by Jill Mansell
‘I’ll believe you, thousands wouldn’t. Fancy some breakfast?’
Daisy’s heart did a double backflip. He was so nice, and he seemed to be taking all this so effortlessly in his stride. But there was still a niggle of doubt in the back of her mind.
‘Just a cup of tea.’ She hesitated. ‘Josh? Did you really think I’d give up the hotel and come with you to Miami?’
His mouth twitched as he gazed fondly down at her. ‘Not for one single solitary moment.’
‘So why did you tell Tara I might?’
‘Oh, that. Just to see the look on her face.’ Josh chuckled and shook his head. ‘And let me tell you, it was an absolute picture.’
‘You mustn’t be mean to Tara,’ Daisy protested.
‘I’m not mean to Tara. She just doesn’t realize what a rut she’s got herself into. She’s twenty-seven years old.’ Josh gestured in disbelief. ‘She has a hell of a lot going for her and she doesn’t even realize it. She’s lost her sense of adventure. At the rate Tara’s going, she’ll end up spending the next fifty years in this village. She lives with her aunt, she works here in the hotel as a chambermaid, you’re her best friend… When I suggested you might not be here forever she practically had a panic attack! Tara needs to realize there’s more to life than Colworth.’
Blimey. It was all true, Daisy marveled. And she’d never even noticed it until now. Oh well, maybe with Dominic out of the way…
‘Sure you just want tea?’ Reaching the bathroom door, Josh chucked her a towel. By unspoken common consent, she realized, from this moment he would only see her with her clothes on.
That was it, they were back to being friends. No awkwardness, no hard feelings, just a smidgen of sadness and a monumental sense of relief.
‘Seeing as you lugged it all the way back from Austria,’ Daisy said loyally, ‘I’ll have tea and Toblerone.’
Josh pulled a face. ‘How about if I picked it up at Bristol airport?’
***
The weather had taken a miraculous turn for the better over the last couple of days. The temperature outside was up, the sky was spring blue, and the sun blazed down. Daisy, her spirits lifting, stood on the steps of the hotel enjoying the scene; now that the snow had disappeared, there were far more tourists around, even at nine thirty on a Saturday morning. Spring was here at last, the cherry trees were fuzzy with pink and white blossom, and the lawns were studded with clumps of daffodils. Across the river, the chestnut trees were putting out lime-green candle buds and the woody undergrowth was thick with primroses. Several brave guests were even sitting out optimistically in short-sleeved shirts.
Being England, of course, it was likely to be bitterly cold and pouring with rain by eleven o’clock, and everyone would come scuttling back for their thick coats and umbrellas.
Hearing footsteps on the staircase, Daisy glanced over her shoulder and saw Dev making his way downstairs. Busy inspecting his phone, he didn’t spot her as he headed across reception and veered to the right. Moments later he reappeared behind the French windows at the far end of the bar. Daisy, watching him through the glass as he pressed out a number and began to speak, realized that he was standing exactly where Josh must have been standing when he’d first spied on Dev and herself on the front steps.
Except this time she was spying on Dev. Well, not spying, of course. Observing, that was a nicer way of putting it. Taking note of the black leather jacket and smart-looking trousers and the way his dark hair kept falling onto his forehead as he nodded into the phone. Acknowledging that he had an unfairly perfect profile for an ex-rugby player. Wondering who he was talking to and where he might be heading.
The rugby, that was it! It all came back to Daisy in a flash. The final of the Six Nations Cup thingy at—where was it? Oh yes, Twickenham. Stuck out in the freezing cold being jostled and shoved about by thousands of fanatical beer-swilling rugby fans.
Except it wasn’t freezing cold, it was sunny and warm. And when she’d told Josh about it he’d actually painted quite a different picture.
Then again, he was a man.
Then again, Daisy wavered, Josh had made it sound like the not-to-be-missed experience of a lifetime. And there was always the chance that Dev hadn’t invited someone else along.
Stop it. This is a stupid, stupid idea.
But Daisy, her heart beginning to beat faster, found herself unable to leave it alone.
