Page 5 of Things We Need to Say (Second Chance Love Stories #2)

‘I’d like you to work in the restaurant today,’ Heather said when Emma walked into their shared office the next morning.

Emma hated the office. It was tiny, so their desks were practically on top of one another, which was hardly ideal when the woman opposite was intent on making her life a misery.

‘We’re two servers down so you need to fill the gap. ’

‘Of course,’ Emma said. She tried to keep a smile on her face.

She didn’t want to rile Heather, even though a large part of her would like to confront her about the way she had spoken to her in front of the rest of the kitchen staff, and how Heather consistently used her to fill staff shortages without any attempt to give her any managerial training.

But on the plus side, working in the restaurant meant that she wouldn’t have to be in this office today.

‘Did you enjoy your day off?’ Heather asked, as though they were the best of friends.

Heather might not like Emma, but she was always keen to find out what was going on in her private life.

Despite her resolve to be nice to her line manager or, to use Liz’s phrase, kill her with kindness, Emma couldn’t resist the opportunity to put Heather’s nose out of joint.

‘Well, it wasn’t really a day off. I was helping my boyfriend and his business partner out in Hampshire.’

‘Hampshire? That sounds posh.’

‘Yes, it was at Lord Weatherton’s estate, actually. His grandson’s christening.’

‘You were moonlighting?’ Heather asked, looking grim.

‘Not moonlighting, no.’ Emma panicked, wondering if the hotel frowned upon staff working elsewhere on their days off. She wished she’d kept her mouth shut. ‘I was just helping Jay out.’

‘I see,’ Heather said. ‘And it was a big event, was it?’

‘About a hundred,’ Emma replied. ‘Just close friends and family. But they fitted easily into the ballroom.’ She tried to sound as though this was a normal experience for her.

Heather’s mouth twisted disapprovingly. ‘Must be an impressive place.’

‘Oh, it is. Before I graduated, we did Lucinda’s engagement party — it was in Hello!

magazine. It was in August, so we themed it on an Edwardian garden-party and held it outside.

Now that really was out of this world.’ Emma smiled inwardly at the look on Heather’s face, which was nothing short of pure envy.

‘Obviously that wasn’t possible in February, but the ballroom itself is incredibly beautiful. ’

‘It must be nice to have such important contacts.’

‘It’s nice to see how the other half live, I must admit,’ Emma said smoothly. ‘But it’s just as satisfying working at the Rosemont, so I’d better report for duty.’

* * *

The restaurant was fully booked over lunchtime and Emma was rushed off her feet. She got on well with the restaurant manager, Paul, though, and it was a relief to be working with someone who appreciated her.

‘It was good of you to offer to fill in while I’m short-staffed,’ Paul said, during a lull in service.

‘I didn’t exactly offer,’ Emma said. ‘Heather told me this was where I would be working today, but at least I enjoy it better than some of the other jobs she gives me.’

‘Really?’

Emma nodded. ‘Last week I was cleaning rooms, and the week before that I was an honorary kitchen porter.’

‘And there was me thinking you were on the management trainee programme.’

Emma shrugged and tried to look as though she didn’t mind. ‘At least I’m learning from the ground up. And they say a good manager should never ask someone to do something they wouldn’t be prepared to do themselves.’

‘So what does that make Heather then?’ he asked. ‘She’d never lower herself enough to wash dishes or clean rooms.’

‘I couldn’t say.’ Emma didn’t want to get sucked into bad-mouthing Heather. Paul seemed lovely, but she knew he was a bit of a gossip and she didn’t want a stray comment to get her in more trouble.

‘If you ask me, she’s jealous,’ Paul said after a pause.

‘What has she got to be jealous of?’

‘You. You’re young, intelligent and you’re certainly a hard worker.

You have your whole career in front of you.

But Heather, well, she’s in her forties, she’s been in her current position for ages now, and I can’t ever see her getting any further.

There’s a lot for her to be jealous about.

And she has form. She’s always hardest on the young female trainee managers who are sent her way. ’

That piqued Emma’s curiosity. ‘Have there been a few, then?’

‘Several. None of them lasted more than six months, so you’re in good company.’

‘Well, I’m not thinking about leaving,’ Emma said.

‘That’s good to hear. And although I don’t think you should be serving in the restaurant, I’m very glad for your help. You do a cracking job.’

‘I’m glad you think so.’ Emma smiled at Paul before she went to clear a table.

* * *

When Emma returned to the office at the end of service, Heather was at her desk, seemingly engrossed in paperwork.

Emma thought about what Paul had said. Heather certainly wasn’t the kind of manager who led from the front — the management style she so admired in Liz.

Thinking of her friend’s words from yesterday, Emma cleared her throat and said, ‘Heather, what time do you finish your shift?’

Heather turned to her and frowned. ‘In about half an hour. Why?’

Emma steeled herself. ‘I was just wondering if you fancied going for a drink when we finish. I should be done by then too.’

‘A drink?’ Heather asked sharply. ‘With you?’

‘Yes. Why not?’ Emma tried hard to ignore her boss’s horrified expression.

‘I thought it might be nice for us to get to know each other a bit better. Away from the hotel.’ When Heather continued to stare at her, Emma hastily added, ‘But I should’ve realised it’d be far too short notice for you.

I’m sure you have a busy life and much better things to do than go for a drink with me. ’

Heather stood up. ‘Well, yes, I do have plans. I’ve got a few things to finish off, but I’ve done the management rotas for next week. Can you send them out on the WhatsApp group?’

‘Of course.’

When Heather had left, Emma sat down at her desk feeling deflated.

She should have realised it would take more than a simple offer of a drink to warm the Arctic ice in Heather’s veins.

But she’d made a start. She’d just have to carry on with a dripping-tap campaign.

