“It seems we moved away from the Cove before George Cohen brought his mystery woman back to the Cove. All I remember is my mum being told the gossip surrounding their quick and unexpected marriage. From what I’ve been told by the staff here, Marian has quite the reputation. It would be nice to make her acquaintance.”
Izzy smiled, enjoying Richard’s blessed ignorance of Marian’s inevitable curiosity. “I’ll make the introductions. But be warned, she has the uncanny ability to see straight into people’s hearts, so I hope you’re not hiding any deep, dark secrets. She has no qualms about exposing people’s failings, even if it’s only to the person himself.”
“Thanks for the warning.” He smiled. “But I’m sure she’ll agree I’m just a normal guy.”
“Hmm, leading an extraordinary life as a household name.” Izzy glanced around the restaurant and caught the curious and openly gawping gazes shooting in their direction. Maybe it will be me who needs protecting from Marian rather than you.
Nerves knotted her stomach when she considered what people might think about her and Richard spending time together. Templeton was not a place of anonymity, and as much as she didn’t want anyone jumping to the wrong conclusions about them, she wanted to enjoy Richard’s company.
She faced Richard and put her napkin on the table. “How about I meet you there around nine? We’ll have breakfast and then maybe scout out some locations for the shoot. I have quite a few ideas already, but I’d be happy to share them with you.”
“Great.”
“Well, it’s time for me to get home. Thank you for such a nice evening.”
She stood and Richard pushed to his feet, holding out his hand. “Tomorrow, then.”
“Tomorrow.” She took his hand and he gently pulled her forward and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.
Izzy smiled. “Thanks for dinner.”
He nodded and she walked out of the restaurant with the weight of people’s stares at her back, and the acute awareness that Richard was most likely watching her too. Uncertainty rolled through her as she played the evening through in her mind. It had gone a lot better than she’d expected and she couldn’t deny that Richard’s pleasant and interesting company had taken her by surprise.
Maybe she had no romantic interest in the man, but Trent was right. It was time she participated in life again.
She continued forward until she was outside onto the street. Breathing in the fresh night air, Izzy headed for home, steadfastly pushing away the inexplicable feeling she was betraying Trent by seeing Richard. She wasn’t. She would never do anything to hurt Trent. Which was why spending time with someone she wasn’t in the least bit attracted to could only be a good thing.
CHAPTER SIX
MARIAN’S BONNIEST BAKERY was the perpetual beehive of activity it always was every morning. Trent scowled out the window toward the promenade as suited workers, joggers and romancing couples made their way across the planked walkway. He waited in line for coffee, the same as he did every Tuesday and Friday.
He, Will and Sam all had their designated days for coffee collection, and when he turned toward the open door, he cursed that today was his.
Izzy wore her long blond hair loose and lovely. It hung like sheets of gold over the shoulders of her short-sleeve white knit sweater. Skinny blue jeans and knee-high boots completed her seemingly effortless perfection. He narrowed his gaze. There was something different about her today. Something he hadn’t seen in far too long. She looked relaxed, more at ease than she had in weeks. She’d even decided the day was good enough to warrant the pink lipstick he hadn’t seen on her lips for months.
She turned toward the guy coming in behind her as he leaned over her to say something close to her ear. Trent’s gut knotted when she dipped her head, her smile partially concealed by her golden curtain of hair as it grazed her face.
Who the hell was this guy?
Then he remembered.
Richard bloody Crawley.
Trent clenched his jaw and faced front. He didn’t want to be here. Not now. Not when some TV celebrity had managed to make Izzy smile like that. God, she looked almost shy. Izzy shy? The notion was laughable. It could only mean one thing. She liked Crawley. A lot. He’d managed to peel back a little of her protective barrier in a matter of days, something that Trent hadn’t managed in months.
Trent inwardly cursed. How had he gotten it so wrong?
Now, with Richard Crawley so openly flirting with her, Trent acknowledged his stupidity. Was it any wonder Izzy had told him she didn’t want him when she offered herself to him and he rejected her?
“What can I get you, sweetheart?”
Trent started and lifted his scowl to Marian as she stood behind the bakery counter. Her smile vanished. “Well, that’s a look I don’t see on your face every day. What’s got you so riled up this morning? Or don’t I want to know?”
“You always want to know.” Trent risked another glance behind him. Izzy spoke so intently with Crawley, their conversation so interesting, that they seemed entirely unaware of anyone else. He faced Marian. “Can I have our usual coffees, please? To go.”
The older woman’s shrewd gaze lingered over his shoulder before she snapped her focus back to Trent, her brown eyes shining with amusement. “Got yourself a little competition, I see.”
Trent shrugged. “Competition, my ass.”
Marian gave her renowned and, too loud, burst of laughter. “Hey, if that man can make Izzy smile like that, you should be happy for her.”
“I am.”
“Sure you are.” She scribbled down his order on a piece of paper and handed it to the barista behind her. “He looks kind of familiar. Do I know him?”
“Not unless you spend your days watching game shows.”
