Page 50 of The Perfect Gift

It was a struggle to get through the door of the cookery school because so many people were already in there. Harry was standing behind the cooking station nearest the door, explaining the ethos of the school, and they found a spot near the back of the crowd gathered around him to listen in. Though he knew Harry knew his stuff, Ed was surprised at how articulate and confident his twin was. Harry was severely dyslexic so he couldn’t rely on notes for something like this but would have spent hours practising and rehearsing to learn his spiel off by heart. Frankie gave him a nudge and stretched up on tiptoe to murmur, ‘He’s really good.’ Ed nodded and his pride deepened.

Harry’s passion shone through every word. He didn’t shy away from his own troubles growing up and how big a part Russ had played in helping him navigate his way to the happy, contented life he had now. ‘If I can help just one of these brilliant young people you see behind us forge a successful career then I’ll have done my job,’ Harry concluded. A round of applause followed, which clearly caught Harry off-guard from the blush rising on his cheeks. Never one to pass up an opportunity to embarrass his twin, Ed stuck two fingers in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle. Harry’s gaze locked on him immediately and the slight narrowing of his eyes even as Harry laughed told Ed there would be payback at some point.

Ed wanted to chat to him, but so did everyone else, it appeared, so he decided to wait until later. ‘Shall we grab something to eat?’ he suggested to Frankie, who nodded enthusiastically.

‘The smell of fresh pastry is driving me crazy!’

He led her over to the girl who was working at the nearest station. There was a near miss when the girl recognised Frankie and with a shriek of shock almost dropped the tray of sausage rolls she’d just taken out of her oven. ‘Oh my God!’ the girl gasped. ‘It’s really you!’

‘It is,’ Frankie agreed with a smile. ‘Those sausage rolls look amazing and I’m starving. Can I buy one?’

‘O-of course.’ The girl balanced the tray on the counter and quickly transferred the rolls to a cooling rack. ‘How many do you want?’

‘Depends how good they are,’ Frankie replied with a grin. ‘We’ll start with one each and go from there. You made these from scratch, yes? I wish I could bake but I’ve never got around to learning. How long have you been training here?’

Ed happily munched his way through his sausage roll as he watched Frankie put the girl – who they learned through Frankie’s gentle questioning was called Hannah – at ease. Now she’d got over her initial star-struck shock and was talking about something she was confident about, Hannah was in her element. Frankie praised the girl and it was clear she was genuinely interested in what Hannah had to say. By the time they’d finished and Frankie had posed for the obligatory selfie, the two of them were thick as thieves and Frankie had followed Hannah back on Instagram and made her promise to keep her up to date on her training progress. When they left her workstation, the girl was practically floating on air.

‘I’ll have to talk to all of them,’ Frankie murmured to Ed, then smiled and corrected herself. ‘I want to talk to all of them.’

He checked his watch. ‘Go for it, we’ve got time.’ Even if they hadn’t, he would’ve waited because it was worth it to see the effect she had. He hadn’t really thought of her in terms of being a celebrity until they’d been to the garden centre and he’d noticed people noticing her. It had slipped his mind afterwards because they’d mostly spent time alone together, but the ladies at the wreath-making stall had clearly been fans. Maybe it was different for him because he’d never watched anything she’d been in and had got to know the real person behind the façade. And it was a façade, a performance he was watching. Not that he thought she was being fake, but he knew he was seeing Frankie Webber the TV star and not his Frankie. Her interest in the kids seemed completely genuine as she asked them about their backgrounds and talked in a down-to-earth way about how hard the job market was in a small village like Halfmoon Quay and how important something like the cookery school was for them.

They tried a bit of everything and when they finally left, they each had a bag full of food. Ed was sure Rick wouldn’t have found time to eat and Frankie was worried Anya and Chloe might not have had a chance to get away from their stall. As they walked down the busy street, Ed was much more conscious than before of the double takes and nudged whispers as people recognised Frankie. She didn’t seem to notice, but he was sure she must be hyperaware of it, given what had happened to her in the past. He took her free hand and squeezed it. ‘You did a good thing back there.’

She beamed up at him. ‘They’re lovely kids. They reminded me a bit of myself growing up. If I hadn’t had drama club, I don’t know where I would’ve ended up.’

He squeezed her hand again. ‘Well, I’m glad you ended up here.’

Anya and Chloe were grateful for the food and Matt and Rick even more so. They were only too happy to swap a collection bucket for the hot pastries. Matt inhaled the first pasty in a couple of bites. ‘Oh, that’s good.’ When he found out where they were from he was straight on the phone to Harry, leaving a pleading voicemail for him to please make sure they saved him any of the leftovers.

They left the pair happily munching. Ed looked up and down the still-busy road. ‘I reckon we should head up towards the café, where hopefully there’s a captive audience. Will it bother you being inside where people are more likely to talk to you?’

Frankie shook her head. ‘No, I’ll be fine. We can grab a coffee while we’re there and then head back down the other side of the road. How long have we got until the event is due to start?’

Ed checked his watch. ‘A couple of hours.’ He shook the bucket and it gave a loud rattle. ‘Hundred quid, you said?’

‘That’s right.’

An easy grin spread across his face. ‘Get that loofah ready because I’m going to make the most of it.’

26

Frankie let Ed take the lead as they wandered through the crowds. The fact he seemed to know most of the people there helped, as did his outrageous amount of charm. More than once she watched as he teased someone from offering a coin to offering a note and they always surrendered with a laugh, some grudging, but most not. He didn’t do it to everyone, she noticed, only those she supposed he knew enough about to gauge whether they could afford it. Whether he got a ten-pence piece or a ten-pound note, he greeted every donation with the same level of grateful thanks and he’d already got close to his hundred-pound target before they’d even reached the café.

They pushed open the door to find the place packed. Maud was still holding court behind the counter, showing no signs of fatigue even after being on her feet all day. A twinge of nervousness ran through Frankie at being in a relatively confined space with so many people, but she didn’t want Ed to worry about her. Perhaps her star power could do a bit of good and get a few more pounds in the collection bucket. If it got too much she knew she’d only have to say and he’d take her home. Knowing he had her back made it easier for Frankie to hold her head high and put on a smile.

Ed caught Issy’s attention and asked if she minded them doing the rounds and she told them to go ahead. ‘Don’t stand right by the door though, I don’t want people feeling like they have to contribute.’

‘Of course not.’ A chair scraped behind them and a couple stood and began putting on their coats. ‘How about we sit over there? We’ll just leave the bucket on the table while we have a coffee and if anyone wants to tip up they can.’

‘Sounds good to me. I’ll bring your drinks over.’

Issy came and cleared the table then hurried off with the dirty cups. Frankie took off her coat and sat down with a grateful sigh. She was tired, she realised, and her feet were aching from tromping up and down all morning. Her attention immediately went to Ed and she wondered how his leg was doing.

Taking up position next to the table, Ed raised his voice. ‘Ladies and gentlemen. Sorry to interrupt your lunch but I just wanted to let you know that some of us are doing a splash-for-cash on the beach at three o’clock to raise money for the volunteer lifeguards who do such a brilliant job keeping our beach safe every summer. Every single penny will make a difference so if you’ve got a bit of spare change in your purse or wallet and you’d like to donate, we’ll be sitting here for the next few minutes.’ He rattled the bucket once then set it on the table and sat down opposite Frankie and stretched his leg out with a wince.

‘Are you sure you’ll be all right going in the water?’ she asked, gesturing towards his leg.

‘Trying to get out of that bath?’ he replied with a wink, then his expression softened into a sweet smile. ‘I’m fine, honestly. I’m used to it.’