Sophie Pembroke - An A To Z Of Love

And if his head was telling him that was stupid, well, maybe it was time for him to listen to his heart for a change. If only he could persuade Mia to take the risk.

* * * *

The Grand Hotel was just how Becky had left it two years ago – old-fashioned, shabby, and smelling of over-brewed tea. Not exactly the Savoy .

Apart from anything else, she was still lugging her own bags across the lobby.

While Tony flirted with the world’s most unhelpful receptionist, Becky inspected the rack of local attractions leaflets, noting half of them were over a hundred miles away, and the others weren’t particularly attractive. A craft community in the old mill in Felinfach, a dance club for pensioners in some inn outside Coed-y-Capel. Nothing to exactly set the pulse racing. God, this community really needs me .

She looked up, waiting for Tony to finish chatting up the girl behind the desk, wishing she didn’t care so much that he felt it necessary to smile at anything in a skirt. She knew it was just the way he was – and if she called him on it, he’d just shrug and tell her he believed the world needed more friendliness. Or that a little charm reaped big rewards. Whatever today’s excuse, Becky was pretty sure he just liked the attention.

Not that it should make any difference to her. She’d known, from that first night when he gave her that questioning smile over what was supposed to be a business dinner, that Tony wasn’t the sort of guy you looked to for the long haul. He liked the chase, liked the fun, adored a challenge. But when it came to settling down and growing up, Tony would be on the fastest train out of town.

Just like she’d been, two years ago, when it came down to it.

No. Tony was many things; fun, handsome, charming, a genius in bed and at the office… but he couldn’t be her future. And she needed to make very sure she remembered that.

Up in her single-masquerading-as-a-double room, Becky settled on the lumpy mattress and dust-ridden coverlet and watched Tony pull out his mobile phone and check his messages. She knew from past experience Tony would treat her room as his own. The man had no sense of personal boundaries.

Eventually, he hung up on his answering machine, and Becky sprawled back a little on the bed, resting on her elbows and crossing her legs, waiting for him to notice. Just because he wasn’t long term material, didn’t mean she had to give up the fringe benefits of her job just yet, right?

But instead of paying attention to her pose, he moved to the window and looked out over bloody Aberarian.

‘You know, Bex, I’ve been thinking.’ He drummed his fingers on the windowsill. ‘Places like this are very insular. Very cliquey. You have to win over the influential people.’

‘You think Ditsy was the wrong place to start?’ Becky refrained from reminding him he’d been the one to say, ‘Let’s start with your aunt. Better the devil we know.’

Tony shrugged. ‘I’m just not sure how much say she or Mia or Charlie, for that matter, have in what goes on here.’

Becky sat up. No point being seductive if he wasn’t even looking. ‘I think you’re wrong about Charlie. Yes, the A to Z shop is an anachronism, but StarFish is a modern business. Just the sort of thing we want to encourage.’ She ignored the small part of her that said she just wanted an excuse to spend more time at StarFish – with Charlie – under the guise of work. Of course, StarFish was her business, wasn’t it? She could spend as much time there as she wanted…

‘I suppose it might be worth hanging onto Charlie.’ Tony turned back from the window, and Becky tried to regain her previous pose without looking too obvious. ‘He needs us – or rather his restaurant does. I got the impression your aunt would rather let the shop decline into cobwebs. But Charlie… He’s young. He’s got to be ambitious.’

Not really, Becky wanted to say, but didn’t. The limit of Charlie’s ambition was probably the restaurant. He might be willing to fight for StarFish.

Might still be willing to fight for her, she hoped. Because she planned to fight for him.

‘I want to do more here, Bex.’ Tony came to sit beside her on the bed and stared at her with hard eyes, as if she were the one trying to stop him. ‘I want more than convincing people it’s not the end of the world if they have a casino on some side street. I want the heart and the soul of this town. I want this place to become a tourist Mecca, without the bleeding hearts and the environmentalists telling me I’ve ruined their town.’ He put a hand across her knee. ‘For once, I want these people to be grateful. I want them to bloody well thank me for saving their silly little town from extinction.’

He was so compelling when he was like this. He drew her in until she believed in his vision utterly. It was kind of scary.

Tony trailed his fingers across her thigh, and Becky swallowed. ‘That’s what I want too. How do you plan to do it?’

‘We need the heart of the community. And thank God that’s not the church any more – they’re never in favour of progress.’ His touch reached the bottom of her skirt and kept moving up. ‘No, these days it’s the shops and the restaurants. The consumerist centre. They’re the people who’ll win big under our plans. People like Charlie Frost and his restaurant. You think anybody here appreciates food like that?’ Becky was finding it harder to think as Tony’s hands roamed higher. Harder to remember why she’d wanted to come back to Aberarian, except to make his dreams come true.

‘So, you do still want me to get Charlie on board?’ Becky asked. Tony nodded and placed a kiss to her neck. ‘Any instructions on how I go about that?’ She gulped as Tony’s fingers brushed her knickers. It was just as well she’d be breaking things off with him once she had Charlie back. Tony had far too much power over her like this. She wanted to make him proud , for heaven’s sake.

‘Whatever works,’ Tony mumbled against her breast, and Becky thought she had some ideas. Really, Tony had taught her so much.

* * * *

Later that evening, Mia found herself pausing outside StarFish again, wondering if Charlie was even expecting her for the tasting, after the lunch from hell. Wondering if she should be there at all.

She peered through the window, trying to make out exactly who was inside. It was gone nine-thirty, already late enough usually to be confident the few local diners who might have stopped in had finished their meals and headed home. Mia could see one couple near the door putting on their coats. She smiled; any customers at all tended to put Charlie in a better mood. Still, given it was a Saturday night, she hoped he’d had more than one table filled.

Beyond the couple, she could see Magda at the till. The kitchen doors were closed, and the remaining restaurant looked empty. In other words, no Becky, unless she was haranguing Charlie in the kitchen. Deciding to take her chances, Mia held the door open for the exiting couple and made her way inside.

Magda smiled at her from behind the bar. ‘Good,’ she said, slamming the till drawer closed. ‘He was worried you wouldn’t come after this afternoon.’

‘And miss out on the potential for breaded prawns?’ Mia shrugged off her coat, draping it over the coat rack by the door. ‘Not a chance.’

Shaking her head, Magda said, ‘I don’t know how you two can call it a tasting when Charlie just keeps making your favourite dishes. They’re not even on the menu.’

‘We have a deal,’ Mia explained. ‘For every new and suspicious dish he wants me to try, he has to make me one he knows I love.’

Magda didn’t look convinced, so Mia decided to change the subject. ‘Many people in tonight?’