He was going to need every scrap of positive energy he possessed if he had any hope of making good on the promise he had made to his father that afternoon. And a whole lot more.
Nothing was going to stand in his way.
He was going to have to pick up the pieces and prove that he could do what Travis couldn’t. Save Elstrom from going to the wall.
Elstrom Mapping was his. And it was not going to fail.
‘So come on. Spill. What happened last night with you and the scruffy rich lumberjack?’
‘Nothing happened,’ Toni replied with a light casual lilt.
There was a roar of boos and hisses from around the chaos of the breakfast table in the tiny apartment Lucy shared with her flatmates and, for the last few days, her pal Amy Baldoni. Usually it was clean and organised. But this morning there were three girls crammed into the small kitchen diner with all of the kit they needed for their six months gap year expedition parked in the hallway. And they were eating as though it was the last decent breakfast they would have for ages. This was probably not far from the truth.
‘Come on, Antonia—’ Lucy grinned ‘—we know that guilty look.’
‘Guilty? Moi?’ Toni replied and pressed her right hand to her bosom in the most elegant ladylike manner.
‘Who’s guilty?’ Amy laughed as she waltzed in with her huge rucksack slung over one shoulder.
‘The girls are accusing me of holding out on the tantalising news about Scott Elstrom, that’s all,’ Toni replied and pressed her lips together tightly.
‘Aha. Busted. You are looking remarkably perky for a twenty-seven-year-old lady who partied late into the night,’ Amy replied and set her rucksack in a corner before taking her place at the table, loading her plate with toast and marmalade and ham and cheese croissants. ‘Go on, then,’ Amy said before biting into the toast. ‘Out with it.’
‘We did have a small interlude after you all left,’ Toni replied in a totally casual voice. ‘The man was jet-lagged, ate all the pizza and most of the pan of brownies. And no—’ she pointed to Lucy, who was just about to say something rude between eating because she always did ‘—I did not ask him to warm my toes for me or any other parts.’
‘Why not?’ Amy asked between chewing. ‘You promised that this year was going to be different. Now that creepy Peter is out on his ear, you’re young, free and single. All ready for a new date to be installed by the summer. That was what we agreed, wasn’t it?’
‘Was that at the New Year’s party?’ Lucy blinked. ‘I don’t remember much after that third cocktail. Or was it the fifth?’
‘New Year resolutions definitely have an expiry date.’ Toni laughed then caught the look that Amy was giving her. ‘Okay, I did sort of say that this year was going to be the start of new exciting things. New job. Lots more travel. New central heating boiler! Redecorating! Those things can be exciting too. So you can stop booing. A new boyfriend is an optional extra.’
‘Six months, darling sister,’ Amy replied, pointing her toast at her. ‘You said that you would be fixed up in six months. I have an excellent memory for facts and dates!’
‘Anyhow, when I surfaced an hour ago his bedroom door was open, his breakfast dishes were washed and draining in the kitchen and the house was in silence. The man had obviously gone to work on a Sunday. Either that or the sight of so many lovely ladies in their lingerie last night was more than he could stand and he took off back to Alaska.’
‘Alaska,’ Lucy sighed. ‘That’s on my list.’ Then she sniffed. ‘But not this trip. Way too cold. Bring on the sun. Oh. Speaking of which. We have twenty minutes until the boys get here.’ And with that she slurped her coffee and scraped back her chair.
‘Packing. That would be good. Be back soon. Amy, have you seen my hair straighteners?’
Toni got to her feet and started clearing away the breakfast plates as Amy chuckled into her tea and toast.
‘Hair straighteners? I think Lucy may be in for a bit of a disappointment when she gets to the campsite.’ Amy waved her hand from side to side and rocked her shoulders. ‘Apparently the electricity generators can be a bit temperamental.’
Then she looked up at Toni and grinned. ‘Don’t look so worried. I’ve packed a tool kit with a full set of screwdrivers into my suitcase. We shall—’ and she waved her butter knife in the air ‘—have power. So fear not, darling sister, the magical sat phone will be charged at regular intervals. How else am I going to be able to keep tabs on this amazing love life you promised to throw yourself into? I can see our house being turned into a real little love nest now that you’ve cleared out the lodger. Cool!’
Then she tucked into the marmalade with great gusto.
‘You are incorrigible!’ Toni replied with a grin and flicked the tea towel towards Amy. ‘Love nest? Where did you hear that expression? You know that it’s totally going to be the other way around! The boys will be falling over themselves when they take a look at you! Try not to break all of their hearts.’
‘Can’t promise a thing.’ Amy smirked and then startled Toni by wrapping her arms around her and giving her a big squishy hug. ‘I’m going to miss you but you understand why I don’t want you at the airport making a mushy scene, don’t you?’ Then, before Toni could answer, she stepped back and dropped her plate and cutlery into the sink. ‘Thanks for doing the washing-up! I should probably get dressed.’
And, with a wide-armed stretch, Amy walked slowly back to the bedroom where, from the sound of it, Lucy and two of her flatmates were already arguing about what to take in their hand luggage.
Madness. Total madness.
But she waited until Amy was out of sight before pulling out a tissue and blowing her nose. Stupid girl. She had known this day was coming since Christmas and she had promised Amy that she would not get all gooey...but look at the state that she was in!
Of course she understood. That was why she was here now instead of weeping buckets at the departure gate. But it didn’t make it any easier.
It helped if she imagined it was Scott Elstrom’s face at the bottom of the washing-up bowl.
This was entirely his fault!
Her brain had been spinning most of the night, working through the options, over and over again, weighing up the pros and cons, and the more she thought about it, the more obvious the answer had become.
She had to convince Scott that he should sit for a portrait in place of his father.
He was the new head of the company, after all. It was his duty to go ahead with the project that Freya had already paid half in advance. Wasn’t it?
But there was something else which kept whirling around inside her head every time she’d punched her feather pillow to try and find a comfy spot.
Freya had come running to her to ask for help. It had to be a Baldoni. No one else would do!
Surely that had to give her some bargaining power?
Toni scrubbed extra hard on the frying pan. Now all she had to do was pluck up enough courage to insist on it the next time she saw Scott.
Toni’s hands closed around the cool edge of the sink and she closed her eyes for a few seconds.
She didn’t have any choice. That portrait had to be finished, one way or another.
She needed the rest of the money to pay for Amy’s university fees in the autumn.
Girlish laughter broke through her thoughts and Toni smiled as she stacked the cups and plates.
Amy was right.
This was her chance