‘Let’s drink that tea before it goes cold,’ said Melissa, heading over to the kitchen bench.
‘I’ll help,’ Harvey added.
In a low voice, as they picked up the mugs between them, Melissa told him, ‘We’ll have to look at that letter another time.’
‘Or we could just respect his privacy,’ said Harvey, as though they hadn’t been in cahoots moments before.
‘But…’
He merely shrugged.
Maybe he had a point. What right did she have to snoop? Especially after all this time, especially after her absence.
Harvey drank his tea quickly enough and left Melissa and Barney to play a few games of cards and although there was no more talk of wedding dresses or the Wedding Dress Ball, Melissa knew that they were going to have to take over the organising soon if they didn’t want the event to be cancelled altogether. And that meant she’d need to stay in the Cove a little longer than she’d planned, a thought that would’ve made her nauseous before but that now filled her with a sense of anticipation that wasn’t altogether unwelcome.
Chapter Five
Harvey had a flexible job as it was but with Melissa around he’d been able to return to work confident Barney would be looked out for in his absence, and he was still only a phone call away. She’d spent a lot of time with Barney over the last week, the pair chatting away and catching up, and it instilled a sense of contentment in Harvey that he hadn’t had until Melissa had turned up in the cove for the man who was so important to the both of them.
Today, Harvey worked the morning and was close enough to Heritage Cove that he could nip over to Barney’s to say hello, check up on him and share a quick lunch.
‘It’s much nicer eating a sandwich here than surrounded by dust and mayhem,’ said Harvey, tucking into the cheese and pickle sandwiches he’d rustled up.
‘I appreciate the company,’ said Barney, before another voice called out from the open back door.
‘Anyone home?’
‘Through here,’ Harvey replied, recognising Tilly’s voice. ‘How’s it all going, Tilly?’
‘Can’t complain. I thought Barney might be on his own so I popped out for lunch and came to keep him company.’
‘I beat you to it,’ said Harvey. ‘Can I interest you in a sandwich? Plenty to go round.’
‘I don’t want to be any trouble.’
‘No trouble. I’m making myself another, happy to make you one at the same time. You sit down.’
She rolled up the sleeves of her cream shirt, which she’d teamed with a long red wrap-around summer skirt that reached her ankles, and flopped down onto the sofa. ‘First time I’ve sat down all morning.’
‘Candle business going well?’ Barney enquired.
Harvey let the pair talk about the business, which had originally been owned by Tilly’s grandmother Shirley, a close friend of Barney’s who passed away ten years ago – Harvey suspected that had been one reason Barney stepped in when Tilly’s boyfriend left her, as well as the fact that Tilly’s parents lived in Nottingham so she didn’t have any family to turn to. Tilly’s dad, Shirley’s son, never had much interest in the business and so it had passed down to Tilly, and Harvey couldn’t blame him for his indifference, it was a bit feminine with all its wafty scents coming out onto the street, elegant candles of all shapes and sizes fit for the smartest of interiors. Tilly on the other hand had taken to the business as though running it was part of her genetic makeup.
‘Enough about me, how are you doing, Barney?’ Tilly asked after thanking Harvey for the sandwich, and took a hungry bite.
‘As you can see, still standing. Or rather, sitting. Harvey and Melissa keep going on at me to move around, think they want me dancing a jig.’
Harvey looked at Tilly and shook his head before chowing down on his second sandwich.
‘Talking of dancing, I have a new dress for the ball.’ She set her sandwich down on her plate, needing her hands to help her explain the dress. ‘It has beading all across the bodice…’ her hands moved across the chest, ‘comes down to about here,’ she said, touching a hand to mid-calf, ‘and if I twirl around it lifts up,à laMarilyn Monroe.’
‘Now that sounds like a dress.’
‘I can’t wait to show everyone. And you never know, maybe I’ll get a date, it’s been a quiet time since Matt left. I’m fine,’ she said before Barney could attempt to console her, ‘I’m well rid of him, but it doesn’t mean I don’t miss having someone.’
Harvey knew exactly how that felt. And now was a good opportunity to mention the ball. ‘Barney isn’t going ahead with the ball this year.’
Tilly’s sandwich hadn’t even made it to her mouth again. ‘You’re kidding, right?’
