Page 55 of The Cornish Christmas Book Clu
‘Has it been busy while I was gone?’ Gage wrapped his arms around her and breathed in her soft, warm scent. The wonderful sensation of coming home overwhelmed him. For too many years that hadn’t been a feature in his life, which was why he treasured it so much now.
At the last second, Tamara turned so his kiss missed her mouth and landed awkwardly on her jaw.
‘Is something wrong?’ He stepped back. ‘Where’s Ems?’
‘She asked to leave early to go meet a friend. I couldn’t see any harm letting her go.’
Why did she sound so defensive? ‘That’s fine. Are you okay? You seem a bit—’
‘I’m tired, that’s all.’ She pushed a loose strand of hair away from her face. ‘Before I forget, you had a visitor. I’m supposed to tell you that Victoria — or Tori G, as she’s better known — popped in to return your call.’
He spluttered and turned bright red. ‘Bloody hell. She came here? I told her not to.’
‘How do you even know...’ The blood drained from Tamara’s face. ‘Don’t tell me she—’
‘Yeah, she’s the Victoria I mentioned. My ex-wife. I know it’s unbelievable.’ He crammed his hands in his pockets. ‘She went through a stage of imagining herself as a regular person instead of a top model. I should’ve told you the other night.’
‘Yes, you should’ve done.’ There was an unmistakable edge to her voice.
He couldn’t blame her for being annoyed because right now he could kick himself for not being totally honest.
‘So why’s she here now?’
‘I don’t know. Not really, I . . . look, let’s get the van unloaded, then we’ll close the shop early and go upstairs for a chat.’
‘Fine.’ Tamara’s tone and her sardonic smile told him it was anything but fine.
They worked silently until all the chairs were in.
‘Hang on.’ He leaned into the van and whipped off the old blanket the man had given him to protect the tables on the drive home. ‘Call these an early Christmas present if you like. They match the—’
‘OMG, they’re perfect!’ Tamara dragged the first one forward and together they lifted it out onto the pavement. ‘You’re such a thoughtful man.’ She flung her arms around his neck, but swiftly let go. ‘How could you not tell me you were married to that... glamorous creature? I suppose now you’re the one slumming it with me.’
Gage had experienced the same gnawing at his self-confidence when he and Victoria had been together.
He shook his head dismissively, then reached for one end of the table and nodded for her to pick up the other.
They stacked the new furniture at one end of the kitchen before balancing the till and putting the money in the safe. After their chat the other night, he’d done a whole lot more thinking. He’d almost decided to throw caution to the wind and tell Tamara how he really felt about her. Trust his ex-wife to screw things up for him again.
* * *
‘Now I totally get why you said your ex-wife dazzled you,’ Tamara blurted out.
By the time they’d walked up the stairs and sat down, she’d almost convinced herself to deal with the bizarre discovery rationally and reasonably. In truth, she was eaten up with jealousy.
She couldn’t fake it any longer. ‘No man has ever said I dazzle them, and I’m pretty certain they never will, so I’m trying my best to be nice here.’
Sadness flooded his face. It hollowed his cheeks and pulled down his mouth. ‘I can’t win now. If I claim you dazzle me too, in a different sort of way, you’ll think I’m lying to make you feel better. But if I shrug it off, you’ll feel smaller and less worthy.’ Gage placed her hands against his thudding heartbeat. ‘I should’ve known she would blight the best thing that ever happened to me. Pass my phone over, please.’
It hovered on the tip of her tongue to ask why he couldn’t leave it alone while they had a serious conversation, but something stopped her. After all, he was the one who’d suggested early on that they set them aside at meals and on dates, so there must be a good reason for his request. Tamara grabbed it off the table and handed it over. The table was one of her recent bargains. A genuine Edwardian occasional table she’d picked up for a fiver in an auction because ‘brown furniture’ wasn’t fashionable these days.
In between everything else they’d been busy with recently, she’d helped him to choose the furniture for his newly redecorated flat, including his only non-negotiable — a sofa at least two metres long. The dark-navy L-shaped sectional she’d tracked down from an online discount warehouse fitted the bill perfectly and had come at a bargain price. Georgie and his crew had ripped out the dated kitchen and bathroom, and installed allnew fittings. They’d painted the walls a cool grey and white, and fitted matching blinds for the windows.
‘My old mate, Taff, who you met at the bookshop opening, sent this and I should’ve shown you right away.’ He scratched his head.
Heads up, mate. Victoria’s on the warpath and says she needs to see you. She conned your address out of me. Sorry.
‘I rang and left her a message, telling her not to come and see me. In case you have any doubts, I am one hundred per cent not interested in anything she has to say.’