She wasn’t working today. Josh, having been up all night traveling back from Kitzbühel, had finally given in to red-eyed exhaustion and gone to bed for a few hours. When he woke up, he would be taking Tara out for her driving lesson.
Retail therapy was an option, Daisy acknowledged, but she couldn’t think of a single thing she wanted to buy.
Rugby might actually be quite interesting when you put your mind to it.
Heaven forbid that she should become boring, never try anything new, and end up stuck in a rut like Tara.
Dev still hadn’t spotted her. Daisy watched him end the phone call and turn away from the window. Right, easy-peasy, all she had to do was bump into him in reception and chat brightly about the weather for a few seconds before suddenly remembering that today was the day of the Six Nations thingy—no, not thingy, tournament. Then, with a bit of luck, Dev would flash her a rueful smile and say, ‘You really would enjoy it, you know. Sure I can’t persuade you to change your mind?’
And guess what? He could!
***
The next two minutes were mortifying. Daisy already had her smile liberally plastered across her face when she bumped into Dev.
And his female companion.
‘Oh! Hello,’ Daisy exclaimed far, far too brightly as shock reverberated all the way down to her toes. The girl had been in the bar all along, waiting for Dev to finish making his call.
‘Daisy.’ Acknowledging her with a relaxed nod and a smile, Dev turned to the girl at his side. ‘This is Daisy MacLean, she runs the hotel. Daisy, this is Kate.’
Kate dimpled. To add insult to injury she was tiny, practically pocket-sized, and extremely pretty with huge green eyes and short curly black hair. She was also, ominously, carrying a caramel leather holdall that might or might not be an overnight case.
‘We’re off to Twickenham,’ Kate said happily.
‘Oh, right. The rugby thing.’ Daisy nodded, then pulled a face. ‘Rather you than me.’
‘Not Daisy’s idea of a good time,’ Dev sounded amused.
‘Oh, I love rugby,’ Kate exclaimed, her dinky black curls bouncing with enthusiasm. ‘I’m a huge fan!’
Huge fan indeed. She didn’t weigh more than seven stone.
‘Anyway, we’d better be off,’ said Dev.
‘Have fun!’ The effort of smiling in such a cheery, carefree fashion was starting to make Daisy’s teeth ache.
‘We will,’ trilled Kate.
As they left the hotel, Daisy turned back to the reception desk. She hoped it rained at Twickenham. Really hard.
Who was Kate, anyway?
‘Problem?’ Pam glanced up from the bookings diary.
‘Um, that girl who just left with Dev.’ Daisy frowned, doing her best to sound efficient and businesslike, rather than like a jealous teenager. ‘Did you see her arrive this morning?’
‘The one with the dark curly hair? No.’ Unlike Kate’s, Pam’s curls didn’t jiggle fetchingly when she shook her head—they were sprayed rigidly into place. ‘Why?’
‘I just wondered if she stayed here last night.’ Swiveling the diary round on the polished desk, Daisy scanned the list of entries. ‘See? Nothing down here. But if she was here with Dev, we really should have her name. I mean, if there was a fire…’
‘Maybe she didn’t stay,’ Pam put in helpfully. ‘She could have turned up this morning while I was in the office—oh look, here comes Clarissa!’
&nbs
p; Clarissa skittered down the staircase, her tail rotating like a propeller. In her wake puffed Adam, the overweight teenage son of the Australian family booked into the Bellingham Suite.
‘We’re off for a run,’ Adam announced with pride.
Daisy was privately amazed he knew what a run was. All she’d seen him do so far was play intermittently with his Nintendo DS and guzzle mountains of cakes.
‘You’re looking after Clarissa?’
‘For the whole day. While Mr Tyzack’s away.’ Smugly Adam added, ‘He’s paying me.’
Now Daisy really was miffed. She could have looked after Clarissa today. Why hadn’t Dev asked her?
‘But you might have had other things to do.’ She frowned at Pam. ‘I don’t think that’s very fair of Mr Tyzack—he shouldn’t impose on our guests.’
‘He didn’t impose.’ Adam was eager to exonerate Dev. ‘I offered. Clarissa’s ace—me and her get on really well.’
