A Jersey Affair

by Georgina Troy

  ‘Sara, really, it’s not necessary,’ he said, patting one of Sara’s hands.

  ‘Yes, it is.’ She stared at him for a moment. He wished she didn’t feel quite so grateful towards him all the time.

  He noticed Paige tense. Sara must have too, because a moment later, Sara smiled at him. ‘Hey, don’t think you’ll be getting this treatment every time you deign to visit The Pink Pots.’ She tilted her head to one side. ‘It is great seeing you here though.’ She paused for a second or two. ‘Any ideas what you two fancy eating tonight?’

  He could see Paige staring thoughtfully at Sara and didn’t want her to get the wrong idea about their relationship. Sara had once made a drunken pass at him, but they’d laughed it off the following day and managed to remain close. Paige seemed to be sizing her up.

  As soon as Sara had taken their order and left them alone, Sebastian poured them both a glass of champagne. ‘It’s not quite the same ambiance as in Positano, but pleasant nonetheless.’

  Paige picked up her glass. ‘To success,’ she said before taking a drink.

  Sebastian watched her trying not to catch his eye. ‘To resolutions.’

  Paige glanced up at him. ‘Resolutions?’

  ‘Whether you believe me or not, I’m going to find a way to resolve this matter, Paige. I’m not in the habit of letting problems get the better of me, and I don’t intend giving up on what we had in Italy as easily as you seem to think I will.’

  Paige pulled a face; so he did feel a connection to her in Italy then? She was relieved not to have imagined it. ‘Not even when things have deteriorated as badly as they have between us?’

  ‘You’re here with me now, that’s a start.’ When she didn’t argue, Sebastian concentrated on keeping the conversation light throughout the rest of their meal. He asked her about her buying trip to Spain and told her about Harley, admitting how much he missed the dog every time he had to leave him behind at his home in London. ‘He always gives me such doleful glances whenever he spots my overnight bag,’ he said shaking his head at the thought.

  ‘Can’t you bring him over here?’ she asked resting her chin on her cupped hand.

  Sebastian took a drink of his cappuccino. ‘I’d love to, but he needs to be where I’m the most settled and right now that’s London. I’m constantly flying back and forth, but over there he’s well taken care of by my housekeeper, Mrs Hutton. She adores him and takes him for his daily walk when I’m not there; feeds him, that sort of thing.’

  ‘Is he alone much?’ Paige frowned.

  ‘No, never. Mrs H has an apartment at the house where she stays when I’m away. The rest of the time she goes back to her place about a mile away. . I’ve asked her to move in permanently, but she shared her home with her husband for decades before he died, and although she’s happy to stay at my place, she says she’s not ready to sell up just yet.’

  ‘She sounds dedicated,’ Paige said, looking over his shoulder in the direction of Sara’s laughing voice.

  ‘She is.’ Sebastian smiled at the thought of his trusted housekeeper. ‘I wanted to bring you here to talk things through,’ he said. ‘But as soon as we arrived, I realised it was a bad choice.’

  ‘Why? The meal was excellent,’ she said, a little too quickly. ‘I’ve had an amazing evening.’

  He shook his head. ‘Me too, but I only meant that I forgot it would be a little too cosy in here for us to be able to speak freely without someone listening.’

  ‘You don’t like discussing business in public, do you?’ Paige said interrupting his thoughts.

  ‘Not really. I think it should be kept between those it affects.’

  ‘I hope you enjoyed your meal,’ Sara said, arriving at their table.

  ‘Perfection.’ He glanced at the bill and gave her his credit card. ‘You look very busy tonight too.’

  ‘Yes,’ she looked around the room. ‘we have been, but then again, the chef is excellent. Thank you again for finding him for me.’

  Sebastian didn’t miss Paige stiffening at the reference to his helping Sara. ‘It was nothing. That’s what partners are supposed to do for each other. I’ll speak to you soon, Sara.’ Sebastian stood up and pulled out Paige’s chair for her. ‘Shall we take a stroll on the beach?’ he asked, aware that Paige looked very thoughtful. ‘I don’t think it’s too chilly out tonight.’

  ‘Good idea.’ Paige smiled at Sara. ‘I could do with walking off some of this delicious food, I’ve eaten far too much of it.’

