Chapter 10

Half an hour later, Stella found herself still rooted to her seat on the balcony when her eyes were drawn to the familiar relaxed amble of Alex Bainbridge, with Fred trotting along on the end of his lead. This time, there was no sign of the pretty young woman who'd been making Alex laugh so heartily earlier. Frustratingly, Stella's pulse surged, unleashing a flurry of butterflies in her stomach. Dratted man! How could he have this effect on her from this distance? It was ridiculous and totally unwarranted. There was something clearly amiss with her emotions right now. She must have had too much sun that afternoon.

With her traitorous heart leaping about in her chest, Stella watched as Fred brought them to a halt, sniffing around the legs of a wooden bench that faced out to sea. Just then Alex's gaze wandered in the direction of her apartment building, his eyes travelling upwards. Giving a sharp intake of breath, she leant back into the shade, her heart pounding for a different reason this time. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she was staring at him or spying on him. That would only serve to inflate his already enormous ego!

He glanced away, apparently ignorant of her presence and she seized the opportunity to slink inside, telling herself it was time she made a start on her work.

‘Lucky escape,' she said, puffing out her cheeks. As she headed towards the kitchen to rinse her mug her mobile phone pinged from where she'd left it on the worktop. Scooping it up she saw it was Florrie asking how everything went with her mum. Stella was just about to fire off a quick reply when something stopped her. Before she knew it she found herself selecting the call icon; it would be good to talk to Florrie, she was often the calm voice of reason – as Lark could be too, but she liked everyone, saw the good in everything. As lovely as this trait was, it didn't always help in situations like these.

The five friends acknowledged that she and Lark were the most different personality-wise, Lark's gentle, laid-back nature the polar opposite to Stella's drive and assertive manner. Maggie and Jasmine both shared a wicked sense of humour but could get quite hot-heated at times – Jasmine particularly so – whereas Florrie fell somewhere in between. She had the knack for putting things very clearly into perspective, which was something Stella felt in need of right now.

Florrie picked up on the first ring. ‘Hi, Stells,' she said cheerily, the sound of a lawnmower rumbling away in the background.

‘Hi, Florrie, are you okay to talk for a few minutes?'

‘Course, Ed's just mowing our postage stamp of a lawn, and I was about to sit down with a cup of tea and a book.'

‘Sounds like you've got the work distribution spot-on there,' Stella said with a laugh. ‘Sure I'm not intruding on your reading time?'

‘I so have.' Florrie giggled. ‘And no, you're certainly not intruding, I'm keen to know how it went at your mum's.'

Stella made her way over to the lounge area and flumped down onto the sofa. ‘It went well. Rhys Baker seems very nice, and mum looked happy. It's just…' She paused, drawing in a deep breath.

‘It felt a bit weird.' Florrie finished her sentence for her.

‘It did, and you know what I'm like, my mind starts going off down all sorts of avenues, wondering if he's a genuinely decent bloke or if he's a charmer who's trying to inveigle his way into her life so he can fleece her of all her money before doing a disappearing act. And I'm sure, as much as I did my best to hide it for my mum's benefit, they'll both have detected a hint of my mistrust; I'd just hate for her to end up hurt.'

‘Listen, Stells, I really don't think you should beat yourself up about this. You're only thinking what everyone else would in your position, and I totally get why you're feeling the way you are. I mean, it's just been the two of you your whole life and your mum has always said a romantic relationship wasn't for her; you're bound to feel a little wary. And it's not as if you know this Rhys; he's just arrived in the area and into your mum's life. If I was ever in your shoes and one of my parents started a relationship with someone new, I'd be exactly the same, worse probably. Knowing your mum as I do, I'm sure she'll understand. She's a reasonable person; she'll know you've got her best interests at heart.'

Florrie's words had an instant soothing effect, helping to assuage Stella's guilt. ‘I suppose you're right. Mind, her saying a romantic relationship wasn't for her is clearly a thing of the past after what I witnessed today. You should've seen the way they were looking at each other, all puppy-dog eyes. And she seemed so different around him, so much more carefree and light-hearted. It felt good to see her that way actually.' A smile spread over her face at the thought.

‘Aww. That's so nice to hear,' Florrie said, gulping down a mouthful of tea. ‘You never know, maybe it's just taken until now for the right man to come along for your mum. And don't forget, she's no fool, she's not some giddy young girl who's desperate to fall in love for the sake of it. She'll have given it a great deal of thought before she dipped her toe into the relationship pool. Like you, she's a pretty good judge of character and I honestly can't see her letting herself get sucked in by some unscrupulous bloke.'