Marian frowned and peered past Trent’s shoulder a second time. Her eyes widened. “Is that—”
“Yep. Richard Flashing Teeth, Fake Tan Crawley.”
“Well, he’s not to my taste, but he does have that cheeky chappy kind of look about him.”
“Cheek...” Trent turned just as Crawley brushed some fallen hair from Izzy’s brow. He scowled. “Cheeky is not what I see going on with that guy at all.”
Marian lifted an eyebrow. “No? What do you see?”
“I see...” He glared at her twinkling eyes and tormenting grin. “Never mind.”
The barista came forward with his coffees pushed into a take-away tray and Trent handed Marian a ten-pound note. “Put the change in Maya’s collection tin.”
“Sure thing. And, Trent? Let Izzy find her own way. Trust me, that girl’s got more sense in her little finger than most women her age have in their entire bodies. She’ll find her way through her grief and see what’s right. You just need to give her some breathing space.”
“I give her plenty of breathing space.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
“Then prove it and stop fretting over some TV presenter showing her a good time while he’s in town. She’ll come back to you when she’s good and ready. For the time being, concentrate on your own life, rather than hers.” She turned to her next customer, her smile wide and her and Trent’s conversation clearly over. “Good morning, lovely. What can I get you?”
Trent inhaled and turned from the counter. There was no other way to leave the bakery than to walk straight past Izzy and Crawley, which meant Trent had two choices. Either throw himself through Marian’s plate-glass window or, the less gutless option, actually speak to the guy.
Slowly strolling toward the exit, Trent smiled and nodded hello to a few people before Izzy reached out and gripped his forearm. “Trent, hey. I’ve got someone here I’d like you to meet.” She turned to Crawley, her hand slipping from Trent’s arm toward the presenter. “Richard Crawley, meet my good friend Trent Palmer. He’s
one of the volunteer firefighters for the shoot.”
The pride that rang in Izzy’s voice should’ve gone some way toward hammering out the mammoth-size dent in Trent’s ego, but instead, all that echoed in his head was the word friend. Shaking it off, he held out his hand to Crawley. “Nice to meet you.” Firm, but not hard enough to break the guy’s fingers, they shook and parted hands. Trent held up the coffees. “I’d better go. The guys can’t function on sea air alone. See you around.”
He glanced at Izzy, and her blue eyes narrowed as she stared at him.
He stepped toward the door.
“Trent?”
He briefly closed his eyes before turning to Izzy. “What?”
Her gaze burned with annoyance. “Richard’s staying in the Cove for a few days and was hoping to meet you and the other firefighters I’ll be shooting for the calendar. Would it be okay if I brought Richard to the station sometime today? Or maybe tomorrow?”
Irritation vibrated through every muscle in Trent’s body as he glanced at Crawley. The knowing smirk on the guy’s face made Trent grip the coffee tray tighter. He shifted his gaze to Izzy. “I’ll check with the chief and call you.”
He turned toward the door.
“Trent...”
“I said I’ll call you, Iz.” He opened the door without looking back.
The door closed on her answer...if she answered him at all. He strode along the high street, every muscle in his body wired with tension as he battled the jealousy burning inside his gut. He had no right to feel so possessive over Izzy. Marian was right. He needed to focus on his own life rather than Izzy’s. He needed to move on.
So what if she got on well with Crawley? It didn’t mean they were destined to end up in bed together. So he made her smile, made her look more relaxed than she had seemed in weeks...motivated her to wear a little lipstick. It was no big deal.
Trent stomped closer to the station.
So what if she considered him a friend? Her once-upon-a-time lover. Her damn nemesis that happened to fight fire for a living. What did it matter that the evening they’d spent in her studio talking and laughing had given him futile hope they had turned a corner toward a reunion?
His misinterpretation was his own doing. It had nothing to do with Izzy.
So what was he going to do next? What would be his first step in moving forward?
He turned into the station courtyard and glanced up at the guys’ mess room above the garage. All he needed was either right here at work or else waiting in a nearby town with their arms wide open and ready for a visit from their son. Maybe he should forget Izzy, forget all women for a while, and figure out what he wanted from his own life instead of worrying about everyone else he cared for.
Trent shook his head and entered the station. Yeah, like that was the easiest goal in the universe. How was he supposed to stop caring about his parents? His colleagues? His friends and Izzy? They were who made him the kind of man he was, who made him get up in the morning and want to be the best he could be for all of them.
To live for himself, to do what he wanted now and then...that kind of selfishness was what led to the worst event of his entire life and it was a path he’d be hard pushed to ever tread again. He had Aimee’s memory to remind him of what happened whenever he thought about himself. She was right there, in his head, every single day.
* * *
AS IZZY WALKED along Templeton’s main street, she dialed Trent’s number. Every time she’d phoned him for the last two days, the call had gone straight to voice mail. She took a breath, ready to leave, yet another message asking him to call her back when he picked up.
“Hi.”
Izzy frowned. His tone was cold enough to halt any worry about the world’s ice cap thawing. “At last. Anyone would think you’ve been avoiding me.”
