My eyes widen in amazement.
‘It was the day of the run when I had a breakthrough,’ she rushes on excitedly. ‘You remember when I had to gather in sponsorship forms for Lucy? Well, that’s when I saw Theo’s full name for the first time. Theo Steel. In black capital letters. I thought I was going to faint right there on the spot! So later, I plucked up courage to ask him some casual questions about his family and he said his parents died when he was young. And then Olivia asked him how he lost them both at the same time and he told us they died in a house fire when he was eighteen.’ She beams at me. ‘So then, of course, I knew it must be him!’
A memory dawns on me. ‘I saw you that day, talking with Theo and Olivia. I saw the expression on your face. You must have just stumbled on the truth. That Theo was your half-brother!’
She nods. ‘That was when he told us about the fire, and I knew.’ Tears are running down her face, and I pull her into a tight hug, my own throat choked with emotion for my lovely best friend, who deserves this so much after everything she’s been through in her life.
I’m so wrapped up in her happiness, it’s a few moments more before I realise what this means for me.
If Theo is Paloma’s half-brother, Theo and I are always going to be connected. It’s bittersweet, though, knowing we can never be together …
I get Paloma a paper hanky and she mops her face. Then she sits back and smiles. ‘So, enough about me. What about Jason?’
I grin. ‘He’s back with Lucy would you believe? But I really don’t mind,’ I add quickly, when her face falls. ‘Honestly, I don’t.’
It’s probably time I told my best friend that the reason I don’t mind is because I’m madly in love with her half-brother! God, what a mess!
Paloma nods firmly. ‘He was never totally right for you anyway.’ She grimaces. ‘Actually, I’ve got something else to tell you.’
I stare at her. ‘More revelations?’
She nods, looking guilty. ‘I know I keep saying I can’t stand Jake, but it turns out there really must be a fine line between love and hate.’
‘You love him?’
‘No!’ She laughs. ‘At least, not yet. Give us time. But we are desperately in lust.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
She shrugs. ‘I wouldn’t admit it to myself, never mind anyone else. I thought he was far too like Knob-Head Rufus – you know, arrogant artist, up his own arse – and I should give him a wide berth if I knew what was good for me. But when I was doing his website work, he sort of won me round.’
I burst out laughing and start singing, ‘I knew it! I knew it!’
‘Did you?’
‘You were quite obviously snogging in the garden on launch night! You both looked so hilariously furtive coming back up to join everyone. Separately. I was watching from the treehouse.’
After we’ve laughed about that and I’ve told her the brilliant news about Dad, we go through to the kitchen to make coffee and she says, ‘So that’s my love life sorted. But what about you?’
I feel my face flushing. ‘What about me? I’m fine on my own, thank you very much.’ I turn my back on her and start spooning coffee into two mugs.
She peers at me. ‘Twi? You’ve just put four spoons of coffee in there.’
‘Oh, shit, have I?’
‘Twi? Is there something you’re not telling me? There is, isn’t there? Oh my God, it’s Theo, isn’t it! That’s why you were behaving so oddly last night, lurking in the bushes.’
My goofy smile says it all.
She throws back her head and appeals to the ceiling. ‘Why on earth didn’t I guess?’
Sitting forward, her eyes shining, she says, ‘Theo is single. So what are you going to do about it?’
I shake my head miserably. ‘He thinks he’s jinxed.’
She frowns. ‘Oh God, I know. He told me all about his fiancée and the baby. He’s had so much sorrow in his personal relationships, he’s afraid of getting involved again. But maybe you’d be the one to change his mind?’
‘Hang on.’ I stare at her. ‘What did you say? There was a baby?’
She nods. ‘Rachel died in hospital being treated for pre-eclampsia. The baby died, too.’
I’m too stunned to speak. Poor Theo. How much loss can one person bear?
She frowns. ‘Actually, there’s something else you need to know,’ she says and I can tell from her face I’m not going to like it.
‘Theo needs to go where the work is if he wants to pursue his career as a translator. He told me last night. He’s moving to London.’
Chapter 41
When Paloma leaves, I head for bed, feeling as if the bottom has fallen out of my world.
So that’s that, then. Theo is leaving for London, and any stupid dreams I might have had of us getting together have been well and truly crushed. Worse, I can’t help the sneaking suspicion that I’m part of the reason he’s leaving.
I trail through the day, trying to put on a brave face, reminding myself every time I’m on the verge of tears that Dad is getting better and The Treehouse Café is turning out to be an amazing success. After missing the reporter that time because I was judging cakes in the WI tent, she finally caught up with me the other day, and there’s a story in today’s local newspaper all about the new café, with gorgeous photos of the treehouse.
When we close up the café later, I try calling Paloma but she’s either not there or on the phone already. I mooch around, watching a bit of TV and trying to eat something. Finally, at around seven, the doorbell goes and it’s Paloma.
‘Come on. We’re going out for that drink,’ she says bossily. ‘Get out of those sloppy trackies.’
I groan and shake my head. ‘I really don’t feel like it. Look, come in and I’ll open a bottle of wine and—’
‘No! We’re going out.’ She smiles. ‘Sorry. It’s just I think it would do you good. We can talk about Theo.’