Florrie had summed up Alice so well. Stella hadn't considered either of those points. ‘I hope you're right.'

‘I'm sure that's how it is.' Florrie paused, Stella could almost hear the cogs of her friend's mind working down the phone line. ‘And am I right in thinking you might be a bit worried about how the dynamics between you and your mum will be affected if Rhys does become a permanent fixture in her life? That he'll have a hand in her decision-making? It's only natural, by the way, flower, I'm not criticising.'

Florrie had hit the nail right on the head. ‘I know you're not. And, yeah, I suppose I am a bit bothered about it, especially if they end up moving in together.' Her heart jumped as another thought segued into her mind. ‘Or if they end up getting married.' She pulled a concerned face at that.

‘I think you're getting a bit ahead of yourself there. Your mum's a level-headed woman. Look at it from this perspective, it'd be like you meeting a fella, falling in love and suddenly announcing you're getting hitched – which we all know is something that's never going to happen!' Florrie gave a hearty chuckle. ‘Can you honestly see your mum doing that?'

Florrie's analogy seemed to have the annoying effect of conjuring Alex Bainbridge into Stella's mind. Scowling, she shoved the unwelcome image firmly out of her thoughts and said, ‘When you put it like that, no, I definitely can't. And you're right, Mum is level-headed and a good judge of character. Which reminds me, from what I picked up today, it would seem I'm not the only one who's got concerns.'

‘Oh?'

‘Hmm. I get the impression there's a more than a whiff of disapproval coming from his daughter's camp.'

‘What makes you think that?'

‘It was more that I gained a sense of something.' Stella gnawed on her bottom lip.

Nothing had been overtly said, but the loaded looks that had been exchanged between her mum and Rhys whenever Suzie's name had cropped up had been hard to ignore. Thinking about it now, it rankled that someone out there should be viewing her lovely, kind-hearted mum in a disapproving way. She wondered if she'd been introduced to Rhys's children yet; something told her she hadn't and she made a mental note to put this Suzie straight if things progressed between their parents. There was no way Stella would tolerate anyone being unkind to her mum; any negativity needed nipping in the bud and sharpish. She'd rather got the impression that this Suzie had been more than a little indulged if the warmth in her father's voice whenever he mentioned her was anything to go by, as well as the number of times he'd brought her up. ‘Suzie thinks this, Suzie wants that, Suzie's getting the other. Suzie, Suzie, Suzie.' Granted, the expression Rhys had worn when he spoke of his son Josh had been warm, but it hadn't matched the one he wore when speaking of Suzie; that had definitely been cranked-up a notch or two. The term "daddy's little princess" sprang to mind, quickly followed by what felt annoyingly like a stab of jealousy. Ignoring it, Stella told herself that it was just down to feeling irritated; she had no time for women like that.

‘Sounds like this Suzie's feeling pretty much the same as you, just she's been a little more vocal about her concerns,' Florrie said, when Stella had finished.

‘I suppose so, but I was friendly and polite to Rhys. Plus, I haven't given my mum a hard time about him.'

‘Yes, but if you think about it, Stells, their situation is a little different. I mean, your mum isn't replacing anyone – for want of a better word. I should imagine it can't be easy for Suzie and her brother to think about someone potentially…' Florrie paused, as if considering a suitably sensitive way to express herself. ‘I don't mean filling their mum's shoes, but maybe filling a gap in the family dynamic as well as in her father's heart. It might feel all a little bit too soon after losing their mum.'

Sympathy flooded Stella's chest. She hadn't thought of it like that. ‘Oh blimey, that's a really good point. A year's not a long time at all, though I should imagine it's felt a whole lot longer for Suzie and Josh.'

‘Yeah, poor things, must be hard.'

‘It must. I'll be sure to keep that in mind.' Stella couldn't even begin to imagine what they were going through. The prospect of being without her mum didn't bear thinking about. In fact, now she thought about it, growing up with her mum as her only relative, Stella had got to the age of thirty-three without experiencing the loss of anyone close, not even her grandparents, having never met them. She didn't even know if they were still alive. A shiver ran up her spine, sending a rash of goosebumps pinging up over her skin. Time to move the conversation along. Stella didn't want to consider a time when her mum wouldn't be around anymore. It had been her biggest fear growing up; if anything happened to her mum, she'd be on her own. It was a scary prospect for a young child.

‘You okay?' Florrie's voice drew her back to the present.

‘I'm fine, there's just a lot to think about, but most of all, I wish I knew what had changed Mum's outlook on relationships. Her going all lovey-dovey with Rhys is the polar opposite of what she's espoused about getting involved in a relationship for as far back as I can remember. I'm just not used to seeing her like this.'

