by Rebecca Pugh
A charmed life…
Maria Charm’s world might have recently crumbled, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to let it get her down.
Sure, her ex-husband broke her heart and decimated her trust, and while it would be so tempting to spend forever in her dressing gown, a tub of ice cream in one hand and a glass of Chardonnay in the other, Maria wants more from her new – single – life!
A make-over of her lovely little cottage on Daffodil Lane and a new job at Harriet’s café are just the distractions Maria needs to carve a new life in the country. One distraction she doesn’t need is Mr Tall, Brooding and Handsome from down the lane! Maria may only be in town temporarily, but there’s nothing temporary about the tingles she feels at gorgeous Brad’s touch...
After everything she’s been through, can Maria ever trust a man again? Could risking her heart with Brad lead to a charmed life on Daffodil Lane?
Praise for REBECCA PUGH
‘a warm, heart-warming, enticing story.’
– Sophie, Reviewed the Book
‘I really loved this book from start to finish, I really didn’t want to put it down, it’s what a story should be, a lovely modern fairytale of a book.’
– Candy Hart
‘I loved this debut novel and found it to be a comforting and enjoyable read perfect for cosying up in front of a warm fire.’
– Sincerely Book Angel
‘It was entirely satisfying and heartfelt.’
– Paris Baker’s Book Nook
‘What I thought was boy meets girl is so not the case. There’s romance, mystery, and heartbreak.’
– Bookaholic Babe
Also by Rebecca Pugh
Return to Bluebell Hill
A Home in Sunset Bay
Down on Daffodil Lane
Rebecca Pugh
www.CarinaUK.com
REBECCA PUGH
grew up in the green county of Shropshire, with a mind full of fairy-tales and happy endings. At twenty-two, Rebecca’s own story took a fairy-tale-like turn and her dream came true. With her faithful companions: Bonnie the dog, her partner, and her gigantic family by her side, Rebecca is sharing her stories with readers who enjoy falling in love and losing themselves in beautiful, fictional worlds. Rebecca Pugh is the author of women’s fiction and romance, her all-time favourite genres. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a good swoon?
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to my wonderful editor Victoria Oundjian and the entire team at Carina UK. Without the help of these people, this book wouldn’t have made it this far. Thank you also to the incredibly enthusiastic and supportive book bloggers and readers who take the time to share in the excitement with me. You know who you are and you really are fantastic. I can’t forget to mention my wonderful family and friends, and of course my partner and Bonnie the dog who, again, make this such a joy. Thank you all.
Dedication
To anyone who’s ever needed some time-out, a break, or just the chance to see what you’re really made of.
Contents
Cover
Blurb
Praise
Book List
Title Page
Author Bio
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Epilogue
Excerpt
Endpages
Copyright
Chapter One
‘See? I knew it would be a good idea. This place is great.’ Robert admired the café, while Maria lingered beside him, nervously twiddling her fingers. The absence of her wedding ring was still taking some getting used to. More often than not, she’d unconsciously touch the finger it had once sat snug on, and at the vacant space, her heart would drop. She glanced down now, to check that it definitely wasn’t there, that the last couple of months hadn’t all been a bizarre dream she was waiting to wake up from. No, no wedding ring decorated her finger. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had a faint recollection of the night she’d torn it off and lobbed it across the kitchen. It was a wine-fuelled memory, hazy and blurred and included tears aplenty. It was real though, and it had happened.
As she listened to her brother wittering on, Maria knew he was trying just that little bit too hard. She was sure he felt like he was accompanying a child on their first day at big school, easing them into a brand new world with care and consideration. His voice, usually one of a much deeper baritone, was over-bright, and Maria imagined this was how Rob would speak to his twin daughters, Kelly and Kayleigh, when trying to coax them into the bath before bedtime. She had to admit, despite loving her younger brother dearly, the whole thing was rather excruciating. She was a grown woman, for crying out loud! A grown woman who was supposed to be able to take care of herself but, then again, she’d never had much experience of that, had she? Still, it was no excuse and she wished she’d been able to do this morning by herself rather than with Rob, her pillar of support, by her side.
While walking through the sun-dappled town, just a stone’s throw away from the cottage she was staying in on Daffodil Lane, Maria and Rob had stumbled upon the café during their search for breakfast.
Neither of them had noticed the cafe at first, sat snug as it was between a bustling butcher’s and a fresh veg shop. Now here they stood, brother and sister, wrapped in the cosy warmth that the café had immediately offered up, like a soft embrace, as soon as they’d stepped through the door. A tinkling bell above the door had indicated their arrival, yet even that gentle sound had made Maria flinch.
As nice as the café was, Maria had the insane urge to hurry back outside into the cool, fresh air, to ground herself. She risked a surreptitious glance at the door, but in the end, she decided against it. After all, what would running off achieve? She knew that Rob, as easy-mannered as he was, would come bolting after her and possibly drag her back inside kicking and screaming if that was what it took.
