Page 43 of For Love or Money
‘Well, it looks like you were right.’ He grinned. ‘She was looking up flights to Nice when I left her in the kitchen just now.’
‘What about Peter, though? Do you really think he’d just dump Stella if he could get Jane back?’
‘In a heartbeat,’ Al said.
‘It would certainly be an elegant solution,’ Lesley said, laying back against the pillows. ‘The family fortune would be safe, and your aunt and uncle would be back together. Happy days!’
‘Except for Stella.’
‘Yeah, except for Stella.’ Lesley felt an unwelcome pang of guilt, and tried to brush it aside. After all, despite her sweet, caring facade, Stella was probably just a scheming gold-digger preying on a vulnerable old man. They’d be doing a good thing, foiling her evil plan.
‘Well, goodnight,’ Al said, snuggling down. ‘I’m sorry this probably wasn’t the kind of mini break you were expecting.’
‘That’s okay. I had fun tonight.’ And at least there was no one trying to wrap her in seaweed.
14
The next morning, Al was already up when Lesley woke. She pulled on a cardigan over her pyjamas and went downstairs. She found him at the kitchen sink, elbow-deep in suds.
‘Morning,’ she yawned.
‘Good morning!’ He turned and smiled at her, continuing to scrub.
‘You’re a right little domestic goddess, aren’t you?’ Lesley looked around admiringly, impressed at the transformation he had already made. She wouldn’t actually fear for her life if she ate in here now.
‘I do my best.’ He dried his hands on a towel. ‘What would you like for breakfast? Toast? Scrambled eggs? A fry-up?’
‘Just toast, please,’ she said casually, hiding her surprise that he was going to make it for her as Al flicked on the kettle and started cutting slices from a crusty loaf of sourdough.
‘Where’s Jane?’ she asked.
‘Oh, she’s already at work.’ He nodded to the window.
‘I didn’t hear you getting up this morning.’
‘No, you were fast asleep – still snoring your head off.’
Lesley reared up indignantly. ‘I do not snore.’
Al glanced at her, a little smile on his face. ‘Is that what your last boyfriend told you?’
‘No,’ she frowned crossly. ‘I just know. A person can know if they snore or not.’
‘Ah, okay. My mistake. It must have been a cow in the next field or something.’ He smirked as he handed her a mug of tea and put a plate of toast in front of her along with a dish of butter and a couple of pots of jam. ‘I recommend the rhubarb and ginger,’ he said.
‘Thanks. Have you already had breakfast?’ Lesley asked him.
‘Yes, I ate earlier with Jane.’
He went back to the sink as Lesley started eating.
‘Youdosnore, by the way,’ she said to his back. He was right about the rhubarb and ginger jam – it was fantastic.
‘Sorry,’ he said without turning around. ‘I hope it didn’t keep you awake.’
‘It’s fine,’ she said. ‘It was very quiet snoring, in fairness.’ She didn’t want to make him feel bad when he’d made her this lovely breakfast. But it was kind of a relief to discover he hadsomeflaws. She’d been starting to worry that he was perfect, and she didn’t want to fall for him. She was just here as his employee, and she should keep it strictly professional. It was never a good idea to mix business with bonking.
She took out her phone and finally got up the nerve to sneak a look at Facebook. Of course the predicted bombardment had started almost immediately after she’d changed her status. Her check-in post from last night had caused a deluge of comments, her friends all agog about her changed relationship status and looking for details. She was tempted to boast about Al’s famous family, but decided it would be better to be cool and mysterious about it, and wait until she actually had some Bradshaws in her friends list, so she didn’t reply to any of them. Instead she shut off her phone and watched Al, who was quietly humming a medley of Bay City Rollers hits as he tidied the kitchen.
