Chapter 5
Chapter Five
L ying to your loved ones was never a good idea, Maya had learned – the hard way. After a few exhausting weeks of pretending to go out on dates with an extremely busy fictional boyfriend, Maya’s fingers ached from the intricate work on her latest designs. She’d put off a meeting with her family and friends so far by explaining they both had impossibly heavy work-loads and actually didn’t see each other that much. The part about how hectic her own life was becoming was true, even without her non-existent other half.
The sun was just rising over the river and creating a hazy dappled effect on the ripples in the water so she squinted as she repositioned the metal shields she used to draw the warmth of the flame away from the precious gems she was setting so that they didn’t overheat while she soldered a tiny bezel cup. She’d been working for most of the night and had finally dozed off after adding the final gem to her design. She never worked on two pieces at once, but she had a very important client that could not be put off. The first was a bespoke piece for a famous client, whom Maya already loved, even though the client did not know who she was. Her personality shone when they had chatted online and Maya really wanted to get the piece right. Their conversation had been light, fun, and vivacious. Sahara was a much-loved daytime television hostess. Maya was numb with shock that her clients would pay so much money for a piece of her work. She no longer undersold her gift for design and she was reaping the benefit.
She jumped as her phone rang and she picked it up after seeing who was calling. ‘Hi, Mason,’ she said, her mood instantly lifting at the sound of his voice. ‘Haven’t bumped into you for a while. Work has been hectic.’ She glanced around her immaculate workroom and realised that the turmoil was inside, not around her. She’d been worrying about the family party again and the secrets that were mounting up.
‘We’ve missed you,’ he teased, his Irish lilt making her skin tingle. Mason wasn’t her usual type; tall, self-assured and handsome. He was definitely good-looking, but in a quiet way. He wasn’t flashy or pushy, but he was often smiling. Could he be boyfriend material? she wondered. ‘I’m holding a class today, but we only have a few people booked in. Want to join?’
‘I do!’ she said happily, a burst of fresh energy filling her veins at the thought of seeing Mason and her other friends. ‘I want to start a couple more paintings for Penelope’s café, so I need to do some preliminary drawings.’
‘Maybe seeing me – and the others – will inspire you?’ he teased, and she flushed and realised he was right. She was very much looking forward to seeing him now. Perhaps she could find herself an actual date for the party. She’d been thinking of staging a tearful break-up with her current faux beaux because he never had time to meet her family, but that might bring even more problems with her family wanting to hunt him down and give him a piece of their minds. Subtle, they were not!
‘It’s a date,’ she answered Mason without thinking, and then pulled the phone away from her face and stared at it in shock. Had she just called a casual meet-up a date? How embarrassing! ‘Umm. I’ll see you there, Mason,’ she added, finishing the call and not waiting to hear his response because her cheeks were burning and she needed to stick her head in a bucket of cold water for being such a moron. Mason was just being friendly and now she sounded desperate, which she actually was – for a date. She really was going to have to make up a scenario where she broke up with her imaginary boyfriend soon if she didn’t find a replacement. Her friends and family knew Mason well, so they’d realise it wasn’t him. She sighed.
The delicate necklace she’d placed on her beautifully curved wooden jeweller’s desk took her breath away and every twinge in her joints was worth it. Her work tools were within easy reach, but tidily stacked in different sized racks.
Maya looked out towards the double doors and balcony on the top floor of her home and enjoyed the glorious view of the river and the swans drifting by as they watched people outside Penny’s café, in the hope they might throw in a morsel of food. With no time to linger, or for a coffee, she hurried herself along.
Maya carefully lifted the necklace and placed it in the safe. It was hidden behind a watery landscape painting from a fancy gallery and Maya had been frightened to move it at first lest she damage it. Now she deftly slid it across the discreet rails it sat on, opened the safe and checked that her platinum and diamond No.1 Ethereal Lane tag was secure on the clasp of the necklace. Someone already flooded the market with cheap copies of her branded tag and people wore them on simple chains or added them to other necklaces or bracelets. Authentic originals were easy to distinguish as the quality shone with the intricacy of her designs. That there was only one of each numbered piece made fakes very easy to spot.
Closing the safe and then locking her office door, she hurried back downstairs. Maya’s client had a big charity gala and auction to attend and was raising money for a pretty little local museum that had fallen into disrepair, so the intricate necklace had to be ready on time. Maya hated to leave a client waiting, and the extra work had been back-breaking.
Maya grabbed an apple from her fruit bowl and a bottle of water from the fridge, then glanced down at herself and checked she’d remembered to get dressed because she was so tired. She was wearing an old pair of Levi’s and a textured sage-green cotton shirt with a wide laced collar she loved.
