Page 20 of Love By Sunset

Jake looked at her from under his eyelashes before dropping his head again. ‘He came here. He was weird. Said his name was Gary or something. No, it was Gerry, that’s it. Gerry Hansom… well, something like that.’ As he lifted his head, he realised Emily had gone totally still, her fork poised between plate and mouth.

‘Did he say what he wanted?’

Her voice was careful. Not curious, just… careful. Jake looked at her, a question in his eyes. She stared back, almost defiantly.

‘Did he say what he wanted?’ she repeated, her voice sharpening.

Watching her curiously, Jake said, ‘He wanted me to sign away all my rights to the café for fifty thousand pounds. I was amazingly polite and told him no, but when he became persistent, I crowded him out. I was bigger than him.’

‘Good. Shows you’re committed to keeping it.’ She gave him a half smile, but he could see her attention had turned inwards.

Committed to the café? Yeah, she was damn right there. He’d been committed at the age of twelve, because it was a means of earning cash for surfing kit, and giving his parents a bit of help. His commitment had grown as the years had passed, and as his pride had also grown when he saw the profits roll in and realised he had a gift for cooking, which tempted not only the holiday trade but also locals. He’d invested in the café, but it was inanimate and couldn’t hurt him and wouldn’t die, or leave him—

Fuck! That was a real possibility now. The threat of losing the place hung over him like a misjudged monster wave, moments from dropping him into a thunderous vortex from which there was little chance of escape. He rubbed an aching spot in his chest and swallowed, staring loss in the face, then shot a quick look at Emily. He was also finding it increasingly hard to think about the end of their time together. Was he going to face the loss of them both?

CHAPTER11

Desperately trying notto show her inner turmoil, Emily stared at her plate, her fork suspended mid-air. Gerry! What the hell was he playing at, coming down here and offering what was essentially a bribe to someone she suspected he’d grossly underestimated? Jake was grimly determined he either had a moral claim to the café, even as he admitted he probably didn’t have the resources to fight it, or there was a will.

But did the will Jake had pinned his hopes on even exist? She’d been at Haven House all morning, starting her search upstairs in what must have been Henry Whitchurch’s bedroom. Reluctant to miss anything, she’d continue to comb all the bedrooms, looking into empty drawers and cupboards. Eventually, she’d given up, but was determined to go back and keep on looking. Thoughts spiralled through her mind. Will or no will, if Approach withdrew, Jake would still be in a precarious position, but it would no longer be her fault.

Abruptly lifting her head to stare at the café, she realised she’d decided, and was going to veto Gerry’s proposal, and knew this would anger him and probably lead to them going their separate ways. Well, never mind angerhim, he’d completely infuriated her by his misguided attempt to get rid of Jake. She understood only too well what Gerry was after—if he’d been successful in persuading Jake to give up his rights, then he thought she, Emily, would agree to the purchase. It was the action of an angry, determined, and very foolish man.

‘Emily?’ Jake sounded concerned.

‘Jake, hang on. I need to send a text.’ Pulling her mobile phone from her pocket, ignoring Jake’s puzzled look, she tapped a rapid message to Gerry. ‘Bad move, Gerry. I’m officially vetoing the Solhaven Estate purchase. You’ve messed up big time. Contact your lawyer and start looking at a split between us. You know it’s been coming. I’m copying this to Sasha.’ She pasted the text into a new message, then sent both. Shoving her phone back into her pocket, feeling immensely relieved, she forked up some of the delicious cake that this wonderful man across from her had made and ate it with relish. There. It was done. She’d officially vetoed the purchase and set the dissolution of the company in motion. She was free of Approach, and Jake would soon know they’d withdrawn the offer. It made her feel a lot better.

‘All is well, Jake,’ Emily finally said, once her mouth was empty. ‘Sorry about that. Just a work thing which came into my mind, but you know what? I think it might be the last work thing to bother me.’

She could see the puzzlement in his eyes and the exact moment he let it go, and turned his attention back to his cake.

‘This guy must be mad,’ Emily commented.

‘It seems that way. Why was he offering me fifty thousand pounds? It seems very odd.’

‘Why?’

‘The way things stand, I’m on very shaky ground. You know that. A will I can’t produce or a court case which would cost me too much to pursue, so I don’t see Approach has a problem with me and the café. Coming down here to offer me money makes me suspicious Approach knows something I don’t.’

He was right. Jake didn’t know about the ethics clause and the need for both her and Gerry to agree on all aspects of a purchase.

Looking at him, Emily gave a small smile. ‘Approach might find they have to withdraw and any new purchaser might not be interested in chasing you out.’

‘Yeah, right, and pigs might fly. Hang on a moment.’ He stood and went over to talk to the couple who’d been eating their lunch at a nearby table.

‘Could we have another latte, please, and some of that cake? We couldn’t help but notice it, and it looks rather good.’

‘No problem. You just sit down, and I’ll be back with it in a moment.’

Emily sighed as the tension seeped from her shoulders. Even though he didn’t know it yet. Approachwasgoing to withdraw their offer.

Which reminded her she’d felt her phone vibrating a couple of times. She pulled it out of her pocket. Two missed calls from Gerry and a text from Sasha. She opened it. ‘What?!’ was all Sasha had sent.

Rapidly, Emily tapped a reply. ‘Gerry offered 50k to Jake to sign over all rights to the café. Commented to you before about his greed overwhelming his humanity, and I don’t want to be part of it. Something’s happening to me down here. Questioning whether I want my life to go on as it is, always making money hand over fist, my days mapped out for weeks to come. I’m not being stupid and starry-eyed. I know this thing with Jake won’t last. He’s said so, several times. But he’s making me re-evaluate how I want to continue.’

She hit send and put the phone on the table. Calls to Gerry could wait. Plans for her future could wait. She had enough in savings not to have to worry about finding an immediate job, and she’d get a hefty share of the company when they split. She was grateful to Gerry for the years they’d shared. It was too bad he wanted to go in a different direction. But she didn’t want to be associated with any company who wouldn’t consider the environmental and humanitarian aspects of their developments. But soon, now she’d made it official she was leaving, Approach would no longer be her concern.

A sudden cold wash of fear ran through her. What would happen if Gerry came back with another offer for the Solhaven Estate after she’d left? While it would have nothing to do with her, it would still put Jake at significant risk. Even worse than before, because she’d have no way of blocking it. Maybe when she contacted Gerry, she could make it a condition of the split he backed off from this one?

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