The Amber Keeper (29 page)

‘That reporter spoke to me last week about my plans for the shop next door, and I must say it was very like an interrogation,’ he said. ‘Personally, I didn’t take to her. So how did your interview really go?’

Abbie heaved a sigh. ‘She seemed to be looking for some sort of hook to hang the story on, some scandal about me. It was strange, and not particularly pleasant.’

‘That’s the press for you, always wanting to dig for dirt, although from my standpoint I honestly can’t see how she could find anything against you,’ he said with a grin.

Abbie’s laugh was sardonic. ‘You mean besides my notorious youth, an illegitimate child, or having a mother who committed suicide for some unknown reason, and a father and brother who blame me for her death and wish to sell this property without my consent? Oh, and a neighbouring shop apparently setting up in opposition. Not much there for a story, then.’

He frowned throughout her little rant. Then, taking her by the shoulders, he drew her gently towards him to place a kiss on each cheek. ‘Think positive: you’ve done a splendid job. I for one am hugely impressed.’

His kisses were tender and soft, not in any way steamy or passionate, and on her cheeks, not her lips. Even so, they seemed to stir a coil of pleasure and something very like desire deep inside. Abbie slanted him a glance, struggling to read the thoughts reflected in those mysterious grey eyes, so enigmatic but undeniably sexy. She sensed his breathing quickening slightly, but there was no sign of a smile; his expression was profoundly serious.

She cleared her throat, which had gone suddenly dry. ‘Thank you for having faith in me.’

‘You deserve it, with your talent,’ he said, admiring a display of amber earrings. ‘Did you really make these?’

‘I did.’ They stood side by side, not touching, much as Abbie secretly longed to slip her hand into his, or have him kiss her again, properly this time. What was she thinking of? How much wine had she drunk that she’d become so aware of this man? Or had this
feeling
been secretly growing inside her for some time?

‘We still haven’t had that dinner,’ he said. ‘How about tonight, since it’s a day of celebration?’

‘I’m not sure it would be quite appropriate for business rivals to socialise, would it?’ she asked, with just the trace of a smile to soften her words.

‘Do we have to be rivals? Can’t we just be friends, or at least business colleagues?’

Not knowing how she felt about spending an evening with this man, which might or might not be looked upon as a date, Abbie was thankful to be interrupted by a woman seeking assistance to choose a pair of mother-of-pearl earrings. It also gave her a moment to get her emotions back under control.

Andrew Baxter must have used this distraction to beat a hasty retreat, as by the time she’d gift-wrapped the earrings and found the customer a glass of wine and a pastry, he was gone. Perhaps he’d regretted that unexpected moment of intimacy.

‘Thank goodness for that,’ Abbie half murmured to herself,
setting
down her own glass and resolving not to allow another drop to pass her lips. Yet there was just the slightest twinge of disappointment that he’d left early.

Linda sidled over and whispered the total they’d taken during the day. It was a considerable sum. ‘Oh, and Drew says to remind you that the invitation remains open. Now what would that be, exactly?’

Abbie’s eyes twinkled as she hugged her assistant with joy at their success. ‘Never you mind, but I won’t be taking it up. Well done, and thanks for all your help. I would never have managed this without you, might not even have thought of the idea.’

‘You’re welcome. I just want Precious Dreams to survive, as I love working here with you.’

Just as the final customers of the day were preparing to leave, and a few last-minute purchases were being made, the shop bell rang yet again, bringing with it a blast of cool air as the door banged open.

‘
Mon amour
! At last I find you.’

Abbie stared in horror. ‘Eduard!’

TWENTY-SEVEN

I
come to say I make big mistake. I am full of remorse that I let this happen. It is all the fault of my wife. The silly woman will not let me go and I feel sorry for her. Now she have the child, and I do not even know if it is mine. She say he is, but he do not look like me.’

‘So she’s had a boy? Congratulations! What makes you think he’s not yours?’ They were sitting in The Ring of Bells, Eduard drinking a small cognac while Abbie kept safely to coffee, feeling the need for a clear head to deal with this unexpected and unwanted visit. She’d rung Fay and, asking her not to mention to Aimée yet that her father was here, explained that she would be a little later than expected. Her sister-in-law had promised to put Aimée to bed, encouraging Abbie to enjoy an evening out for once, saying she deserved it after all her hard work.

Eduard said, ‘He has fair hair and my wife and I are both dark.’

‘He’s a baby! No doubt he also has blue eyes.’

‘How you know that?’

Abbie laughed. ‘Oh, Eduard, the colour of a baby’s eyes and hair change as they grow. Does your wife say he’s yours?’

He shrugged. ‘Of course. She deny any sort of
affaire
.’

