After the One, Cass Lester [top romance novels .txt] 📗

Oh, for crying out loud, pull yourself together, she told herself harshly. There are worse things than being alone. You of all people know that. Seeking distraction in action, Pam flung open the doors to her wardrobe, dug out a small suitcase from the back, and put it on the bed, telling herself that she might as well fill it, while she was there. Walking into bathroom to collect her perfume she saw Geoff’s dressing gown hanging over the side of the bath, and a laundry bin overflowing with his dirty linen. Ha! He hadn’t moved out then! Well, not yet. Once she had collected together what she needed, she headed back downstairs. She left her suitcase by the front door then went into the kitchen, where she made two mugs of coffee, automatically putting two sugars in Geoff’s and stirring it for him. Then she took a deep breath and took them out into the garden. Putting their mugs on the patio table she called over to him. He looked up in surprise.

Watching his expression move from surprise to pleasure and then to hope as he walked towards her, Pam said bluntly, ‘I’ve not come back.’

‘Oh,’ said Geoff, his face falling.

‘I’m only here because I need to talk to you.’

Charley spent the morning considering her options. Having handed her notice in at the pub pretty much as soon as she’d signed the shop lease, she wasn’t sure if they’d take her back, though there were other pubs she could try, of course. Maybe if she worked double shifts she’d be able to cover the shop rent and save enough to buy the stock. It would mean working something like a seventy- or eighty-hour week, but she could do it, for a few months, at any rate. And then there was her income from the gift bags, not exactly life-changing amounts, but it would all help. Opening a new spreadsheet she drew up yet another potential budget, but no matter how optimistically she juggled the figures she couldn’t convince herself she could make enough money.

Slumping back in her chair she gazed at the screen, letting the lines of figures drift in and out of focus until the sound of the front door opening and Pam’s footsteps coming up the hall brought her out of her trance.

‘Have you got a minute? I mean, is this a good time for a chat?’ Pam hovered in the kitchen doorway, looking a little anxious.

‘Yes, of course,’ said Charley, closing her laptop.

Sitting herself down opposite Charley, Pam said ‘I’ve been back home to see Geoff.’

Oh, please don’t say you’re moving out! begged Charley, silently. She knew she was being selfish and self-centred, but after her complete screw-up with the business plan, she couldn’t face another financial body blow. She forced herself not to overreact, and set her face to ‘pleasant-interested-smile’ mode and held it.

Pam carried on. ‘I’ve had a chat with Geoff, and well the thing is, I couldn’t do this without checking with him… not with everything that’s going on between us… and I had to make sure I could do it… without him for obvious reasons—’

Charley honestly thought her smile was going to have to be surgically removed if she had to hold it any longer, but finally Pam got to the point.

‘I’m going to invest five thousand pounds in your shop.’

Charley felt the pleasant, interested smile slide off her face. She wasn’t entirely sure she could believe what she was hearing. ‘Five thousand pounds,’ she repeated.

‘Yes. But listen, and I want to make this very clear,’ Pam looked at her solemnly, ‘I’m not going to intervene. It’s your project completely, and I’m absolutely not expecting to get a return on the money. If the shop’s a success, that’ll be my reward. Those are the terms. No arguing.’

There was little danger of that. Her unexpected generosity had stunned Charley into silence.

Pam broke it when she said, ‘I know you can make a success of this business, Charley, and I want to support you. This is the best way I can think to do so.’

Charley swallowed the golf-ball lodged in her throat. ‘You went to Geoff for this?’

Pam gave her a half-smile. ‘He told me to make it clear that it’s an investment, it’s not charity. He knew you wouldn’t accept the money if you thought it was.’

Charley flung her arms round Pam and burst into tears.

‘Oh my God! I can’t believe you’re doing this for me!’

Laughing, Pam drew her into a warm embrace. ‘I can’t believe you think I wouldn’t!’

It was at this moment the doorbell rang, and regarding Charley’s blotchy, tear-stained face, Pam volunteered to answer it.

Seconds later Tara exploded into the kitchen bursting with excitement, Pam following her.

‘Charley, I have a business proposition for you,’ Tara blurted. ‘Baz and I will put three grand into the shop.’

Charley’s eyes flicked to Pam, and then back to Tara.

‘Don’t panic, I’m not going to get all involved,’ Tara promised her. ‘It’s still absolutely your thing. And I’m not expecting any immediate return. Except later, we’ll take a small profit-share once the shop gets going.’

There was a brief, uncomfortable moment while Charley struggled to respond. ‘Actually, Pam’s already offered to invest some money,’ she said finally, prudently deciding not to reveal that Pam was offering more.

‘Oh.’ Tara sat down abruptly the kitchen chair opposite Charley, in the one Pam had vacated to answer the door, as it happened.

Pam immediately offered to back out, ‘I don’t have to invest, if you’d prefer me not to.’

Nooo! wailed Charley’s inner thoughts. Instinctively she would much rather Pam invested than Tara, because she knew she could trust Pam not to interfere, whereas her mate, despite her fervent promise not to meddle, would be all over the business like a rash.

Then, since Charley didn’t take up Pam’s offer to step down, and even more revealingly, didn’t rip Tara’s arm off to accept hers, Tara said, ‘No, if Pam’s already made