Christmas Weddings

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First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2017

Copyright © Georgia Hill 2017

Cover illustrations © Shutterstock.com

Cover design by Holly Macdonald ©HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Georgia Hill asserts the moral right to

be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book

is available from the British Library

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

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Ebook Edition © September 2017 ISBN: 9780008211080

Version 2017-09-28

To the people and town of Lyme Regis, Dorset. Thank you for the fabulous holidays.

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Keep Reading …

About the Author

About HarperImpulse

About the Publisher

Chapter 1

It was weird coming back. Weird and cold.

Berecombe looked at once comfortingly familiar and slightly distorted, as if seen through a special-effects lens. Alf the Taxi dropped Millie off on the promenade outside the café, helped her with her rucksack and drove off with a cheery wave.

Feeling desolate, she looked around her. The sea was churning a dull grey in Lyme Bay and the sky was threateningly low and of a similar hue. In fact, Millie decided, everywhere was grey. The town had lost its bright bunting and bedding plants and was shuttered up for the winter. It was home, but it all looked smaller, inward-looking. After the vibrant noise and colour of Thailand, Berecombe, in the first week of November, was depressing.

She shivered violently. She was freezing and bone-weary. Heaving her rucksack onto her back, she made her way to the flat. All she wanted to do was to crawl under a duvet.

Chapter 2

‘The wanderer returns!’ Tessa threw her arms around her friend and ushered her inside. ‘Come inside, pet, it’s brass monkeys out there.’

As usual, the Tizzard family home was in a state of chaos. Several very male-smelling pairs of trainers littered the hall and Millie had to navigate around an airer over which hung a pile of school uniform. She followed Tessa into the kitchen, which was an oasis of calm in comparison and smelled comfortingly of freshly made bread.

‘Cup of tea and then you can tell me all about it. Oh bab, it’s so good to have you back.’

Before Millie could answer there was a frantic scrabbling at the kitchen door. ‘Think there’s someone a bit desperate to see you,’ Tessa said, as she grinned and opened it. A barking woolly blur hurled itself onto Millie’s lap.

‘Trevor!’ Millie surrendered to his ecstatic welcome. ‘Oh, how much have I missed you.’

While dog and mistress became reacquainted, Tessa made tea and, once everything had calmed down, perched herself on a stool. She shoved a mug across. ‘First English cup of tea since you’ve been back?’

Millie nodded and reached over Trevor’s head to pick it up. After the first sip, she sighed in ecstasy. ‘Heaven!’

‘Digestive biccies there. Just don’t let Trev get hold of them. He’s a devil for them. Worse than the kids.’

Millie dunked half and crammed it into her mouth, ravenous. She gave Trevor a sneaky fragment while Tessa’s back was turned. ‘I still don’t understand why you ended up taking him,’ she said, with a full mouth. ‘Back in the summer Jed said he was happy to look after him until I got back. So, he and his brother are living at The Lord of the Manor now? What’s the deal with that?’

‘Alex has bought it. Taking a sabbatical or something from hedge-fund managing, or whatever he does in the city.’ Tessa made a face.

‘Blimey,’ Millie said, impressed. ‘How much money must he have? What are the plans for it?’

‘Don’t know, kiddo. He and Jed are living there while he decides what to do. Reckon it’ll be another swanky-wanky place with scraps of food and hot and cold running helipads.’

‘Plenty of room for a dog, though,’ Millie said thoughtfully. ‘Not that I’m not very grateful that you took Trevor in,’ she added hastily. She hid her nose in the dog’s fur and received rapturous licks in return. ‘I know he adores it here.’

‘The boys have loved having him. It was no bother. In fact, Trevor can stay and I’ll boot Roland out. Trev makes a lot less mess than my youngest.’

‘I hope you weren’t put out that Jed had him. It’s just that he offered and it all happened so quickly.’

‘We’ve loved having him, Millie.’ Tessa’s voice was firm.

‘So, why did Jed not keep him all autumn? Poor Trev, he must have been so confused,’ Millie said indignantly.

‘Think he’s working long hours. Didn’t want to leave the dog on his own.’

‘I suppose that makes sense. What’s this new job of Jed’s, then? You mentioned something when I rang but I was too knackered to take anything in.’

Tessa concentrated on drinking her tea. ‘Dunno. I’m sure he’ll tell you all about it when he sees you.’ She put the mug down. ‘Now come on, I don’t want to talk about Jed, I need to hear what you’ve been up to. It’s been a miserable, wet autumn in Berecombe and I need to hear about sunshine and hot men.’