‘Well then, accept it and be a good father to the boy, as you were to Aimée. And still can be, albeit it from a distance. But you are welcome to call at the house tomorrow to see her. It’s Sunday, so we’re home all day.’

Eduard pouted, in that sulky way he had. ‘Thank you. I am lost without my lovely daughter. I come not only to see my little girl, but to take her home with me. You too. Marie will soon be my
ex-wife
‒ I swear it,
mon amour.
Then we can marry.’

Abbie didn’t respond. Hadn’t she heard this tale times without number over the years? All the same, as she sipped her coffee she was finding it hard not to feel a little sorry for Eduard’s sense of loss, partly out of loyalty for the years they’d spent together, but mainly because of their daughter. He was still Aimée’s father, and he loved her as much as she loved him.

Eduard went on talking, outlining his plan, or rather his crazy dream that they could just carry on as before. Abbie lost interest, becoming momentarily distracted from whatever he was saying as she glimpsed a familiar figure walking through the pub door and take a seat in the bay window. Perhaps the sight of Drew acted as a reminder that she was living a new life now. She set down her coffee cup with a firm click.

‘Eduard, stop. It isn’t going to happen. I’ve already explained that now isn’t a good time to be uprooting Aimée, just when she’s settling in to her new school. She can come and stay with you for a few weeks later in the summer. She’d like that.’

He dismissed this suggestion on a puff of cognac-scented breath. ‘I want my little girl to come home for good now, and you too. Why you leave me? I not understand. What did I do to hurt you?’

‘You
lied
to me.’

‘
Non
!’

‘You
did
, Eduard. Your promise to marry me never materialised. It finally dawned on me that my father had been right all along. You never would divorce your wife; therefore, I saw no reason to stay.’

He looked perplexed, a frown creasing his brow. ‘But it is perfectly normal in France for husband to have a
maîtresse
. Did I not always love you and care for you? So what is the problem?’

How could she get it through to him that he had indeed hurt her, quite badly? It was a waste of time even talking to him. Abbie was acutely aware of Drew glancing up occasionally from the paper he was supposedly reading to watch them through narrowed eyes. Had he guessed that this was her ex-lover?

‘I’m sorry, but it’s over,’ she said. ‘I really have no wish to put myself through that anguish ever again.’

‘I do not believe it. How would you manage without me?’ he scoffed. ‘I see little to keep you here.’

‘As a matter of fact, I have a business to run now.’

He gave a puff of scathing disbelief. ‘Why would you waste your life running a
shop
, when you could be my
maîtresse
? You will end up old and lonely with no one to love you.’

‘That’s a dreadful thing to say!’

‘It is true,’ he said, giving a typically Gallic shrug. ‘Who would marry you now, the mother of an illegitimate child? You make good mistress, but no man would consider you for a wife.’

If Abbie had been hurt before, she was devastated now by this cruel comment. She had a great urge to slap his arrogant face. Instead she rose slowly to her feet, holding fast to her dignity. ‘In actual fact I think you are the one likely to end up old and lonely, when your wife finally grows tired of your
affaires
and finds the courage to throw you out, or when you fail to persuade some other foolishly naïve woman to become your next
maîtresse
. In the
meantime
, I have another engagement this evening, so I’ll say goodbye.’

Heart pounding with fury, Abbie picked up her bag and made her way across the crowded public house, head held high. On reaching Drew she gave him a kiss on each cheek before seating herself beside him. ‘I thought I’d take up your offer of dinner after all, if that’s okay?’

‘You’ve made my day,’ he said with a grin. ‘Let me order you a large glass of wine, you look as if you’re in need of one.’

She did not even glance up as Eduard stormed out, making heads turn as he banged the door behind him. She just kept on smiling into Drew’s eyes. He was not only gorgeous, but the
kindest
, sweetest man she’d ever met.

Over a delightful meal in which they barely seemed to stop talking for more than a few seconds, no mention was made of her previously intense conversation with Eduard, nor the way she had used Drew as a means of escape. Abbie did insist upon sharing the bill, as she had no wish for him to look upon this as a date.

‘May I at least drive you home? It might be advisable, considering you’ve had rather an over-indulgent day so far as wine is
concerned
,’ Drew offered with a smile.

‘Thank you, that would be most appreciated,’ she laughed. ‘I could leave my car by the church and easily collect it tomorrow.’

They drove largely in silence, a crescent moon shedding a pale light over the black humps of the mountains, the only sound that of the lapping of the lake beside the road, and the
whoo-whoo
of a wood pigeon. His closeness was having a strange effect upon her. Abbie couldn’t help keep glancing at his long stretched-out legs, at the way his fingers smoothed over the steering wheel, almost as if she’d like to have them do the same to her.

