Love & Freedom (40 page)

He touched her ear with his lips, making her shiver. ‘They love you very much. So we have plenty in common.’

She turned and drowned in his eyes. ‘I’m incredibly happy.’

His smile was slow. And hot. ‘Jessie said that I was the one who could make you happy. But I’m sorry about not having a castle.’ He picked up her hand and began to kiss each fingertip.

She closed her eyes and groaned. ‘I could have died when she came out with all that stupid teenage dream stuff.’

He stopped kissing her hand and just held it very tightly. ‘I’m really not sure you’d like living in a castle. They seem cold and inconvenient. And what if you decide you want to live in America? Just
 
…’ He swallowed. ‘I would like you to marry me.’

Her eyes flew to his, so dark and intense, and her breath hurried from her lungs. ‘If I was married to you, I think I’d be very happy living in an apartment in Starboard Walk,’ she said, softly. ‘And maybe I could get to work in a castle?’

He pulled her close, closer, limb against limb. ‘We could always get married in one.’

She tried to pull away, to see his face. ‘Seriously? People do that?’

‘Of course. Get married, have the reception, stay for the whole weekend. The only thing is
 
…’ He looked suddenly rueful.

She waited, dreading some disappointment that was going to come along and spoil things for her. ‘What?’ she whispered, eventually.

His kissed her lips. ‘I’m no prince.’

Epilogue

The Teapot looked and smelled the same. Honor stepped in through the door, holding tightly to Martyn’s warm hand, trying to quiet her butterflies. Aletta was clearing heaped tables, but not rushing herself as she sprayed and wiped. She smiled rosily.

Ru and Robina were behind the counter, cleaning down the kitchen, Ru with his back-to-front baseball cap and Robina in her bandana. Without looking up, Robina called, ‘I’m sorry, we’re just closing.’

‘That’s OK,’ said Honor. ‘We came to talk.’

Ru’s head whipped up. His grin was a blaze of pleasure. ‘You’re back!’

‘I guess I am,’ Honor agreed, beaming back. She’d called him whilst she’d been away but been deliberately vague about her plans, needing to settle her mind and get used to things working out with Martyn. And file for divorce. Martyn had rescheduled a shoot for the first time in his career, so that he could stay while she tied up loose ends like that.

Robina frowned, her eyes flickering coldly over their clasped hands. ‘What about?’

Honor pulled out a chair and sat down. ‘I think you’ll be surprised.’

Aletta untied her apron and hung it on the hook just inside the kitchen. ‘Time,’ she told Robina, tapping her watch to show her hours were up. Robina just nodded. Honor wished that she’d been able to get Robina trained like that.

Expectantly, Ru took a chair at the wooden table and then, with a put-upon sigh, so did Robina. ‘I suppose you expect me to apologise,’ she began, ungraciously. ‘Little Ru told me about the tricks Stef played. He guessed it was from me Stef got all the information he needed, so I suppose you’ve worked it out, too.’

‘I figured you must be involved.’

‘He got me to ring you and pretend there was something for you to sign, so that you’d be out at the right time. While he,’ she indicated Martyn with her head, ‘was out running. But I didn’t know what your husband planned. You can’t pin anything on me.’

‘Ex-husband. Almost.’ Honor nodded, slowly. Martyn was cradling her hand in both of his as if he were an earth, there to absorb any shocks Honor received. ‘So, what was it you thought he was up to?’

Robina shrugged, looking down at her fingers, short nailed and red from cleaning. ‘I don’t know. It’s not my problem. I have enough of my own crap to deal with.’

‘Soppy and Crusty have gone,’ Ru put in, chin resting on one palm.

Honor switched her attention to him. ‘Gone? You’re kidding me.’

He pushed off his ball cap so that his hair fell forward. ‘Just for a couple of weeks. Crusty said she needed to be somewhere where someone would take care of her, so she was going to stay with her parents in Bristol. Then Mum and Soppy got in a massive row and Soppy said she would take Crusty in her van.’