Wrong, Daisy thought jealously, me and Clarissa get on really well. I found her. For heaven’s sake, I’m practically her adoptive mother!
‘Here, girl, c’mon, off we go.’ Adam rattled Clarissa’s lead and she was off in an instant, bouncing adoringly out of the front door at Adam’s heels without so much as a backward glance at Daisy.
Cheers, Clarissa.
‘So,’ Pam said cozily, ‘what are you up to today?’
Having run out of alternatives, Daisy realized there was nothing else for it. She suppressed a sigh.
‘Shopping.’
Chapter 52
Tara was having a great time. She hadn’t forgotten how to drive (hooray!), Josh had pronounced her reversing-round-a-corner maneuver faultless, and she was even remembering not to cross her arms over each other—heinous crime—when turning the steering wheel. Plus, the sun was still blazing down and from his jacket pocket Josh had produced a bag of strawberry sherbets, the irresistible kind that made the inside of your mouth shrivel up—but not enough to stop you having another one.
‘Did Daisy tell you?’ Tara was touched by his thoughtfulness.
‘Tell me what?’
‘That strawberry sherbets are my all-time favorite sweets.’
‘No.’ Josh shook his head. ‘I bought them because they’re my all-time favorite sweets.’
‘Really?’ Tara was delighted.
‘Well, joint favorites. I’m mad about those liquorice Catherine wheels,’ Josh admitted.
‘And liquorice comfits. When I was little I used to wet the red ones and use them as lipstick,’ Tara happily reminisced. ‘I thought I looked so great. God, even at seven I was a tart.’
‘Don’t put yourself down. And check your mirror before you signal,’ added Josh as they reached a junction.
‘So what happened to your friend after he broke his leg?’ Tara was dying to hear the rest of the story—going on holiday with Josh was evidently a perilous business.
‘Baz? He hung up his skis and took up tobogganing instead. Then three days later we all went out to this nightclub and guess what happened?’
‘He broke his other leg?’
‘Wrong. Far too predictable,’ Josh scoffed. ‘In fact he bumped into this girl—literally—on his way to the loo. She’d broken her leg as well and their crutches got into a complete tangle. So of course Baz being Baz, he bought her a drink. They spent an hour comparing fractures and boasting about how they’d got them, and the next thing we knew, they’d gone.’
‘Gone where?’
‘Hobbled back to her chalet together. God knows what they managed to get up to, but we hardly saw Baz for the rest of the week. He reckons it’s the best holiday he’s ever had.’
Tara giggled. ‘That’s so sweet. Oh, speaking of sweets…’ She opened her mouth to show that the strawberry sherbet was gone and waited for Josh to unwrap another one.
‘It’s like feeding a baby bird.’ He popped it into her mouth. ‘Now, take the next left and we’ll do a few three-point turns.’
Mirror, signal, maneuver. Tara turned left into a cul-de-sac and pulled up—brilliantly—at the side of the road.
‘By the way, I hope you didn’t pick up any girls out there.’ She gave him a stern look.
Josh grinned. ‘Of course I didn’t.’
Standard male answer.
‘But you could just be saying that,’ Tara argued. ‘How would we know?’
‘It’s the truth. That’s not why I go away on holiday. I’m not interested in getting up to no good with other girls.’
Tara relented. That was the thing about Josh, you could actually believe him. He wasn’t a cheating scumbag like some men she could think of.
Most men, in fact.
‘Well, glad to hear it. Right.’ She took a couple of noisy deep breaths and waggled her hands like an Olympic athlete going for gold. ‘Three-point turn. Silence please, ladies and gentlemen, as Tara Donovan of Great Britain heroically attempts the near-impossible in a very narrow cul-de-sac.’
‘Daisy hasn’t told you, has she?’ said Josh. A statement rather than a question.
‘Told me what? I haven’t seen Daisy today.’ Tara wished he wouldn’t interrupt when she was on the brink of something this momentous; couldn’t he see she was trying to concentrate?
‘We’ve called it a day.’
Called it a day? She paused, puzzling over the expression. Surely he meant that they’d named the day?
‘What?’
