Page 54 of Finding Love at Roseford Blooms
The couples waved their goodbyes after breakfast, and as Simon and Lizzie checked out, he couldn’t help sharing his excitement with her. ‘I can’t believe RoseFest looks like it finally might be happening.’ He gave her a grin. ‘And if it hadn’t been for you convincing me to come to this blasted reunion, I’d probably still be thinking about it, and staring at those notes.’
Lizzie gave a smile, but it definitely seemed to Simon that it was forced. He lifted her suitcase into the back of his car and then, when they were both in the front, he turned to her.
‘Are you sure you’re all right? You seem a little down this morning.’
Lizzie nodded her head. ‘I’m just really tired.’ She was rubbing at her collarbone again, and Simon wished they didn’t have a long drive in front of them when she was clearly uncomfortable. He knew he should give her space; that if she wanted to she would confide in him, but he was desperate to understand, and to try to lift her mood. If she was upset about something, he wanted, heneededto help her.
* * *
Lizzie sat back against the comfortable leather seats of Simon’s Range Rover, and tried to put everything out of her mind but the journey home. She appreciated Simon’s concern, and he did really look worried about her, but she couldn’t confide in him yet. In truth, she wasn’t sure what she should say.
If only she’d ignored her phone! She should have just allowed that wonderful bubble, the one that she and Simon had been alone inside, to last a little longer. They’d had such a great night together, and then she’d had to look at her phone and the bubble had burst.
She knew she shouldn’t let it bother her – a throwaway comment from her sister was something she’d become accustomed to ignoring over the years – but this, combined with Simon’s enthusiasm for his new project, had ignited a fresh turmoil, and built on insecurities that she’d thought she’d conquered long ago. Georgina knew just how to get to her, and Lizzie couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d written on the WhatsApp message.
They stopped briefly outside Oxford for a coffee and a rest break, and Lizzie, while quiet, managed to keep herself on an even keel. She needed time to think, and she was relieved when Simon drew up outside Bee’s cottage later that afternoon.
‘Thank you again for a lovely night,’ Simon said as he cut the engine and turned to face her. ‘Will I see you later?’
Lizzie gave a tired smile. ‘Do you mind if we don’t? My collarbone’s really sore and I could do with an early night.’
Simon just about managed to disguise his disappointment. ‘Of course. Call me when you’re feeling better.’ He leaned forward and gave her a kiss, and Lizzie had to fight every instinct she had not to collapse into his arms. She desperately wanted to level but now wasn’t the time. She needed to think. And, much as she hated to admit it, she needed to talk to her sister.
45
‘Lizzie? Thanks for calling me back.’
Georgina’s voice came down the phone in its usual, slightly breathy way. Lizzie tried not to wince.
‘I didn’t have a lot of choice, really,’ Lizzie replied.
‘Well, I’m glad you’re going to hear me out, at least.’
The words of the message that Georgina had dashed off to her last night flashed through Lizzie’s mind once again.
Be careful, Lizzie. Simon might not be all he seems. Can we talk?
‘Can you make it quick, George? I’m shattered.’ Lizzie slumped back onto the single bed in her room, leaning against the padded headboard for comfort. The long drive and late night were starting to catch up with her.
‘Sure,’ Georgina replied. ‘Look, you can tell me that this is none of my business, but I’ve heard through the grapevine that Simon’s thinking of setting up some event in Roseford and that he’s looking for backers.’
Lizzie shook her head. Could nothing be kept under wraps these days? She wondered how an idea that Simon had, until recently, only been toying with, had got out to the wider world so swiftly.
‘Where did you hear that?’ Lizzie asked. ‘He’s only just started seriously thinking about it. It’s still in the development stages.’
‘Well, that’s as may be, and it’s not really important who I heard it from. The person I’m worried about in all this is you.’
‘Me?’ Lizzie choked on the gulp of tea she’d taken while Georgina had been talking. ‘Why are you worried about me?’
‘Because I don’t want you getting suckered in to backing a project just because you’ve got the hots for the lord of the manor.’
‘What?’ Lizzie’s voice rose several notches. ‘And why would you think I would do that?’
Georgina gave a sigh. ‘Come on, Lizzie. Simon’s gorgeous, and charismatic, and clearly has an excellent vision for what he wants to do to make his mark on Roseford Hall. But he’s also broke. Why do you think he had to hand over the house and the grounds in the first place? It might not look like it, but he’s barely got two pennies to rub together. And there you come along with a healthy bank balance from selling your company and suddenly he’s all over you. Don’t you think that’s more than a little bit suspect?’
Lizzie’s throat constricted and she had to swallow hard before she could continue. ‘So, let me get this right. You’re saying that the only reason, the only possible reason, that Simon Treloar would want to spend time with me is to fleece me for my money? Have you any idea how awful that sounds?’
Georgina paused a long time before she responded again, and Lizzie angrily imagined her composing her features into that oh-so-caring expression that she’d cultivated over the years for situations like this. ‘Of course not, Lizzie,’ she said eventually. ‘I’m sure he’s a lovely guy, and he’s clearly very fond of you, but I’m asking you to look deeper, to see if there’s more to it than that. I don’t want to see you getting hurt.’