Robina’s bottom lip trembled. ‘They’ll be back, soon. When Kirsty is better and Sophie cools down. They’re my family.’

Honor shifted, awkwardly. Took a huge breath. Screwed up her courage, gripping Martyn’s hand. ‘Really
 
…? That would be me.’

Ru made a small noise. Honor saw that he was grinning. And with Martyn’s solid, warm presence beside her, it gave her the nerve to say what she should have said at the beginning of the summer. ‘My name’s Freedom. Freedom Lefevre.’

Robina stared. She looked from Ru to Honor. Expressions flew across her face. Denial. Curiosity. Then, finally, dawning realisation. ‘I didn’t know.’ Her voice was high with surprise. ‘I didn’t know it was you.’

‘I know. And it doesn’t matter. I don’t want anything from you – I just wanted you to know.’ Her eyes grew hot. Martyn slipped his arm around her, kissing her temple, looking steadily at Robina, as if daring her to say anything that would hurt.

Robina leaned forward and stared into Honor’s face. ‘Wow,’ she said. And, ‘Wow,’ again. ‘You do look a lot like Garvin. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.’ Her brown eyes were huge and luminous. She frowned at Ru. ‘You
knew
?’

Honor jumped in. ‘Don’t take it out on him!’ She took another deep breath. ‘I’m going to be around to check on more than just how much you pay him.’

‘Around?’ Slowly, resignation settled across Robina’s face. Her eyes moved to Martyn. ‘Oh, shit. Am I going to be your
mother–in-law
or something?’

Honor felt his familiar shake of laughter. ‘I suppose you are. That puts a hell of a spin on things, doesn’t it?’

‘It certainly does.’ She pulled a horrified face. ‘It’s too freaky, even for me.’ She turned back to her daughter. ‘Why do you call yourself Honor? I named you Freedom.’

I named you Freedom.
Despite everything, it was a sentence that Honor wanted to keep in her heart, enshrined in crystal and edged with gold. Her laugh was strangled. ‘Well, you know Dad. He has his own ideas about what’s important and he added Honor. Freedom Honor Lefevre. And Honor’s what he had me called.’

Robina scowled. ‘He would.’ She kept looking at Honor, big eyes bigger than ever as she processed what had just happened. What it meant and what it could mean. ‘I suppose you want to know why I didn’t keep in touch.’

Honor let her head lean on Martyn’s shoulder, enjoying the feel of him, the way that he felt, how his flesh and muscles gave just the right amount to make her comfortable. ‘Actually, no, it’s OK – well, OK, it
isn’t
OK, and I would like to talk to you about it sometime – but I have you, as well as Dad, in my make up. And I do accept that you are what you are.

‘Because, now, I know what it’s like to choose freedom.’

326

Starting Over

New home, new friends, new love. Can star
t
ing over be that simple?
Tess Riddell
 
reckons her beloved Freelander is more reliable than any man - especially
 
her
 
ex-fiancé, Olly Gray.
 
She’s
 
moving on from her old life and into the perfect cottage in the country.

Miles Rattenbury’s
 
passions? Old cars and new women!
 
 
Romance? He's into fun rather than commitment.

When
 
Tess crashes the Freelander into his brea
k
down
 
truck, they find that they’re nearly neighbours – yet worlds apart. Despite
 
her overprotective parents and
 
a su
d
denly
 
attentive
 
Olly, she discovers the joys of village life and even forms an unlikely friendship with Miles. Then, just as their relationship develops into something deeper, an old flame comes looking
 
for
 
him
 
...

Is their love strong enough to overcome the past? Or will it take more than either of them is prepared to give?

Find out more and purchase in the kindle store:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Starting-Over-ebook/dp/B003Y8XQ74

All That Mullarkey

Revenge and love: it’s a thin line …

The writing’s on the wall for
Cleo
and
Gav
.
The bedroom wall, to be precise. And it says ‘This marriage is over.’