Millie Vanilla’s Cupcake Café

Millie sat next to him and put an arm around his thin shoulders. ‘That’s awful. Poor, poor Daisy.’ She went on, as gently as she could, ‘But why did you need to borrow from Biddy? Are you sure your pet insurance couldn’t cover the cost?’

Arthur sniffed, removed his glasses and polished them busily. His face looked strangely naked without them. And vulnerable. ‘Daisy’s only chance of survival is to go to a specialist surgery unit in Bristol. It’s beyond my policy.’

‘They have such places? For dogs?’ Jed asked. ‘I never knew.’

Trevor put his front paws on Millie’s lap and, for once, she didn’t tell him to get down. She reached for his curly head and tickled under his chin for comfort. She was pretty sure Trevor understood every word of what was being said. His excitement at the shouting had dissipated and he was as dejected as the rest of them. She gazed into his brown-button eyes. He was so dear to her. She could only too easily imagine the pain of being in Arthur’s position. Maybe she could forgive the man’s harsh words to Biddy. He must be worried out of his mind. The trouble was, he’d now lost his only chance to pay for the operation. She wished she were in a position to help.

‘Let’s just hope the tumour is benign,’ she said, going for briskly optimistic, the words sounding hollow, even to her.

The group sank into yet another silence. An even gloomier one this time.

‘Which vet do you use, Arthur?’ Jed asked.

Arthur began to explain. Millie only half-listened. Jed had been wonderful today. Refusing to take money for the paint, labouring until he was hot and grubby-looking and now he was taking a real interest in Arthur and poor Daisy. He seemed really concerned about them. Love for him blossomed. As Arthur talked, she drank in Jed’s beautiful face and the warmth in his dark eyes. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. If she’d thought she’d been in love before, with other boyfriends, the feelings she’d felt for other men paled into insignificance to how she felt about Jed. This was on a whole other level. Despite all her worries, a joyful love for Jed filled her. It was both scary and exhilarating. And yet, a little wormy voice of caution inside her warned, you’ve only known him for a few weeks! She silenced it. ‘I don’t care,’ she muttered. ‘I love this man. I could love him with my whole being. Spend my life with him. Have his children.’ Realising her mouth was dry she reached for a glass of lemonade and drank it down in one. She was suddenly very, very hot.

‘You okay, Mil?’ Zoe asked. ‘You’re a bit flushed.’

She gave the girl a tight grin. ‘I’m fine. I hate to say this and I hate to be unsympathetic about Daisy, but I suppose, if everyone has eaten, do you think we ought to go back to work?’

And, to good-natured groans and mutterings of what a slave driver she was, they did.

Once everyone had said weary goodbyes, with the promise to return the following day, Millie turned to Jed and offered to cook him supper. To her disappointment, he refused, saying his parents were staying in Lyme and they expected him for dinner.

She went up to the flat, her entire being on fire from Jed’s goodbye kisses. Trevor, worn out from all the excitement, trailed up the steps behind her, his tail drooping. It had been an exhausting day, even without the emotional fallout from Arthur and Biddy’s argument. Millie prayed they’d make up. Zoe had promised to pop over to Biddy’s in an attempt to build bridges.

Too preoccupied to eat, Millie opened a bottle of wine and drew her favourite chair to the picture window, which was the best feature of the flat. It mirrored the ones in the café below and looked straight out, across the beach, to open sea.

The days were lengthening. No matter how wild and wet a winter they’d had, spring was usually quick in coming to this part of the coast. Millie opened a window. Along with the chatter of people wandering past below, the breeze brought in warm salty air from the sea and the distant cackles of gulls before they settled for the night. Trevor came to her and rested his head on her knee, giving a heartfelt sigh.

‘Know what you mean, Trev. It’s been quite a day.’ She tugged gently on his woolly ears and enjoyed the warmth of his little body against her leg. Maybe it was just tiredness but she’d never felt more content. However, any relaxation was short-lived. Stretching out muscles stiff from painting, Millie got up, ignored Trevor’s grumbles and took her wine to the kitchen. She had work to do.

Chapter 19

Millie forced herself up and out of bed early the following morning. She needed to walk Trevor before another day working on the café. On her return from a blissfully solitary walk on the beach, one of the perks of rising at daybreak, she unlocked the café and stood for a minute, appraising the work done so far.

She’d been worried the bright colours they were adding might be too much – too busy in such a small space. Jed and Sean had given the floor its first coat of white paint before finishing yesterday and she could already see how it would calm everything down. Once the re-painted furniture was back in, it would be perfect. Or as perfect as her present budget allowed.

‘Hi, Millie.’

