The Antique Love (8 page)

Good job she’d had her head screwed on when he’d offered to teach her to ride. Her first reaction had been to cry
Awesome!
And even now, the most treacherous excitement coursed through her at the thought. Luckily, her imagination stepped in just in time, painting a picture of reality for once, and she’d had the good sense to turn him down.

She took in the disappointed expression on the face of her reflection in the window.
Don’t look like that.
She frowned at her reflection.
You know what will happen. You’ll be helped into the saddle, and then you’ll have to tag along behind Kurt and Cass, like their annoying kid sister. And that will just be painful torment, not fun at all.

Her reflection looked back at her, dejected.
Stop it,
she told herself sternly.
He’s looking for a wife. He already has a kid sister. And the more time you spend alone with him, the worse it’s going to be when he finally tells you he’s got engaged.

Her reflection didn’t look any better at this lowering thought, so Penny looked away and studied an advertisement for hair restorer. How silly she’d been when she imagined Kurt was a cowboy. What did she think would happen—that he was some sort of hero, ready to sweep her off her feet and ride off into the sunset? Granddad had often told her not to pin her hopes on dreams, and he was right. Dreams hardly ever came true in real life. Not for most people, anyway.

She stared at the unfeasibly black hair of the man in the advertisement until the train slowed for her station.

* * * *

Kurt lifted the bottle of white wine the waiter had left and made to pour his date another glass. She raised a ring-covered hand to wave him aside.

“No more thanks. One glass is enough. Too many empty calories.”

He replaced the bottle on the table, wondering as he did so whether his date could maybe do with a few more calories—empty or otherwise. All through their meal, Jemima had shown an admirable determination to preserve her sticklike figure.

They’d been introduced through the dating agency and met first for coffee, where Kurt had asked Jemima out for dinner. On paper they’d seemed just right for each other. Jemima was down-to-earth, mid-thirties, attractive, and with an interesting career in law. When Kurt told her what he was looking for in a relationship, she’d told him she admired his common-sense attitude.

“So you’ve been to Wyoming?” he asked politely.

“Yes, we visited Wyoming a while back,” she said. “Me and some ex. We went for the skiing. It was fun.”

Fun.
Jemima delivered the word as though travelling to Wyoming was like taking a trip to the mall. She managed to make Wyoming sound, well, bland, somehow. As though she’d been to better places. And from what he’d heard from Jemima so far, maybe she had. She seemed to have travelled the world, always in the company of
some ex
.

He watched her pick at her grilled chicken, and an image of Penny came into his head the first time he’d met her. He remembered her reaction when he’d told her he came from Wyoming. Her whole face had widened, her blue eyes deepening in shade in that cute way they did when she was excited about something—which was pretty often. Kurt smiled softly at the recollection.

“So, how about you?” Jemima asked, spearing another piece of lettuce. “What do you find to do with yourself when you’re not at White River?”

“I think I mentioned I’m moving to Richmond? Last weekend I had a girl over that runs an antique place off the King’s Road. She’s refurbishing the interior.”

“Oh, antique businesses,” Jemima waved her fork in the air dismissively. “All that overpriced tat. Shame I didn’t know you before. One of my exes does interior design in Chelsea. He’d have sorted you out with something really stylish.”

Kurt was beginning to think Jemima was more down-to-earth than he particularly felt comfortable with. He poured himself another glass of wine and started again. “I kinda liked her antiques. I guess they weren’t all shiny and new, but they had a story behind them. Some of it was real interesting.”

“Hmm.” Jemima pushed the remains of her meal to one side. “The only time I ever bought an antique, it turned out to have woodworm. Had to burn it in the garden.”

“Uhuh.” Kurt tried hard to think of something to say to this but failed. Maybe this date wasn’t quite right for him. Jemima seemed to lack something. Some sort of…imagination.

He took another sip of his wine and found his mind wandering again. He wondered what Penny would be talking about if she were sitting opposite him and then suddenly realised he missed her company. He let his mind dwell on this surprising fact for a few minutes and then shrugged inwardly. He missed his kid sister, too. It didn’t mean anything. He turned his attention to his steak.

