Gabbie reached for her mobile and was about to select Max’s number when she paused. This wasn’t the sort of conversation she wanted to have over the phone. With her heart pounding and her fingertips tingling as a maelstrom of mixed emotions swept through her body, she dashed back to the car and drove as quickly as she dared back to Oakley.
The garage had been saved – by Max!
But how? And why? And what did that mean? So many thoughts ricocheted around her brain that she just couldn’t think straight. However, one thing that did wriggle through the confusion was that maybe, just maybe, if the garage really had been delivered a reprieve from its financial difficulties, she could stay in Oakley and apply all her time and energy to making a go of her fledgling perfume business instead of relocating to France. She knew that was what she wanted to do more than anything else in the world, so she could watch over her father, giggle with Clara, and repair her relationship with Max.
She swung onto the garage forecourt and jumped out of the Volvo, causing a generous sprinkle of rust to dribble from the side of the driver’s door.
‘Gabbie?’
‘Max! I…’
Suddenly, she wanted to blurt out a litany of questions to the person who had always told her that the way to amass happiness coins was by sharing them with others. It was what he had done and she didn’t know how she would ever thank him, or repay him!
‘Max, I…’
‘Gabbie, I…’
‘Oh, you first.’
Gabbie met Max’s eyes and her heart melted when she saw he was grinning at her.
‘Wil told me you’d gone to Honiton. Did you go to the bank by any chance?’
‘Yes, and imagine my surprise when Miss Williams told me Andrews Autos was in the black! Max, how did you… where did you… why did you…?’
‘Come on inside. I think you need to sit down while I explain everything.’
‘What about Dad? Does he know? Have you spoken to him?’
‘Yes, as soon as I got back from town I sat down and explained that Andrews Autos will be serving the community of Oakley for another generation at least, but you’d already left on your own mission of mercy.’
‘But why didn’t you say anything? I’ve been trying to call you.’
‘I wanted to make sure everything was sorted with the outstanding invoices before I came clean – and I can assure you that the HMRC have been paid in full. However, the Groves Autoparts demand is a different matter.’
‘What do you mean?’
Had they fallen at the last hurdle?
‘Oh, they’ve withdrawn their court proceedings, don’t worry about that.’
‘I sense there’s more to it?’
‘There most certainly is and I’m considering whether or not to go to the police, but that can wait.’
‘The police?’
‘Like you, Gabbie, I’d always been confused about why we couldn’t pay our suppliers. Andrews Autos always collects the money for the parts from our customers straight away. So, before I paid off the Groves Autoparts invoice, I thought I’d do a little digging, match up the parts they supplied to the customers whose vehicles we used them for, and you wouldn’t believe what I found.’
‘What?’
‘We’d already paid their invoice – six months ago. They’d sent us a duplicate. And it wasn’t the first time! The last two duplicates had been paid by Jeff. Looks like we were being scammed. Lots of small businesses are often too overstretched to spend time scrutinising their accounts, and when they get a bill from a familiar supplier just put it in the ‘to-be-paid’ pile. I have no idea how many other businesses have been targeted, but from Trevor Groves’ reaction when I spoke to him earlier, I don’t think we’re the only ones.’
‘Oh my God! So the business isn’t in financial difficulties at all?’
‘Far from it, but it’ll take a bit of time to sort things out. Wil’s over the moon, of course, even shed a few tears. He’s gone off with Jeff to The Pear Tree for a night of celebration.’
‘But Max, I don’t understand…’
‘Come on, let’s go into the kitchen and I’ll explain everything.’
‘Okay,’ she murmured, following Max into the workshop, waiting for him to lock the garage doors behind him.
‘So where have you hidden the Jag?’
Max paused in the process of pocketing the key.
‘Max? Max, what’s going on? Where’s the Jag?’
‘Do you mind if we discuss this sitting down?’
‘Of course I don’t mind, but…’
The light was starting to dawn as Gabbie took a seat at the kitchen table that had seen more than its fair share of happy, and more desolate, times.
‘Max?’ she pressed.
She gazed into his chocolate-brown eyes, her heart leaping as he reached across and covered her hands with his, the whiff of his fresh, lemony cologne tickling her nostrils. She braced herself to hear his next words, and suddenly realised what he was about to say. It was the only explanation.
‘Oh my God! You’ve sold it, haven’t you? Max, you didn’t have to do that, you really didn’t!’
‘Gabbie…’
‘You adore that car! In fact, it’s more than a car, it’s a symbol of the memories you have of restoring it with your uncle, of learning everything you know about engines, of building up your passion and following your dreams. I can’t believe you’ve done that!’
To Gabbie’s surprise, Max was grinning at her.
‘Why are you smiling?’