Maria’s bad mood was nothing to do with the cafe. It really was rather lovely, but she wasn’t in the right frame of mind for hellos and how do you dos. How could she be when, just a few weeks before, she’d signed the divorce papers for her failed marriage? Never mind cheerful greetings, she realised that she wasn’t in the mood for anything, including merry jaunts into town. She would have much preferred to remain shut away in the cottage, ignoring the fact that life was continuing around her. Still, she supposed it was best that she got out and took a look around, rather than continue in the hermit-like way she’d recently taken up, hiding from everyone and everything. Plus, she supposed this made Rob feel good about himself, that he was helping his sister when she needed it most. Still, she couldn’t shake off the uncomfortable feeling that, if anything, it should have been the other way around. Big sister looking after little brother. Not that Rob would ever be in the same position as she’d managed to find herself in, she thought. He was so settled in family life and blissful domesticity; he had his beautiful wife Rosanna and adorable daughters, not forgetting his fulfilling career as a music teacher at his daughters’ school.
Maria loved him to the moon and back, and could only thank him and appreciate his efforts. He had her best interests at heart, bless him, and to begrudge that wasn’t right, no matter
how grumpy she felt.
That morning, Rob had turned up completely out of the blue and frogmarched her from the cottage, after ordering her to take a shower and get dressed. She knew it was bad because those were the sorts of things a person should want to take care of without needing to be told to do so by someone else, especially their brother. He’d also thrown into the mix a nice little remark on how rubbish she looked which hadn’t done much for her already crumbling self-confidence. Maria wasn’t sure whether she was thankful or annoyed in regards to his presence, but then there was still time to make up her mind. One part of her was grumbling over his interference while the other adored him for it, because she knew it was the kick up the backside she needed. The moping about and self-pity was beginning to bore her but she’d fallen into a pit she couldn’t get out of, no matter how much she tried to claw her way up the side.
Rob found a table, and Maria swallowed nervously. Being in the cafe meant inviting curiosity, which wasn’t what she wanted at all. She wanted the opposite. Maria wanted to tiptoe about in the shadows and be left to her own devices. Rob, as always, had other ideas – and didn’t seem to care whether she agreed with them or not, tugging her along on a wave of enthusiasm which they didn’t quite share.
‘This is exactly what we were looking for,’ Robert declared happily as he rubbed his hands together with relish. ‘Warm, inviting and…’ he sat down and snatched up a menu from the table, ‘they have a killer menu. Spot-on, this is.’ He added a nod for good measure and pointed towards the opposite chair, indicating for Maria to sit down.
She joined him and, once comfortable, glanced about the cafe. He was right, it was lovely, but lovely or not, it didn’t change how she felt inside. She knew that it bordered on ridiculous, the fact that she was worried to such an extent about merely heading into town. After all, people did this every single day. She eyed her brother but his face was hidden behind the menu he was scanning. His eyes swept over the laminated page hungrily. He was one of those infuriating people who didn’t seem to gain a pound no matter what he ate and how often, whereas Maria was sure that she would put on weight from merely looking at a slice of chocolate cake. She was suddenly aware of her thighs bunching together on the seat and knew she’d let herself down recently. She had gained a few pounds but she had her reasons. Tubs of ice cream and glasses of wine had never felt so reassuring, and they also managed to do a wonderful job of taking her mind off all of the things that troubled her. Like what she’d do with her life now that it only included herself, and who she’d spend every single day loving.
While she waited for Rob to finish his perusal of the menu, Maria thought back over her situation and felt another part of herself crumble away. It had been three weeks since she’d arrived at Daffodil Lane, and within that time she hadn’t left the cottage once. Thankfully, her mother’s friend, Geraldine, who owned the cottage, had popped by to stock up on food and other necessities that Maria might need, so she’d managed to survive quite well without having to step outside the cottage door. She didn’t want to meet new people and make new friends. That wasn’t what the trip was about. All she wanted was time to herself. Time to sit down and think about what she’d do next – if she could manage to clear her head long enough to do so.
There had been no chance of that happening back home, which was why she’d come here in the first place. There was always someone there, offering guidance and advice – one friend even going so far as urging Maria to ‘get back in the saddle’. She’d been unable to form a reply and instead excused herself. Get back in the saddle indeed, she’d grumbled while stalking off. The very thought had Maria quaking in her boots (or rather, slippers, which she’d become rather fond of instead of actual shoes). She’d needed to get away.
Where she was staying now, Maria couldn’t have done much better in terms of beauty and stunning scenery. The village of Loland Green was tucked away in the lush Shropshire countryside. Until Geraldine had mentioned the area, Maria had been oblivious to its existence. Afterwards, curiosity getting the better of her, she’d looked it up online, and had been pleasantly surprised by the visual results. It was very… green. Very green, indeed. To Maria, the fact that it appeared quite isolated from the surrounding areas was a massive bonus. And the cottage was gorgeous, nestled on Daffodil Lane, the aged exterior swathed in climbing ivy and glorious rambling roses that only seemed to be growing wilder with the passing days.
