missed but I close the lid of the laptop. I push a strand of her chestnut hair out of her eyes and look down into her eyes. She gazes back at me with a mix of exasperation and lust. At least I hope it’s lust and not fury that I wasn’t listening.
‘You have flour on your nose,’ I tell her.
‘Do I?’
‘Yes.’
‘I can’t do anything until I’ve cleaned my hands. I’m helpless.’
‘Hold on.’ I rub the tip of her nose. ‘And you, Demi Jones, are never helpless and never will be.’
‘Sometimes it suits me to be so.’
‘Yeah. Maybe. It’s me that’s helpless.’
I cradle her chin in my hand like a delicate porcelain cup. She is so fragile yet so strong. Her doughy hands hang by her side. I kiss her, trying to obliterate all thoughts of the email and the memories it stirs in the taste of her mouth. I pull her against me, hoping to crush unhappy memories. Demi deserves better than a man whose mind is on anything but her.
‘Whoa. I can barely breathe.’
She breaks the kiss, though her eyes are shining with pleasure.
‘Sorry.’
I release her but feel her hands on my bum, pulling me back to her, just not quite so tightly.
Her expression changes to one of concern. ‘Everything OK? You didn’t seem to want to let me go.’
‘Do I need a reason to feel like that?’
Although I promised to share my worries with Demi in future, I’m not going to drop this latest news onto her when it may amount to nothing. She has enough on her plate with running the cafe and planning the wedding and helping to write and produce her cookbook with Eva Spero – not to mention she has had a big change in her own family. It’s still early days in her reconciliation with her dad, his partner, her brother and their new baby who arrived at Christmas.
I kiss her again. ‘I don’t need a reason to keep you close to me.’
Demi lets out a giggle. ‘Your bum is all floury.’
Realising what’s happened, I twist around and a puff of flour dust flies into the air. I brush the back of my jeans, and find tiny pieces of sticky dough clinging to the denim and my fingers.
‘You minx!’
She smirks. ‘That’ll teach you to be more interested in your laptop than me.’
‘Believe me, I’d far rather concentrate on you,’ I say. ‘But the park accounts won’t wait. The accountant read me the riot act about getting the figures in early and the family finances have been in such a mess for so many years that I don’t want to let her down again. Polly did her best but we really need to keep a tight rein on the money. We might have to get a bit of help with the admin. Polly has enough to do as it is, managing the bookings and helping with changeovers and guests’ needs. We can cope in the low season, but when Easter comes, we’ll need more help on the camping side and the cafe.’
‘I’m interviewing some seasonal staff for Demelza’s in a few weeks’ time. I need to get this wedding organised. I’m supposed to be going to a wedding fair in a couple of weeks but I can’t wait for that. We need to get a photographer, florist, cake maker, decorations and a band … Some specialists are booked up years ahead and we only have a few months.’
‘I know you can do it,’ I say to reassure her. She still lacks confidence even though I’m convinced she could be UN Secretary General, England football manager and POTUS if she really wanted to. She’d definitely do a better job than any of them. ‘After getting the cafe ready and helping out with the floods, a wedding should be a piece of cake.’
‘I think organising a wedding could be worse than both of those put together. Lily has sent over the guest list and that’s convinced me we need a professional wedding planner or I’ll end up freaking out before the big day.’
‘That sounds like a really good idea.’
‘In theory but I’ve already tried over a dozen within the county and into Devon and almost all of them were already booked for those dates. I interviewed one last week but she seemed very inexperienced. She told me she’d helped to organise some friends’ weddings but she didn’t have a website and only seemed interested in knowing who the couple were. I haven’t told anyone that it’s Ben and Lily until I’m sure we can trust them to be discreet. I even wondered if this woman had already found out their names. Although I’m not sure how she’d got wind of it.’
‘I could suggest a few names …’
She rolls her eyes. ‘Do they include Mawgan Cade?’
‘It’s a good bet, although I’m surprised she’s told people at this stage, when she obviously wants to keep in with Ben and Lily. Quite a few people know – Polly, Jez, the girls from the cafe and your suppliers will have to know. It’ll probably turn out to be the worst-kept secret in Cornwall and these fans have their ways of finding out.’
‘Tell me about it.’ She sighs. ‘There’s one more possibility I’m seeing next week so’— she holds up crossed fingers —‘let’s hope one of them is suitable or I’ll have to look even further afield … I can’t worry about it too much until after Freya’s christening tea on Sunday.’
‘That will be a lot less trouble than the wedding. Is there anything else I can do to help?’
‘Not yet, thanks. I think I’m ready for that: or at least, Demelza’s is. We’ve closed for the day, which will help, and it’s a quiet time of year so I don’t think we’ll miss out. Robyn and Polly are going to lay out the buffet while we’re at the church ready for when we come back and stay to clear up. I’ve made the quiches and tarts and Rachel’s friend has made the cake. I hope it all works out OK but it seemed mad to let Dad and Rachel hire a pub or cafe when Demelza’s could put on as good a spread.’
‘It’ll be even better than anywhere else could do. And I’m here to give a hand any way you want. Happy to put on the apron and Marigolds any time.’
She smiles. ‘It’s not help with the washing up I’ll need. I don’t think I could face the day without you, even though I’m getting to know Dad and Rachel so much better now. I’m relieved that you’re coming to the church.’
‘Of course I’m coming. I’m not suddenly going to bail out and abandon you.’
She smiles in relief. ‘I know you’re not into these big formal family occasions, not that it’ll be that big or really that formal, but I’ll be on show to all our relatives. Some of them haven’t forgiven me for “abandoning my father and choosing to live like a tramp”, according to my horrible Auntie Serena.’
‘I’ll keep her away from you.’ I hug her and try to distract her from the ordeal ahead. ‘How many are you catering for?’
‘I think there’ll be about twenty in total, counting us, some friends and relatives on both sides plus my brother, Kyle, of course. Dad and Rachel wanted to time the christening with him being home on leave from the army. I’m excited about seeing him but also nervous because it’s been a couple of years since I saw him. We weren’t that close at home and while I’m getting used to the idea of being a family again. I’m sure there’ll be people there I haven’t seen for years and who will be on my case for leaving Dad … like Serena.’
Demi mimes a fingers-down-throat action then rolls her eyes. She has my full sympathy where families are concerned but I have to suppress a smile. She manages to look sexy, covered in flour dust and pulling a face. Gently, I pull her down to sit on my lap and she doesn’t object. ‘Demi, Demi, there is no way in the world that I would miss your little sister’s christening or leave you to face the day alone. I will be there, so please stop stressing and try to enjoy it.’
‘Hmm,’