* * * *

Kurt had found himself thinking of Penny surprisingly often during the course of the week, and when Saturday finally arrived, he gave a sardonic grin as he pushed open her shop door. Looking forward to spending a day going through invoices. If someone had told him that a few weeks ago, he’d have told them to go suck on a lemon. But the strange thing was he was relishing the prospect of spending time with Penny in her shop. She had a way of making everything seem fun—a quality Kurt’s date had singularly lacked.

By the end of their meal that night, it had been obvious to both Kurt and Jemima that their relationship was not going to progress. Kurt tried a few avenues of conversation, but none of them had raised a single spark. During the course of the evening, he had become increasingly taciturn. They parted cordially enough but with relief on both sides.

Although Kurt arrived at the shop bright and early, Penny was already behind her desk, talking on her mobile in a worried way. She lifted her head when she saw him and gave such a wide smile he blinked. Then she dropped her eyes quickly and finished off her conversation with a few rapid words before jumping up to greet him.

“Hi, you really came,” she said.

“Well, of course. We had a bargain, right?”

“Yes, well…” She waved her hands uncertainly. “I thought something more important might come up.”

“This
is
important.”

“Well, I’m really glad you’re here.” She was smiling up at him with eyes that positively glowed. Her delight spread a delicious warmth through Kurt. Was she really so pleased to see him? He felt a ridiculous surge of happiness at the thought.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said again, moving a hand in the direction of her desk. “There’s a lot to do. I’m so grateful.”

* * * *

Penny found herself gabbling out her words. She was madly happy to see Kurt again and trying not to show it. She turned to her desk and began systematically pulling out the relevant files, trying to hide her over-the-top response to his appearance behind a façade of cool professionalism. Her attempt at creating a distance between them obviously succeeded, because when she turned her head to glance at Kurt, she found the smile that lit up his eyes on seeing her had disappeared. He looked over to her desk and gave a cool nod.

“You’d better tell me where to start.”

Penny had filed every relevant document she could find in chronological order, going back the previous twelve months. She’d also opened up the business software on her laptop, all ready for Kurt’s inspection. Now she lined everything up for him and went through it all as efficiently as she could.

Kurt sat in her usual chair whilst she stood behind, pointing things out on the laptop. She looked down at his dark blonde head as he examined the files. After the initial warmth of his welcome, Kurt appeared to have retreated behind a professional exterior. In fact, as soon as he was in front of the accounts, he took on so much of his persona of head of White River that Penny felt almost intimidated. She could hardly believe that the man clicking rapidly through her computer files with such a forbidding expression on his face was the same man who had walked with her so companionably through the park the previous weekend, chatting and teasing her.

She stood behind him for a little while, feeling suddenly shy. After handing him all the documents, there really wasn’t much else she could tell him, apart from the one thing that was worrying her. She cleared her throat.

“Kurt?”

He twisted round, lifting his head to look at her. “Uhuh?”

She put one hand on the back of his chair. “It was David on the phone just now, just when you came in. He’s been phoning pretty often. Says he wants to come in and talk.” Her fingers gripped the chair. “I just thought I’d better let you know. Just in case he turns up suddenly.” She took a deep breath. “Sometimes he loses his temper.”

The expression on Kurt’s face hardened. Penny couldn’t blame him. She thought it was only fair to tell him her ex-business partner was still on the scene. It would give Kurt the opportunity to walk away if he wanted. After all, it was one thing accepting Kurt’s help with the accounts. Letting him get involved with a potentially aggressive ex-business partner was a different matter altogether. She scanned his face anxiously.

“No need to worry on my account,” he said.

Penny gave him a wide, relieved smile. It was strange how she felt she could trust Kurt after only this short time. His grey eyes were looking back at her steadily. Nothing she’d said appeared to have fazed him.