Millie turned to see Tessa standing in the doorway. She began to tease her friend about bailing on her yesterday, but then saw her pinched and tense face.

‘Can I have a word?’

‘Of course you can. Let’s sit outside, though. I can’t guarantee the paint’s dry in here.’

They perched on the low wall next to the aubrieta, which had suddenly blossomed into a vivid purple cascade.

‘Is everything alright, Tess? The boys are okay, aren’t they? Sean looked hale and hearty yesterday. It’s not Ken? He did look a bit preoccupied, come to think of it, but he’s done a fantastic job on retouching the mural. It’s as good as new.’

Tessa looked out to sea and blinked in the bright sunshine. She shook her head. ‘No, everyone’s fine. I’ve got something to say to you. Something that won’t be very good to hear, kiddo.’

Millie’s stomach did that peculiar flipping-over thing that happens when you fear you’re about to receive bad news. She’d rarely seen her best friend so serious. She reached out a hand. ‘God, Tessa, what’s wrong?’

‘Don’t be nice, Millie, alright? I’ve got this new job, see.’

‘Well, that’s a good thing.’

‘Making bread.’

‘Even better.’ Millie forced a jolly note into her voice, but she knew what was coming. Just knew it.

‘Blue Elephant have taken me on to do their range of artisan breads.’

Millie nodded. Part of her noticed how far out the tide had gone this morning. A man was throwing a tennis ball to his Labrador. The dog was barking excitedly. A family were heading out to the rocks at the edge of the harbour wall. Making the most of the low tide to do some rock-pooling. The sun hit hard off the wet sand and made her eyes water. It made it difficult to see. Part of her was aware Tessa was still talking. Giving reasons. Making excuses.

‘And it means I won’t have time to do both. I just won’t be able to supply you with bread as well as them and they –’

‘Pay more,’ Millie finished. She added in a monotone, ‘Of course they would.’

‘Aw, Millie, I’m so sorry, it’s just with Ken not bringing much in and that exhibition of his making a loss, I didn’t have a choice. The kids aren’t getting any cheaper and Louis looks like he’ll get to university and –’

Millie put up her hand to stop the flow of hopes for Tessa and Ken’s middle son. ‘Was that why you were at Blue Elephant on the afternoon of their launch?’

‘Me? Oh, you saw me, did you? Yes, the manager asked me to go in for a meeting. To discuss the range he wants me to develop. They want me to start immediately, but didn’t give me much choice in the matter, to be honest.’ Tessa added lamely. ‘Where will you get your bread from now?’

‘Bread?’ Millie tried to focus. ‘I don’t know. I can make some, but I’m not a bread- baker in your league. Haven’t got the time.’

‘Maybe Berringtons will let you have some?’ Tessa named the town baker. She was obviously trying to be helpful.

‘Yes, that’s possible.’ Millie stood up. She couldn’t face talking to Tessa any more. Was afraid of saying too much, of ruining their friendship beyond repair. ‘And now, if you don’t mind, I’ve a busy day in front of me.’

Tessa stood too. ‘Yeah, okay.’ She turned to go and then stopped. She turned back to Millie, who was staring unseeing out to sea. ‘Mil, I’m really sorry. I hope – well, I hope you’ll be able to see why I had to do it. I hope –’

‘Yes, Tessa?’ Millie’s voice was steely.

Tessa flinched. ‘We can still be friends, right?’

Millie stared at her. The rational part of her understood Tessa’s decision. But this was her friend. Her best friend. It felt like the worst kind of betrayal. ‘Time will tell, Tessa,’ she said quietly, desperate not to let the hurt show. ‘I think we just need some time apart right now, don’t we?’ And, with that, she turned on her heel and went into the café.

Chapter 20

It was a slightly depleted work party that trailed in an hour later. Not surprisingly, Ken didn’t show up, although Sean did. When Arthur arrived, with Zoe in tow, they made a huge fuss over a wriggling Trevor.

‘No Biddy,’ Zoe whispered, when Arthur was busy checking whether the paintbrushes had been properly cleaned the night before. ‘She’s still dead cross over what Granddad said, but she promised to do some sewing at home.’

Poor Biddy. With all the fuss over Daisy’s operation, her hurt had been overlooked yesterday. ‘Is she okay?’ Millie asked.

Zoe pulled a face. ‘Seemed like it. Guess she’s used to it, what with once being a sex worker. Must make you hard as nails. I’ll try to work on Granddad. Got a feeling if he does some major-league grovelling, she’ll come round.’

‘I hope so. Friendship’s important.’

‘Yeah and those two are besties, even though they argue like mad.’

