O LIVER didn’t get the chance to visit the garden centre for the next couple of days. His first day back was taken up with catching up on the work that had accumulated in his absence, and although he left for home at six-thirty, it was after midnight before he turned out his light.
Then, the next day Andy sprang a charity awards presentation dinner on him. ‘One of us has to go,’ he said, dropping the invitation on his partner’s desk, ‘and Jill and I had to attend the Mastersons’ cocktail party last week while you were enjoying yourself in the sun.’
‘But it’s tonight,’ Oliver objected, staring down at the embossed card. ‘And I don’t have a partner.’
‘Then I’d find one pretty damn quick,’ retorted Andy unsympathetically. ‘What about your tame lawyer? Isn’t she available?’
Consequently, and with much reluctance, Oliver phoned Miranda, and later that evening he found himself escorting her into the Gosforth Manor Hotel, where the charity dinner was being held.
‘This is nice,’ she said, hanging onto his arm as they walked into the convention hall, which had been furnished for the occasion. Dozens of white damask-covered tables shone with silver cutlery and cut glass, the centrepiece on each one a blush-pink-shaded lamp strung with matching roses. ‘When do you think we’ll be eating? I didn’t have time for lunch.’
‘Soon, I hope,’ said Oliver fervently, using the excuse of having to thread their way between the tables to extricate himself from her clinging fingers. He paused every now and then as various friends and acquaintances attracted his attention, but for once he didn’t try to introduce his companion. Then, after finding their table, he seated Miranda beside the wife of a local Conservative councillor before excusing himself and striding back towards the exit.
But even in the foyer of the hotel, he couldn’t escape being accosted by people he knew. It was the price of working in a highly publicised industry, and he knew he owed it to Andy to be polite. Nevertheless, all this meeting and greeting didn’t go down well in his present mood. He was thinking of abandoning any attempt to grab a few minutes on his own and return to the hall when he saw his brother approaching him with a purposeful expression on his face.
Oliver stifled an oath, but his face must have betrayed how he was feeling because Tom’s features briefly assumed a smug look of satisfaction.
‘Well, well,’ he said, halting beside Oliver and regarding him critically. ‘If it isn’t my benefactor in person. I assume you expected to meet me here. That’s why you haven’t returned my calls.’
Oliver felt a momentary twinge of guilt for the calls his answering machine had racked up which he’d ignored. But the fact was, he didn’t want to have another row with Tom. They’d only just begun speaking again, for God’s sake.
‘Look,’ he said now, ‘this isn’t the time or the place to get into this. I’m planning on coming out to Tayford in the next day or two. We can talk then.’
Tom looked as if he was about to argue, but then seemed to think better of it. ‘So,’ he said, glancing round, ‘where’s Gracie?’
‘Graci—Grace?’ Oliver stared at him. ‘Why would I know where Grace is?’
‘Well, she’s with you, isn’t she? This is a black-tie affair. We’re all expected to bring a partner.’
Oliver bit back the obvious question and said instead, ‘No. I haven’t seen her.’
Tom scowled. ‘What are you telling me, bro? That you and she have broken up already?’
‘No. I—’ Oliver was at a loss of how to answer him without revealing his feelings, and pride wouldn’t let him humble himself before his brother ‘—I—er—I ought to be getting back.’
‘But—’
However, before Tom could dig any deeper, a girl came to take possession of his arm. ‘So there you are,’ she exclaimed, half reprovingly, pressing her ample breasts against his sleeve. ‘I’ve been looking for you.’
Now it was Tom’s turn to look embarrassed and Oliver, waiting for an introduction, realised he knew the girl. It was Gina Robb, the office junior from the garden centre. He fell back a step. Gina! She had to be sixteen at the most. What the hell was Tom thinking about? Was this some ploy to make Grace jealous? Or was he really incapable of being faithful to only one woman, as Sophie had said?
Tom seemed to realise what Oliver was thinking and his fair features filled with hot colour. ‘Um—you know Gina, don’t you, Oliver?’ he muttered as the girl fluttered her mascaraed eyelids at him. Then, to the young woman, ‘You remember my brother?’
