Sophie Pembroke - Summer Of Love

Pushing his chair back from the desk, Max got to his feet. ‘Get a portfolio together this week, and I’ll take it to the next co-op meeting, on Thursday.’

Alex stood and stretched a hand out across the desk. ‘I’ll have it to you before Monday.’

‘As you like. I’ll see you then.’ Max gave him another assessing look. Definitely time to get out of there.

Grabbing Alex’s arm, Lily shuffled him towards the door, calling her goodbyes over her shoulder to Max and only relaxing when the office door swung shut behind them.

Max was going to want to have another conversation very soon. One she was looking forward to even less than the last one.

* * * *

‘So, that went well, right?’ Alex asked when they reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped out into the courtyard, a safe distance from Max. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure exactly what Max had made of his career change, but it was obvious that Max trusted Lily. With her on his side, Alex reckoned he had an excellent chance of making this work.

‘I think so. Yes. Probably.’ A small frown line cut into Lily’s forehead. ‘Yes. I think so.’

Alex laughed. ‘Don’t worry. If your influence isn’t enough, hopefully my portfolio will win everyone over. Especially since it’ll feature their own stuff – including your beautiful jewellery.’

Lily blushed as if he’d called her beautiful, rather than her work. Interesting. That was the sort of fact he’d have tucked away to do something about later, back in London. But not in Felinfach.

‘I’m sure your photography skills will win them over,’ Lily said.

‘You haven’t seen them yet,’ Alex pointed out.

‘Well, then. You’d better get started, hadn’t you?’ Her eyes were bright with excitement. He supposed she was thinking about the Mill, and how having all the units filled would be good for them all. Whatever the reason, it felt good to have a companion in this, someone to share his ambition.

‘I really better had. I’m going to head home, dig out my equipment from the packing boxes. But I’ll meet you at the shop tomorrow to take some shots?’

Lily nodded. ‘Then I can introduce you to the rest of the guys here. Bet you can charm them into voting you in, anyway. Whatever Max says.’

Alex grinned. ‘Maybe I can.’ Her belief made it easier, somehow. Like, with her cheering him on, he could do anything at all. It was a good feeling. Better, in some ways, than the feeling he used to get from a new romantic conquest. Lily might not be on the market for that kind of fun, but having her as a friend seemed like it might be worth a lot more.

They said goodbye at Tiger Lily, and Alex strolled through the iron gates and back down the hill towards town, whistling.

He was almost in sight of his car when his phone rang, and he fumbled in his pocket to pull it out. Frowning, he saw his brother’s name flashing across the screen and checked the time automatically. Still working hours. Gareth never called him from work.

He pressed the answer button. ‘Hey, what’s up?’

‘Can’t a guy call his baby brother for a chat of an afternoon?’ Gareth’s tone was light, but something in his voice sounded strained.

‘Historically? No.’ Reaching the car, Alex leant against the door, the metal warm from the sun. ‘So, I’ll ask again, what’s up?’

Gareth sighed. ‘So suspicious, so young. Nothing’s up. Just wondered if you fancied meeting up for a drink sometime.’

Also unprecedented. Nights out for them were impromptu things, when one had forgotten the other’s birthday, or when Gareth was sent to London on work. Not the sort of planned outing that would make it onto the calendar that Gareth’s wife, Della, kept hanging by the kitchen sink.

‘Sure,’ Alex said. ‘When were you thinking?’

‘Why? You got a frantically busy social life up there in Felinfach already?’

‘You live four towns over,’ Alex pointed out. ‘You’re hardly in the metropolis yourself.’

‘And I think we should take advantage of us both being stuck out in the sticks by going to the pub. You free tonight?’

That was more like Gareth. Bored at work and remembering that Alex was now close enough to grab a pint. Alex relaxed a little and let himself enjoy the sun, and the fact he was home again.

On the other hand… ‘Can’t do tonight. Sorry, mate. I’ve got some… work on tomorrow. Important job. Need to prep this evening.’ He’d have to get used to describing his photography as work. It still felt like too much of an indulgence, at the moment.

The other end of the line went quiet for a moment. Then Gareth was back, all bluster. ‘Sure, sure. You can take the boy out of the City, but you can’t take the City, and all that. I get it. Maybe another time, yeah?’

‘You sure you’re all right?’ Alex asked again, that uncertain concern pricking once more. ‘I mean, I can try and reschedule, if you need –’

‘No, no. Just a passing thought. We’ll do it another day. Gotta go now, mate. Still at work myself.’

‘Sure. Maybe we can –’ But Gareth had already hung up.

Unlocking the car door, Alex felt his earlier happy ease fading away. Whatever he said, there was something going on with Gareth. And even if he didn’t want to talk about it today, Alex got the feeling it wouldn’t be going away any time soon.

He started the engine and let his head press against the headrest for a moment. No point worrying right now. Whatever was going on would surely blow up on him soon enough.

In the meantime, he had photos to take.

Chapter Four

Lily grabbed the glass of wine from the counter the moment Cora had finished pouring it, and took a long gulp, cold and sweet on her tongue.

‘Long day at work?’ Cora asked, eyebrows raised. Lily really should be thinking about the calories. She had a wedding dress to fit into, after all. If Cora could ever persuade her to go dress hunting with her.

Lily shook her head. ‘Good day, actually.’ Another sip of wine. ‘But I stopped by my mother’s on my way here.’

‘Oh. In that case…’ Never mind the calories. Any interaction with Evelyn Thomas required wine. Cora topped up Lily’s already full glass. ‘Come on through to the lounge. Rhys will be home in a minute, and dinner’s already simmering away in the oven.’

Edward should be there, too. But once again, it was just the three of them for dinner. She didn’t like to ask Lily how she felt about her fiancé working too much, any more. Last time, Lily had just shrugged and said, “Gives me time to catch up on other stuff.”

Things would change once they were married, Cora told herself. And especially once they had kids. Edward and Lily were perfect together. Just like her and Rhys.

‘So, what gems did Evelyn have for us today?’ Cora settled into the sofa across from Lily and placed her glass on a coaster on the coffee table. ‘Another comment on why wearing jeans is unladylike, perhaps? Or a complaint about tinted lip gloss?’

‘Apparently trashy,’ Lily confirmed. ‘In Evelyn’s little world, anyway. But actually, she was in too much of a rush to criticise fully this evening. Barely got in an eye roll at my shoes.’ Lily waved a hand in the direction of her sparkly purple trainers, abandoned by the corner of the coffee table. Cora tried not to wince at them. Lily had mostly outgrown her eclectic style in the last ten years, but every now and then a hint of it came back to haunt them.

Edward, she knew, hated those trainers. He’d asked Cora for help accidentally losing them in a charity shop bag once. But friendship trumped style, so Cora had declined.

‘Where was she rushing off to?’ Cora asked, folding her legs up under her on the sofa.