The plate arrived and was as delicious as I’d come to expect from everything I’d had in the little café since I’d moved here.
‘Verdict?’
Mouth full, I made a circle shape with my finger and thumb. Jules grinned and went back to serving her customers.
* * *
‘Felicity?’
I looked around from where I was loading my laptop and the fresh chicken I’d got for tonight’s supper into the boot of the Mini.
‘Felicity DeVere, it is you!’
‘Caro?’
‘Felicity, darling! What a wonderful surprise. Are you here for the wedding too?’ She hurried towards me with long, elegant strides on her five-inch heels and enveloped me in a hug and a cloud of Chanel No 5.
‘No, I’m not. I actually live around here now.’
‘You do? How perfectly marvellous! I heard you’d left the London company.’
‘Oh, I’m sure you did,’ I replied with amusement. Wildfire would have had nothing on that particular piece of gossip.
She grinned and flashed her eyes. I’d always loved working with Caro. She had impeccable taste, a wicked sense of humour and absolutely pots of money, which she was more than happy to spend. Caro bent closer.
‘Did you really tell them to shove their job as you were going off to commune with nature?’
‘Something like that. I’m not sure I used the word commune. It sounds like the tale has been embellished somewhat.’
Caro gave a dismissive wave. ‘Don’t worry about it. You know what people are like. Tiny, narrow little lives. But look at you!’ She took my hands and held them out. ‘You look amazing and, stuff that London lot, youareout in the countryside after all.’
‘I am, and you’re too kind.’
‘Not at all. You know me well enough to know that if you looked like a wild woman, I’d have told you.’
‘That is true.’
‘You’re positively glowing! The country air obviously agrees with you. I never did like Adrian anyway.’
‘Yes. You made that quite clear a couple of times.’
‘He was no good for you,’ she replied, unapologetic, before her attention was caught by something over my shoulder. I turned.
‘Hi.’ Jesse smiled and, reaching me, bent to kiss me hello.
‘Now I see why you’re glowing,’ Caro said. ‘Hello. Caro Whitely. And you are?’
Jesse took the offered hand and shook it, shooting me a brief, confused look as he did so. ‘Jesse Woods.’
‘Caro is one of my oldest?—’
She cleared her throat.
‘Most established,’ I corrected myself, ‘clients from London.’
‘I took my business elsewhere after they fired you. I demanded they rehire you and when they wouldn’t, I told them where to stick their business too.’
‘You did?’
