Page 46 of Cupcakes and Kisses in Micklewick Bay

TWENTY-EIGHT

Jasmine had worked through lunchtime at Hilda’s, busily catching up with her cleaning session.

Her friend, satisfied she’d got her point across about Max, had moved on to quizzing Jasmine about her trip to Danskelfe Castle and her meeting with Lady Caro.

She’d been thrilled to hear about the wedding cake offer.

‘I’ll be keeping my Tuesday mornings with you though, Hilda.

I look forward to them, and not just because of your delicious shortbread, I promise,’ Jasmine teased, sending her friend a quick grin.

And though Hilda had protested, telling her she should focus on her new venture, the look in her eyes told a different story, which made Jasmine glad of her decision.

‘Right, that’s me done,’ she’d said, pulling her household gloves off and stuffing them in her caddy of cleaning equipment. ‘If you let me have your shopping list, I’ll just nip to the supermarket for you.’

‘Are you sure you’ve got time?’ Hilda had asked.

‘’Course I have. I’ll be quick as a flash. Mind, if you spot Jason Scragg while I’m out, you’ve got to promise me you won’t tackle him again, or ever again for that matter.’ Jasmine feared Scraggo wouldn’t back down quite so easily if Hilda confronted him by herself.

‘Cross my heart, lovey.’

‘Good.’

It was while she was in the supermarket car park that Jasmine had rung the school, explaining what Scraggo had said about them being in touch with him.

She’d breathed a sigh of relief when Charlotte, the headteacher’s PA, had reassured her it had nothing to do with Zak and Chloe.

Instead, Bruce Scragg had targeted another child, and the parents had lodged an official complaint with the governing body.

His behaviour had warranted instant expulsion, while his sister, Nina, had been suspended for bringing a vape into school.

‘You can rest assured both Zak and Chloe are fine, and they weren’t involved in any of it,’ Charlotte had said.

Jasmine only hoped that this turn of events would mean the Scraggs would move to another town, not that she wanted to inflict their nastiness onto anyone else, but, with her history with Scraggo, she thought it highly unlikely that they’d manage an easy co-existence in Micklewick Bay.

On her return home that afternoon, Jasmine was dismayed to find a Sale Agreed sticker plastered over the For Sale sign outside her home.

It added a new urgency to her house-hunting plans.

She rushed into the kitchen, filled the kettle and fired up her laptop.

She should be getting on with her latest cake, but knew she wouldn’t be able to settle until she’d had a quick check online to see if any new rental properties had become available.

A quick search threw up a small house on Ox Row which was on the other side of town.

The street had a dubious reputation and, worse, from what she’d heard, it wasn’t far from where the Scraggs lived.

Added to that, the houses were even smaller than the ones on Rosemary Terrace, if that was possible.

She chewed at the corner of her mouth, wondering whether to book a viewing.

The only other property that had been remotely suitable was on Lavender Terrace, a couple of streets away from where she was currently living, but it was overpriced, pushing it out of her budget by a considerable amount.

She expected it wouldn’t get snapped up as quickly as the other properties.

She was scrolling through the properties one last time, just to make sure she hadn’t missed anything, when a semi-detached house on Wilkinthorpe Road, not far from where her parents lived, caught her eye.

Her hopes lifted. It was a new listing since the last time she’d checked.

And, if she wasn’t mistaken, the layout looked pretty much the same as her childhood home.

Like number eight Arkleby Terrace, it was a former authority house.

The accompanying photos showed a neatly kept lawn which was divided by a short footpath that led to the front door, while a generously proportioned garden stretched out at the back.

An image of Zak and Chloe playing there filled her mind.

According to the details, the property had three reasonably sized bedrooms, a newly fitted kitchen and bathroom, as well as a new central heating and hot water boiler.

Bliss! It was also double-glazed. The property had clearly undergone a renovation with a view to renting it out.

Her heart thudded with excitement. It would be perfect for her and the kids.

Telling herself not to get her hopes up, Jasmine stole a cautious glance at the monthly rental figure.

Disappointment flooded through her. Though it wasn’t unreasonably priced, it was too much of a stretch for her budget, and much as everything about it was ideal, she didn’t want to have sleepless nights, worrying about how she was going to pay the rent every month.

‘You’re just going to have to put it out of your mind,’ she said flatly, closing the page.

Putting her disappointment behind her, Jasmine called the letting agents and booked a viewing at the Ox Row property for Thursday lunchtime. Hopefully, something more suitable would come up in the meantime.

Jasmine was elbow-deep in washing-up, the kitchen filled with the aroma of the fruit cake that was baking in the oven, when there was a knock at her door, startling her out of her thoughts.

She dried her hands and headed down the hallway, hoping it wasn’t going to be a viewing she hadn’t been warned about, quickly discounting that as she remembered the Sale Agreed sign.

She flung open the door and her heart leapt to attention.

‘Max, hi. Come in.’ She couldn’t have stopped the wide smile that spread across her face if she tried. He looked handsome in his jeans and crisp shirt.

‘Hiya, Jingilby, it’s not a bad time, is it?’ He took off his sunglasses and bent to kiss her cheek, sending butterflies tumbling around inside her.

‘Not at all, I was just washing up, can’t say I’m gutted at having that interrupted.’ She grinned at him.