She stopped to take in the vista of the quintessentially English old town as she stepped out of her front door and walked towards the river – it truly was a picturesque sight. The honey-hued cobbled main road ran from the dock, past the riverside café and up the hill towards the stone castle and bustling centre of town. Pretty little shops lined the high street with red-tiled roofs and deep sash windows. It was picture perfect. Ideal for a painting session! She shoved her sunglasses on top of her head, because the sun had finally showed itself. Picking up her pace, she half walked, half ran, to jump onto Joe’s boat before Bertha left for her first cruise of the day.
Joe shook his head; she was usually early for everything. She hated the stress of worrying about being late. She’d rather get there early to relax with a coffee and watch the world stroll by. He grinned and pulled her in for a hug and a kiss. ‘I will pay you for today,’ he said. ‘You never take a wage, and that fancy house you’re renting must cost you a fortune. You need a wage,’ he added, mock sternly. Maya grinned as he said this pretty much every time she stepped aboard. She kissed his leathery cheek and admired his neon-green shorts and red top as Joe refused to conform to uniforms.
‘Your t-shirts don’t need to be viewed from space,’ she said cheekily. He rolled his eyes theatrically. Joe’s one concession to conformity was the giant word CAPTAIN across his back on his T-shirts.
‘I like to let my customers know who I am,’ he chided playfully. ‘By the way… your grandparents told me you have a date for the party! Who is the lucky chap?’ Maya’s insides squirmed as the subterfuge was getting too hot to handle. She glanced over to see Mason setting up his art class, and he waved. Joe glanced his way and raised a busy white eyebrow in question as she still hadn’t answered him. She waved back to Mason, who was looking handsome in washed-out jeans and a pale-blue t-shirt that day and used that moment to steer the conversation away.
‘I’m sure I’ll have time to introduce you at some point,’ she assured breezily, then added, ‘Penny sold four of my paintings, so you really don’t need to worry about me.’ Joe’s eyes lit up and he pulled her in again for a congratulatory hug. She saw they had about twenty guests that day and about eight for the art class. Hordes of people were queuing for the Bowen Brother’s boats. The eldest brother, Alex, looked her way and blew her a kiss. She mock fainted, laughed and caught it. Maya would secretly love to steal all of Alex’s customers. Hordes of young women waited to get on their boats and Alex and Luca lapped up all the attention as if they were rock stars! They flirted with Maya relentlessly, but she’d had her fill of playboys, however much she’d toyed with the idea of finding one to mess about with recently. It wasn’t her style… not that she didn’t enjoy looking at handsome men, though! It made her day brighter, and they seemed to enjoy the flirting, too.
Roman winked at her as she walked past and they slapped hands in a high-five. ‘Ready?’ he asked. Maya nodded and settled herself on the bow, after checking that the handful of guests didn’t need anything and saying hello to Mason and his art class.
‘You cut it fine,’ Mason noted with a grin as he settled his group. He already had a splodge of ochre paint on the back of his hand and his jeans pocket was full of paintbrushes.
‘I know.’ She smiled up at him and took his hand to brush the yellow paint off with the pad of her thumb. ‘I was working late and then fell asleep at my desk.’
‘Maybe we should meet up for a coffee after the cruise ends and get you a sandwich?’ he suggested, his hand still in hers. She let her hand drop and wished she had that fizzy feeling of excitement that she felt should come with an offer of a coffee date from a very attractive man. The way she’d felt when Noah had stopped to check she was okay after knocking into her, even though their ‘meeting’ had been fleeting and embarrassing. Was it bad that she was looking forward to the coffee more than the company with Mason? She was determined to try harder and upped the wattage of her smile, which he seemed to appreciate as he held onto the guard rail for support.
‘Sounds good!’ she said, making sure she sounded keener than she felt. She’d been friends with Mason since he’d come over to her one day while she was sketching and told her he was thinking of starting a local art group. She really liked him, but wasn’t sure if it was anything more just yet. The problem was that she’d already told her family and friends that she had a boyfriend, so she’d better start dating for real, or be doomed to failure and more family meddling in her love life. Mason would solve all of those problems, but he might create more if she wasn’t as invested as he was, and she wasn’t sure her family would believe it was him, anyway. There would be no reason for them not to have met before now, because Mason wasn’t exactly busy and he held his art classes on Bertha! ‘They sell double-shot coffee at Riverside and Penny might even sneak in a drizzle of caramel if we’re good.’ Mason’s face lit up.
‘It’s a date,’ he said over his shoulder as he turned back to his class and she kind of wished she’d kept her mouth shut earlier. If she bumped into her family or friends now, they would think she was two-timing a guy who didn’t exist! Every simple coffee with a male friend was seen as a potential life partner to them, which was ridiculous. She’d only been single for two years and wasn’t exactly desperate... She sighed as she realised that’s exactly what she was, now that she’d blurted out she had a boyfriend.
