A Will, a Wish...a Proposal

The last word was so evidently an afterthought.

Ellie smiled sweetly as she swivelled round. No way was she going to give him the satisfaction of seeing how uncomfortable he’d made her.

‘It’s self-service and pay at the till. You, however, are barred. You’ll have to get your coffee somewhere else.’

‘Look...’ Max Loveday looked meaningfully over at Mrs Trelawney. ‘Can we talk? In private?’

Ellie’s heart began to pick up speed, her pulse hammering. No way was she going anywhere alone with this man. He might be smiling now, but she wasn’t fooled.

‘I don’t think so. You had no problem insulting me in front of my assistant. I’m sure she can’t wait to hear round two.’

He closed his eyes briefly. ‘Fair point.’

‘Oh, good.’ She hadn’t expected him to capitulate so easily. It was an unexpected and unwanted point in his favour. ‘Go on, then. Say whatever it is you have to say.’

‘I was out of line.’

Ellie folded her arms and raised her eyebrows. If Max Loveday thought he was getting away with anything short of a full-on grovel he could think again.

‘Yes...?’ she prompted.

‘And I’m sorry. It’s no excuse, but my family is going through some stuff right now and I’m a little het-up about it.’

‘Tell me, Mr Loveday...’ Ellie deliberately parroted his words back to him. ‘Which is worse? Seducing a family man for his money or conning an old lady out of her cash? And which are you accusing me of?’

As if she didn’t know. Well, if she’d conned the old lady he’d been right there with her; he was joint trustee after all.

‘I think they’re both pretty vile.’ There was a bleakness in his voice, and when his eyes rested on Ellie the hardness in them unnerved her. He hadn’t come back because he was stricken with remorse. He still thought her guilty.

‘So do I.’ The look of surprise on his face gave her courage. ‘I also think making slanderous accusations against strangers and proffering fake apologies in order to get the keys to a house and a cup of coffee is pretty out of order. What do you say to that, Mr Loveday?’

‘I’m prepared to pay for the coffee.’

It wasn’t much of a retort but it was the best he could do when he was firmly in the wrong—as far as manners were concerned—and so tired that the wooden floor was beginning to look more than a little inviting. Flying Sydney to Boston to Hartford and then on to England in just a few days had left him in a grey smog that even first-class sleep pods hadn’t quite been able to dispel.

‘Look, you have to admit my great-aunt’s will is pretty unusual. Leaving her entire fortune in the hands of a virtual stranger.’

The large brown eyes darkened with something that looked very much like scorn. It wasn’t an expression Max was used to seeing in anybody’s eyes and it stung more than he expected.

‘Yes, she said more than once that she wished she knew her great-nephew more. I thought this was her way of trying to include you.’

Damn her, he hadn’t meant himself—and he would bet a much needed good night’s sleep she knew that full well.

‘It was her money to leave as she liked. I didn’t expect to inherit a penny. Nor do I need to. If she wanted to leave it all to charity that’s one thing. But this...? This is craziness. Leaving it to you...to found a festival. I didn’t ask to be involved.’

He just couldn’t comprehend it. What on earth had his great-aunt been thinking? What did he know or care about a little village on the edge of the ocean?

‘She didn’t actually leave the money to me, to you or to us.’

Ellie sounded completely exasperated. Max got the feeling it wasn’t the first time she’d had this conversation.

‘I can’t touch a penny without your say-so and vice versa—and we’re both completely accountable to the executors. There is no fraud here, Mr Loveday, and no coercion. Nothing at all except a slightly odd request made by a whimsical elderly lady. Didn’t you read the will?’

‘I read enough to know that she left you this shop.’

No coercion, indeed. Ellie Scott wasn’t just a trustee she was a beneficiary: inheriting the shop and the flat above it. The flat she already currently resided in, according to the will. It was all very neat.

‘Yes...’ The brightness dimmed from her eyes, and it was as if the sun had gone behind a cloud. ‘She was always good to me. She was my godmother. Did you know that? My grandmother’s best friend, and my own good, dear friend. I will always be grateful to her. For everything.’

‘Your godmother?’

Damn, he had come into the whole situation blind and it was completely unlike him. It was sloppy, led to mistakes.

‘Yes. But even more importantly she was your great-aunt. Which is why she wanted you involved in her legacy, why she left you the house. It was the house her father was born in, apparently. And his father was some kind of big deal sea captain. He would have been...what? Your great-great-grandfather?’

‘Yes, although I don’t know anything about him or about anything to do with the English side of the family. A sea captain?’ A reluctant smile curved his lips. He had been in Cornwall all of an hour and had already discovered some unknown family history. ‘My grandfather took me sailing all the time. He had a house on the Cape. Said he always slept best when he could hear the sea. Must be in our blood.’

‘You can hear the sea from every room in The Round House too. Maybe my godmother knew what she was doing when she left the house to you.’

‘Maybe.’

It was a nice idea. But, really? A house? In Cornwall? A seven-hour flight and a tedious long drive from his home. It would have been far simpler if Great-Aunt Demelza had instructed her solicitors to liquefy the whole estate and endowed a wing at her favourite museum or hospital. That was how philanthropy worked. Not this messy, getting involved business.

Although it was kind of cool to find out about his distant Cornish heritage. A sea captain... Maybe there was a photo back at the house.

A voice broke in from the corner and Max jumped. He’d forgotten about their audience.

‘This is all very entertaining. But what I want to know, Ellie, is are you planning to actually start this festival or not?’

Ellie looked at him, her face composed. ‘I don’t think that’s up to me any more, Mrs Trelawney. Well, Mr Loveday? Are you willing to work with me? Or do we need to call the solicitors in and find a way around the trust?’

‘I can’t just drop everything, Miss Scott. I have a very busy job. A job in Connecticut. Across the ocean. I can’t walk away to spend weeks playing benefactor by the sea.’

But even as he spoke the words a chill shivered through him. What did the next few months hold? Could he find a way to make his father toe the line—or was he going to have to force a vote at the board?

He would win. He knew many of the board members shared his misgivings. But then what?

His already fragile relationship with his father would be irrevocably shattered.

It was a price he was willing to pay. And if his great-aunt’s house did hold the key to an easy win then the least he could do was help get her dream started while he was here. His mouth twisted. It wasn’t as easy to walk away from family obligations as he’d thought, even when the family member was a stranger and deceased.

‘I can give you two weeks. Although I’ll be in London some of that time. Take it or leave it.’

Ellie’s cool gaze was fixed on him. As if she could see straight into the heart of him—and see all that was missing.

‘Fine.’

‘So I can set up a meeting?’ asked Mrs Trelawney. ‘I have a lot of ideas and I know many other people do too.’ Ellie’s assistant had given up any pretence of working, her eyes bright as she leaned onto the counter. ‘We could have a theme. Or base it on a genre? A murder mystery with actors? Or should we have it food-related. There could be baking competitions—make your favourite literary cake.’