Millie could tell that Tessa was holding back, but there was no point pressing her. She took another life-affirming slug of tea and launched in.

Chapter 3

‘So you stayed at Dora’s villa? What was that like?’

‘Oh, Tes, it was amazing. In the hills just outside Siena, swimming pool and everything. The most wonderful views across the olive orchards. I had the use of a tiny Fiat and there was a family-run trattoria nearby that did the most gorgeous food. I’ve come back with a notebook stuffed full of recipes. You’ll have to try the lemon polenta cake, it’s heaven on a plate.’

‘Can’t wait. No equally heavenly men?’

‘Well, there was Savio. He took me out and about a few times.’ Millie got out her phone and flicked through some pictures. ‘Here he is.’

Tessa’s eyes widened. ‘Well, he’s a spunk on a stick, isn’t he?’

Millie took the phone back. ‘Not bad,’ she said airily. ‘Very charming and quite wealthy too.’ She caught Tessa’s look and giggled. ‘Purely platonic, Tes, at least on my part.’

‘Whatevs, bab. And you left all that and came back to Berecombe?’ Tessa pulled a disbelieving face.

Millie hugged Trevor. ‘Well, I had one or two things to come back for.’

‘Fair enough. So why did you go onto Thailand?’

‘Eleri got in touch with me.’

‘Elle-Lairi,’ said Tessa, pronouncing it with difficulty. ‘Who’s she, when she’s at home?’

‘Maybe you don’t know her? Old Davey’s granddaughter? She hasn’t been to see him since she was a kid. She’s changed a lot since then. She’d heard from Davey that I was doing a bit of travelling and said she was on this fantastic island in Thailand. Koh Phangan. Would I like to go over and join her?’ Millie put Trevor down as he was wriggling and obviously wanted a drink. She watched as he slurped noisily from his bowl. ‘I’ve always wanted to go to Thailand.’ She made a face. ‘To be honest, Savio was getting a bit keen so I needed an escape. It was cooling down, too, so I thought I might as well head for some sun.’

‘Yeah well,’ Tessa put in drily. ‘That’s the problem with gorgeous Italian millionaires. You just have to get away from them.’

‘He wasn’t a millionaire, Tes.’ She reconsidered. ‘Actually, he might have been, he did have a Maserati.’

‘Oh well, in that case, you did the right thing, bab. Run. Run away as fast as you can.’ Trevor put a nose on Tessa’s knee, soaking her jeans with his wet whiskers. She pulled a face at him. ‘Your Millie needs her head examined, Trev, my boy. So what did you do in Thailand once you’d got away from this Maserati-driving monster of an Italian hunk?’

‘Had a good time. Sunbathed, swam in the sea, helped out in the bar that Ri, that’s what Eleri likes to be called, was working in. I played with the baby monkey that the bar owners had as a pet, went to some pretty wild beach parties. It was cool.’

Tessa stared at her friend. ‘It’s done you good too. You’ve changed, Mil. The suntan suits you.’

‘I’ve got some incredible Thai recipes.’

‘Not changed that much, then.’

Millie laughed and finished her tea. ‘Maybe not. And I don’t think I’ll try out the chicken-feet stew on Arthur and Biddy.’

‘Has it got something out of your system?’ Tessa asked curiously.

‘Ah Tes, that I’m not too sure about.’ Millie traced a finger over the pattern on her mug. ‘Now I’ve seen what the world outside Berecombe can offer,’ she added. ‘I’d quite like to see some more.’

‘What’s the plan now, then?’

Millie broke off another bit of biscuit and crunched thoughtfully. ‘I suppose the first call has to be to Jed,’ she answered eventually.

‘And what you going to say to him, kiddo?’

‘Ah. That’s the problem, Tes. I have absolutely no idea.’

Chapter 4

Millie strode into the hall of The Lord of the Manor hotel two days later. She hadn’t been for years. There had been no need. Nothing, as far as she could see, had changed. The massive mahogany desk was still dominating the space, with the moth-eaten stag’s head above. The ancient Persian rug remained to trip you up as you entered and there was still an enormous chipped blue and white vase acting as an impromptu umbrella stand by the door.

There was no one around. And it was freezing cold. Millie, in four layers and her father’s overcoat, shivered. She knew Jed was here as his Golf was parked up outside. Spying an old-fashioned brass bell on the desk, she rang it.

