Then she went back to folding in the vanilla and almond extracts and extra fresh blueberries for a few seconds before lifting her head and adding, in a dreamy, faraway voice, ‘Why, yes, I did know Miss Flynn before she became the tea consultant to the international hotel chains around the world. But we both knew even then that she was destined for greatness. She had that spark, you see. Special. And she still sends me a Christmas card every year from her Caribbean tax haven. Just for old times’ sake.’
Dee gave Lottie a squinty look as she packed napkins into the dispensers on the tables. ‘Very funny. Laugh all you like. I’m having a screaming panic attack here. See these bags under my eyes? Haven’t slept a wink.’
‘I’m not laughing, I’m celebrating,’ Lottie retorted as she spooned the batter into paper cases in the muffin tin. ‘Sean obviously likes a girl who knows what she wants and can stand up for herself. I know these management types from my old job. They are always looking for something or someone to give them a buzz. You will be fine.’
‘A buzz?’ Dee groaned. ‘I am not trained to give anyone a buzz. Ever. All I know about is tea!’
‘Well, for a start that’s not totally not true,’ Lottie replied as she sprinkled cinnamon and crystallized brown sugar mixed with chopped pecans over the tops of the muffins. ‘Who was the star of the celebration-cake contest? And your eggs Benedict are the best. I can only dream of making a hollandaise sauce that good. Remember what I told you when I called you at the tea warehouse and asked if I could buy you lunch? Universities do not award first-class degrees just for turning up. If I am going to set up a business with someone, I only work with the best.’
‘True. Three first-class degrees in a class of forty-two.’
‘Damn right,’ Lottie said as she popped the muffin trays into the oven and set the timer. ‘You, me and Luca Calavardi.’ She stood up and pressed a sugary hand to her chest. ‘Oh, my. Now you’ve done it. Reminded me about the lovely Luca.’
‘Oh, stop. He was fifty-six, happily married with children and grandchildren, and only came on the course because he was fed up with being a sous chef all his life. That man had forty years of catering experience under his belt and we had four months.’
‘All the more reason to feel proud of what we achieved. Right? Sean is a lucky man, and you are going to knock their socks off. You wait and see. And in the meantime...’ Lottie grinned and looked over Dee’s shoulder as the doorbell chimed. ‘We have our first customer of the morning. They will probably want tea and plenty of it. Go to it, girl. Show them what you can do.’
Dee popped the last napkin holder onto the tray with a snort and walked out of the kitchen and into the tea rooms. But, instead of her usual customers, a short man in a biker’s jacket with a motorcycle helmet over one arm was standing at the counter.
‘Delivery for—’ he glanced at the screen of a palm top computer ‘—Miss D Flynn. Have I got the right address?’
‘That’s me. You have come to the right place.’ Dee smiled and leant on the counter with both elbows. ‘What delights do you have in your bag today?’
The courier flashed Dee a withering glance, then dived into his rucksack and pulled out a small package the size of a book which he passed onto the counter. Dee barely had time to scratch her name with the stylus onto the computer screen before he was out of the door.
‘And thank you and goodbye to you too,’ Dee said as she turned the box from side to side. Too small for tea samples or festival flyers. Too large for a personal letter.
Intriguing.
A small, sharp knife and a whole bag of foam curls later, Dee stood in silence, peering at an oblong box. It was covered in fluorescent-pink gift paper with a dark-blue ribbon tied in an elaborate bow on the top. There was a small pink envelope tucked into the ribbon and she hesitated for a moment before opening it up and reading the note.
With thanks for a lovely morning. Operating instructions are included and my personal number is number one on the list.
Prakash is next.
Have fun.
Sean.
Dee had a suspicion she knew exactly what was inside the gift box but she tugged away the ribbon and peeked inside anyway.
Staring back at her from a whole pack of scary accessories and manuals was a very shiny, very elegant version of the smart phone that Sean had been using yesterday. But with pastel-coloured flowers in shades of pink and cream printed onto the silver cover.
‘Oh my,’ Lottie whispered over her shoulder. ‘Please excuse my drool. Your boy has very good taste in toys. Am I allowed to be jealous?’
Dee shook her head. ‘I know. And it would be churlish to send it back. But...I’m not sure how I feel about Sean sending me personal gifts. I’ve only known him two days.’
‘Think of it this way—it gives him pleasure to send you a phone, and you need one to keep in touch with the hotel if you are out and about doing your organizing thing. It’s a winner. Go on, have a play.’
Lottie finished drying her hands and pointed to the shiny silver button. ‘That’s the power button.’ Then she stood back and smiled before giving Dee a quick one-armed hug. ‘There you are. He took your photo yesterday when you hit the streets. You look so sweet carrying those tulips.’
Then Lottie gave a quick chuckle. ‘Might have guessed. Dee, darling, I hate to state the obvious but that boy is smitten with you. Totally, totally smitten. And, the sooner you get used to the idea that you are being wooed, the better!’
‘Wooed! Have you been sniffing the brandy bottles again? I haven’t got the time be wooed by a Beresford. I have a tea festival to organize.’
‘Wooed. Whether you like it or not. And, actually, I kind of like it. Sean and Dee. Dee and Sean. Oh yes. And that’s my oven timer. Have fun with your phone.’
Dee watched Lottie jog back into the kitchen and waited until her back was turned before picking up Sean’s note and reading through it again with a silly grin on her face. He had written it himself, using a pen on paper. That must have been a change for him. The man seemed to live for his technology.
Her foolish and very well hidden girly heart leapt a few beats as she scanned down to the photo he had taken when she’d stopped at one of the market stalls to look at the antique silver teapots.
The girl smiling back at her with her arms full of tulips looked happy and pretty.
Was that how Sean saw her? Or as a girl who had a problem with enclosed spaces who could deck him any time of the day or night?
Her finger hovered over the menu button. She was so tempted so call him right there and then and spend five minutes of easy, relaxed chatter like they had enjoyed the day before. Talking about their lives and how much he missed London sometimes, just as she missed warm weather and the mountains.
Two normal people enjoying a sunny winter’s morning. Getting to know one another.
How had that happened?
Dee licked her lips and was just about to ring when a group of women swooped in and headed straight towards her. Customers!
Perhaps Lottie was right. Perhaps she was being wooed. Strange how much she rather liked that idea.
* * *
Sean looked out over the London skyline from the penthouse apartment at the Beresford hotel Richmond Square and watched the planted arrangements of ferns and grasses thrash about in the winds that buffeted his high-rise balcony.
No spring flowers or tulips here. Not on a cold evening three storeys above the street level where he had strolled with Dee the previous day.
But she was still with him, and not only in a photo on his phone.
No matter