sound very passionate; Daisy gave herself a mental shake. ‘He’s brilliant,’ s
he went on, her eyes bright. ‘We’re very happy. Very happy.’ God, I sound like a lousy actress and I’m not even acting. It’s the truth.
The next moment someone touched her arm. Glad of the diversion—any diversion—Daisy exclaimed, ‘Oh, hi! Have you had a good day?’
It was the girl from this morning, the one with the laddered tights. ‘I came to say thanks.’ She beamed at Daisy. ‘You saved my life.’
Doctors and surgeons and firemen saved lives.
‘Well,’ said Daisy, ‘I saved you from being forced to wear forty denier American Tans.’
‘I’m feeling guilty, though. I don’t think I gave you enough.’ As she said it, the girl was searching through her bag. Finding her purse, she took out another ten pound note and held it towards Daisy.
Mystified, Dev shook his head. ‘What’s this about?’
‘Oh, I laddered my tights as I arrived this morning. This girl very kindly sold me a pair of hers. But I’ve been worrying about it all day. When you gave me that funny look, I wondered if it meant ten pounds wasn’t enough and I thought maybe you’d expected more…’
Dev frowned, turning to Daisy. ‘You sold her a pair of your own tights? For ten pounds?’
Oh, for heaven’s sake, what did he take her for?
‘Look,’ Daisy held up her hands in protest, ‘it’s not how it sounds. They weren’t old tights, for a start.’ Did he seriously imagine she’d dragged some bedraggled old pair out of her knicker drawer? ‘They were brand new, still in the packet. And I didn’t want any money at all, but… but…’
‘Jennifer,’ Dev supplied, when it became obvious she was floundering.
‘Jennifer, right. She kept insisting I take it,’ Daisy earnestly explained, ‘and she was in such a hurry, and I really didn’t want ten pounds but in the end it just seemed the easiest thing to do.’
‘Ten pounds?’ Dev repeated, shaking his head in disbelief.
That was the thing about men, Daisy remembered. They might have actually grasped that dresses can cost a lot and underwear can cost a lot and shoes can cost, well, a fortune, frankly, but when it came to tights they really didn’t have a clue. Steven had been just the same; for some reason he’d been convinced that tights cost, ooh, maybe seventy or eighty pence a pair.
Trying to hide her irritation, Daisy said, ‘OK, maybe it sounds a lot to you, but that’s what you pay for a decent pair of tights these days.’
‘Is it?’ Dev turned to Jennifer, who looked embarrassed.
‘Crikey, I don’t know. I only ever buy cheapies, the posh kind are way out of my league.’
Daisy’s irritation promptly doubled. This wasn’t fair. Jennifer was acting all innocent but at the same time effectively digging the knife in. This morning she’d seemed perfectly nice. Was the girl doing it on purpose?
Daisy couldn’t work it out at all. Dev, meanwhile, was looking at her as if spiders had suddenly started tumbling out of her ears. Humiliating memories came flooding back, of her school days, when she’d been unfairly accused of stealing a Crunchie Bar from the local newsagents. OK, so maybe she had actually stolen the Crunchie, but only as a dare. Not because she was a thief.
Dev, clearly on Jennifer’s side, said, ‘So tell me, how much did you pay for the tights?’
What kind of question was that? And how did he seriously expect her to reply?
‘Ten pounds,’ Daisy lied. Well, more or less. Of course, it had been less than that, but she was buggered if she was going to tell him that now. Even though she had a horrible feeling he knew.
‘We’d better make a move,’ Dev abruptly announced. ‘I’ve booked a table for eight o’clock.’
For a moment Daisy thought he was talking to her. Then she realized Jennifer was flushing with triumph, smoothing her skirt, and looking incredibly pleased with herself.
Without thinking, Daisy said, ‘What about Clarissa? Isn’t she expecting you home?’
‘Oh, have you met her?’ cried Jennifer with enthusiasm. ‘Isn’t she a little doll? I just love Clarissa to bits!’
Excuse me?
Daisy was instantly confused, she’d assumed Jennifer and Dev had only met today. She was also feeling jealous and hugely protective towards Clarissa. Jennifer wasn’t allowed to witter on about how fabulous she was. I found her first, Daisy thought crossly, not you.
‘If you left a child at home for this long, the social services would be on to you in a flash,’ she told Dev.
‘We’ll pick her up, take her for a walk, keep her in the car while we’re in the restaurant.’
Really? Jennifer or Clarissa?
‘Give me two minutes to powder my nose, then we’ll be off.’ Beaming up at Dev, Jennifer laid a proprietorial hand on his wrist.
‘Is she one of your clients?’ asked Daisy, when the girl had disappeared to the loo.
‘No. Jennifer’s my secretary.’