Somewhere high above her a door slammed and there came the sound of feet running down the stairs. Jed came into view. He stopped dead when he saw her.

Millie stared back, her heart thumping uncomfortably under all the layers. He looked paler than she remembered, but that could be in comparison to Savio. He also looked thin and tired and far less glamorous.

He came to her, his hands stretched out to take hers. ‘Millie,’ he said, on a long breath. He held her at arm’s length. ‘Jeez, you look good. So brown!’

‘Hello Jed.’ It came out on a whisper. She didn’t know what to say or how to react to the man. He looked so unfamiliar. Had she been away for only three months?

He pulled her to him and enveloped her in a hug. This was slightly better. Jed smelled as he always had, of some expensive cologne.

‘Oh, it’s so good to have you back.’

Millie let herself be held, relishing the feel of his strong arms around her.

He released her, perhaps sensing her reserve. ‘Got time for a coffee? Can’t say it’ll be anywhere near as good as yours, but it’ll be hot. You need something to keep yourself warm in this barn of a place. Come into the office.’ Taking her by the hand, he led her through a door behind the desk. It opened out into a crowded and shabby room. Its only redeeming feature, a floor-to-ceiling window, which gave views onto the gardens.

Jed swept a pile of papers off an ancient chesterfield. ‘Won’t be a moment. I’ll put the kettle on.’ He disappeared through another door and shouted back, ‘It’s a shocker, this place, isn’t it? Alex’s really taken on a mammoth task. I’m not entirely sure he’s sane.’

He came back bearing two steaming mugs and a packet of custard creams. ‘I’ve been missing your cakes. These are a very poor substitute.’ He put everything down on top of a desk groaning under the weight of yet more paper.

Millie picked up her mug of instant, wrapping her frozen fingers around its warmth. ‘I can understand why the Simpsons sold up, but why on earth has your brother bought it?’

‘God knows,’ Jed said cheerfully. He slid into the chesterfield’s twin. ‘More money than sense, I’ve always said. Had enough of the city and got money to burn. He’s got friends who run hotels; you remember that one we went to in Poole? Chap that owns that has a chain. Alex has been taking advice from him. Fancies setting this up as some kind of retreat for burned-out execs. The only thing that’s burning is money at the moment. It’s cost Alex a packet already and he’s only got as far as building repairs. He wants to do a complete refurb eventually.’

There was a silence as they drank their coffee. Jed offered Millie a biscuit and took one himself when she refused, crunching it loudly with his white teeth.

‘It’s so good to see you again, Millie.’ He smiled at her, his dark eyes warm. ‘I only wish there was time to catch up properly. We’ll have to do dinner. I want to hear all about your adventures.’ He took his phone out of his breast pocket and grimaced. ‘No time now, though, I have to get to work.’

‘Yes, that’s what I was going to ask you about.’

He double-guessed. ‘Is Trevor okay? I loved having him. There’s so much space for him here, but when I got this new job the hours were just killers. I couldn’t leave him on his own and Alex is up to his proverbials with all the repairs. Tessa didn’t mind and I knew you’d be happy he was with the Tizzards.’

‘He loved it with them, but it would have been nice if you had told me what you had planned for my dog,’ she said crisply.

Jed looked shamefaced. ‘I’m sorry about that, Millie. Didn’t want you to worry about him.’

‘Not the point, Jed. The first I knew was when I rang Tessa when I got back.’ She blew out an exasperated breath. ‘Whatever. He’s fine. And it wasn’t what I was going to ask, though. What’s this new job?’

Jed’s phone beeped. He leaped up. ‘I’m late. I’ve got to go, Millie darling.’ He dropped a kiss on her head. ‘I’ll give you a bell about dinner.’ His phone beeped again. ‘I’m so sorry. When the call comes through, I have to go.’

Millie twisted to watch Jed as he ran out. He deftly avoided his brother coming the other way.

‘Ah, Millie,’ Alex said. ‘How very lovely to see you again. Has my errant brother been looking after you? He always seems to be in a tearing hurry these days.’ They heard the sound of the Golf’s engine gunning down the drive. Alex peered into Millie’s mug. ‘Instant,’ he said with some disgust. ‘He could have made time to make you some proper coffee.’ He sat in the chair Jed had just vacated and took a custard cream.

‘He seemed to be in a hurry to get to work.’

‘They keep him on quite a tight rein, as I understand.’ Alex picked up some papers, scanned them half-heartedly and then replaced them.

‘What’s he doing? More consultancy?’