Millie wondered if her own friendship with Tessa would ever recover. Pledging to keep herself busy, she hoped it would stop her dwelling on what Tessa had done. Hard work had eased the grief once before in her life and it might be the salve again.

It was a repeat of the day before, in many ways. After Millie had cooked a huge breakfast, they got to work. Jed and Sean worked on the floor once more. They sanded down the white paint from yesterday, giving it a distressed feel and then concentrated on the walls not covered by Ken’s mural, painting them white too. Arthur and Zoe gave the furniture they’d painted yesterday a quick second coat and put it in the sun. Once dry, Millie had a go at sanding edges and corners, to make it look shabby chic.

Once they got the okay from Jed, they carried it all back inside. It had been the quickest of make-overs and not the most thorough but it was a definite improvement. As Millie had hoped, once the brightly painted tables and chairs were in place, the whole look came together. The shabby-chic effect even disguised some of the more hurried paintwork.

They stood on the sun terrace, gazing in at their hard work.

‘It’s absolutely gorgeous,’ Millie breathed, hardly able to believe they had achieved so much in just two days.

‘It’s mint,’ Zoe put in. ‘Biddy’s getting the cushion covers over tomorrow,’ she added in a whisper, as Arthur came to stand with them to admire their handiwork.

‘My dear girl, what an alteration!’ he said.

‘It certainly is and I couldn’t have done it without you guys.’ Millie put her arms around Zoe and Arthur. ‘You’ve been brilliant,’ she managed, before her voice broke with emotion.

Jed slung an arm around Sean and added, ‘Can’t beat teamwork.’ He grinned over at her making her feel happy and a bit dizzy all at the same time.

The café did, indeed, look transformed. The white floor and walls gleamed against the pink-and-green furniture and the touches of gold that Ken had applied to his pink-and- turquoise mural added glamour.

‘It just looks all pulled together,’ Millie began, ‘without seeming too –’

‘Contrived,’ Jed finished for her.

‘Exactly!’

They gazed happily at one another.

Arthur, as if sensing the intimacy between them, coughed and disentangled himself. ‘Well, I’d best be off. Don’t like to leave Daisy on her own, even if all she does is sleep at the moment.’

‘Oh Arthur – and everyone else, before you go,’ Millie said, ‘I’ve got a present for you all. It’s only a gesture, I’m afraid, but I thought, no I needed to do something to thank you for all your hard work. Just hang on for a minute, will you?’ She disappeared into the café, carefully avoiding some of the still-wet paint and went through to the kitchen.

She returned a minute later, carrying a tower of cake boxes and with an excited Trevor dancing around her ankles. ‘Like I said, it’s only a gesture and doesn’t in any way …’ her voice trailed off. She’d been up half the night baking the cakes. It was the only way she could think of, or afford, to thank them, but it seemed too little a reward.

Putting the boxes carefully on one of the tables they’d left outside, she handed Jed the first one. ‘Victoria sponge for you. I know how much you like it. Fresh cream, of course.’

Beaming, Jed opened up the box. ‘Millie,’ he exclaimed, ‘you’ve iced the top in Millie Vanilla’s colours!’

He folded back the card lid for the others to see. Iced in pink and turquoise were the words, “Jed, I can’t thank you enough, but hope this sugary sweetness will.”

‘I love it,’ he said, his dark eyes warm.

‘A special apricot, brandy and almond tray bake for you, Arthur, and I’ve done some doggie biscuits for Daisy too.’ She handed him his boxes.

‘Oh, my dear girl, you shouldn’t have! My favourite! And Daisy will love hers too.’

‘Chocolate and marshmallow for you, Zoe. Natch!’

‘Natch!’ Zoe answered and took her cake. ‘Thanks, Mil, that’s ace. Think Mum might nick a bit of this.’

‘She’s more than welcome.’

‘And Sean, I hope you don’t mind sharing but I’ve made you all some cupcakes. I know Tessa and the boys like them too.’

Sean took his box, then put it back down on the table and enveloped Millie in a bear hug. ‘Thanks so much, Millie,’ he whispered in a voice gruff with emotion. ‘What Mum did to you was wrong. I told her, you know. I’m dead against this new job.’

For the first time Millie could see what Zoe saw in him. Letting him hug her in his scrawny grip for a second, she fought against tears. ‘Thank you, Sean. I appreciate that.’

Millie picked up the last boxes and handed them to Zoe. ‘Scones with cream and jam for Biddy and shortbread for Elvis. Could you get them to her?’

‘No prob. Sean and I will drop them off on the way home.’

‘Thanks, Zoe, and thank you all so much.’

