Chapter Twenty-Three
Genevieve adjusted the camera angle, ensuring that the soft glow of the down lights illuminated the scene in Finlay’s kitchen just right. With him gone early to the Highland Games, she had a short while to do this before she picked up her granny. She tapped the record button on her phone.
‘Hello, everyone. I hope you’ve got the sunshine today like we do. I thought I’d pop on and show you how to make a delicious meal, perfect for summer, when you’re not going to be in all day, but you want to come home to something without having to think too much.’
She wanted to do this for Finlay and herself anyway, so why not record it? Made sense.
‘You don’t need any fancy equipment except a slow cooker, which most people have kicking around. It’s actually an under-used piece in my house, but I’m getting into it more and more.’
She flashed a bright smile at the camera as she lifted the first bowl of ingredients. ‘We’ll start with some seasonal vegetables.’ She tossed them in. ‘I’ve got bell peppers, juicy cherry tomatoes, and mixed herbs. Like with all my recipes, you can adapt them to your own taste. I’ve already chopped the tomatoes and given them a really light fry. I find if you don’t do that first, they can come out bitter.’
She pulled up the next bowl. ‘Next, we’ll add some protein to our dish,’ Genevieve continued, reaching for a pack of tender chicken thighs. ‘I love using chicken thighs in slow cooker recipes because they stay moist and tender, soaking up all the flavours of the dish, but you can use other meat, or meat substitute if you’re vegetarian or vegan.’
She seasoned the chicken with a blend of aromatic spices. ‘I’m just using a little paprika, cumin, and garlic. Not too much. It smells amazing.’ She breathed it in. ‘Layer up the ingredients like this,’ Genevieve explained, arranging the vegetables and chicken.
‘All we need now is the stock which I have ready in the jug.’ She carefully poured it over the ingredients. ‘Now, put the lid on. I’ll set the slow cooker to low and that’s it. I’ve got some big news coming soon…’ The contract with Duchan Fayre was already in tentative negotiations. She didn’t want to say too much as it would be blatantly obvious she wasn’t planning on going to Dubai if she was arranging photoshoots and cooking shows at Duchan. But it occupied her mind better than focusing on the growing chasm in her heart when she thought about Finlay leaving. ‘Watch this space. I’m off to enjoy my day and when I come back I’ll have something tasty waiting. If you’ve invested in my range of storage boxes, this is a perfect recipe to store leftovers and reuse for lunches or another dinner during the week. I’ll pop the recipe in the comments. Let me know your thoughts and remember to hit like if you enjoyed watching.’
With a wave, Genevieve ended the recording. Right, that was part one of her day sorted. She went onto her laptop, found the recipe she’d typed earlier and pasted it into the comments box beneath the video. Already there were some watchers and a couple of comments. Most people who followed her were friendly but there was always the possibility of a mean comment. She clicked them open and checked. Thankfully nothing bad.
‘Right, Mitzi,’ she said. ‘Let’s go get granny and we’ll see how Finlay gets on at the games.’
Crunch time was fast approaching, and she had to make the most of every second with him. Making that film was a distraction, if nothing else, something to fill the lonely moments without him. Something she’d soon have to get used to.
Half an hour later, Genevieve manoeuvred her granny’s wheelchair through the crowd in the Highland Games field in Glenbriar. The surface was uneven and already well-trodden, though it was early days yet. Mitzi toddled along behind.
‘I can’t believe I’ve never been here,’ Genevieve said, looking across the arena. A few people on horses passed them by, wearing smart dressage jackets. All around, generators hummed from the food stalls and lucky dips. ‘It’s quite an event.’
‘It’s grown out of all proportion since I was last here,’ her granny said. ‘That was years ago. There was none of this nonsense.’ She pointed at a shoot-the-duck stall lined with rows of cuddly toys. ‘It was more about the dancing and the competitions.’
Genevieve’s shoulders were a little shaky. She wanted to blame it on the exertion of pushing her gran around the bumpy field, but it wasn’t that. Her whole body was gripped with an almost paralysing sensation, it was forcing her to take one step at a time and only make the most superficial conversation. If she thought too deeply she’d scream. This was the end and nothing could change that. No superficial films or chitchat. Finlay was competing in the tug-of-war today, then late tomorrow he was flying to Dubai. She was fudging around all the questions about whether she was packed and ready to go too. The game was up.
