Chapter Eleven
With the bank holiday week over and the tourist season winding down, the town was much quieter than it had been for the past couple of months.
Soon the locals would have it to themselves again.
The Smugglers was less crowded too.
Cassie had come down with her brother and his latest girlfriend — another leggy blonde, Olivia Something-Something.
She seemed nice — at least she didn’t seem to be auditioning for Footballers’ Wives like the last one.
But if Paul was true to form, she’d be gone in a couple of weeks.
The jukebox was playing a twenty-year-old hit, and a group of elderly men were seated around a fiercely competitive game of dominoes at a corner table.
There were a few people at the pool table, including Liam and his brother.
“Ah, here’s the Queen of the Pool Table!” Luke declared as Cassie walked in.
“Fancy trying your luck against someone who can actually play?”
Paul laughed in lazy amusement.
“Want to put your money where your mouth is, big shot?” he challenged.
“You’re on. Make it a bullseye?”
“Oh, thank you,” Cassie murmured on a note of dry humour.
“Pressure or what?”
“What’s a bullseye?” Olivia enquired, arching one finely drawn eyebrow.
“Fifty quid,” Paul explained.
“Oh.” She smiled at Cassie.
“You can really play pool?”
Cassie laughed.
“Well, I hope so, or Paul’s about to lose fifty quid.”
“Best of three?” Luke suggested.
Paul grinned.
“Sounds good to me.”
Cassie rolled her eyes.
“You have a lot of faith in me.”
“I’ve seen you play, and I’ve seen him play. He’s good, but he can be overconfident. You can take him.”
“We’ll see.” She moved over to the rack to choose a cue.
Liam winked at her.
“Go on, Cassie. Give him a good thrashing.”
She returned an amused glance as she turned back to the table.
“But he’s your brother.”
“That’s why I want to see him beat. He took the piss out of me for a week when you beat me. Now I want revenge.”
Oh, that smile .
.
.
But it wouldn’t be wise to read anything into it.
Though she might occasionally catch a glint of something in those dark eyes, he hadn’t shown any sign of wanting to be more than friends.
“I’ll do my best,” she responded coolly.
Her best wasn’t good enough for the first game.
Luke broke, then potted three.
She sank two, but then an awkward angle on the next ball left her without a clear shot.
Luke potted another three with ease, but the fourth shivered on the edge of the pocket, to moans from his supporters and laughter from hers.
But she couldn’t capitalise on the opening.
She potted two more, but the white ball wasn’t running for her and stopped obstinately short of where she needed it to be.
Luke grinned as he returned to the table, dropped his seventh ball and moved smoothly onto the black.
“That’s how you do it,” he teased, grinning.
“Two out of three, remember?” Paul had brought her drink over and she took a sip.
Yes, she could see Paul’s point — Luke could be overconfident.
They had gathered quite an audience, some rooting for her, others for Luke.
Side bets were being made — not just on who would win, but whether either of them could run out from the break, whether there’d be a foul or a snooker.
Cassie’s luck changed for the second game.
She took the break and sank five balls on her first run, then when Luke had sunk three, she returned to the table and cleared the rest.
As the black rolled neatly into the pocket a cheer went up.
“Well done!” Luke gave her a high five, and glanced over at Paul.
“Double or nothing?” he suggested.
Paul’s grin widened.
“You’re on. Hope you’re good for the cash.”
“You’re the one who needs to worry about that.”
The good-natured banter continued as Cassie chalked her cue.
She was trying not to glance across the table at Liam.
She needed to focus on the game, not let herself be distracted by that beguiling smile.
Luke took the break and sank two balls, but as he lined up for the third Cassie could see the overconfidence.
He had chosen a difficult shot over an easy one.
If he sunk it and the white ball ran where he wanted it, he would have her snookered.
But it didn’t — it ran into the pocket.
“Foul!”
And suddenly it was getting intense.
Cassie now had two shots, and she could place the white ball wherever it gave her the best advantage.