‘Oh, sure.’ Gina turned her baby-blue eyes on Oliver now. ‘Hello again, Mr Ferreira. We didn’t expect to see you here.’
‘No.’
Oliver allowed the rueful denial, but Tom was recovering his composure, and he said coolly, ‘You didn’t tell me who you were with, Oliver? Is it someone I know?’
‘It’s just a friend,’ said Oliver, wishing he’d never had the bright idea of leaving the hall. ‘And I’d better be getting back to her.’
‘We’ll come with you and you can introduce us,’ said Tom at once, sensing his brother’s reluctance and responding to it. ‘You never know, we might be sitting at the same table.’
Grace walked into the office at eight o’clock in the morning, her usual time for starting at the garden centre. She’d spent four days in London with her parents, but now she’d convinced herself that she was ready to get back to work.
It wasn’t going to be easy, despite what Tom had said. But the idea of submitting her notice had never really been an option. She wasn’t a quitter, and if Tom wanted her to stay on, she was prepared to do so. But, she’d explained, it had to be on her terms, not his.
He hadn’t been best pleased when she’d begun by telling him she planned on staying at the bed and breakfast she’d found in Ponteland until she could get a place of her own. He’d objected, of course, but however persuasive he’d been in assuring her that she had nothing to fear from him, she wanted there to be no doubt in anybody’s mind— for anybody, read Oliver —that there was anything going on between her and his brother. Oliver might be able to share his sexual needs—she refused to call them affections—between two women, but she wasn’t like that. Besides, she’d never been attracted to Tom, had never given him or anyone else any reason to believe that she was, and she wanted no more ambivalence about it.
Not that she believed Oliver would care, one way or the other. She had it on good authority that he and Miranda were still seeing one another, and although it tore her up to think of him with another woman, she had to get over it.
That was what she’d told her mother when Mrs Lovell had finally got the truth of what had really happened in Spain out of her. Grace hadn’t wanted to tell her parents. She hadn’t wanted to do anything to sour relations between the Lovells and the Ferreiras, but it had been such a relief to confide in someone.
Her mother had been appalled at Oliver’s behaviour, until Grace had confessed that she had been as much to blame as he was. She’d actually admitted that she had feelings for Oliver, though she’d also insisted she had no intention of acting on them. He had a girlfriend in England, she’d said, trying to make it sound as if she’d known that all along, and Mrs Lovell had eventually accepted that it had just been an unfortunate lapse of judgment on both their parts.
At least, she’d said she had, Grace had later acknowledged. Her mother knew her too well to be deceived by her daughter’s assertion that she’d accepted the situation when she was still so obviously upset. Consequently, she had insisted that Grace phone Tom and explain what she planned to do before travelling back to Northumberland. And even after his reassurances, she’d made Grace promise that should she feel at all uncomfortable with him or Oliver, she would give in her notice.
Grace had chosen not to explain that the chances of her seeing Oliver again were slim, thank goodness. After all, she’d worked at the garden centre for many months without laying eyes on him, and his indifference towards his brother’s problems must have renewed the strain on their relationship.
At least she hoped that was so. Dealing with Oliver on a day-to-day basis was not something she wanted to think about. Which was something else she’d kept from her parents.
This morning, however, it was quite a relief to see that the centre was still functioning as efficiently as ever. She hadn’t mentioned Tom’s financial difficulties to him, deciding that if he wanted to tell her anything he would. But, despite his apparent optimism, she had been half afraid that the company’s problems might have leaked into the workplace. She’d dreaded coming back to long faces and the possibility of imminent redundancies.
But apparently that was not to be. When she entered the office, Gina was at her desk, as usual, and Bill Fletcher was helping himself to coffee from the jug that had been simmering on its hotplate.
‘Hi.’ It was Gina who greeted her, and Grace was surprised. The office junior was usually fairly sullen in the mornings. She could only assume she’d had a good time the night before. ‘Tom said you were coming back today.’
Tom? Grace was surprised at the girl’s familiarity, but it was up to Tom himself to discipline her if he thought it was necessary.