‘It’s over,’ Josh patiently repeated. ‘It wasn’t working out. We’re no longer a couple.’
Tara’s left foot jerked and slid off the clutch. The car, already in gear, kangarooed forwards and abruptly stalled.
‘Handbrake,’ Josh said automatically.
‘You mean you finished with Daisy?’ Tara’s mouth dropped open.
‘Technically, Daisy finished with me. But it was basically a mutual decision. We both knew it couldn’t go on. You’re still in gear,’ he added. ‘Put it into neutral.’
‘But I thought you were so happy together,’ Tara wailed. ‘You get on so well.’
‘And we’ll carry on getting on well. Probably until we’re eighty.’
‘I don’t believe this. Aren’t you upset?’
Josh flashed her a smile. ‘Relieved. Well, relieved that Daisy said it first. That way I didn’t have to feel guilty.’
Tara’s heart began to pound. ‘You mean there’s someone else?’
He shrugged. ‘Kind of.’
‘Who?’ Her voice rose.
Josh shook his head. Finally he sighed and said, ‘Bloody hell, Tara, who d’you think?’
And then he kissed her.
His mouth tasted of warm strawberries. Tara couldn’t believe this was happening. But all the tumblers were clicking into place now. The secret code had been cracked. It had never occurred to her before to fancy Josh, because he was her best friend’s boyfriend. It simply wasn’t something you even considered. In your mind, they were mentally neutered, Tara realized. Best friend’s boyfriends just weren’t an option.
Yet all this time, buried deep inside her, had been the subconscious acknowledgement that if Josh hadn’t been involved with Daisy, she might find him very attractive indeed.
And now she was allowed to find him attractive, she found that she did. Giving herself up to the kiss, Tara decided that his mouth actually tasted better than strawberries. As for his hair—his mad, tousled, red-gold tufty hair—she simply couldn’t stop running her fingers through it. And his face, with those baggy eyes and that broken nose and those faint golden freckles scattered across his cheekbones—how could she never have realized how perfect he was before now?
Finally, reluctantly, Josh pulled away. Just an inch. ‘This is the moment,’ he murmured, ‘when we find out.’
Tara blinked in confusion. ‘Find out what?’<
br />
‘Whether you’re about to slap my face.’
Oh. Phew. She managed a shaky smile. ‘No.’
Josh’s eyes twinkled with relief. ‘Good job I’m not a real driving instructor. I’d probably get struck off for this.’
Wonderingly, Tara murmured, ‘I never knew, I never knew.’
‘I know you didn’t.’ His smile was rueful. ‘That’s why doing that just now was so scary.’
‘I thought we just got on really well.’ Tara shook her head in bewilderment.
‘So did I. Well, to begin with,’ Josh amended. ‘And then it started to creep up on me.’
‘When?’ She was trembling all over with delight. ‘When did it start to creep up on you?’
‘A couple of weeks ago. We were doing hill starts in Tetbury. You were telling me about your acting auditions.’
Tara winced; she’d only bared her soul to Josh because he was so completely off limits. It wasn’t the kind of stuff you’d ever want to confide to a potential boyfriend.
‘The sleazy ones? Where the casting directors wanted more than just an audition?’
‘And you told them to take a running jump,’ said Josh.
‘Oh.’ She squirmed guiltily. There were times when it had been a close-run thing.
‘When you told me,’ he went on, ‘I wanted to punch them.’
‘Really?’ Tara was absurdly touched.
‘I wanted to kill them,’ Josh declared. Clumsily, he kissed the tip of her nose. ‘That was when I realized what was happening.’
‘But you didn’t drop any hints,’ Tara marveled. ‘I mean, none.’ And let’s face it, she was the world’s expert when it came to picking up hints.
‘I was with Daisy.’ He shrugged.
Daisy. Tara was instantly awash with guilt. ‘I feel terrible.’ So terrible she could barely bring herself to think about it. ‘What’s she going to say?’ Worst of all, she knew that from this day forward until the day she died, she would associate the taste of strawberries with kissing Josh.
‘Don’t worry about Daisy. She’s fine about it.’
Slack-jawed, Tara turned her face up to his. ‘You mean… she knows?’