Sitting cross-legged on the bow, she pulled her small drawing pad and pencils out of her canvas tote bag. She loved sitting on the edge of the boat and drawing, but currently her nerves were shot to pieces. Joe liked to have her on board, but he and Roman could easily manage this amount of guests on their own if she suddenly decided to jump ship and scamper back to dry land. She’d been back to the local pool lately to try to ease the tension in her body, but she wondered if she might give river swimming a go again soon, because that was where she could float about and still be immersed in nature. The sterile environment of a black-and-white tiled pool hadn’t made her want to rush back. There were ten superb wild swimming spots that Maya knew of along the Thames and Hurley Lock was her favourite with its shallow beach, tall grasses, mild current and pretty tearooms.
As the boat moved away from the dock, Joe started his tour speech and she heard guests murmur to each other about famous film star Noah Benedict and his mansion being situated further up the river. Maya could understand the excitement as she’d had often sat up late with Leah and watched one of his films, drooling all over themselves. Matt joined them occasionally, but he preferred the action movies and when Leah and Maya had commented that they liked a different kind of action and fallen over laughing childishly, Matt sighed and got them all a glass of wine.
He had a movie coming up later in the year that was being filmed in one of the big London studios, with Dame Rosalie Alton – who was a megastar – so the whole town was fizzing with excitement. Noah lived here now, and he had been adopted as one of their own, so the locals had become quite defensive when he was branded a wife-stealer by the press. It had turned out later that Noah was meeting his date to talk about a charity gala and her husband – his good friend – was actually at the restaurant too! It seemed to Maya that that particular newspaper had it in for him, as that was the third viper-like article she'd read from them.
The occasional glimpse of Noah walking across his lawn and sitting on the grass reading a book often sold Joe’s tours, as people didn’t have to fight for space by the railings to get a good look at their idol. Maya had seen him a few times recently, but he rarely had company, and she wondered if the photos of him in the press with various companions were true. She knew from her own experiences that stories could be way off the mark, or too close for comfort, so she had an open mind and was curious – but just because he was local, not for any other reason… She kept thinking about his disarming smile, but she was still resolutely off men who looked as good as he did. He was bound to have an entourage the size of his ego.
The boat steamed down the river and Maya opened her pad and drew. Even though the river network was sometimes damaged by the environment or people, it still provided a magnificent home for a variety of plants and animals in the ancient wetland landscape. Being part of one of the longest rivers in England meant it was an area of outstanding beauty, in Maya’s opinion, with wide paved pathways running along the riverbanks, which were surrounded by grasslands and soft-petalled river flowers in hues of cream and pink. Swans dipped their graceful necks into the water and ducks and Canadian Geese flocked around brightly coloured boats or bobbed on the ripples of the river as the boat steamed by. Today she was looking for the flowering grasses that grew in this area, so she immersed herself in her sketching until Joe mentioned over the Tannoy that they were passing superstar Noah Benedict’s house.
The chatter from the guests picked up volume, and a few rushed over to Maya’s side of the boat. One woman screamed and fanned her face with her hand as her friend held her arm for support. Another woman frantically waved at the house as they saw Noah walking towards his outbuilding with a determined stride. He had a towel slung over his shoulder and he was wearing denim shorts and a casual white T-shirt, looking breathtaking. Maya’s heart almost stopped as their eyes met and she could have sworn that he smiled at her. He was probably smiling and basking in the attention of the fans who were manically trying to catch his eye, but he’d reached the door to the modern natural wood and tinted-glass-windowed building and slipped inside. Maya’s heart was racing, and her skin was incredibly hot suddenly, but she guessed that was why he was a film star. His charisma shone, close up or at this distance. Be still her beating heart! If only he wasn’t such a miserable git, according to one of the co-stars of his new film—Tabitha. He’d seemed pretty friendly when he’d accidentally poured coffee all over Maya’s chest. Tabitha was scathing about him, so he’d clearly done her wrong at some point to have so much venom directed at him.
Maya wondered how it would feel if a man this dangerous looking and sexy as hell ever turned his attention her way, but she couldn’t in her wildest imaginings see how that would ever happen. He was an impressive actor and could make an audience nearly hyperventilate and pass out in excitement from the way the woman next to her had just screamed. She had almost given Maya a heart attack and was wobbling and holding her friend’s arm for dear life. ‘He smiled at me!’ she bellowed, her face flushed, as Maya jumped up and grabbed a bottle of water from the bar and rushed her way to calm her down. The woman took the drink gratefully as Maya guided her and her wobbly legs safely to a seat. The customer opened the bottle and gulped the cooling liquid down. ‘I’m not sure I’ll ever recover,’ she gasped, clearly trying to catch her breath. ‘Did you see, Agnes?’ she asked her companion, who was rummaging in her bag to pull out a floppy sun hat and perch it on her friend’s bouncy grey curls.