‘Good morning,’ she said, including the older man in the salutation. Then, because the coffee at the bed and breakfast had been pretty ghastly that morning, ‘Pour me a cup, too, will you, Bill?’
‘No problem.’ Bill filled another cup and handed it to her. ‘Have a good holiday?’
Grace managed a faint smile. ‘Not bad,’ she said, cradling the cup between her hands. ‘Hmm, this is good.’
‘You don’t look very brown,’ remarked Gina critically. ‘Wasn’t the weather hot?’
‘It was very hot, actually,’ said Grace firmly. ‘Too hot for sunbathing sometimes.’
‘Oh, it could never be too hot for me,’ exclaimed Gina fervently. ‘I love the heat. I can’t wait for my holidays.’
Grace moved to her desk, deciding she had more important things to think about than a holiday she desperately didn’t want to talk about. She wanted to ask if Tom was in yet. The door to his office wasn’t closed, but that could mean anything, and until she’d gauged his attitude and decided whether she was comfortable with it she couldn’t be absolutely sure she was staying.
Her question was answered a few moments later when Tom breezed through the door from outside. He had obviously just arrived. He was tossing his car keys in his hand, and when he saw Grace his expression became even more animated.
‘Hey,’ he said, crossing the office to her desk and standing looking down at her with evident pleasure. ‘Welcome back!’
‘Thanks.’
Grace permitted herself a glance up at him, and was relieved to see that he looked much as usual. If the financial troubles of the centre were bothering him, he didn’t show it, and she envied him his composure. In his position, she thought she’d be tearing out her hair.
‘Journey okay?’ he asked, referring to the flight she’d taken to Newcastle airport. ‘I would have met you, you know. You didn’t have to rely on a cab.’
‘It was fine,’ said Grace, shaking her head, and as she did so she saw Gina regarding them with a puzzled look on her face. She was probably wondering what was going on, reflected Grace. As far as Gina was concerned, Grace was still living in Tom’s house. She would have to correct that assumption at the first possible opportunity.
‘Well, come into the office,’ said Tom, nodding towards his door. ‘I’ve got something I want to tell you.’
Not about Oliver, Grace hoped, getting up from her chair with some reluctance. It was Tom who had told her about seeing Oliver and Miranda together at a charity awards dinner he had attended, and she had no desire to hear any more about them. It was what she’d expected, after all, she told herself, even if the strength of that assertion was wearing very thin.
‘You haven’t forgotten you’re taking me to see the new development at lunchtime, have you, Tom?’ Gina asked as he headed towards his office, and Grace saw the irritated glance he cast in the girl’s direction.
‘I said I’d do it if I had the time,’ he declared, stepping back so that Grace could precede him into the office. ‘Get me some coffee, will you, babe? I’m parched.’
If looks could have killed, they would both have been struck stone-dead, Grace acknowledged as Tom closed the office door behind them. But he seemed oblivious of—or perhaps indifferent to—Gina’s malevolent stare. After ushering Grace to a seat, he dropped into his own chair with apparent complacence.
Then, resting his arms on the desk, he leaned towards her. ‘It’s good to have you back, Grace. The office hasn’t been the same without you.’
‘Really?’ Grace gave him a dry look. ‘You and Gina seem to be on good terms. Since when has she called you “Tom”? It was Mr Ferreira when I went away.’
‘Oh, you know Gina.’ Tom made a careless gesture. ‘She’s an airhead. She likes to think that we’re close, but you know we’re not.’
‘It doesn’t matter to me one way or the other,’ said Grace flatly, and then realised that Gina was standing in the doorway behind her, holding the cup of coffee she’d poured for Tom.
There was an awkward moment when none of them spoke, and then Tom said, ‘Oh, is that my coffee, babe? Thanks. You’re a good kid.’
Gina’s features were set and angry as she passed Grace’s chair on her way out, but she didn’t look at the other woman. This time, her anger was solely directed towards Tom himself, and Grace hoped she hadn’t been responsible for causing a rift between them.
