Two
The problem with his best friend finding a wonderful girlfriend, Aaron Spenser mused to himself, was the way it emphasised the complete failure of his own love life. Ensconced in his very favourite place in the world—the cosy kitchen at Butterfly Cove—he watched the banter between Daniel and Mia and rubbed the phantom pain in his chest.
‘Everything all right?’ Mia cast him a little frown.
He stopped his hand, embarrassed at being caught mooning over his poor, lonely heart. ‘Fine, thanks. Touch of heartburn, that’s all.’ He paused to give her a sly grin. ‘I blame the chef.’
‘Cheeky sod!’ The balled-up tea towel caught him on the side of the head when he ducked too slowly.
Rising from his assigned seat around the wooden table, he stretched his arms above his head to loosen the last bit of stiffness from the exertions of the previous day. Mia’s project to renovate the rundown old house perched beside a beautiful sandy beach in the picturesque village of Orcombe Sands was going full steam. Three of the five guest bedrooms were complete, and the final two were a few days from being finished. Aaron had spent every spare weekend since Daniel’s surprise exhibition in March travelling backwards and forwards from London to Orcombe to lend a hand.
Life in the celebrity hurricane could destroy even the hardiest of souls, a lesson Daniel had learned the hard way. Exhausted, hungover and burnt-out, he’d hit rock bottom. Fate, the West Coast mainline and a well-meaning neighbour had delivered Daniel to Mia’s doorstep, and into the lonely young widow’s life.
His friend’s abrupt career change, from successful art photographer to creating a new artistic retreat on the south coast, had set tongues wagging in the gossip-fuelled celebrity circles he’d escaped from one cold, miserable February morning. There was already a huge level of interest and Aaron had helped them set up a mailing list and blog to maintain the buzz.
Every stage of the renovation works on the guest house, as well as the adjoining barns, which would house Daniel’s haven for artists needing to take a break, was carefully documented and posted on the blog. They’d gained followers from all over the country and enough booking enquiries to fill the house for the entire summer season. The race was on to get everything ready in time for their grand opening next weekend.
Aaron picked at the remnants of red paint stuck under his nails, before abandoning it as a hopeless task. He still had the doorframe and windowsill to gloss in the country-garden-themed bedroom, so he’d no doubt end up with more on his hands. Saturday had been a washout; a huge squall had blown in off the sea, forcing them to keep the windows closed and dropping the late May bank holiday temperatures by several degrees.
The grey army—Mia’s late-husband’s in-laws and her neighbours Madeline and Richard—had battled valiantly in the driving rain to stake the most vulnerable flowers and shrubs in the sprawling garden at Butterfly Cove. The two older couples had become firm friends when everyone rode to Daniel’s rescue after his ex-agent stole his work and attempted to put on an exhibition without his knowledge.
Pat and Bill had accepted Daniel into their life with a grace which left Aaron breathless with admiration, and not a little jealous over how well the new family structure was blending together. It had been a quarter of a century and his stepmother still hadn’t forgiven Aaron for being a living, breathing reminder of his mum. As though thoughts of Cathy had summoned him, Aaron’s younger brother, Luke, wandered into the kitchen, mouth stretched wide in a yawn.
‘Morning.’ Luke scrubbed his hand through his hair, sending the wayward curls tumbling in an artless display. Women loved those blond curls, not to mention the soulful brown eyes he could widen into a look both innocent and suggestive. Aaron shook his head. The ladies of London Town would be mourning his absence given he was also spending all his free time in Orcombe.
Daniel grinned at him. ‘About time you showed up. Get your breakfast down you. Jordy will be here soon and I want to run over the plans for the mezzanine one last time before the builders arrive on Tuesday.’ Daniel had hired the local carpenter to project manage the conversion and he was proving a sound choice. With local connections, he’d brought on reliable labour and got some decent discounts on raw materials.
The plan was to install a first floor in the main barn to house five self-contained apartments which could be rented by visiting artists. Each apartment would come with a purpose-built studio on the ground floor to cater for different mediums—pottery, painting, photography, sculpture and the like. A smaller outbuilding would then be converted into a multipurpose support space, housing a kiln, a small forge for iron-working, and even a darkroom for those traditionalists who preferred film to digital. The scope of the facility Daniel and Luke were creating took Aaron’s breath away.
In addition to drawing up the design for the barn refurbishment, Luke had jumped in with both feet when Mia asked him to work up a harem theme for a pair of rooms in the main house. Free of the shackles of his junior role at a prestigious firm of architects, Luke had seized on the projects at Butterfly Cove like a starving man. He was happier than Aaron had seen him in a long time. Something had happened to Luke about a year previously, stealing the easy laughter from his eyes, but he’d been tight-lipped about it, claiming it was a work problem and nothing he needed his big brother to sort out.
Being a tiny cog in a big wheel didn’t suit his little brother, any more than it suited him if Aaron was honest with himself. Getting a good degree and a placement with one of the big five accounting firms had always been top of his career wish list. But wishes and reality rarely gelled, and without the side work he took on, including looking after Daniel’s financial affairs, Aaron would be digging an escape tunnel.
Where had that thought come from? He had a good job, was one of the youngest team leaders in the company. A smart flat in an up-and-coming part of the city, a good pension pot and the beginnings of a decent investment portfolio. His dad had drummed it into him from an early age: work hard, save well, live the best life you can within your means. So why so restless? Another side effect of all the change in Daniel’s life. Perhaps thirty was the new threshold for a midlife crisis.
Feeling an uncomfortable itch between his shoulder blades, he turned to find Mia watching him with those big brown eyes of hers. She always saw too much. He flashed her a smile and tried to shake off the restless feelings stirring in his gut. Settled, steady, that was the life he had, and the life he wanted, too. No drama, no mad emotional roller-coaster. Boring. He frowned. Introspection was for moody, artistic types. He preferred action.
Luke opened the back door, letting the tangy scents of the ocean fill the kitchen. Aaron breathed deeply. He could almost taste the freshness of the post-storm air on the back of his tongue. The faint sound of birdsong drifted from the garden, making up his mind. It was too nice a day to be stuck in the house. He turned to Mia. ‘Leave the garden room, and I’ll finish the last bits later.’ Apart from glossing the doorframe, everything else was dressing.
She tilted her head, a quizzical look in her eyes. ‘If you’re sure?’
‘I’m sure. Don’t let me catch you up a ladder trying to hang those bloody curtains either.’ The creamy material, covered in huge cabbage roses, had been edged with a red-checked pattern. Not something he’d ever have put together, but Mia had an eye for design he couldn’t fault. Huge stacks of matching bedding, cushion covers and throws sat in neat piles on the dining-room table. He’d learnt more about pelmets, valances and padded headboards than he’d thought possible. And it would have taken a braver man than he to point out a fitted sheet, a couple of pillowcases and a duvet cover were all that was required to make a bed.
She gave him a look, like butter wouldn’t melt, and he knew she’d