“Nope. Busy.”
She stopped, ignoring the tuts and moans of the people forced to unexpectedly walk around her. “Too busy to answer my fifteen calls to you over the last two days?”
“What can I do for you, Iz?”
Hurt twisted her heart. She’d thought things between them were better now, but it seemed something she’d done had upset him. Again.
“Have I done something wrong?”
He exhaled. “No.”
“Then why are you being so distant?”
“I’m busy with work. That’s all. What’s up?”
Not wanting their conversation to evolve into another argument, Izzy took a deep breath. “I was wondering if you’d managed to speak to your chief about bringing Richard by the station for a visit. I’ve come up with the idea of having the cover shot with him in the center, you guys standing around him and the station in back. It would be nice to show him around the place a little first. What do you think?”
“Does it really matter what I think?”
Irritation simmered beneath the surface of Izzy’s skin. “What’s with you?”
“Nothing.”
“You sound incredibly annoyed for nothing.”
His released breath rasped down the line. “Ignore me. It’s a great idea.”
“Really?” She smiled. “You’ll show us around?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll speak to the chief and call you back.”
“Great.” Izzy walked from the middle of the pavement to lean against a wall in between the toy shop and a discount store, still concerned by Trent’s aloofness. “Trent?”
“Yeah?”
“You’d tell me if something was bothering you, wouldn’t you? We’re still friends, I hope. You sound so fed—”
“I’m not having the easiest time seeing you with a guy you barely know, smiling and relaxing like you’re having the best time you’ve had in months, but that’s my problem, not yours. I’ll call you when I’ve spoken to the chief.”
Annoyance rippled through her. This was the last conversation she wanted to have with him. He was the one man she knew above all others who held on to his self-control and kept a level temper, even when chaos reigned all around him.
She closed her eyes and pushed her fingers at the headache starting at her temple. “There’s nothing going on between me and Richard apart from the calendar. I don’t know why seeing me with him bothers you. We’re doing this for Maya, remember?”
“Fine, I’m sorry. It’s just...”
She opened her eyes. “Just what?”
“It pisses me off that Crawley makes you smile in a way I haven’t managed in months, but I’ll deal with it. For the record, I know I should be happy you’re smiling and I’m trying, okay?”
Izzy relaxed her shoulders and smiled, a little amused by the jealousy in his voice. “I’m smiling now.”
“Great. So you like it when I act like a six-year-old?”
“No, I like it when you realize you’re being an idiot.”
“Ouch. Guess I deserve that. Forget I said anything, okay? I’ll clear your visit with the chief. Bring Crawley by about six, although there’s no guarantee we won’t be called out while you’re here.”
Izzy closed her eyes again, not wanting to think about Trent being called out to a fire at any time of the day or night. “I understand.”
“Good. I’ll see you then.”
The line went dead.
Izzy opened her eyes and ended the call before staring blindly ahead. Trent’s distance and the horrible emptiness it created in her proved he was a big part of why she called Templeton home. Space was what she’d wanted, and Trent had given it to her, but the brief coldness in his voice was something she’d never heard from him before and it had shaken her.
She needed to accept that she didn’t know him as well as she thought. She always thought him so strong and untouch
able. Strong and in control...which is probably why she continued to push him away, assuming he’d get over her eventually. But how could anyone be strong all the time? He also had feelings and an innate sense of loyalty and honor.
A man, she hadn’t known until recently, that had a sister...a sister he’d lost in a fire.
The deaths of their siblings should bring them closer, not force them apart, and she only had herself to blame. How could he still want her when she floundered through each day, trying her best to fit into a new life without her brother when he’d managed so well without Aimee?
He never let Izzy down or looked at her as though she was anything less than perfect. She couldn’t bear for him to see her so weak.
It was time to stand up and be counted by her own actions and decisions.
Pushing away from the wall, she had started to walk toward her studio when one of the shops across the street caught her eye. She stilled.
A sign had been pasted to the whitewashed windows.
Garrett’s Art Gallery is scheduled to open in the New Year.
Izzy pressed her hand to her stomach. Trent had urged her to speak to Jay about the gallery. Maybe this was the chance she’d been waiting for to prove she could keep living without Robbie. Even though her work was gaining more and more interest, having a permanent display at an art gallery would mean an immediate elevation as far as she, and most likely, the press, were concerned. To have it continually shown in a gallery that was bound to be successful, bearing in mind Jay’s entrepreneurial track record, could open doors she’d never considered before. Who was to say he wouldn’t do all he could to use his money and influence to promote her work in a way she couldn’t afford herself right now? Excitement churned in her stomach. She had to at least try to impress Jay; had to try and move forward in her career if she couldn’t in her heart.
Checking that the road was clear, she hurried across the street. Beneath the sign pasted in the window was another.
For Any Inquiries, Please Contact Jay Garrett’s Office on...
Izzy took out her phone and entered the number into her contacts. Happiness was a choice. Wasn’t that what Trent told her? She smiled before dialing Kate’s number. “Hey, it’s me.”
Saved by the Firefighter Page 7