Breathing slowly to steady her aim, she chose her angle and sank her ball neatly.
So she still had two shots.
She made the most of them.
She only had one ball left by the time Luke got back on the table.
He sank three, but the white ran back further than he wanted, so he couldn’t get a good angle on the next shot and it just bounced off the cushion.
One to go, and the black.
Cassie let her gaze flicker briefly towards Liam.
He smiled and gave her a thumbs up.
Focus .
.
.
The white ran true and straight, her yellow ball obligingly dropped into the pocket, and the black was at her mercy.
Don’t mess this up now.
“Go, Cassie!”
She chalked her cue again, then closed her eyes briefly, visualising the shot.
Sometimes those easy ones were the ones that would catch you out.
Finally, she bent over the table, lined up her cue and .
.
.
perfect!
She straightened, drawing in a long slow breath of relief.
Her supporters were cheering, bets were being settled, and several people were offering to buy her drinks.
Now she finally permitted herself to glance towards Liam.
Oh, that smile .
.
.
The jukebox clicked and a new song came on.
Her heartbeat skipped as the music started.
It was one they had danced to last night — a soft romantic ballad that was being played on the radio all the time.
Surely Liam hadn’t put it on?
No .
.
.
foolish .
Don’t start thinking like that.
But the memory of dancing in his arms was so vivid that she could almost feel the warmth of his body against hers, the smooth movement of his muscles as they had moved to the music.
For a moment she felt light-headed.
There was a small disturbance at the back of the crowd around the table as a tall young woman with a cascade of gleaming copper-gold hair eased through.
She came up behind Liam and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Surprise!”
Cassie’s breath caught in her throat.
She was stunning — all flawless cheekbones and sun-tinted skin, a perfect mouth and endless legs in slim-fitting designer jeans.
His girlfriend?
Whom no one had bothered to mention to her.
But then why would they?
She’d been very careful to show no particular interest in him.
Where had she been these past few weeks?
Off on some glamorous modelling contract in Paris or Peru?
Well, now she was back — and reclaiming him very publicly.
* * *
“Surprise!”
Liam felt a sharp shock.
Annabel.
“Hello.” He managed to fix a smile in place as he turned.
“What are you doing here? I thought you were in Paris.”
He was aware that they had become the centre of attention, that Cassie had noticed her.
Slipping an arm around her waist, he drew her discreetly away from the crowd around the pool table and over to the bar.
“Milan. I was. But the South Africa shoot was cancelled at the last minute, so I have a whole week off. Luxury!” Those sapphire-blue eyes were dancing.
“So I thought I’d come down and surprise you. I’ve got a room in that nice hotel up the road, and your dad told me you’d be down here, so . . . here I am! Say you’re pleased.”
He managed another smile, hoping it was convincing.
“Of course I’m pleased.”
Dammit, this was uncomfortable.
It was clear that Annabel had taken their brief encounter at the Gillard’s rather more seriously than he had intended.
In truth, he had barely thought about her over the past week.
Okay, don’t make a big thing of it .
She was only here for a few days.
And maybe in that time he’d find that missing spark.
After all, she was very beautiful, with a sweet personality.
And if he didn’t find the spark .
.
.
well, he’d try to end it as gently as possible.
“What would you like to drink?”
* * *
Damn.
Cassie forced herself to stop watching the couple on the other side of the room.
The girl was gorgeous — she wouldn’t be able to compete, even if she wanted to.
How long had they been together?
No wonder he had seemed to be keeping a distance between them.
She could only be thankful that she hadn’t made a fool of herself by letting him know how she felt about him.
“What’s up?”
“Uh?” She turned to her brother.
“You’re looking like the cat pissed in your shoe.”
“We don’t have a cat.”
“Next door’s cat?”
They both laughed.
She was lucky to have such a lovely family, she reflected wistfully.
She would really miss them when she left.
When she left?
The scale had tipped back the other way.
New Zealand had its definite advantages — and one of them was that Liam Ellis wasn’t there.
