Page 52 of Finding Love in Micklewick Bay

Stella snorted. ‘Just a bit!’

She went on to share an edited version of the conversation she’d had with her mum, Alex listening intently.

‘That’s a pretty intense twenty-four hours you’ve had there, Stella,’ he said, when she’d finished. ‘A lesser person would’ve crumbled having all that piled on top of them, me included.’

‘I’m not so sure you would. It’s amazing what you cope with when you’re faced with it, without the luxury of having time to think about it. It’s sometimes better that way.’ She twirled her wine around as Alex slipped off his stool and popped the camembert into the oven. ‘What’s most important out of everything that’s been going on is my mum. I’m just so relieved she’s okay.’

‘Yeah, I can imagine. And Rhys sounds like a really decent bloke.’ Alex glanced over his shoulder as he closed the oven door.

‘I think he is; he’s certainly making my mum happy.’

‘I sense there’s a “but” coming.’ Alex slid back onto his bar stool and scooped up his glass of wine.

‘Oh, it’s not about Rhys; the more I know about him, the more I really like him.’ Stella exhaled noisily. ‘It’s my father. Johan de Groote. I know my mum had given me plenty of warnings, yet I can’t help but be disappointed by my first impression of him.’ She glanced up at Alex. ‘Does that make me sound hard and unkind?’ She’d given much thought to what Johan had said about not being in good health and being unable to afford his medication. Her gut had told her not to take what he said at face value, that things were not quite as they seemed, but it still managed to tug at her conscience.

‘Not at all,’ he said firmly. ‘It makes you sound honest. It’s good that you’re not trying to fool yourself, convince yourself otherwise. Though, for your own peace of mind, it might be a good idea if you met with him again, see what he has to say for himself. That way you might get a better idea of what he’s really like.’

Stella nodded. ‘Yeah, I’d thought that too.’ She flashed him a smile. ‘Anyway, that’s way too much about me, how has your day been? What exciting designs have your clients asked you to come up with?’

‘Before I get onto that, I’ll just add that as far as your father’s concerned, trust what your gut’s telling you. The times I’ve ignored mine I’ve always ended up regretting it.’ He swapped his serious expression for a smile. ‘And as for it being way too much about you, I beg to differ. I like hearing about you, helps me get to knowyoubetter.’

‘You sure it’s not scaring you off?’ she asked, giggling into her glass.

‘It’d take a lot to do that,’ he said, holding her gaze.

The meal passed with the couple chatting and laughing. Stella had been fascinated as Alex described some of the designs he’d been commissioned to work on, from creating luxury homes out of old water towers, to converting an ungainly row of storage units into a bold, contemporary house. When they’d finally finished their meal, with Stella devouring her crème brûlée and declaring it to be delicious, they moved to the large L-shaped sofa in the lounge. Alex flicked the table lamp on in the corner, it cast a cosy glow around the room.

Stella leant back, savouring the subdued lighting and the easy atmosphere, a cup of decaffeinated coffee in her hand – she thought it would be wise to avoid caffeine this evening in the hope of getting a good night’s sleep – watching as Alex changed the playlist for something more soothing.

Fred was stretched out on the large rug in front of the fire, identical to the one in Stella’s apartment. The Labrador was snoring contentedly, his paws twitching every now and then, making Stella smile. She’d never considered getting a dog before, the hours she worked making it unfeasible, but Fred, with his upbeat, affectionate personality, had really grown on her.

Alex reached for the remote control for the fire and selected the option to have the flames glowing for aesthetic effect, adding to the cosy atmosphere.

‘I’m just going to pop to the bathroom,’ Stella said, setting her cup down next to the books on architecture that were laidout on the coffee table. ‘Don’t worry, I can find my way.’ She grinned.

The bathroom, filled with the clean, fresh aroma of Alex, was almost identical to Stella’s but for the masculine products dotted about. She took a moment, breathing in his scent. Glancing around, her eyes were drawn to a laundry basket with what appeared to be a pair of silk knickers peeking out of the top. Another pair were on the floor beside it. They looked disconcertingly familiar. Unease prickled its way up her spine as she walked over to them. Lifting the lid of the laundry basket, her eyes grew wide. There, looking back at her, was her missing underwear. She bent to take a closer look. ‘What the heck are these doing here?’

Without waiting a moment, Stella snatched up her knickers and stormed back into the living room, anger propelling her forward.

Alex turned, his face falling as he took in her expression. ‘Stella, what’s happened?’

‘What’s happened?’ she said, her chest heaving, eyes blazing. Fred leapt up, alerted by her angry tone, glancing between Stella and Alex. ‘I’ll tell you what’s wrong, finding my knickers in your bathroom whenIhaven’t left them there!’ She threw the handful of silk at him, a tiny G-string landing on his head, part of it covering his right eye. If she wasn’t so consumed by rage it would have made her giggle. ‘What iswrongwith you? I didn’t have you down as some sort of knicker-stealing pervert but it seems I should have!’

‘What?’ Alex scraped her knickers from his head and threw them to the left of him where this time, they landed on Fred’s head. The Labrador sat statue-still for several seconds, eyes wide, blinking at the arguing couple. ‘You think I…? No! Stella, please, you’ve got to believe me, it’s not like that!’ Alex cried, frustrated.

‘How else is it, then?’

‘If you could just calm down a minute, I’ll tell you.’ Alex got to his feet, raising his hands in a placatory gesture. ‘I honestly didn’t know they were yours.’

Stella gave a scornful laugh. ‘Oh, so that makes it all right then.’

‘No, no. What I mean is, I didn’t knowwhosethey were.’

‘It’s not sounding any better.’ She jabbed her hands onto her hips.

Alex pushed his hands into his hair and let out a loud groan. ‘Stella, please, you’ve got to listen to me, got to let me explain!’

‘You’re not doing a very good job of it so far.’

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