Penny tried to imagine what would happen if it actually did come to a confrontation. David was smaller than Kurt and a few years older, but he had a wiry strength and a pent-up aggression which he’d had difficulty in controlling in recent months. Despite his age, he retained a boyish charm which he put to effective use when talking to customers. There was no denying he’d been an asset to the shop in the past, but in recent weeks, he’d undone all that by his outbursts of aggression. Penny no longer trusted him. Kurt, on the other hand, had a reassuring solidity. If David did appear, Kurt would know exactly how to handle the situation.

Penny removed her hand from the back of his chair and gave a grateful smile. “Thanks,” she said. “I’ve been worrying about this so much. I keep trying to put David off, but I’m not sure how much longer I can keep it up.”

Kurt tilted his head. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. Maybe it’s best if you don’t let David anywhere near the shop. At least, not until I’ve gone through all of this.” He indicated the spread of files on the desk. “Think you can hold him off for a bit longer?”

“I’ll try.”

The shop’s bell jangled, letting in her first customer of the day. Penny was about to head for her position behind the counter, but Kurt caught her hand, halting her for a moment.

“Any trouble, you let me know. You don’t have to handle this alone. Understand?”

She nodded, looking down at their joined hands. His fingers were warm and comforting on hers, and it was tempting to return the pressure of his clasp. The shop bell rang again. For a few seconds, she let her fingers lie where they were, and then she slipped them loose and turned away.

* * * *

After she’d gone, Kurt dropped his gaze to the files on his desk and then, on a sudden impulse, swivelled his head to examine the window where Penny had shown him the antique jewellery on his first visit. He could just make out the pearl and silver love token, still hanging in its place on the last peg. The morning light was streaming through the window, and the pearls gleamed faintly against the black velvet cloth.

So Penny still hadn’t sold her pendant, which meant she still hadn’t found someone who loved passionately enough to deserve it. The thought brought a smile to Kurt’s face, followed by an unaccountable feeling of relief. He whistled softly to himself as he turned back to the computer screen.

At mid-day Kurt closed the lid of Penny’s laptop and leaned back in his chair. His worst suspicions regarding the accounts had been confirmed. Now it was just a question of collecting rock solid evidence. Penny was talking to a customer at the cash desk, and he glanced over at her with a sudden surge of sympathy. When he told her what he’d discovered, she was going to find the news difficult to accept and so was her grandfather. But now wasn’t the time. He would have to prove it beyond all shadow of a doubt, and to do that, he would need to come in a second time to go through her bank records more thoroughly. In the meantime, he’d done as much as he could for the day.

With a feeling of relief, he stretched his long legs under the desk. Penny’s work space wasn’t built for his large frame, and he was cramped from sitting too long. Throughout the morning, the need to stretch had given him a good excuse to break off and watch Penny at work, and his admiration for her had grown considerably. She had a gift for people and talked to her customers with a charming mix of thoughtfulness and enthusiasm. She also managed to fob off a couple of customers who wanted to buy the diamond and pearl love token, which brought a quiet smile to Kurt’s face as he surreptitiously watched her in action. The first customer she’d denied was a secretary whose boss had sent her out to buy an anniversary present. Kurt completely understood in this case. He’d enjoyed watching Penny sympathetically steering the harassed secretary away from the love token towards a delightful butterfly brooch which, she persuaded her, was far more appropriate.

It took Kurt a little while longer to figure out Penny’s issue with the second customer she denied. A young man, good-looking, athletic and, in his designer jacket and stubble, he’d seemed to Kurt to have all the right romantic credentials. He’d watched Penny lead the sharp-dressed man to the jewellery case, persuading him to look at a gold chain inlaid with sapphires and ignoring his request to look at the pearls. The young man gave the love token a long, lingering look before finally allowing Penny to charm him, and in the end, he left quite happily with the sapphires she’d picked out.

Penny gave Kurt an embarrassed grin after she caught his raised eyebrows. Later, as she was passing his desk, she stopped to offer him an explanation. “I had to do it,” she said, jerking her head in the direction of the pearls. “That guy’ll be out of love with his girlfriend and in love with someone else before the year’s over. I know it.” She took in Kurt’s expression and folded her arms. “I just couldn’t let him have them.”