* * *
“Hiya.” Lisa strolled into the kitchen as Cassie was finishing a late breakfast, having already been for her regular early morning swim.
“Where’s Mum?”
“Gone into Exeter to look for an outfit for Vicky’s wedding.”
“Oh. I was going to ask if she could mind Kyra for a bit. I’m just going down to the hotel to discuss the arrangements for the wedding with Vicky.”
Cassie laughed, pausing to spread a layer of butter and marmalade on her toast.
“I thought you were supposed to be on maternity leave?”
“I am. But I can’t leave it to her to sort out her own wedding, and Mike would get in a right mither. Could you . . . ?”
“Of course. I’ll come down with you, though. I don’t have my full nappy-changing licence yet. Pour yourself a coffee — it’s fresh in the machine. How’s my little bubs?” She tickled the baby’s tiny feet.
“Hey, she smiled at me!”
“Wind.”
“Huh!”
Fifteen minutes later they set off down the hill, the baby asleep in her buggy.
It was a pleasant stroll in the September sunshine.
It was still warm, but there weren’t as many people on the beach as there had been a week ago — just a few pensioners and families with children not yet old enough to have started school.
“When are you going back to work?” Cassie asked.
“Probably in December. We get a surge in bookings around Christmas for the Tinsel and Turkey breaks.”
Cassie laughed.
“Tinsel and Turkey?”
“Uh-huh. We get coach parties from all over — they come down for three- or four-day breaks. Mostly older people, but they’re loads of fun. And it gives the bottom line a big boost — without them we’d be pretty dead for most of the winter months. Not so many people want to go on the beach or play golf when it’s freezing cold and raining.”
“Will Mum look after Kyra?”
Lisa nodded.
“I wondered if she’d want to go back to work herself, but she said no. It’s been five years since she took early retirement to look after Nanna and Noah, and she’s looking forward to having Kyra too. She’s enjoying being at home with her baking and her knitting.”
“I expect it’ll be much easier on her without Nanna,” Cassie mused.
“Much!” Lisa laughed.
“She deserves the chance to take it easy. She’s worked hard for years.”
Cassie nodded in agreement.
“She certainly has. I can think of few things I’d less rather do than wrangle a hundred or so primary school kids, all screaming and racing around like banshees.”
“I’m with you there!”
They had reached the hotel and climbed the steps to the front entrance.
The door hushed quietly open and they stepped into the reception hall.
Cassie hadn’t paid much attention to her surroundings last weekend, but she noticed now that the place was looking rather shabbier than she remembered from ten years ago.
The wooden floor was slightly scuffed, and the carpet in the lounge area was showing signs of wear.
But the view of the bay from the wide windows was stunning.
Vicky was at the reception desk, chatting to Penny, the young receptionist.
“Hi.” She greeted them with a happy smile.
“I’ll be right with you. Would you like a coffee?”
“I’ll get it,” Penny offered.
“Thanks.”
The three women settled themselves at a table out on the terrace in the sunshine.
Lisa lifted baby Kyra out of her buggy onto her lap, where she lay gurgling and kicking her chubby little legs.
“So, less than two weeks to go.” Lisa smiled across the table.
“Eleven days.” Excitement bubbled in Vicky’s voice.
“I think I’m going crazy!”
“It’s a nice crazy,” Lisa assured her.
“The planning’s all part of the fun.”
“Debbie’s wedding was lovely. She really deserved to have a good day.”
“Have you picked up your dress?” Lisa asked.
“I picked it up yesterday. My sister’s chosen hers herself. It’s actually very pretty, and she went with the colour we agreed.” She rolled her eyes at Cassie.
“She can be a bit of a nightmare at times.”
“I know how it is.” Cassie sighed heavily, shaking her head.
“Sisters!”
“Hey!” Lisa protested, laughing.
Penny brought their coffees with a plate of chocolate biscuits.
“Lovely — thanks.” Lisa reached for a biscuit.