  Sara nodded. ‘I’m glad you enjoyed it,’ she said. ‘It was good to meet you, Paige.’

  ‘You, too,’ Paige said.

  Chapter Fourteen

  ‘Yes, and thank you,’ Paige added, accidentally glancing down at Sebastian’s perfectly flat stomach as she walked through the front door.

  They went down the granite steps to the beach. Paige marvelled at how the reflection from the full moon splashed shards of silver onto the damp sand in front of them as the waves lapped lazily near their feet along the shoreline.

  ‘Finally,’ Sebastian said, his voice shattering the stillness of the evening. ‘We can talk without anyone trying to listen in to our conversation.’

  Paige noticed he was looking out across the channel and not at her. ‘It was busy in there,’ she said, wishing they could simply enjoy the moment and forget their differences for once, despite this being her justification for coming out with him in the first place.

  ‘We have unfinished business, and I don’t mean at De Greys,’ he said, as if reading her thoughts.

  ‘I know,’ she said, a deep sadness enveloping her. ‘But however much you try and keep those parts of our lives separate, it can’t realistically happen.’

  ‘But that’s ridiculous.’ He took hold of her hands and pulled her close to him, so that although she couldn’t quite make out the details of his face, she could feel him watching her. ‘Surely you’re not going to insist we don’t see each other because of my job?’

  Paige hesitated. ‘It’s not just what you do, it’s your lifestyle,’ she whispered, feeling his breath on her face, and a familiar tightening in her chest.

  ‘Would you say that if I was a road sweeper, or a teacher?’

  ‘Of course not, but I wouldn’t have to worry about my personal life being written about in the newspapers if I went out with someone from those professions, would I?’

  ‘Ah, I see.’

  Paige could have cried with frustration. Why did he have to be who he was? ‘And because they wouldn’t have the power to ruin my business with a single signature on a piece of paper,’ she said honestly.

  ‘What?’

  ‘I presume it will be you signing the notices the tenants will receive?’

  Sebastian let go of her hands and kicked the damp sand with the tip of his shoe. ‘Paige, you have to listen to me.’

  She noticed he didn’t deny it and held the front of her jacket closed against the cool, salty air. ‘I would happily listen, if there was anything you could say to change things, but you still haven’t let me know if I’m going to be one of the tenants who’ll be asked to leave De Greys.’

  He began walking along the water’s edge.

  Paige ran a couple of steps to catch up with him. ‘I need to make some sort of plan, if you are going to give me notice, and it’s stressing me out not knowing.’

  Sebastian stopped abruptly. ‘I’m so sorry. I do know how you feel, but I honestly can’t tell you anything until the list has been finalised. It would be unfair of me to do that. I probably won’t know for certain until that point if you will have to move.’

  So, she was part of a list, a meaningless group of names to be deleted from Sir Edmund’s empire. Paige swallowed a lump in her throat. How could he see her in this way? How could he think for one second that she and her designs were separate entities?

  ‘Let’s enjoy being here together now,’ he said, taking hold of her by the shoulders and turning her to face him once more. Paige tried to sh
rug him off, unable to look at him. ‘Paige,’ he said. ‘You know I’d never let you leave, if I thought it would ruin everything you’ve worked so hard to build up.’

  ‘How would you help me?’ she asked, unsure how he could possible come up with an ideal alternative for her. ‘There isn’t a way round this.’

  ‘There’s always a solution,’ he said. ‘For example, we could go into partnership.’

  Paige knew her mouth had dropped open. She closed it, and composed herself before answering. ‘Us, go into partnership together?’

  ‘Why not? You’ve seen first-hand how well it works between me and Sara.’

  ‘No,’ she snapped. Then seeing the look of shock on his face realized she’d been rude and concentrated on softening her voice when she continued. ‘I’m sure it works well between you two, but it’s not for me.’

  ‘Then, let me help you financially with the lease,’ he said. ‘Help you find a new shop of your own.’

  ‘No.’

  Sebastian touched her shoulder lightly. ‘Everything we’re saying now is hypothetical. You don’t have to make any rash decisions. Think about it.’