‘So,’ she said when the door had closed behind the girl, ‘what is it you want to tell me?’ She almost mentioned the proposed loan, but then realised she wasn’t supposed to know about that. She moistened her lips. ‘Have you managed to solve your financial problems yet?’
Tom regarded her consideringly. ‘Did Oliver tell you?’ he asked, and Grace realised she wasn’t the only one who had been holding things back. ‘You did see him while you were staying in San Luis, didn’t you?’ He paused. ‘And Sophie?’
Grace swallowed, but refusing to be intimidated, she said, ‘Did Sophie tell you that?’
‘Wasn’t she supposed to?’
‘I suppose that depends what she told you,’ said Grace shortly. Then, realising she was being defensive, she added, ‘I don’t have to account for my movements to you, Tom. You’re my employer, nothing else.’
Tom had the grace to look a little discomfited, but he didn’t back down. ‘Sophie told me that you and Oliver had been spending time together,’ he said. ‘Don’t you think I have the right to know if you’ve been screwing my own brother?’
Grace gasped and sprang to her feet. ‘If this is the way it’s going to be from now on, I think I ought to leave,’ she said curtly. ‘What I do or don’t do is not your concern. But for the record, I haven’t been—screwing—anyone!’
What she had shared with Oliver had not been ‘screwing’, she defended herself. Well, not for her, anyway, and that was what this was all about.
‘Okay, okay.’ Tom seemed to realise he had gone too far now, and getting to his feet, he gave her an apologetic look. ‘Sit down, Grace. I’m sorry if I sound peeved, but you must know how I feel about you. Imagining you with Oliver of all people just cuts me up.’
‘I imagine that’s much the way he felt when you seduced his wife,’ retorted Grace, not giving an inch. ‘But I have no intention of making you the guardian of my morals. If—if I want to go out with anyone, I will.’
‘Including Oliver.’
‘Oliver already has a girlfriend,’ she reminded him tersely. ‘You told me so yourself.’
‘Oh, yeah. Right. Right, he does.’ Tom wiped a bead of sweat from his upper lip and appealed to her again. ‘Sit down, please. I do want to tell you about the loan. And I promise I won’t bring up Oliver’s name again.’
Grace hesitated. She suspected deep down this was never going to work. Tom and Oliver had too much history and, whatever happened, she was always going to be a reminder to Tom of what might have been.
But, for now, she subsided into her seat and faced him noncommittally. She did want to know how he intended to rescue the garden centre. Stupidly, she wanted to assure herself that the jobs of all the friends she’d made here would be safe.
‘The bank has agreed to extend my loan,’ said Tom without any further preamble, resuming his own seat and regarding her expectantly. ‘What do you think of that?’
Grace didn’t know what to think. Unwillingly, Oliver’s reaction when he’d heard of what his brother had proposed came to mind, and she badly wanted to ask if he was instrumental in the bank having a change of heart.
But she couldn’t do that without provoking more questions, and if Oliver was involved surely Tom would tell her. For the moment it was enough to know that the future of the garden centre was secure.
‘Um—that’s great,’ she said now, managing to sound as enthusiastic as he expected. ‘You must be relieved.’
‘Oh, I am.’ Tom spoke fervently. ‘I knew it was only a matter of time before something turned up.’
Grace reserved judgment on that. She hadn’t forgotten how depressed Tom had been when she went away even if he had. But although she waited for him to explain why the bank had agreed to extend its loan, he didn’t elaborate, and she decided it was time she got back to work.
Nevertheless, the day seemed endless. Even though she’d thought that getting back into a routine would disperse the gremlins that had been plaguing her ever since she left San Luis, it didn’t seem to work that way. She no longer felt at ease here, and blaming it all on Gina—who spent most of the day casting baleful looks in her direction—or Tom, wasn’t enough.
She suspected Tom was keeping something from her. He had remained determinedly obtuse about the circumstances surrounding his sudden good fortune, and although he had apparently accepted her decision to find a place of her own, his attitude made her wonder if he actually believed it. He could be so smug at times and she didn’t trust him not to have an agenda of his own.
But what agenda? What was he really thinking? She wished she knew.