“Right, to business.” She pulled a notebook out of her bag.
“Let’s start with flowers. Roses, lilies and baby’s breath, right?”
“That’s right. Lots and lots of them.”
“We’ve got them on order from the florists. We’ll need to bring up more vases from the storeroom.” She noted that down.
“We’ll put them all round the ballroom — various pedestal heights. In Reception too.”
“That sounds great.”
Kyra had started to grizzle.
“Here.” Cassie reached for her.
“I’ll take her for a stroll round the garden.”
“Thanks.”
Lisa passed the baby over and Cassie settled her into the buggy, then wheeled her across the terrace to the garden.
It was a very popular feature of the hotel — a lush sub-tropical paradise wrapped around three sides of the building and overlooking the bay.
Gravel paths and shallow steps wound around beds planted with tree ferns and Chinese fan palms, fiery red ginger, fragrant gold and white frangipani.
She recognised the vibrant spiky leaves of New Zealand cordyline, the scarlet puffs of pohutukawa, the tall stems of pretty agapanthus.
Butterflies flashed their bright wings over the flowers, and bumblebees hummed lazily as they searched for nectar.
Kyra liked being wheeled.
She had stopped grizzling and was waving her small fists in the air, gurgling happily as she found her own toes.
“What a clever girl you are,” Cassie purred to her.
“Lots of lovely pink toesies.”
She turned a corner and stopped dead.
Liam’s girlfriend.
“Hello.” The woman’s smile was warm and friendly, her eyes the sapphire blue of the sea on a sunny day.
Her hair gleamed like burnished copper, caught up in a stylish messy bun on top of her head, skinny designer jeans flattered endless legs.
Her cheekbones could slice through steel.
“Oh, hi.” Cassie instantly felt as if she’d been hit with the ugly stick.
“Oh, what a gorgeous baby. What’s her name?”
“Kyra.”
“Ah, that’s a pretty name. You’re a little cutie, aren’t you?” She leaned over gracefully to tickle the tot’s foot.
“She’s your daughter?”
“My niece.”
“Ah. I saw you in the pub last night, didn’t I? You were playing pool. Liam said you’ve beaten all the boys.” She laughed, a low musical laugh.
“Good for you.”
Cassie managed a smile.
“Thank you.”
“I’m Annabel, by the way.”
“Cassie.”
“Yes, I know. Liam told me.”
“Oh . . .”
“It’s really beautiful here.” She glanced out over the bay.
“You’re so lucky to live here.”
“Yes.” Oh, come on.
You can do better than that.
“Have you known Liam long?”
“Not very long. We met at a fundraiser for the Horse Rescue Society.” Her eyes were bright.
“I suppose you must know him quite well. He’s such a lovely man — so different from most of the men I know. They’re all over you like a rash, but Liam’s a real gentleman, you know what I mean?”
“Yes, I know.” Oh lord, she had to escape .
“Well . . . um . . . it’s nice to have met you. I’d better be getting this little one back to her mum.”
“Of course. Goodbye. See you around.”
“Yes . . . Goodbye.”
Trying not to look as if she was running away she trundled the buggy around the corner of the path and circled back up to the terrace.
Lisa and Vicky still had their heads together over wedding plans.
“Hi.” Cassie parked the buggy next to the table.
“She’s been as good as gold. Another coffee, anyone?”
Vicky glanced up with a smile.
“Yes, please.”
“Right.” Cassie slipped away to the bar in the lounge.
So that was Liam’s girlfriend.
Dammit, she seemed really nice, as well as being stunningly beautiful.
It would have been so much easier if she’d been a bitch .
.
.
No it wouldn’t.
She’d hate to think of Liam being with a woman who was horrible.
And it wouldn’t be very nice for little Robyn, either.
Oh well, she’d known all along that there was no future for her with him anyway, so there was no point letting herself be bothered about it.
Schooling herself to put on a smiling face, she set the coffee mugs down on a tray and carried it out to the terrace.