The CEO(25)

The scent of freshly-baked cinnamon cake wafted over to them before they spotted it on the huge wooden table of the country-style kitchen.

‘That smells divine,’ Ava said.

‘Daphne bribed and tormented us with her cinnamon cake for years,’ Callum laughed as he opened a drawer, took out a knife and cut himself a generous slice. Its sugary crunch and cinnamon flavour were just as he remembered it. ‘You’re not going to say no to this, are you Ava?’

She laughed and the bright sound echoed in the room.

‘Definitely not, but I think I need to clean up first.’ She held up her hands.

‘That way,’ Callum said through a mouthful of cake, nodding to the small hallway on the right.

When Daphne judged Ava to be safely out of earshot, she turned to Callum with her hands propped on her hips.

‘Well? Your landscaper, is she?’

‘She’s a friend, Daphne.’ Callum had to stop and think about what he’d just said. A friend? Damn. When had Ava the Terrible become a friend? Probably about two seconds after he’d decided he wanted to fuck her.

‘I see,’ Daphne replied with a knowing look.

‘She’s Lulu’s sister. She wanted to see the gardens, that’s all.’

Daphne’s smile became a frown. ‘Oh.’ She dabbed her eyes once more. ‘It’s not my place to say, Callum, but Lulu …’

Callum felt a familiar pang at his failure as a husband. ‘Yes.’

‘I was very sorry to hear about … well, you know.’

‘Thank you, Daph.’

‘Well, I suppose what’s done is done.’

Callum cut himself another chunky slice of cake. ‘I understand you’ve heard from the lawyers? My father wanted you to be looked after, you know that.’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘He was very generous. I’ll have more than enough to buy myself a little place somewhere, with a bit left over. But this house …’

Out came the tissue again and Daphne blew her nose dramatically.

Callum slipped an arm around her shoulders. ‘I know how much you love it, Daphne. But times change. You know that Chris and Cooper don’t want to live here. And neither do I.’

‘With your father’s passing, this place feels full of memories,’ she said. ‘And ghosts.’ She squeezed Callum’s arm.

He knew what she meant.

‘Which reminds me. There’s something I found in your father’s personal things. Something I need to give to you. Why don’t you have some more cake and I’ll go fetch it.’

*

Ava found a small bathroom off the hallway and pushed open the painted white wooden door. Inside, the original features in the small room were striking. Black-and-white chequered tiles criss-crossed the floor, a gleaming white hand basin reflected the light and a pair of silver taps appeared to have been polished just before she’d entered.

‘How appropriate,’ she said to herself. ‘I’m in the servants’ bathroom,’ and her voice echoed back at her from the high ceiling.

Ava shook her head again. Servants. Grand entrance halls. Lush gardens.

What on earth was she doing here?

It was as if she’d driven through the front gates of The Meadows with Callum and been transported back in time one hundred years. And the idea of that made her laugh. A century before and she would have been Daphne.

She soaped up her hands on a fragrant rose soap and dried them briskly on a fluffy white towel. When she found her way back to the kitchen, Callum was alone in the enormous room. He looked up at the sound of her approaching. ‘Found your way back, huh?’

Why did the sight of him have to do that to her? Wasn’t she so used to seeing his handsome smile and his beautiful face that she shouldn’t quiver inside anymore?

‘I followed the smell of cinnamon,’ she said and when she was next to him, she nudged him in the side with her elbow. ‘You going to cut me a piece of that cake or what?’

He grinned and handed her a plate with a large piece already laid on its side. A delicate silver fork was next to it. Ava took it gratefully and ate the generous piece in four huge bites.

‘Oh, God,’ she muttered. ‘Can I please take Daphne home with me?’

‘You like my cake?’ Daphne smiled as she came back into the kitchen.

‘It should be heritage listed, Daphne. It’s incredible.’

‘I’ll pop the rest in a container and you can take it home. Unless Callum eats it all first. Now, dear boy,’ she patted Callum on the forearm in a gesture that brought tears to Ava’s eyes. If his mother had been gone for twenty years, this woman was probably the closest thing to a mother Callum had. She could see it in their easy affection and in the way he looked at her.