Page 57 of Booked for Summer

Yep, her little meeting was being held on the second floor in a room known as the friggingGreat Hall. And with its high ceiling, ornate cornices and the grand gold-framed oil paintings lining the walls, she could not argue with thegreat.

Her gaze rested on the lines of tables, each set with two chairs, and nerves buzzed in Jade’s belly.It sounds tacky.Her stomach rolled. Please God it wouldn’t be a flop. ‘Um, I don’t think Liam will come.’ She glanced guiltily at the poster advertising the event. ‘At least I hope not.’

Claire eyed her curiously. ‘I thought the pair of you got on? It certainly looked that way at the talk I did.’

Do not blush, do not blush. ‘I don’t dislike him, if that’s what you mean. Not like some of the others.’

‘Good, because he really doesn’t deserve the bad press. Ashley sent me a letter to give to him so I was hoping to see him here. She was worried if she sent it to the resort his admin would open it, and it’s very personal.’

‘Oh?’ Had she hit the casual interest tone she’d been aiming for?

Claire gave her a knowing look. ‘I told Ashley about all the rumours circulating and she was horrified. Hence the letter to Liam, thanking him for not saying anything. She also gave him and me permission to tell people the truth, so I’ll save you having to ask the question you’re clearly dying to ask,’ she added dryly. ‘Ashley had a fling with one of the regular guests. He told her he was single but when she accidentally got pregnant he admitted he’d been lying and actually had a wife and family he had no intention of leaving. Gutted, she decided to go home to Australia. Liam was a rock throughout and let her go with a glowing reference and without having to complete her notice. He even gave her a very generous lump sum that he insisted was the bonus she’d accrued, even though he’d already paid her a bonus the previous month.’ Claire met her eyes. ‘He told Ashley he knew what it was like to be toyed with.’

‘Oh.’ She had to do better than one-syllable answers. Claire was a frigging genius with words. ‘That’s awful, poor Ashley.’ Andyay, go Liam, she added silently.

‘It was a tough time for her but she’s doing okay now she’s home. Getting excited about being a mom.’ Claire’s phone buzzed and she gave Jade an apologetic look. ‘Sorry, I should take this, it’s my agent.’

Jade smiled and watched her go, her eyes connecting once again with the poster. Crap, she should have asked permission.

‘Having second thoughts?’

She startled. ‘God, you scared me.’

Jeremy laughed. ‘Feeling a bit jumpy are we? Wouldn’t have anything to do with that, by any chance?’ He gestured at the poster she’d been staring at. The one declaringproudlysponsored by Haven Resortsin big, bold letters across the bottom. ‘Theproudlywas an interesting touch.’

‘I figured go big or go home.’ She let out a strangled laugh. ‘And if he sees that, I probably will be going home.’

‘Um.’

She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘I was just wondering if we were talking about the samehe. I was talking about the man who, the moment I sent him a message about you needing advice on spreadsheets, cancelled a meeting and dashed over to you.’

‘Bollocks.’ She sucked in a breath, feeling a flutter in her chest. ‘He really cancelled a meeting?’

‘He did. A meeting with a journalist looking to give the resort some free publicity.’ He gave her an assessing glance. ‘You know I have hundreds of questions, don’t you?’

‘Maybe.’ She bent to straighten the already perfectly straight table in front of her. ‘But I wouldn’t have the answer to them.’

‘You might have an answer to why you chose to put his name to a meeting he doesn’t know about, designed to raise the profile of a bookstore he’s planning to shut down?’

‘Crapity crap, when you put it like that…’ The nerves in her belly stopped buzzing and began to scream.

‘Of course, it could be looked at another way,’ Jeremy continued. ‘You’re helping improve his image because he’s too bull-headed or proud or blinded by whatever feud he’s got going on with the Chases, to do it himself.’

She pressed a hand against her stomach, felt it quieten. ‘Let’s go with the second one. It also happens to be the truth, although I didn’t realise he had an ongoing feud with all the Chases. I thought it was just Henry.’

‘Maybe feud is the wrong word, but it seems more personal than the healthy dislike of a competitor.’

She recalled their discussion about her dating the wrong men.I had a similar bad habit, where women were concerned.‘Maybe they clashed over a woman?’ At this, Jeremy let out a bark of laughter, causing Mary to look over at them curiously. ‘Shhh,’ Jade hissed. ‘Mary’s going to want to know what we’re talking about.’

‘And you don’t want her to know you’ve still got the hots for the man you hooked up with, before you realised he was the big bad wolf and you were supposed to hate him?’

‘I never said I had the hots for him,’ she spluttered, aware she was probably the colour of a tomato by now.

Jeremy gave her a smug smile. ‘Why else have you expertly weaved a question about his past relationships into the conversation?’

‘God, you’ve got a devious mind. I should just walk away.’

---