Everyone believed she was going. But she wasn’t.
Nausea rose inside her at the thought.
Her parents had made it worse, or better in their eyes, by inviting her brother and sister over for the weekend. They were desperate for her siblings to meet Finlay and to give him and her a memorable send off. She cringed. This was the brief calm before the shitstorm hit good and proper.
‘We’re meeting them next to the tractor display,’ Genevieve said, checking her phone. ‘Rafe’s just messaged. They’re all waiting.’
‘It’s over there, I think,’ her gran said. ‘Near that big green banner thing.’
‘I see it.’ Genevieve pushed her forward. The crowd parted to let them through and a smiling man in a pale blue shirt and tan chinos waved and approached them. Genevieve raised a hand to her big brother. He looked tanned and healthy as he always did and she imagined how Hayley would fake swoon if she saw him.
‘Hello.’ He pounced down and hugged their gran. ‘You’re looking well.’
‘Apart from the gammy hip, all’s good.’
‘You’re a trouper, gran, so you are.’ He straightened up and beamed at Genevieve. ‘And hello gorgeous little sister number two. Congratulations to you.’ He pulled her in for a hug.
‘I hope she sticks at it a bit longer than you.’ Gran prodded him in the leg.
‘Yes, yes. Let’s hope.’ He pulled a please-help-me-get-out-of-this-convo face at Genevieve. After tomorrow, his divorce would be old news. She’d take the family-scandal crown off his head and have it on for god knew how long.
‘Is Cress here too?’
‘She’s over there with Mum and Dad. She and Tina have some big news too.’
‘Oh?’ Genevieve spotted her older sister alongside her partner, and as Cressida turned to them, Genevieve’s jaw dropped. ‘She’s pregnant?’
‘Wonderful,’ Gran said. ‘Though is it a stupid question to ask who the father is?’
‘Maybe don’t ask that,’ Rafe said.
Genevieve pushed Gran towards them and Cressida hurried over to hug her and Genevieve.
‘You kept that quiet.’ Genevieve pointed at the bump.
‘Much like your engagement and the fact you’re leaving the country tomorrow.’ Cressida gave her a mock stern look. ‘All a bit sudden, isn’t it?’
She gave a little shrug, hoping it looked like coy embarrassment.
‘Wait until you meet him,’ her mother said. ‘And you’ll understand why it was sudden. He’s very handsome and just the nicest man.’
‘I still haven’t met him,’ Gran said with a little pout. ‘Though I feel like I already know him from the wonderful video of him proposing.’
‘I heard about that,’ Cressida said. ‘But by the time I went to see it, it had gone from your page.’
‘It was a mistake putting it live. He’s a teacher, so he doesn’t want too much on social media,’ Genevieve said.
‘Ah, that explains it.’
Rafe had broken away and was chatting with another man. Genevieve’s heart stopped when her eyes landed on him. James Charlton. Shit.
Cressida rubbed her chin. ‘How do you think you’ll like Dubai?’
‘Oh, I, um… I’m not sure.’ Genevieve frowned, still eyeing James.
‘Hey, Gen,’ Rafe said. ‘Look who’s here.’
‘Hi.’ James gave her a smile. ‘Nice to see you again after all the emails of the last few weeks.’
‘Oh, yes.’
‘I hear you’re going to Dubai,’ he said.
Bloody hell! She’d happily strangle her brother… not that he’d understand why.
‘I am.’
‘I didn’t realise. I’m not sure how that’ll work with the contract. I assumed you’d be here.’
Genevieve fiddled with the button on Mitzi’s lead. ‘I need to work that out.’
‘It’ll be restricting to schedule events if we’re dependent on flights. And costly for you.’
Shit!
‘I… er…’
‘Don’t worry about it just now,’ James said. ‘We can chat about it another time. Remotely I guess if you’re not going to be here.’
Her cheeks heated. How could she admit she wasn’t going at all. This was just another game… Exactly like the one she’d played with him. He’d walked away from it and now Finlay would do the same. Her heart hiccupped, threatening to crack her chest open. She buried the sensation deep. Must be strong. Don’t let anything show.
‘I guess,’ she said.