‘You’re right, the Jag has played a role – a starring role, in fact – in saving the garage, but I haven’t sold it.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Gabbie, you more than anyone else know how much I love Oakley, how much I love the garage and the people here who’ve welcomed me into their lives and accepted me as part of the wider community – none more so than you and Jeff. This is my home and I don’t want to leave to work in a pristine showroom filled with luxury supercars for the rich and famous. Where’s the romance in that?’
Two dots of pink appeared on Max’s cheeks as he fought to ensure that Gabbie understood his motives for doing what he’d done.
‘Andrews Autos is where I’m happiest. I love every nail and screw, every rusty engine part and every bald tyre. I even love Wil and his quirky sense of humour and disastrous dating stories. I respect what your dad has built up here and what it means to everyone. Andrews Autos is a worthwhile business that has been steered forward by an amazing family of passionate car mechanics with honesty and the utmost integrity, helping people to keep their vehicles on the road, and assisting those who can’t afford to go elsewhere. Jeff has supported so many people over the years and now he deserves to be offered a helping hand in return.’
‘But how…?’
‘I told you about the guy who offered me fifty thousand for the Jag, didn’t I? The TV producer who lives in Honiton? Well, I got in touch with him with a proposition and he snatched my hand off.’
‘What sort of proposition?’
‘Apparently the drama series he’s working on is set in the Sixties and features a detective with a penchant for classic cars, a bit like Inspector Morse with his Mark 2 Jaguar. He wanted an E-Type but couldn’t source one he was happy with, so had to settle for a rather shabby Austin Healey 3000 in royal blue. Hardly the same personality quirk as a scarlet E-Type Jag, don’t you agree?’
‘I suppose…’ was all the response Gabbie could manage as her brain felt like it was crammed with cotton wool and it was taking all her concentration skills to keep up with what Max was telling her.
‘So, we did a deal. He’s leased the Jag from me for six months. There’s a proviso that I’ll help with any reshoots, too, and an option clause if there’s a second series commissioned, but in return he gave me a big fat cheque! I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before, but as they say, desperation is the mother of ingenuity! Jack’s over the moon and even went as far as to say he might just have a winning TV show on his hands now! I can’t wait to see her on screen. I wish I could have seen Uncle Martin’s face, but I know he would have approved!’
‘Oh, Max, I don’t know what to say.’
‘Don’t say anything yet, because there’s something else I need to tell you, something I should have told you before now. Andrews Autos isn’t the only thing in Oakley I’ve grown to love.’
‘It isn’t?’
‘I love you, too, Gabbie. I love every single thing about you. I love your passion for your family, for the garage, for the people in the village. I love the way your hair falls over your eyes and you scoop it up over your head. I love the way your eyes shine when you’ve helped someone in that little summerhouse of yours. Do you think you can forgive me for my behaviour when I thought you were leaving? I was devastated, and I’m sorry for the way I reacted, but I thought I’d left it too late to tell you how I felt and that I’d lost you.’
Gabbie stared at Max, drinking in the way his eyelashes curled like liquorice spider legs, the cute dimples that bracketed his mouth, and her heart hammered out a symphony of joy. Had he actually just told her he loved her?
‘There’s nothing to forgive, Max. I only went to talk to Rupert Carrington because I thought if I could get a job quickly, I might be able to persuade the bank to extend the overdraft. But as you know, that didn’t happen. When I found out the job was in Paris, I realised that all I’d be doing was winding back to exactly the same position I had been in at House of Gasnier. It wasn’t what I wanted, but it was what I was prepared to do to save the garage.’
She held his eyes, but before she could continue and vocalise her feelings for Max, he leaned forward, pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips down on hers. She surrendered herself to his kiss; gentle and tentative at first, searching, questioning, before morphing into a hard, passionate message of the way he felt about her. She relished the explosion of excitement that blasted through her body, the return of the intense closeness they had previously shared, and the mounting desire pulsating through her veins. When he eventually severed their connection, she found she was trembling, but all she wanted to do was kiss him again, and again, and again.
And so she did, until her heart soared and she started to laugh. If she had thought she was happy after leaving the bank an hour ago, it was nothing compared to how she felt sitting in her kitchen being kissed and kissed until her lips throbbed and her whole body jangled. When they finally broke apart, Gabbie caught a glint of mischief in Max’s eyes that immediately raised her curiosity.
‘Is there something else you’re not telling me?’
‘Well, I might just have had an ulterior motive for wanting to save the garage.’
‘And what would that be?’
‘I need somewhere to restore my next old wreck – like the one I bought at auction this lunchtime.’
‘And what would that be?’ asked Gabbie, her love for Max expanding until it filled every corner of her heart and soul. ‘Surely not another E-Type?’
‘Why don’t you come outside and see for yourself?’