  ‘No, you don’t understand,’ she said. ‘You can’t throw your money around to impress me.’

  ‘I’m not trying to impress you, I’m trying to help you.’

  ‘I don’t want your help. I was doing perfectly well before you became involved with De Greys and all this happened.’

  ‘There are other ways to move forward, Paige.’

  ‘You tell me you’d never do anything to harm my business.’

  ‘I won’t,’ he raked his hand through his hair.

  ‘But you are. Why don’t you understand that?’ She turned and began walking away.

  He caught up with her seconds later. ‘I’ve promised I’ll take care of you and I will.’

  ‘You don’t have to look after me, I’m a grown woman. I’ll find my own way to make things work.’ Paige didn’t miss the hurt look on his face, but it made her feel in control once more to show him she wasn’t going to be manipulated by him.

  ‘You’re cold.’ He took off his linen jacket and draping it across her shoulders, put his arm around her and started walking. ‘Maybe it’s time I took you home?’

  ‘Yes, I think you could be right,’ she said, her conflicting emotions exhausting her.

  Driving her home, Sebastian made small talk all the way back, and parked the car outside her cottage. She put her hand on his to stop him getting out of the car. ‘I can see myself in,’ she assured him, as gently as she could manage. ‘Thanks for this evening. I’ve had an interesting time.’ She stepped out of the car and walked to her front door.

  ‘I don’t feel like we’ve sorted anything out between us,’ he said. ‘I had hoped to do so.’

  Paige didn’t answer. She knew he was watching her from the car, as she unlocked her front door, but when she turned to wave goodbye, he was already reversing out onto the road, looking away from her as he did so.

  She closed the door, leaning back against it for a moment. She knew she had acted in the only way she could. Maybe he didn’t understand her motives, she thought miserably, but as much as she would like to trust him, she had learnt the hard way from Jeremy’s actions that the only person you can truly trust is yourself.

  Determined to push any further disturbing thoughts about Sebastian to the back of her mind, she pulled her phone out of her bag to check if Olly had left any messages for her. Still nothing. She couldn’t help feeling slightly panicky at the discovery. ‘Strange,’ she said. He never went two days without any contact.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The following morning, finding Olly’s mobile still turned off, Paige ran upstairs to Clem’s room. She pulled back the curtains and sunrays streamed across the room. ‘Have you seen Olly at all?’

  ‘No,’ Clem winced and pulled the duvet over her face. ‘Why?’

  ‘I haven’t heard from him since I came back.’

  Clem groaned. ‘So?’

  ‘So, that’s unusual, and I’m getting worried.’ Paige dragged the duvet down to unveil her sister’s head. ‘You look awful; late night last night?’

  ‘I wish,’ Clem said, peeling open her eyes and grimacing at the light. She focused as best she could on her sister. ‘You don’t think anything has happened to him, do you?’

  ‘No,’ Paige said, determined not to get too concerned. ‘But this is out of character.’ She sat down on the side of her sister’s bed. ‘He was devastated when you finished with him. You’re going to have to speak to him soon and put him out of his misery. He doesn’t deserve to be messed about like this.’

  ‘I know, but it would make things easier if you and he weren’t such close friends.’

  Paige sighed. ‘True, but you’re still going to have to speak to him.’ She drew back the curtains and opened the window.

  ‘Do you have to do that?’

  Paige ignored her sister. ‘Why did you finish with him? You still haven’t told me yet.’

  Clem turned face down into the pillow. ‘Not now, please,’ she said, her voice muffled.

  ‘Fine.’ Paige said knowing when she was beaten. ‘But make it soon.’ She went to her room. Pushing her feet into faded pink pumps, she walked next door to his mother’s house and rang the bell.

  The door was answered almost immediately. ‘Hello, dear, if you’re looking for Oliver, I’m afraid he’s staying with friends.’

  Paige could not remember him telling her about any plans to go away. ‘I’m glad everything is all right,’ she said smiling at his mother, not wishing to cause her any concern.

  ‘Of course it is, dear. Why wouldn’t it be?’ She gave Paige a tight little smile and then not waiting for an answer stepped back into the house and closed the door. Paige felt very much as if she had been dismissed. His mother was usually so welcoming, Paige was sure she was covering for Olly for some reason.