Tears fill my eyes. I’m too weak to argue.
Fifteen minutes later, we’re in the pub and I’m swigging down wine like it’s going out of fashion, wishing she’d stop going on about Theo and how lovely he is. I mean, I already know that. Obviously. So why is she being so insensitive?
Then I realise it’s my fault for being too self-absorbed. Paloma’s only just discovered Theo’s her half-brother, for goodness’ sake. She’s perfectly entitled to chatter on and on about him, even if it is slowly driving me nuts.
The wine helps, though, making me more relaxed. And by the time we head home, more than three hours later, I’m actually feeling quite mellow.
Things will be fine. I’ll concentrate on making The Treehouse Café an even bigger success. Betty was even talking about approaching bus tour operators to see if they’d like a unique treehouse coffee stop for their holiday-maker clients. I think it’s a great idea …
All the same, as I trail up the stairs to bed, my heart feels like a lead weight. It will be impossible to stop thoughts of Theo sneaking into my head day and night, taking me unawares when I’m trying to concentrate on the café. And it’s not even as if I can banish him from my life and eventually get over him. As in out of sight, out of mind. Because as long as Paloma is my best friend, Theo is always going to be there.
My mobile goes. It’s Paloma and I pick up.
‘You’ve left a light on in the treehouse,’ she says, without preamble.
‘What?’
‘You need to go and switch it off. It’s a waste of electricity.’
I go to the window and peer out. ‘There’s no light on.’
‘Yes, there is. Keep looking.’
I stare out into the darkness, wondering what on earth she’s talking about because the treehouse is in pitch darkness.
And then the magic happens.
In the blink of an eye, The Treehouse Café is lit with hundreds of fairy lights, winking like stars against the black night sky.
I gasp. ‘Oh my God. It’s so beautiful. But how … who? Did
you organise this?’
She chuckles. ‘It’s a gift from someone special. We called Jake and he came round to set it up. I had to get you out of the house tonight for as long as I could, but he finished just in time. I’m surprised you didn’t catch Jake’s van driving off.’
My heart starts beating very fast. ‘Where are you?’
‘By your garden gate, but I’m going home now.’
I pause, swallowing hard, trying not to get my hopes up. ‘Who’s the someone special?’
‘Go down and see. He’s waiting for you, beside The Treehouse Café.’ And she rings off.
With my legs feeling like jelly, I go downstairs and out through the back door, then I make my way slowly down the garden, heart beating crazily, hardly daring to hope …
When I reach the treehouse, a man steps out of the shadows to meet me and my heart lurches.
Theo.
He’s smiling at me with such warmth, my stomach flips over. ‘You said you wanted lights. So now you’ve got lights. Do you like them?’
My heart is bumping crazily. Just hearing his gorgeous voice is enough to make my whole body quiver. ‘I love them. They’re … just perfect.’
He bridges the gap between us, smoothing a lock of hair back from my face ever so gently, and a shiver of desire runs through me.
‘I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t interested in getting to know Olivia better,’ he murmurs. ‘Then I realised it was because you were in my head and I couldn’t even think of anyone else.’
I swallow hard. ‘Really?’ The single word comes out as a rather unattractive squeak but thankfully, he doesn’t seem to be turned off. On the contrary, he pulls me against him and I collapse weakly on his chest, my head spinning at his glorious scent and his nearness.
‘Are you going to work in London?’ I manage to ask, pulling away slightly but still mesmerised by his beautiful mouth.
‘Not any more.’
A feeling of utter relief courses through me. ‘What made you change your mind?’
‘Well, Paloma came to see me. My half-sister.’ He chuckles, still clearly amazed at the discovery. ‘She said I had a choice. I could either live in the past, dwelling on all the bad things that had happened to me and thinking I was cursed. Or I could do the sensible thing and be brave enough to walk into my future with hope.’
‘And what did you decide to do?’ I stop breathing, waiting for his reply.
He smiles and pulls me against him again, and my heart melts as he gazes into my eyes.
‘I chose a hopeful future. With you. If you’ll have me.’
My laugh is filled with joy and relief. ‘I thought you’d never ask.’
Then his mouth comes down on mine and there’s no more talking for quite some time …
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Also by Catherine Ferguson
Humbugs and Heartstrings
Green Beans and Summer Dreams
Mistletoe and Mayhem
Four Weddings and a Fiasco
The Secrets of Ivy Garden
Christmas at the Log Fire Cabin
About the Author
Catherine Ferguson burst onto the writing scene at the age of nine, anonymously penning a weekly magazine for her five-year-old brother (mysteriously titled the ‘Willy’ comic) and fooling him completely by posting it through the letterbox every Thursday.
Catherine’s continuing love of writing saw her study English at Dundee University and spend her twenties writing for various teenage magazines including Jackie and Blue Jeans and meeting pop stars. She worked as Fiction Editor at Patches magazine (little sister to Jackie) before getting serious and becoming a sub-editor on the Dundee Courier & Advertiser.
This is her seventh novel. She lives with her son in Northumberland.
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
http://www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada
http://www.harpercollins.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London, SE1 9GF
http://www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
http://www.harpercollins.com
Love Among the Treetops Page 28