‘Yeah yeah, we get the picture,’ Zoe said, stopping the mood getting maudlin. ‘What does Biddy always say about people who cry too much?’

‘Eyes too near the bladder,’ Arthur supplied.

‘That’s it. She wants to see you, Granddad, by the way. I think flowers are the order of the day, don’t you? Come on,’ she slipped an arm through his. ‘We can order them online. Next-day delivery and she’ll be made up. After you’ve said sorry, of course.’

‘Zoe, my girl,’ Arthur laughed. ‘How did you get so wise so young?’

‘Dunno,’ she replied wide-eyed. ‘It’s just a genius talent I have.’ She kissed his cheek. ‘Or good genes.’ With Sean trailing in their wake, carrying the mountain of cake boxes, they wandered off in the direction of the promenade. As they went, Millie could hear Zoe instructing Arthur on just how best to win Biddy round.

‘Well, Emilia Fudge,’ said Jed coming to her and slipping his arms around her. ‘I think this weekend has been a success.’

Glancing into the café and then refocusing on him, she agreed, ‘Well, Jed Henville, I think you might just be right.’

The kiss that followed was as sweet and satisfying as any of the cakes she baked.

Sweeter.

Chapter 21

‘Can you stay for supper tonight?’ Millie tried to keep it light, not wanting to seem desperate. She’d kept the hurt that Tessa had inflicted to herself all day. Had been too busy to dwell on it, but now all the work was finished, she felt the tension in her shoulders soften and, with it, a need for human comfort. The tears threatened a return.

‘I think that’s an offer I can’t resist.’ Jed grinned boyishly. ‘And of course I’m –’

‘Starving. Of course you are!’ She laughed. ‘Taken as a given. Reaching up, she tweaked a long lock of hair that flopped over his tanned face. ‘You have the most fetching streak of white paint.’

Jed pulled a face. ‘Do I?’

‘And another smudge of it on your nose.’ Millie reached up to kiss it.

‘I might need to borrow your shower.’

‘I think that can be arranged.’

He followed her up to the flat, with Trevor weaving between their legs and getting in the way.

Millie unlocked the door and, feeling self-conscious, led him into the sitting room. It must be very different to the places he was used to. She needn’t have worried. Jed went straight to the window and stood, hands on hips, drinking in the view.

‘What a fantastic place to live!’ He turned to her, eyes alight. ‘You look right out over the sea. You must never tire of it.’

Millie joined him. It was true. She nodded. ‘The view’s never the same two days running. But I love it best in the winter when it’s stormy.’

Jed put his arm loosely around her shoulders. ‘I can imagine. Do the storms ever reach you up here?’

‘They can do. I’ve had one or two windows smashed by pebbles thrown up by the sea. It’s not much of a sacrifice to live here, though.’

‘I can see why you love it so.’ Jed turned her to him and pulled her closer. His mouth found hers and his hand cupped her breast.

She pushed him away. Reluctantly. Much as she wanted this man, she needed a shower first. ‘I’ll sort you out some towels.’

Jed nodded but the desire in his eyes was unmistakable. ‘And then food. I’ve an idea I’ll need all my stamina for later.’

Millie went first, leaving Jed engrossed in the news on TV. While he showered, she frowned over the meagre contents of her kitchen cupboards and wondered what to cook.

When Jed emerged, with wet hair and smelling of her almond-blossom shower gel, she nearly jumped on him there and then. Practicalities won by a nose.

‘Just salad and some new potatoes, I’m afraid,’ she explained, as they sat at her tiny table in the kitchen. ‘But I’ve made some mango chicken to go with it.’ She tried to concentrate on the food and failed. Jed looked gorgeous with his hair damp and curling around his collar. The thought of all that clean, tanned skin under his shirt and chinos was making her weak with desire.

‘Sounds great. And we’ve cake for pudding!’ Jed was obviously only thinking of one type of hunger.

‘Oh yes, your sponge cake. Hope it’s okay. I rather threw them together late last night.’

‘It’ll be perfect,’ Jed declared confidently. ‘Everything you touch is perfect.’

Millie laughed, embarrassed. ‘Not sure about that.’

He reached over and took her hand. ‘It’s true,’ he said, simply, gazing into her eyes.

They knew what was coming. The promise of it vibrated in the air. Thrummed between them. And they both knew that the longer they deferred it, the sweeter it would taste.

‘I’ll open some wine, shall I?’ he added.

Millie couldn’t speak. Could barely breathe. Was hollowed out with desire for the man. She managed a nod.

He rooted around in the fridge and found the half-full bottle of white she’d begun last night. He filled their glasses. ‘You know, I really admire how you’re right in the middle of your community.’

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