Secretary. Of course he had a secretary. He’d just never mentioned her before. And now they were going out for dinner together, Daisy thought sourly. Jennifer might not be his usual type, but she was evidently the girl Dev took to bed. When there was no one better around.
It was almost dark outside; Josh and Tara would be back soon. Glancing at her watch, Daisy knocked back the rest of her wine in one go.
‘I’m off too. Have a nice meal.’ Half of her was tempted to reach behind the bar, snatch a tenner from the cash register, and give it to Dev to pass on to Jennifer. The other half of her thought, sod it, why should I?
Back in her office with the lights off, Daisy watched Dev leave the hotel and make his way across to the car park. With that long, confident stride and his jacket slung over one shoulder, she was forcefully reminded once again why she was better off steering clear of men like him.
The car roared into view, coming to a gravel-crunching halt by the entrance. The passenger door was pushed open by Dev and Jennifer, waiting on the steps, joyfully climbed in.
Needless to say, her tights were looking great.
I don’t need someone like that, Daisy told herself as the car shot off down the drive. Nothing but trouble.
Anyway, dammit, who cares? I’ve got Josh.
Chapter 34
‘Just five more minutes, then I really want to get home.’ Tara didn’t mean to sound ungrateful but she was seeing Dominic tonight.
‘Fine. Turn right by the clump of trees,’ instructed Josh, still new to the area and peering at the road sign. ‘Up here, that’s it, Brocket’s Lane.’
‘Watch out for mad dogs.’ Tara pulled a face as they passed the cottage where Bert Connelly lived with his wife, hulking great sons, and beloved pit bull terriers.
‘OK, this’ll do,’ said Josh as they reached the next gateway. ‘Turn round here. Stop, reverse into it, and try not to hit the gatepost.’
Thoughts of Dominic were interfering with Tara’s coordination; she was too excited to avoid making a pig’s ear of the maneuver.
‘It’s dark,’ she complained as the back wheel sank into a pothole. ‘I can’t see where I’m going.’
‘Try again.’
‘Oh, Josh, don’t bully me. Haven’t I done enough for one day?’
‘Who’s the lucky chap?’ Startled, Tara saw through the darkness that he was grinning at her.
‘No one,’ she lied. ‘It’s Maggie’s birthday today, that’s all.’
‘I know it’s Maggie’s birthday. We went into Bristol yesterday to buy her a present. How did she like her dressing gown, by the way?’
To be honest, Tara wasn’t sure. Having thought Maggie would adore a warm, practical woolly dressing gown, she had been disappointed by her aunt’s lack of reaction. OK, so it wasn’t the slinkiest outfit in the world, but what would Maggie do with a dressing gown that was glamorous?
‘I think she might take it back—ooh, there’s Barney!’ Inst
antly diverted, Tara realized they were facing Brock Cottage and that lights were blazing in every window. Now that Rose Timpson’s awful grubby curtains had been taken down and—well, incinerated, hopefully—you could see the amount of work that had been done inside. Every room had been repainted. The drastically overgrown garden piled with old chicken coops and beer crates had been cleared. And there was Barney on the front path, energetically stuffing paint-stained newspapers into a black bin liner, stripping off his equally paint-spattered overalls and eagerly checking his watch.
Tara buzzed the driver’s window down.
‘Hey, Barney! Looking good!’
Next to her, Josh shook his head in mock despair and murmured, ‘Don’t tell me you’ve got your eye on him. Poor lad, he’s far too young for you.’
‘I meant the cottage.’ Tara gave his arm a friendly thump. ‘And I’m not after him. Apart from anything else, he’s the one with the kidney.’
Barney, who was looking good, loped over to them in his jeans and an old purple sweatshirt. ‘It’s coming on,’ he agreed happily. ‘Want to take a look inside?’
‘Bit of a hurry,’ Tara apologized. ‘Have to get back. Another time, OK?’
‘OK.’ Grinning, Barney ran his hands through his shiny hair, smoothing it into some kind of order. ‘It’s a shame, though. My girlfriend’s going to be here in a minute—she hasn’t seen the place yet either. I wanted to get it finished first,’ he confided, ‘but she’s too excited. She can’t wait.’
***
‘Nobody home,’ Josh observed shortly afterwards as they pulled up outside Maggie’s cottage. The place was in darkness. Not surprising really, as Maggie had gone over to Chippenham to celebrate her birthday with friends.
‘Thanks for the lesson.’ Switching off the ignition, Tara belatedly remembered to pull on the handbrake. ‘I mean it, I’m really grateful.’
‘And I’m still curious.’ Josh stayed where he was, making no attempt to move. ‘You’re off out somewhere, meeting someone you don’t want to be late for, and you won’t tell me who it is. More to the point, Daisy doesn’t know who it is, which seems slightly weird to me.’
‘God, you’re nosy. This isn’t a soap opera,’ Tara complained. ‘We aren’t in EastEnders, you know.’