‘I only found out just now from Rafe you were off to Dubai.’ James gave a little shrug. ‘In your emails, you agreed to several dates. Some of them are quite soon. This could be tricky. But leave it with me.’ He gave them all a friendly wave.
‘Do you think he’ll pull the plug on it?’ Genevieve said, heat and panic rising inside her. Should she go after him and confess? What if he shut it down immediately? Or if he discovered her engagement conveniently ended just in time to take up the contract, would he guess this was her faking it again? Did it matter if he did? Other than adding to the personal humiliation she would suffer anyway.
Rafe patted her upper arm. ‘There’ll be other opportunities.’
But this one was so perfect.
‘When do I get to meet Finlay in person?’ Grandma asked from behind.
‘Well…’ Genevieve pulled out her phone, still in two minds about going after James. ‘He’ll be with his team. I’m not sure when he can get away, but I’ll message him and let him know where we are in case he’s free.’ She wrote a text but she couldn’t send it. All of this had to stop right now. In fact, while they were all here, she could tell them it was finished, then save her contract. She wasn’t engaged, she wasn’t going to Dubai and that was that.
The text lay flat on the screen unsent and Genevieve stared at it.
GENEVIEVE: Hey, we’re at the tractor stand if you’re free to meet my gran, my brother and my sister. xx
‘Send it then,’ Cressida said, leaning over and tapping the send button before Genevieve could stop her.
Great.
‘I have to thank you,’ her father said, ‘and Finlay too. Thanks to you, Flora MacDonald has agreed to funding a large research programme. She was delighted by the two of you.’
‘Oh…’ Genevieve smiled. ‘That’s great. We didn’t do much… I mean, it was a fun experience.’
‘I bet it was,’ Rafe said.
Cressida smacked his arm. ‘Don’t be rude.’
‘I’m not.’ He rubbed his elbow like she’d inflicted a painful wound. ‘But it wasn’t exactly a tough brief. Come visit and test the facilities in my luxury couples’ retreat. I can’t see why anyone would refuse.’
‘Unless they haven’t got a partner,’ Cressida said. ‘Like you.’
‘Who says I don’t? I’m perfectly happy dating the person I’m dating.’
‘And who’s that? An imaginary friend? You used to have one of them, didn’t you?’
Genevieve caught her mum’s eye as Cressida and Rafe carried on their banter. Hilary was giving Rafe a somewhat disapproving look. She liked to have the perfect family and she’d succeeded in having three good-looking children, even if Genevieve said so herself, but they’d all swerved off the road to perfection. Rafe’s divorce and disinterest in settling down was his defect. Cressida was almost perfect, but wanting to carry on working after she had the baby would knock some points off.
The wheels would fall off Genevieve’s cart tomorrow evening.
‘Listen, I need to go and—’
‘Darling, come with me a moment.’ Her mum took her arm and led her away before she could finish speaking. ‘I want to show you something. You’ll like it.’ Genevieve couldn’t think why she wanted to show her a large red tractor. Or did she want to have a rant about Rafe? Mum didn’t often rant but occasionally she let things get the better of her. She’d once told Genevieve he should never have married his ex-wife and that the woman had been rude to her from the start, but she hadn’t said anything because she didn’t think it was her place.
‘What am I supposed to be looking at?’
‘Come around this side.’ She led her to the other side of the tractor so it blocked them from view of the others. ‘I don’t really want to show you anything, but I have something I need to ask you. It’s worried me a great deal over the past few days. I wasn’t sure whether to say anything but I feel I have to.’
‘What about?’
‘About Finlay.’
‘Oh?’ Genevieve blinked and turned her gaze to the shiny red paintwork on the tractor’s bonnet.
‘When I first met him you told me he was a brother of one of your friends, but you didn’t say who.’
‘Does it matter?’
‘Maybe not. But when Flora came around to talk to your father about the deal, she told me he was Hayley’s brother.’
‘Yes, I know that.’ Genevieve furrowed her brow. Where was her mum going with this?
Her mum ran her hands through her neat caramel-toned hair, so similar to her own, only shorter and a little less glossy. She was perfectly turned out for the occasion in dark brown jeans, hunter boots and a pink shirt, but the outward display didn’t fit with the turmoil in her expression.