When he drew to a halt in the drive of Carreck Place he turned to her, his gaze deeply intense. Then without saying a word, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. This was no tender peck upon the cheeks but a deep, passionate kiss to which Abbie found herself completely surrendering. Desire surged through her like fire. Never, in all the years she had spent with Eduard, had a kiss ever felt so right, so perfect, as if she had been waiting for it all her life.

‘I’ve been wanting to do that for so long,’ he said, echoing her own thoughts, when eventually it ended. ‘You are rather irresistible.’

Abbie stroked a finger over his mouth. ‘So are you.’ What was she thinking of? What had happened to her resolve not to get involved with anyone right now? But he was kissing her again and she blocked all such thoughts from her head, giving herself up to the intimacy of the moment, and the delicious churn of excitement within.

When he pulled away this time his expression was oddly
serious
. ‘I think you know how I feel about you, Abbie. I know you’re busy but I’d really like us to spend more time together, to get to know each other a bit better.’

She wanted to tell him that she’d like that too, but the
memory
of Eduard and how easily she’d messed up her life before was
warning
her to tread with caution. ‘Maybe we could talk about this some other time, Drew. Right now I really must go, as I’ve imposed upon my sister-in-law quite enough for one day.’

‘Okay, but before you do, there’s something I’ve been trying to pluck up the courage to ask for a while now, something for you to think about.’

‘Oh, and what would that be?’

Smoothing a strand of hair back from her cheek, he smiled, causing Abbie to feel almost giddy with the need to kiss him again. But she really should concentrate on what he was saying.

‘I greatly admire the way you’ve restored and revitalised
Precious
Dreams in just a few months. You’ve done a splendid job. I can see a great future for the business, and I assure you that I will not be selling jewellery or attempting to compete with you in any way.’

She smiled up at him then, placing a light kiss on his mouth in gratitude. ‘I’m delighted to hear it.’

‘I did wonder, however, bearing in mind the similarity of our respective shops, if a partnership would be of any interest?’

Startled, Abbie jerked back in her seat, releasing herself from his hold. But before she had time to speak, Drew held up a hand.

‘Let me explain before you shoot me down in flames. You have quite a bit of unused space at the back of your premises, as does the one next door. So why not blend both shops into one large store? We could expand into fashion, in addition to jewellery, bags and accessories, perhaps even ladies’ shoes too. I believe you and I could work well together.’

Maybe they could, she thought, instinctively intrigued by the idea. Abbie looked into his face and couldn’t help but wonder if she was actually falling for this lovely man. Her feelings for him had certainly grown over these last weeks. ‘Are you serious?’

‘Never more so. Obviously it would need to be set up on a proper legal footing, and I’d be prepared to pay you whatever is appropriate.’

‘Pay?’ She struggled to clear her muddled head as an ugly suspicion once more reasserted itself. ‘What are you saying ‒ that you’re still determined to buy me out?’

‘No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. I mean that I would buy into the partnership, as you actually own the premises, rather than simply renting.’ Pulling a scrap of paper from his pocket, he scribbled something on it and held it out to her. ‘What do you think?’

Abbie stared at the figures, which would more than pay off the overdraft with a fair sum left over. It was a hugely tempting offer, but she felt totally bemused. Hadn’t she told herself never to trust a man again? She thought about Stefan and Eduard, and how
neither
one had proved himself to be worthy of trust. What if Andrew
Baxter
was running away from debts in Scotland, or the tax man? What if this story of his wife leaving him was as much a fiction as Eduard’s, fabricated in order to gain her sympathy?

‘I hardly know you.’

‘Does that matter?’

‘I’m not sure.’

The offer had come right out of the blue and her mind felt utterly scrambled after that kiss, not to mention all the wine she’d drunk today. Why had he chosen to bring the matter up now, when she was on too much of an emotional high to be in any fit state to judge? Was that kiss part of his plan, so that he could get his hands on Precious Dreams by whatever devious means he could? She shook her befuddled head as she gathered up her bag.

‘I don’t think I can quite take this in right now. It’s been one hell of a day. The caterers were late, there was that dreadful interview, and then Eduard turning up and making demands. Exciting, profitable, yet a real bummer in many ways.’

‘But you’ll think about it.’ He looked as if he might be about to kiss her again and Abbie put up her hands to stop him.

‘Sorry, but in view of what I’ve been through in the past, I confess to being rather wary of guys who attempt to take advantage of a girl when she’s at her most vulnerable.’

‘Oh, lord, I’d never do that, Abbie. I thought you and I were . . .’

She didn’t stop to listen to any more. Emotion suddenly overwhelmed her and before the tears flooding her eyes could start to fall, Abbie pulled open the car door and fled.