After a horrendous couple of weeks following the discovery of her husband, Mike’s affair, Maria had had no choice but to go back to her mother’s house seeking refuge. She’d let Mike remain in their home, unable to stay there herself. Looking back now, perhaps she should have been firmer and told him to sling his hook. She’d been too shaken up to be assertive or in control at the time. She’d needed the easy way out so she’d taken it and ran back to the woman who’d always known her best.
Heading back to Ellen’s had been humiliating to say the least. Ellen Charm had fussed around her as if Maria were a child again, gradually becoming more and more unbearable by the day, although Maria knew that was how Ellen showed that she cared. She was motherly and nurturing, and sometimes that was interpreted as fussy and overbearing.
Maria remembered the day Geraldine had popped by and offered her the use of the Daffodil Lane cottage. Still in her pyjamas with her hair un-brushed and dirty socks on her feet, Maria had merely grunted in response to Geraldine’s suggestion that she get away while all this blew over. How could almost eleven years of marriage merely ‘blow over’? It wasn’t a slight slip-up, it was the end of an era. Her married life to the man she’d said her wedding vows to had been smashed into smithereens, and Geraldine thought it would all blow over?
Maria had been tempted to tell Geraldine to bugger off but, as always, Ellen had the last word.
‘Oh Maria, stop with the self-pity. The trembling voice. It doesn’t suit you, darling. Geraldine has offered you the perfect opportunity to get away and enjoy some “you” time, and you’re refusing it? No. I don’t think so. You may be thirty-two but you will listen to me and you’ll listen good, do you understand? You will take this offer. You will go to Loland Green, and you will sort yourself out while you’re there. Mike was a selfish bastard, that much is true, but I refuse to let my only daughter crumble into dust because of a man’s lack of control and loyalty. In case you’re forgetting my dear, I’ve been through this too and I can tell you now, it wasn’t easy, especially with two children, but I’m still alive and kicking, and you will be too.’ Ellen had taken a calm sip of her tea then, as if she hadn’t just said what she had.
Maria didn’t think she’d ever heard her mother make a speech like that before, with so much passion behind her words. She’d quickly agreed to Geraldine’s offer. Now here she was in Loland Green.
‘Cooked breakfast for two?’ Rob peeped over the top of his menu and waggled his brows up and down, bringing Maria back to the present. ‘And is it two sugars you take with your coffee? I can’t remember.’
She nodded in reply and Rob rose from the table and headed towards the counter against the furthest wall. It looked resplendent with a display of floral teacups arranged artistically upon a cake-stand, conjuring up an image of a dollhouse she’d had when she was little.
Maria watched Rob as he weaved through the tables, approaching the counter and the woman behind it with pure confidence. He walked like no one could stand in his way, which was such a huge contrast to the shrunken slouch she’d become. She used to be confident too. Not in an arrogant way, but in a way that ensured she felt good about herself. She’d been confident of everything, actually. But now? She felt like she wasn’t even a quarter of the woman she’d once been and it broke her heart even more.
A glass cabinet stood to one side of the counter, and the shelves within housed rows of deliciously moist slices of cake. She admired them from her seat. Behind the counter but reachable by the customers was a small fridge with packaged sandwiches and bottles of frui
t juice and water. The walls were chocolate brown with delicate accents of plum, the colours working surprisingly well, Maria thought to herself, as she continued to look around. There was a small log-burner in the corner, although it wasn’t lit. She could imagine it made the place even cosier when crackling away during the colder months, with the lights turned low and the bitter frost shut outside.
Rob returned to the table. ‘Right. All done. Shouldn’t be too long. Drinks are being brought over in just a sec. So tell me, how have you been? It feels like it’s been ages since I last saw you. Well, it has been ages.’ He settled back in the chair, waiting to hear all about it. He looked good, Maria noticed. Skin glowing and clear, and his dark hair styled into place neatly. She remembered him as a gangly teenager, and it brought a smile to her lips. He’d gone through a phase of wearing a long, greasy fringe that partially covered his face, and a taste in music that had constantly made the walls of their childhood home vibrate. How he’d changed as he’d grown up. From that teenager Rob had grown into a young, smart man, and following that, a role-model husband and father. And the fringe was, thankfully, long gone.
It had been a while since they’d last spoken. Before she’d taken off for Loland Green with her suitcase packed, Maria hadn’t exactly been the most sociable of people and it hurt to think that she’d shut him and the rest of her family out. She’d never intended to do such a thing but at the time, she hadn’t been able to stop and make herself think about it properly. ‘I’m okay,’ she answered, avoiding eye contact, but it was no use. If she was hoping to make him believe that she was absolutely fine then she may as well have given up right there and then. Sighing, she turned her face towards the window, and it provided her with a perfect view of the street outside. She couldn’t help feeling that the cover Rob had managed to sort out at work in order to come and see her had been for nothing. He was a man on a mission, it seemed.