‘Did you also know that only a month or so ago he was engaged to someone else? Someone who’s also a friend of yours.’
‘Yes. Of course I do.’
Her mum shook her head. ‘I like Finlay a lot, please don’t mistake me, he seems like a delightful man, but everyone keeps saying how sudden this engagement is. I feel I can’t not ask you.’
‘Ask me what?’
‘If this is all genuine?’
‘Why wouldn’t it be?’ Her heart was pounding a tattoo in her chest.
‘I don’t mean your feelings aren’t genuine. Of course I can see that they are. You obviously care deeply for him and the fact you’re willing to sell the house and leave Mitzi with us tells me you’re serious about him. But are you sure he feels the same?’
Genevieve clenched her teeth inside her mouth. How could she answer that truthfully? Because she wasn’t sure at all. There had been one moment at his dad’s party. One heart-stopping moment when she’d thought he was going to say he loved her. Then he’d said something else and the conversation had moved on. They’d never returned to it and maybe that spoke volumes. Finlay had played his part, but that was all he’d done…Wasn’t it?
‘Genevieve? I’m sorry if I’ve said something awful. I’m sure he loves you deeply. It certainly seems like he does but I have to ask myself why he’d get engaged to you so soon after someone else. And to a friend of his ex. It seems like the kind of thing someone would do to get revenge and while I want to believe that isn’t the case, I also don’t want you to get hurt. Oh dear.’ She rubbed her forehead.
This was exactly what Elise had said from the start.
‘I can see I’ve hurt you by even suggesting it,’ her mum said. ‘Please. Forget I said it. Obviously, my fears are groundless. I just couldn’t keep it to myself after what happened to Rafe. I can’t stop thinking that I could have stopped a lot of heartbreak if I’d told him how his ex-wife treated me right from the start. It felt wrong to say anything, so I didn’t and now I’ve done the opposite and hurt you. I’m so sorry.’
‘Don’t be.’ Genevieve glanced around, willing the tears to stay back. ‘I actually couldn’t tell you how Finlay really feels about me.’ They’d been almost living together for the past two weeks. The days were comfortable and fun. He’d gone off on some cycle runs while she’d worked. They’d even gone running together a couple of times. They’d cooked, cleaned, shown viewers around and everything felt great. At night they shared a bed, came together and enjoyed each other’s bodies, kissed, made love and cuddled all night. She’d never had a relationship like it, but ever since day one, it had been pretend. He was just playing the game and enjoying the benefits. Just as James had until it had run its course.
‘I’m confused.’ Her mum put her hand on Genevieve’s shoulder and squeezed it. ‘What are you saying? That Finlay hasn’t told you how he feels?’
‘He hasn’t.’
‘But… That’s just because he’s a man, right? And sometimes men don’t know how to communicate their feelings properly. It’s not because… Well, you don’t think he’s really doing this to get revenge on someone, do you?’
‘No.’ She tried to wade through the brain fog descending on her from every angle. It wasn’t that. That had never been a factor. It might have inadvertently had that effect, but Finlay wasn’t a revenge kind of guy. He’d never have set out to intentionally hurt Elise. Just like he’d never hurt me. He’d gone along with every aspect of her plan and never wavered. The reason she felt so shit was because she loved him and he didn’t return her feelings. That wasn’t new. She’d fancied Finlay for years from afar but she’d never allowed it to bother her. Only that was impossible now. She’d sampled too much of what life could be like. She’d enjoyed it too much. Going back to being immune to it wouldn’t work because the fever had got too deep a hold.
‘Let’s go and find him,’ her mum said. ‘You can talk to him. I’m sure everything will be fine.’
‘No. It won’t be. I’m not going to Dubai.’
‘But Genevieve, you can’t back out of that now.’
‘I can. I have to.’
‘Is this because of what James was saying to you?’
‘Kind of. And I… need to sell the house.’
‘The estate agents can handle that and I’m sure you’ll work something out with James.’
‘And there’s Mitzi.’
‘Of course you’ll miss her but we’ll take very good care of her. You don’t need to worry about her. Now, come on, let’s go and find Finlay. Nothing can be settled until we at least talk to him.’
Genevieve followed her mum but her mind was racing and her stomach roiling. Why had she thought this was a good option? How could she squeeze her way out of this without losing all credibility with everyone?