‘No, I wouldn’t be either.’ He chuckled as he followed her into the kitchen. ‘Mmm. Something smells delicious.’

‘That would be the fruit cake that’s been baking slowly in the oven for the last half hour. It’s for a christening at the weekend.’

‘Lucky guests who’ll get to sample a slice.’

‘There was actually some leftover mix which I put into a smaller tin. If you play your cards right, I’ll let you have some when it’s ready.’

‘In that case, I’ll be on my best behaviour.’

‘D’you have time for a cuppa?’ She glanced up at him, noting he seemed even taller in such a small space.

‘Love one, thanks.’

‘Great.’ Hilda’s advice about Max had never been far from her thoughts since she’d got home, and now he was standing in front of her, she found herself feeling suddenly nervous.

Pulling herself together, she invited Max to sit down as she busied herself filling the kettle and throwing teabags into the pot, all the while aware of his eyes on her.

‘So, to what do I owe this pleasure?’ she asked, after a few minutes’ small talk, hoping she sounded normal and not at all like a giddy schoolgirl who had a crush on the popular boy at school, which was exactly how she felt right now.

‘I wanted to tell you, before you heard it from anyone else, that I’ve?—’

Jasmine’s heart froze but she plastered a smile on her face as she anticipated what he was about to share.

‘Let me guess, you and Sabrina have finally given in to your feelings for one another? Can’t say I blame you, and you do make a great couple.

’ If that was what he was going to say, then at least she hadn’t made a fool of herself and let him know she liked him.

She was going to bury her feelings, make sure he was none the wiser.

She busied herself pouring the tea, taking the time to compose herself.

‘What?’ Max looked at her in disbelief. ‘No! That’s not what I was?—’

A loud banging at the door sliced off his words, making Jasmine start such that the tea missed the mug and went all over the table instead. ‘Oh, my God, who’s that?’

‘Someone who’s very keen to get your attention by the sound of things.’ Max ran his hand over his hair impatiently.

Setting the teapot down, Jasmine rushed to the door, eager to find out what was so urgent. Her hackles prickled when she found herself faced with Dodgy Dick and Wendy.

‘What are you doing here?’ she asked, unable to hide her displeasure.

‘What sort of welcome’s that?’ Dodgy Dick smirked, sending Jasmine’s irritation rising.

‘How rude,’ said Wendy, as the pair of them pushed their way in.

‘Excuse me, but what do you think you’re doing?’ said Jasmine, her hand on her hip. ‘You can’t just barge your way in here like you own the place.’

‘We’ve booked another viewing, that’s what we’re doing. We needed another look at the place before we put in our offer,’ Dodgy Dick called over his shoulder on his way to the kitchen. Wendy followed, sweeping past in a cloud of her cloying perfume.

‘Now hang on a minute. I haven’t been told about any of this.’ Jasmine closed the front door and hurried after them. ‘I was on the phone to the estate agents an hour and a half ago and no one mentioned anything about viewings, least of all one today.’

‘That’s nowt to do with us, blame that Don Carswell, he doesn’t know his head from his ar—’ Dodgy Dick’s expression darkened when he saw Max sitting at the table. ‘What’s he doing here?’

‘He’s a guest, not that it’s any of your business, And he’s welcome.’ Jasmine couldn’t believe the nerve of the man. As soon as she could get rid of him and his wife, she was going to get on to Micklewick Mansions and give that Don Carswell a right royal earbashing.

Max got to his feet. ‘Did I hear you say you’d come for another viewing?’ He loomed over the slippery businessman.

‘Aye, you did. Not that it’s owt to do with you.’

‘That’s where you’re wrong.’

‘How d’you work that one out, then?’ Dodgy Dick sniggered. He turned to his wife. ‘Got a right smart alec here, love.’

‘That’s just what I was thinking.’ She gave a derisory sniff as she looked Max up and down.

‘I think you’ll find you’re wasting your time here. I put an offer in on this place this morning and it was accepted straight away.’

‘What? No one’s told me about it,’ Dodgy Dick spluttered angrily.

‘I suggest you take that up with Don Carswell,’ Max said, calmly.

‘Too right I will. Useless moron that he is.’

Jasmine blinked, slowly processing what she’d just heard. Max was going to buy this place? Why would he do that?

She watched in a daze as he ushered a grumbling Dodgy Dick and Wendy out of the house.

‘Is it true?’ she asked when he came back into the kitchen.

‘It is, it’s what I’d come to tell you. I wanted to stop you worrying about having to find somewhere new to live.’

‘Right.’ She absently picked up a cloth and wiped the spilt tea from the table. She wasn’t sure how she felt about this information.

‘But if you’ve set your heart on leaving, I’ve got a couple of other properties, if you’d rather have a look at those instead? You never know, they might be more suitable.’

She rinsed the cloth, turning to meet his gaze, pushing her mouth into a smile. She didn’t want to appear ungrateful or rude, especially when his intentions came from a good place. ‘No, that’s fine. I’d rather not disrupt the kids if possible. I’d like to stay, if that’s okay?’

‘Yeah, of course, whatever you feel’s best for the three of you.’ He let out a sigh, clearly relieved. ‘Just as soon as the sale goes through, I’ll look into getting the windows replaced and deal with whatever else needs doing; just make a list and I’ll get onto it straight away.’

Jasmine nodded, not liking the feeling that was creeping over her.