  The weekend passed slowly and she made several attempts to get her sister to open up, but without success.

  ‘Right, that’s it,’ she said on the Sunday evening. ‘Tonight, you and I are going to sit down and have a chat. Woman to woman.’ She caught Clem pulling a face. ‘This has gone on long enough. We’re all worried about you. I thought you loved Olly and you definitely wanted to be at university, so you need to tell me what’s caused all this fuss.’ She turned to leave the room. ‘I need to fetch some paperwork from the car, but when I get back you’re going to tell me everything.’

  ‘It looks like I don’t have much choice,’ Clem said, pouting.

  ‘None at all. I’m your sister and if you can’t confide in me, then I don’t know what to suggest.’

  Paige was leaning into the footwell in front of the passenger seat, reaching forward for her briefcase, when she heard her house phone ringing. ‘Clem,’ she shouted. ‘Can you get that for me?’ As she picked up her case, she heard footsteps as her sister stamped towards the phone.

  ‘Well, that was embarrassing,’ Clem moaned, as soon as Paige came back to the house. ‘That was Olly on the phone. He’ll be here in ten minutes.’

  Paige watched Clem nervously straightening two silver rings on her fingers. Her sister wasn’t usually this reticent about sharing information, so it must be something big. ‘It’ll be fine,’ she said, unsure what else to say.

  Olly announced his arrival by slamming the front door behind him. He marched into the living room, frowning. ‘OK, so what’s all this about?’ When Clem didn’t answer he looked at Paige.

  ‘Don’t ask me, I’ve no idea.’

  Clem turned her back on them and stared out of the window. ‘I’m going to have a baby.’

  ‘You’re what?’ Paige dared not look at Olly. ‘Are you sure?’

  Clem shook her head. ‘Of course I’m sure.’

  ‘Am I the father?’ Olly said, his voice barely above a whisper.

  ‘You think I’m some sort of slut now, as well as an idiot?’ Clem, hands on hips, tu
rned on her ex-boyfriend with a ferociousness that startled Paige.

  Paige motioned for her sister to sit down. ‘Let’s calm down. No one thinks you’re either of those things.’ She watched Clem glare at Olly. ‘Why, if you’re pregnant with Olly’s baby, do you want to finish with him? I don’t get it.’ She couldn’t believe what was happening. ‘And why all the mystery?’

  Clem looked utterly miserable and Paige wished she could offer her comfort, but first she needed to know everything.

  ‘Because I was going to have a termination,’ she murmured, pointing at Olly. ‘And, ‘she added, as Olly took a breath to interrupt. ‘I knew that if I told him, he’d try to persuade me to keep it.’

  ‘Too right.’ Olly’s eyes narrowed. ‘What’s so wrong with keeping my baby anyhow? I thought we loved each other.’

  Clem sat down heavily in the armchair. ‘I’m twenty years old. I’m too young to start a family. My degree meant so much to me that the thought of giving it up was heartbreaking.’

  Paige concentrated on remaining calm. ‘I understand how you feel, Clem, but if that’s the case, then why didn’t you go ahead with the termination?’

  ‘I reached the clinic,’ Clem said, her voice barely audible as she focused on the floor in front of her. ‘The doctor started questioning me, and I realised I couldn’t go through with it.’ She looked up at Paige. ‘I went back to my room, packed, and booked a flight home. I came straight here.’

  Paige crossed the room, sat on the arm of her sister’s chair and hugged her tightly. ‘You did the right thing.’

  ‘What about the baby?’ Olly asked, his face flushed. ‘What about me?’

  ‘I’m sorry, Olly,’ Clem said, looking guilty. ‘I know it was deceitful of me, but this is too important for me to make a decision based on other people’s opinions, especially as I’m the one who’ll have to live with the consequences.’

  ‘It affects me too, Clemmie,’ he said quietly. Paige didn’t think she’d ever seen him look so hurt.

  ‘Of course it does,’ Paige agreed.

  ‘I know,’ Clem said, her voice breaking with emotion. ‘But if you don’t mind, Ol, I’d like to get things straight in my head for a bit. I still haven’t come to terms with everything.’