Love or Money? by Carrie Stone Page B

assistant out of the kitchenette. Donatella was a demanding client. She would need to have a clear mind in order to do her job properly.
    Except one thought refused to dissipate. Would Phillip still be as interested if he discovered she’d had one casual short fling with another man? And should she tell him?
     
    “Brisbane? But I thought she was enjoying Sydney?” Zara asked in confusion as Glenda unplugged the hoover from the wall socket.
    “ Yes, well so did I. It came as a surprise to me too. I have a feeling it’s something to do with this Aidan friend of hers.” 
    Zara heaved herself into a more comfortable position on the sofa, thinking back to her last email from Felicity two days previous ly.
    “ But I thought she was getting on well with him? What makes you think it’s something to do with him?” Zara asked.
    Glenda picked up the hoover and , careful not to make heavy footprint dents on the carpet, tiptoed with it towards the hallway. It didn’t matter that Felicity was thousands of miles away; her regular cleaning of the cottage was still as important, despite no-one being there to make use of it.
    “ Something she wrote made me wonder if he’d made a pass at her. You know how Fee is, she’s undoubtedly given him the cold shoulder and making a rapid exit.”
    Zara smiled. It had been quite a shock to see the photo of Aidan that Felicity had sent to her. His striking resemblance to James was uncanny. Yet she’d known from the way Fee had referred to him that there was no attraction or even contemplation of anything other than someone to keep her company. Poor Glenda had hoped it could have been more, but she knew Fee too well. James had ruined her life; she wouldn’t be wanting someone so closely linked. And the fact he was a chef wouldn’t appeal to Felicity either.
    “Oh dear. I feel sorry for him if that’s the case. Felicity can be cold and aloof when she wants to be. Let’s hope he didn’t fall for her too much.”
    Gl enda gave Zara a knowing look. “My thoughts exactly.”
    “ At least she’s getting to see more of Australia though. I envy her, I’d love to have a holiday” Zara said wistfully. It had been years since she and Steve had been away. Six, to be exact. Although Lexi had been a toddler and the trip to Cornwall hadn’t been quite the relaxation that she’d hoped for, it had still been special. Steve had been at his most attentive and loving and she was certain it was then that Abbey had been conceived.
    “ Once the baby comes and things are settled, you and Steve should try and get away. A little break for yourselves. I don’t mind looking after the kids for a weekend” Glenda offered kindly.
    Zara looked at Glenda with excitement.  
    “ Really?  Do you mean that? Oh Glen, that would be brilliant. As long as you’re sure the kids wouldn’t be too much for you. I’ll mention it to Steve, maybe two days in the New Forest or something. Or even Paris. I’d love to try Paris.”
    Glenda chuckled at Zara’s enthusiasm. She was pleased to see her happy. She’d noticed that she hadn’t been her usual upbeat self of late. Of course, she knew it was likely to have some thing to do with her being over six months pregnant. But she seemed uncharacteristically preoccupied and distracted. She’d thought about mentioning it to Felicity over email to see if she had picked up something too, but she didn’t want to worry her daughter. Fee would be like a dog with a bone if she thought Zara was upset and hiding something.
    “ Yes I mean it. You talk to Steve and when you are ready to book something, let me know and we can make the arrangements.” Glenda said firmly.
    Zara leaned back onto the sofa with a warm feeling inside her. Steve had returned from his overnight trip with such affection and attentiveness towards her that she’d felt her heart break. It was clearly guilt-driven. Every time she fished for details, he had smoothly steered the conversation towards her and