Page 46 of Eden's Comfort Kitchen
‘Why don’t we talk to Ralph some more later when we’ve got time? And maybe Bilbo will have some thoughts. After all, you did just say you wanted him to play a big part in your lunch thing. He might come in later, and we can grab him then. If not, pop over to his house tomorrow.’
‘I don’t know where he lives.’
‘That’s easily fixed – I do.’
Eden was about to reply when her attention was drawn to the entrance. ‘What…?’
Livia followed her gaze. ‘What’s the matter?’
Eden would have told her, but the fact was she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. One of the partners in the company she’d worked for in London had just walked in. But…surely it couldn’t be? ‘What’s he doing here?’ she murmured.
It had to have been him she’d noticed over the past few weeks. Only a couple of times from a distance on the beach, and she hadn’t been certain – in fact, she’d dismissed it, certain she was wrong. She wished now she had been wrong because this could only be bad news. She didn’t know what he was doing in Sea Glass Bay, but her brain worked quickly to figure it out. Andshe came to one awful conclusion. The land the scout hut stood on was up for sale, and he was in the business of buying land like that to build on. Unless he was on holiday, but she doubted that. The coincidence was too big – he had to be here after the land.
He gave the pub a cursory once-over, but he didn’t seem to have noticed Eden behind the bar.
‘Who’s that?’ Livia asked.
‘Cam bloody Faulkner,’ she whispered. ‘Balls of stone and a heart of steel.’
Livia started to laugh. ‘Shouldn’t that be balls of steel and a heart of stone?’
‘Either way it’s bad news. If he’s got his sights set on our bit of land, we’re going to have a fight on our hands.’ Eden grimaced. She knew this because, to her shame, she’d helped him get what he wanted in the past. It was Cam she’d gone to with the information that had led to him picking up the community centre her mum volunteered at for a knock-down price. That brief conversation with him in his office had seemed so innocuous at the time but had come back to haunt her in the most tragic way. She’d spent many hours wishing she could take back her words.
‘It’s not our land?—’
‘You know what I mean.’ Eden stiffened. ‘He always gets what he wants, but not this time. He’s never had to get it from me before.’
Livia stared at her, and Eden glanced to her side to catch it. Puzzled, surprised – she could understand why. Cam’s appearance had set off alarm bells, and Eden had come out fighting already. She didn’t even know for certain he was here about the land. For all she knew, he could have been on a lovely little jolly. Except for the fact that she knew him of old, and he didn’t do lovely little jollies in sweet, unspoiled British resorts. He worked hard and played hard. He was more about swishhotels in Dubai or luxury yachts on the Med than quaint seaside towns.
‘Sounds like you’ve had run-ins with him before,’ Livia said.
‘No. Before we were on the same side. I worked for his company in London. Back then I’d have been selling the places we built on the land he acquired. I’d have loved him when my commission came in. But I know how he operates, and that’s what worries me.’
‘You don’t even know?—’
Eden didn’t get to hear the rest of Livia’s sentence. As Cam turned her way, she was gripped by a sudden panic. Before he could see her, she dashed through the doorway at the side of the bar and into the tiny storeroom where they kept their cleaning supplies. She didn’t know why she’d reacted that way; she only knew that she didn’t want him to see her. Not here, doing this job.
What did it matter? Her rational response would have been that it didn’t. What did she care if he saw her working in a pub? He was nothing to her. He might have gone back to his company and perhaps had a laugh about seeing her, and there might have been a few days of gossip, but it would have been forgotten soon enough. And it wasn’t like she’d be seeing any of her old colleagues any time soon – if ever again.
Then there was the matter of what had brought him to Sea Glass Bay – it had to be something to do with the land where the scout hut stood. Presumably he’d come to check it out. If that was the case, then she ought to find out all she could about his plans, and that would mean facing him whether she wanted to or not. Unless…she could get Livia to find out. Could she? Was there a way Livia could start up a conversation and drop it in? Cam was the sort of guy who’d love showing off to a pretty girl. So if he was up to something like that, he’d probably want to boast about it.
Putting her head around the door she hissed out, ‘Livia!’
Her friend turned to her with a confused look. ‘What?’
‘Come here!’
Livia went over, and Eden ducked back inside the cupboard. ‘What’s…? You’re not hiding from him, are you?’
‘I bloody am! You don’t know him.’
‘He can’t be that bad.’
‘I just…’ Eden grimaced. ‘I just can’t face him right now. I know it’s weird and childish, and I can’t explain it, but I can’t. I’m sorry.’
‘You can’t stay here all shift.’
‘I know. I’m going to go in the kitchens and see if they need me – if I can get past without being noticed. Can you serve him? And try to get him talking – see if you can find out why he’s here.’
