Page 59 of Cupcakes and Kisses in Micklewick Bay

‘Sure.’ He gave her an uncertain smile before turning to the older lady. ‘I’ll see myself out, Hilda – and don’t forget what we said about not confronting thugs like Jason Scragg. Otherwise, have a good day, both of you.’

As soon as the front door clicked shut, it was clear that Hilda wasn’t done with her matchmaking.

‘Well, isn’t that a turn up for the books?’ she said, bustling with excitement.

‘Hmm.’ Jasmine deliberately avoided asking her friend to elaborate, knowing full well it would lead to comments andquestions she wasn’t inclined to answer. She decided it was best to guide Hilda’s thoughts down a different route. ‘Looks like someone else is crazy about your shortbread, Hilda.’

‘It does, doesn’t it?’ Hilda clasped her hands together, her face animated. ‘And if I’m not mistaken, it’s not the only thing young Max is crazy about.’

Here we go!‘I’d best get cracking, or I’ll be late to my next job.’ Jasmine sent Hilda a gentle warning look. ‘I’ll just take this tray through to the kitchen.’

‘There’s no point ignoring it, lovey. I can see you like him, too. And it would be such a shame not to act on your feelings.’ She cupped Jasmine’s face in her hand. ‘And if anyone deserves some happiness with a lovely young man, it’s you, flower.’

TWENTY-SEVEN

‘I know what you’re thinking, young Jasmine. But I always say everything happens for a reason, and exactly when the time is right. And I reckon that’s why Max is back now. Some greater force is at play.’

Jasmine’s copper eyebrows knitted together. ‘Have you been talking to Lark recently by any chance, Hilda?’

Hilda chuckled. ‘No, but we both know she’d tell you something similar.’

Jasmine sighed. ‘You’re not wrong there.’ How could this be happening? Max had only come back into her life less than two weeks ago!

Setting the tray back down on the table, she flopped into the chair. It was clearly pointless hiding her feelings from Hilda. Before she knew it, the words were tumbling out. ‘But he’s only just come back. It’s hardly any time at all. And it’s been twenty-five years since he last lived in Micklewick Bay. That’s a lifetime ago. Couldn’t my emotions be confused?’ It certainly felt as if they were. ‘Don’t you think I could just be confusing being really happy to see him again, knowing life has been kind to him, with something else? Something… more… Ugh!’ She rubbed herhands over her face. ‘I mean, I’m so happy things have turned out well for him after everything he went through.’

‘Aye, so am I, bless him. And he’s grown into such a lovely young man.’ Hilda eased herself onto the sofa and took Jasmine’s hand. ‘Now, listen, lovey, if what I’ve witnessed today is anything to go by, I don’t think your emotions are confused about anything in the slightest. And it’s exactly the same with Max. I saw the way he was looking at you, there was no mistaking it. It was just how my Joe used to look at me when we first met. Used to make my heart all of a flutter, he did,’ she said, smiling wistfully. ‘We’d only been courting six weeks when he proposed. We both knew right from the start we’d found “the one”. And we never had a day’s regret.’

‘Ahh, Hilda. I’m so sorry you didn’t get longer with him.’ Jasmine squeezed her friend’s hand. Hilda had been widowed for over ten years now, and she regularly told Jasmine that not a day went by when she didn’t miss Joe.

‘Aye, me too, sweetheart, me too.’ She patted the top of Jasmine’s hand. ‘But getting back to you, don’t you think it’s time you had a bit of romance in your life?’

Jasmine gave another sigh. There were so many reasons why that wasn’t an option. ‘It’s not that simple, I mean, there’s so much to consider before I’d even think about having a… well, getting involved in a…’ Why was she finding it so hard to use the word “relationship”? She gathered her thoughts back together. ‘First of all, I’d never want to do anything that would confuse or upset Zak and Chloe; they’re my priority in everything. We both know things don’t always work out the way we hope they might.’ Jasmine wasn’t just thinking about her time with Bart; what Max had told her about Danni, his ex, came to mind. He’d already hinted that his relationship with Connor’s mum had made him wary. That made two of them, which wasn’t a great starting point, if Hilda was right about his feelings for her.

‘You shouldn’t let what happened with Bart put the dampeners on any future relationships before they’ve even got started, flower.’

Jasmine went to speak, but Hilda beat her to it. ‘And I don’t just mean how things ended, which, of course, was very sad, but let me put it this way, you’d known Bart for years before you moved in with him, hadn’t you?’

‘I had, yeah.’ Jasmine wondered where Hilda was going with this.

‘Well, at the risk of sounding blunt, which, at my age, is something I reckon I can get away with.’ She softened her words with a smile. ‘You and Bart didn’t seem that well suited, and it was no secret that your relationship was a rocky one. Enid and me regularly discussed it; we were both worried for you. He was a nice enough lad, but he’d been spoilt rotten by his parents, indulging him and letting him have his own way. And I can tell you this, the day you moved in with him was the day you lost that cheeky sparkle of yours.’

‘Wow. I had no idea people knew what was going on.’ She thought she’d hidden their problems well with her supposedly well-honed act that everything in the garden was rosy. Turns out the only person she’d been fooling was herself.

‘It’s a small town, lovey, you know how fast gossip travels round here. And besides, folk aren’t daft. Everyone could see how you were running yourself ragged while he spent his days at the amusements or hanging out at the bookies over in Lingthorpe. Your hard-earnt wages ran through his fingers like water and he didn’t seem to have any qualms about it. I know he had a good sense of humour, and could be the life and soul of the party when the mood took him, but he ended up owing money to some really bad folk, the sort you wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of. That wasn’t fair on you and Zak and little Chloe who hadn’t even been born then.’

Jasmine blew out her cheeks. She hadn’t been expecting this today. She closed her eyes, hoping Hilda wasn’t going to remind her of the whispers that had been stealing around the church at Bart’s funeral. It still occasionally crept into her mind after all this time. For the first few years she’d lived in fear of “debt collectors” turning up at her home, but as time had gone on, and she hadn’t been troubled by anyone, she’d gradually allowed herself to let go of that particular spectre. She’d accepted she’d never know the truth, had made a kind of peace with it. She preferred it that way, for Zak and Chloe if nothing else. And it had meant she could move on and forge a new life for herself and her children.

‘He had an addiction, I pushed him to get help, but he was in denial, even at the end, he kept telling me he had it all under control, which he clearly hadn’t.’ Jasmine’s eyes lowered to her hand, still cradled by Hilda’s. She felt her throat tighten. ‘I must’ve looked like a right mug.’

‘Oh, lovey, no one thought that. Folk in this town hold you in very high esteem, they’re always singing your praises, saying what a wonderful mother you are, how hard you work. Uhh! And don’t get me onto your cakes.’ Hilda smiled, rolling her eyes, feigning exasperation which raised a smile from Jasmine. ‘Anyone would think you were a local celebrity the way they go on about you.’

Jasmine gave a weak smile. Did people really think of her that way?

‘His parents blamed me for everything, even his gambling. They still do.’

‘That’s just their grief talking, they need someone to point the finger at. Try not to take it to heart.’

‘I wish it was that easy.’ Jasmine told her about the letter from the Forsters’ solicitors.

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