She was preparing to finish for the day when Gina sidled up to her desk. The girl hadn’t spoken to her since their conversation that morning. Grace, who was feeling inordinately weary, hoped she wasn’t going to complain to her because Tom hadn’t taken her out to see the new development as he’d apparently promised.
Now, waiting for the girl to speak, she knew an almost visceral feeling of apprehension. What now? she wondered anxiously. Whatever it was, she was too tired to care.
‘It was the charity awards dinner on Tuesday,’ Gina said at last, and Grace arched an inquiring brow. So what? ‘Tom invited me to go with him,’ the girl continued, this time causing a genuine look of surprise to cross Grace’s face. ‘Did he tell you?’
‘I—no,’ Grace said at last, unable to hide her consternation. She’d known Tom had attended the dinner, of course. That was where he’d seen Oliver and Miranda. Together. But he hadn’t mentioned that his date had been his office junior.
‘Well, he did,’ declared Gina triumphantly. ‘And we had a great time!’
‘Well—good.’ Grace’s smile was rueful, but no less warm because of it. It wasn’t Gina’s fault that Tom was acting like a fool. But it explained a lot. ‘I’m glad you enjoyed it.’
‘Are you?’ Gina regarded her suspiciously now. ‘I bet you wish you’d been here. He’d probably have asked you instead of me.’
‘Hey, I wouldn’t bet on it,’ protested Grace quickly, wanting to quash that idea immediately. ‘Tom and I are just working colleagues, you know. We don’t spend our free time together.’
Gina frowned. ‘But you live in his house.’
‘Not any more.’ Grace paused and then decided the girl deserved an explanation. ‘I’m going to get a place of my own. For the present, I’m staying at a bed and breakfast in Ponteland.’
Gina stared at her. ‘But—why?’
‘Oh…’ Grace shook her head. ‘I suppose since Sophie moved out, it hasn’t been the ideal situation. And I need my own space.’
‘So you’re not, like—seeing Tom?’
‘Socially?’ And at Gina’s nod. ‘No.’
Gina considered this. ‘So you’re not jealous?’
‘No.’ Grace was almost amused at that suggestion. Her eyes narrowed. ‘Did he say I was?’
‘He said a lot of things,’ said Gina, looking a little doubtful now. ‘He’d been drinking, you see, and I don’t think he knew half of what was said.’ She sighed. ‘Of course, it was mostly about his brother, Oliver.’ She paused and then continued cautiously, ‘Was that right? Oliver was in Spain when you were there? Tom seemed to think you’d been seeing Oliver behind his back.’
Grace felt a faint flush enter her cheeks. ‘I don’t think Tom has any business discussing what I did or didn’t do when I was on holiday,’ she declared tersely. ‘As I say, it’s nothing to do with him.’
Gina hunched her shoulders. ‘He thinks it is.’
‘Well, it isn’t.’ Grace took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. ‘In any case, Oliver is seeing someone else. You probably met her. She was with him at this dinner you went to, wasn’t she?’
‘Oh—Miranda, yeah.’ Any spark of hope Grace might have had that Tom had been lying was extinguished by Gina’s reply. ‘She was there. But I don’t think she was very happy.’
‘No?’ Grace’s pulse quickened. ‘Why?’
‘Oh, she was really mad because Oliver had left her sitting at the table on her own while he went out of the conference hall to talk to someone else. That was where we met him, actually. In the foyer of the hotel. He seemed in no hurry to get back to her.’
‘Really?’ Grace knew she was clutching at straws, but she couldn’t help it. ‘Why do you say that?’
Gina hesitated. ‘Well, when Tom said he’d like to meet her, Oliver was really reluctant to introduce us.’
‘Oh.’
Grace’s lips tightened. Now she understood. Naturally Oliver would be reluctant to introduce his girlfriend to his brother. First of all, he’d know that Tom would waste no time in telling her that he’d seen them together, which would prove what a liar Oliver was. And secondly, and probably the more important of the two, he had no reason to trust his brother with a woman he loved.
‘Anyway, I’m glad we’ve had this talk,’ Gina said now, and for the first time Grace could remember, she gave the older woman a beaming smile. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, right?’