Emma opened up her laptop and clicked into the rotas folder.

When she looked at her own name, she saw that Heather had put her on five lates and two overnights in the hotel for the next week.

She sighed. She’d just have to hope that Jay was free during the day sometimes or she’d never get to see him.

There was some light in the shade, though, she thought, as she looked at the rest of the rota.

At least Heather had put herself down for days so, despite an overlap in the middle, Emma wouldn’t have to see her that much.

It would give her time to work on a better plan than just asking her to go out for a drink.

* * *

Liz’s hands shook as she removed the packaging from the pregnancy test. She held it in front of her and stared at it for a few moments.

What this little plastic stick would tell her could alter her life for ever.

Was she ready for this? Ready to grow a life inside her, and then care for and nurture it for the rest of her own life?

She shook her head at her silly questions.

If she was pregnant there’d be no choice. Best just to get on and do the test.

As she waited for the result, she wondered how she would feel if it was negative.

Sad was the answer. For both her and Alex.

The thought of holding a baby in her arms filled her heart with joy.

She just hoped she was up to the job. Steeling herself, she looked back to the test. Two blue lines. She was pregnant.

Liz grinned, contemplating how she would break the news to Alex.

She was sure he’d be overjoyed, but she suspected it would also stir up past emotions in him.

She paced the flat, unable to sit still.

She was constantly getting to her feet to tidy things that didn’t need tidying.

When she was stressed her normal coping mechanism was to go for a run, but she didn’t feel like doing that today.

Rationally she knew it wouldn’t harm the baby — in fact it would probably do them both good.

It just didn’t feel like the right thing to do.

She forced herself to sit down, switch on her laptop and look at the bookings they had coming up over the next few weeks.

She’d told herself she wasn’t going to do this today, that she was going to have a complete day off from work, but, apart from running, work was the other thing that settled her mind.

But even that didn’t help. Instead she opened up a browser and clicked on the Rightmove website.

She and Alex had been talking about moving from their city apartment, which used to be just his before she’d moved in, and buying a house of their own.

Their current apartment overlooked the River Thames and was as luxurious as anything could possibly be, but it had never really felt like home.

Tia McIntyre, Alex’s business partner who was an interior designer, had been responsible for its decoration, and, while it was exquisite, to Liz it felt like living in a hotel.

A new house, which they could decorate and furnish together, was just what they needed.

But she was getting ahead of herself. They hadn’t even found a suitable property yet and there had been no alerts from the website recently, so she knew that there was nothing new on the market.

Now she was pregnant, though, the timescale of finding somewhere felt more pressing.

She wanted to be in and settled before the baby was born.

Liz started a fresh search, wondering if her criteria had changed since she’d done the test. One thing was for sure — having a garden was non-negotiable now.

Liz was so lost in her search that she jumped when Alex came through the front door. She hastily closed down the screen of the laptop.

He smiled at her. ‘What’s up? Caught you looking at your property porn again?’

‘Guilty as charged.’ She laughed nervously. Liz’s desire to move was stronger than his, but she was sure he’d change his mind when she told him the news.

He put his briefcase down, strode over to her and pulled her into his arms. ‘I’ve told you, you don’t need to stress about it. We’ll find the right place eventually.’

She gently pulled away from him and said softly, ‘I think you’ll find that we have a tighter timescale than eventually.’

He frowned. ‘Why?’

She put her hand to his face and looked into his eyes. ‘I know it wasn’t planned, but I’m pregnant, Alex.’

He pulled away from her and stood back abruptly. Confusion was written all over his face. ‘But I thought you couldn’t . . .’

‘The doctors told me it was unlikely. But they were obviously wrong.’ She reached across the coffee table to where she’d placed the test and handed it to him. ‘See.’

He looked incredulously at it and then back at her. ‘Oh, Liz! I can’t believe it. But are you sure? Have you done more than one test?’

‘I don’t need to,’ she said, smiling at him. ‘I’ve been feeling different for a while now, but the test has confirmed it.’

‘But why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘I didn’t want to build your hopes up before it was definite.’

‘Liz, this is amazing!’ He plonked himself down on the sofa and drew her to him.

‘I wasn’t sure how to tell you. I realise this is going to bring back a lot of memories for you and I want you to know that I’m here for you, if you ever need to talk.’

‘Yes, it does bring back memories,’ he said softly. Then his face brightened. ‘But this is our time now. I’ll never forget the past, but I won’t let it get in the way of our future.’

She put her arms around him. She was grateful that he was so strong. Liz knew he would have fears that this would all go wrong as it had last time, and that they’d both have to work hard to overcome them. But they could do it. Together.

‘So have you been to the doctor yet?’

She laughed. ‘Give me a chance — I only did the test today. But I’ll make an appointment tomorrow morning.’

‘Good,’ he said. ‘And how far along do you think you are?’

‘About seven weeks, I think.’

He stared at her as though he had never seen her before. ‘Wow! It hasn’t sunk in yet.’

‘It takes some getting used to. I’ve been jittery since I did the test.’

‘You’re going to have to start taking it a lot easier from now on.’

‘Alex...’ She put her hand on his arm to warn him not to get too carried away. ‘I’m pregnant, not ill. I know you want the best for me, and why, but you have to let me decide for myself what that is. In return, I promise you, I’ll do everything I can to protect this baby.’

He nodded. ‘All right. But you know I am going to be overprotective, so you have to cut me some slack.’

She laughed. ‘Yes, I will, but I’ll tell you if you’re being too much, okay?’

Alex grinned. ‘Okay,’ he replied. ‘When do we tell people?’

‘I’d rather keep it just between us until I’m a bit further along if that’s all right with you?’

‘Yes. Very sensible.’ And then he added quietly, ‘Just in case.’

She squeezed his hand and whispered, ‘Just in case.’