‘I did, Melony!’ her friend replied, touching Roman’s arm as he walked past to get his attention and ordering two enormous glasses of rosé wine. ‘We need to celebrate!’ she stated, enjoying their rapt audience, as all the other passengers had moved to this side of the boat to see what the commotion was about. ‘Let’s hope our luck stays with us when we get to the racetrack. There might be a horse named after Noah,’ she cackled gaily and Maya couldn’t help but laugh. Both ladies were short, loud and curvaceous, with long, flowing colourful dresses. They had flirted outrageously with Joe as the boat had departed and he’d blushed and smiled. Maya knew he was worried about his wife, Olive, at the moment, as she needed a hip replacement and then a holiday. Joe couldn’t afford to keep the boat out of the water for the two weeks for her to recuperate, or staff it while he was gone.
Ten minutes further up the river, the guests disembarked at the racecourse and new guests climbed aboard for the journey home. There are only five of them and Maya served drinks and then settled them on the top deck as Joe turned the boat around. While it was quiet, Maya took her chance to grab a moment with Joe. She knew he would be concentrating on the river and also understood that Olive’s operation was the following week. ‘Joe,’ she said, making him look up for a moment. ‘Olive is going to need you at home for the next two weeks at least.’
‘I know,’ he said, not taking his eyes from the river. ‘I can’t be in two places at once though,’ he sighed, rubbing his white beard, his bushy eyebrows as wild as ever.
‘You know that Gran and Pops will help,’ said Maya, ‘but could I ask you to trust me?’ She tried to keep a straight face and not look shifty because Joe was supersensitive to anything to do with his precious boat, Bertha . ‘I’ve had a plan for a while and I want to look after the boat for two weeks for you. You won’t need to check up on us and I’m sending you to Cornwall so that Olive can recuperate properly. Before you can protest,’ she held up a hand to stop him from speaking. ‘You need a rest, Joe. We can handle it here and I promise I won’t let you down.’
‘But…’
Roman strolled behind Joe and agreed with Maya after catching the end of the conversation. ‘We can do it, Joe,' added Roman with a smile, putting a hand on Maya’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze of support. 'Olive needs you and it’s about time that you let me sail Bertha. I’ve been working here weekends from when I was a teenager and since I’ve been full time, you know I can run the boat with Maya. You’ve taught us both well.’
‘I can’t afford a holiday,’ harrumphed Joe, his eyebrows almost in his hairline. Joe still had a thick mop of hair that he swept back with gel, so he looked like a dashing Father Christmas.
‘I won a competition, and it’s two weeks in a beautiful cottage by the sea,’ Maya lied, crossing her fingers behind her back and hoping Joe would forgive her for fibbing. It was the only way she could think of to help her friends. ‘I can’t go because I’ve got a painting commission of the riverbed and it’s one of Penny’s customers. The holiday is a set date, so we will waste it.’
‘Surely you could paint there, or you must know someone who needs a holiday at the cottage?’ said Joe. ‘Ettie and Owen would love it!’ Maya smiled at the mention of her batty grandparents, but they were in on the plan too. In fact, it had been their idea! Her whole family had chipped in to rent the cottage for Joe and Olive.
‘Grandad is doing a talk at the local horticultural society that week and you know how obsessed he is about his plants.’ His garden was overflowing with beauty, and growing up there had been an adventure and a pleasure. She was pretty sure her love of nature came from him. They’d spent hours and hours lying on their tummies, examining the tiniest flowers over the years. Her favourites were Sweet Alyssum, that had miniature blooms that smelt of honey and pink or purple Egyptian Star Clusters the bees loved.
‘Oh,’ said Joe, understanding dawning. He knew that his best friend was obsessed with plants, so that definitely counted them out. ‘What about Leah and Matt, or Penelope?’ he asked.
‘Leah’s overrun with orders and they have a holiday booked at the end of the summer. Penny hasn’t finished training her new manager yet, so it doesn’t work for her either.’ Joe stopped and thought about it for a moment and Maya saw his shoulders sag in defeat and knew at that moment that she had won… for now. She could see how exhausted Joe was and his usual raucous, sunny nature was gradually being worn away.
‘Okay,’ he surprised her by saying. She had expected to have to pin him down and force him to go. He smiled gratefully at her as if he’d finally acknowledged that he needed to accept help, and pulled her into his arms for a hug. She sank in gratefully and realised that he’d lost weight, as the hug didn’t have his usual all-encompassing warmth and happiness. She hated lying to him and she hoped that what she had planned for his boat and his business, were worth it.