‘I totally get that, and I can't argue, it is quite hard to imagine but people change. Maybe she's never felt this way about anyone before. Maybe it was an instant, intense attraction. You know, like a love at first sight scenario? We know it happens, Mags and Bear are a perfect example.'

Love at first sight?That her mum could have been struck by such a concept was something else that hadn't crossed Stella's mind.

‘True, they are.' Even a cynic like Stella couldn't deny that it had been the case in that relationship. Infuriatingly, an image of Alex Bainbridge sprang from nowhere and into her mind yet again, those deep-blue eyes twinkling at her, making her heart flutter and her face grow warm. What the heck is he doing here? Huffing noisily, she forced his image out of her thoughts. ‘Clear off!' she muttered angrily.

‘Oh… um…I didn't mean to upset you by saying that, Stells,' Florrie said, sounding concerned.

‘Oh, no, flower, I didn't mean you! I was talking to myself. I'm just annoyed at the suspicion that keeps creeping into my mind, I wish it would stop.' She shook her head, rolling her eyes at herself. ‘It'll be because of my job, I've developed a habit of assuming the worst of people, or treating them warily until I get to know them.'

‘I'm not surprised, it's cos you actually do see the worst that people can do. I'd be the same.'

Glad to have smoothed that over, Stella sat up straight, swinging her legs round and placing her feet back onto the floor. ‘Anyway, that's enough of me wittering on, are you and Ed still on for the auction night at The Cellar on Wednesday?' Time to move on to a more positive topic, she didn't want to put the dampeners on Florrie's peaceful afternoon.

‘Ooh, too right we are. How about you?'

‘Can't wait, should be a laugh.'

Bill and Pim, the proprietors of The Cellar, were hosting a charity auction for a local family whose daughter was suffering from a rare illness and they were doing all they could to raise enough funds to send her to the States where she could receive some pioneering treatment that was only available there. Stella made a mental note to pick up a voucher for a meal for two at Oscar's, the town's local bistro, as her way of donating an item to be auctioned.

‘It should, Bill and Pim always put on a good do. I think Jazz has managed to get a babysitter so we should all be there.'

‘Fab!'

The friends ended the conversation and Stella glanced across at her desk, her heart sinking as she was reminded of the Dixon family and her dodgy opponent, Vaughan Elliott. Monday morning couldn't look less appealing if it tried. As a rule, Stella usually tackled her work with vigour and laser-like concentration, but after the week she'd had, it was beginning to feel as if her enthusiasm was slowly draining away. And, much as she was loath to admit it, the look in Gavin Dixon's eyes as he'd glared at her from the public gallery, and the subsequent words he'd hurled at her as she'd left the court for the robing room, had been bothering her, slowly creeping under her skin and triggering a little voice of anxiety clamouring for her attention. It wasn't like her to be affected like this at all; she had a reputation for having an impenetrable shell, letting nothing get to her, moving on without a second thought. When her work was finished for the day, she very neatly packed it away in a mental box and forgot about it until the following morning. But there was something sinister about the Dixon family and if rumours were to be believed, their unscrupulous ways had stooped to worrying depths, with talk of them being involved in a particularly notorious gang from out of the area.

‘Ughh!' Stella flopped back into the sofa. ‘As if I need anything else to think about!' She found herself beginning to regret not taking a holiday this summer. Instead, she'd got stuck into a run of back-to-back heavy trials which, as a rule, she'd thrive on, the pressure giving her a buzz. But now the thought of a break from the intensity felt suddenly rather appealing. She'd turned down the offer of a week at a villa in Sorrento with some of her single female friends at the bar, which was something a handful of them did each year, letting their hair down, savouring an escape from the stresses that came with their line of work. Having plunged a huge chunk of her savings into the purchase of her new apartment, Stella felt she couldn't justify blowing money on an expensive holiday in the sun – the villas the group chose were always exclusive and cost a fortune, the argument being that they'd worked for it so they deserved a little bit of luxury. She told herself it would probably be wise to forgo a summer break for this year, especially since she still needed some extra furniture for her new apartment, it being considerably bigger than her old one.

‘Right,' she said out loud, pushing herself up from the sofa, ‘time to stop dwelling on things. You need to get cracking. The sooner it's done, the sooner you can treat yourself to a soak in the bath with those amazing bath salts.' At her trip to the beautician's yesterday, she'd bought a jar of bath salts that promised to "set you adrift on a cloud of blissful relaxation". Stella hoped they wouldn't disappoint.