‘If only, Millie. If only. No, didn’t you know? My little brother has got himself a job with Blue Elephant.’

Chapter 5

‘Who’s that?’ Tessa asked.

Millie started. She’d been miles away. Wiping down a table, she concentrated on Tessa who was, unsubtly, trying to take her mind off Jed. ‘Eleri? I told you about her. Davey Pascoe’s granddaughter. Remember I said we hooked up in Thailand.’ Millie reined in her irritation. She was sure she’d told Tessa about her. ‘We travelled back together and I said she could help out every now and again. Need an extra pair of hands in the café now Zoe’s in Durham and Clare’s at catering college.’

Tessa stared at the willowy figure, dressed in a blue and green chiffon kaftan and bell-bottoms. Eleri sensed she was being discussed and turned around and smiled. Her light eyes rooted Tessa to the spot. ‘She’s gorgeous.’

‘Certainly is and a hard worker too.’ Millie took a loaded tray into the kitchen and Tessa followed at her heels.

‘Get you, hooking up with folk like a seasoned traveller. Remind me how you two met up, then?’

‘Well, I got myself to the same island she was living on and one morning she just appeared out of the sea. Keen swimmer, apparently. Used to do it competitively.’

‘And you offered her a job. Just like that?’

Millie plunged a stack of plates into hot water. ‘Yup.’

‘No references?’

Millie shrugged. ‘None needed really. If she hadn’t worked out, I wouldn’t keep her on. But she’s been great.’

‘Ken would die to paint her.’ Tessa peered through the porthole window in the kitchen door. ‘With those amazing eyes and all that hair.’

Eleri, her golden-brown hair tamed into a waist-length plait, was chatting to an obviously smitten Arthur.

‘Well, if she hangs around long enough, he can. She’s staying with Old Davey for the time being. You know him, lives in the last bungalow before the cliff?’

Tessa nodded. ‘Yeah. He took us all out mackerel fishing years ago, when the kids were small. Forgotten he had family, though.’ She picked up a tea towel and began to dry the plates Millie had washed. ‘If you keep getting busy like this, you’re going to have to invest in a dishwasher, bab. And you haven’t got enough crockery to turn around quickly.’

Millie brushed back her fringe from a steamy face. ‘You could be right there. I’ll add it to the list of suggestions for Clare. It was her mum’s networking group that was in today.’ Returning to the subject, she added, ‘Think Ri’s parents moved to Wales years ago. If Ken wants to paint her, he’d better be quick. She doesn’t seem to stay in one place for long.’

‘I’ll tell him.’ Tessa once again looked through to the café. ‘She looks so free.’ She sighed the sigh of a woman with a husband and three demanding sons at home. ‘Must be great to flit about the world, without a care. And there’s something mesmerising about her, isn’t there?’

‘Agreed. She’s amazingly calm. Nothing seems to faze her. She’s a bit fey too.’ Millie wrinkled up her nose. ‘Think that’s the word.’ She rinsed a couple of plates. ‘Haven’t you heard the story? Rumour is, someone in her family long ago married a mermaid and made her live on the shore with him. Apparently all the female members of the family have that spectacular hair and pale eyes.’

Tessa turned around and stared at Millie, round-eyed. ‘No way! What a story. Oh Ken has to paint her now.’

‘He might have to pay. Think she’s strapped for cash at the moment.’ Millie bit her lip. ‘And she’s not alone.’

‘How’s the sale going?’

Millie winced. ‘Slowly. I’d hoped to exchange by now, but Clare’s parents are checking out yet more things. They’re having another survey done and a feasibility report on top.’

‘Do they want to buy this place or not?’

Millie sank against the prep table. Everything threatened to overwhelm her. ‘Suppose it’s only sensible to be cautious. It’s a big thing to take on. It’s just that, oh Tes, I only went travelling on the understanding the café was sold. And now I’m so broke I don’t know what to do.’

Tessa wrapped her in a hug. She knew there was more to this than just moving stress. ‘I’m sure it’ll all go through soon. You know what they say, solicitors love making everyone panic until the last minute and then it all goes through without a hitch. And once it’s sold, think of all the lovely lolly you’ll have. You’ll be able to do anything you want. Wherever you want. Just like Eleri. Maybe even get back in touch with that Italian bloke.’ Tessa tightened her hold. ‘Berecombe won’t be the same without a Millie Vanilla’s, though.’

Millie’s answer was muffled and unintelligible.

‘And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Jed’s job. Thought it was his news, really.’