Best Friend To Royal Bride / Surprise Baby For The Billionaire. Annie Claydon
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are you, dear?’
‘Very well, thank you, Miss Fletcher.’ Amy sat a little straighter in her wheelchair and Marie suppressed a smile.
Jennifer Fletcher had been one of the first people through the doors when the clinic had opened. A retired primary school teacher, she seemed to know every child in the district, and had taught a number of their parents as well.
‘This is lovely.’ Jennifer craned her neck to see the garden, obviously hesitant to inspect it more closely without being asked.
‘Come and join us, Miss Fletcher.’ Terri grinned at her.
‘It’s about time you called me Jennifer.’
Miss Fletcher walked slowly across to the bench and Marie moved to make room for her.
‘What brings you here…um… Jennifer?’ Terri was clearly reticent about calling her old schoolteacher by her first name.
‘I’ve been having a few aches and pains since I retired last spring, so I decided to come along and see if I could join an exercise class. I had a full physical, and the doctors have found I have an inflammation in my right hip.’
Jennifer beamed at Marie. She’d had the distinction of being the first patient to try out the new MRI scanner, and it had shown that, instead of a touch of arthritis, the bursa in her right hip was inflamed. Jennifer had professed delight at the thought that this could be rectified, and was already seeing the clinic’s physiotherapist.
‘I’ve got a full exercise programme and I think I’m doing rather well. It’s early days, of course, but the physiotherapist here says that core strength is important as you enter your seventies.’ Jennifer looked around the garden. ‘You’ll be adding a few bedding plants?’
‘It’s a work in progress. We’ve planted some seeds, and we have some cuttings over there in the corner.’ Marie pointed to the yoghurt pots, full of water, where the cuttings were beginning to grow roots.
She saw Amy’s head turn, and the little girl leaned over to see. ‘I don’t suppose you’d like to help us plant some, would you, Amy?’
‘Mum…?’ Amy turned to Terri.
‘Of course. But we mustn’t take up Dr Davies’s time.’ Terri flashed Marie an apologetic look.
‘That’s all right. If Amy would like to help with the garden—’
‘Well, I would, too…’ Jennifer spoke up.
It seemed that the garden had just acquired its first few volunteers.
Marie brought some of the pots over, moving a table so that Jennifer and Amy could work together, planting the Busy Lizzies. Sam had taken a couple of action figures from his mother’s handbag, and he was playing with them.
‘Would you like a drink? I’ll pop over to the café.’
Everyone else was occupied and Terri deserved a break.
‘You know what…?’ Terri gave her a wry smile. ‘I’d like to just stroll over there and get something. On my own. If you or Jennifer don’t mind staying here with the kids, that is…?’
Marie knew the feeling well. Terri craved a moment to herself, so she could do something ordinary. She’d felt like that when she was a teenager. Wanting just five minutes that she could call her own, without one or other of her brothers wanting something.
‘Of course. We’ll be another half an hour with this, if you want to sit in the café?’
‘No, that’s okay. Can I get you something?’ Terri pulled her purse out of her bag. ‘My treat.’
If Marie wanted coffee, she had the lovely machine in her office. But that wasn’t the point. It was clearly important to Terri that she get it, and she should accept the offer.
‘A cup of tea would be nice. Thank you.’
Terri grinned, turning to Jennifer. ‘Would you like a drink?’
Fifteen minutes later she saw Terri strolling back towards them, chatting to Alex. He was carrying a tray with four cups and a couple of child-sized boxes of juice, and when he’d handed the drinks around and stopped to find out how Jennifer and Amy were he strolled over to Sam to deliver his drink.
‘They never quite grow up, do they?’ Terri was drinking her coffee, watching Alex and Sam. The little boy had shown Alex his action figures, and the two were now busily engaged in making them jump from one planter to another. Sam jumped his onto the water feature with a splash and Alex followed with his, and the two figures started to fight in the swirling water.
By the time Terri said that they should go home, Alex’s shirt was dappled with water. The pots were gathered up and labelled as Amy’s, so that she could watch her plants grow and transfer them to the planters when they were big enough. Sam said goodbye to Alex, promising that they would continue their fight the next time he was here, and Alex thanked him gravely.
‘I’m hoping your mother wouldn’t have minded too much…’ Marie nodded towards the water feature.
‘Mind? She’d have loved it.’ Alex grinned at her, coming to sit down on the bench.
‘Good. And of course all that splashing about was entirely for Sam’s benefit?’
It had occurred to Marie that Alex’s love of silly games was because he’d never got the chance to play them when he was a child.
‘Of course.’ Alex brushed at his shirt, as if he’d only just noticed the water. ‘I have absolutely no idea why you should think otherwise. Ooh—I had a call from Sonya.’
‘What does she want us to do now?’
Sonya’s calls generally meant smiling for one camera or another, but every time they did it Sofia Costa received a fresh wave of enquiries.
‘It’s an evening do at the Institute of Business. They throw a very select party once in a while, so their members can meet people who are doing groundbreaking work in various charitable and medical fields. Most big businesses like to have their names associated with a few good causes, and making those contacts now will help us in the future.’
Even the scale of Alex’s wealth wasn’t going to finance his dreams of creating and running a chain of clinics all over the country. This was about the future—one that Alex was going to build for himself.
‘That sounds great. Does Sonya know someone at the Institute?’
‘No, but it turns out that a couple of the Institute’s board of directors went to my school and they vaguely remember me. Sonya’s managed to swing a couple of invitations.’
‘So Sonya’s going with you?’ That would be good. She’d keep Alex in line and on message.
‘No, she’s going with her husband. The second invitation is for you.’
‘What?’ All the quiet peace of the garden suddenly evaporated. ‘Tell me you’re joking, Alex.’
‘Why would I be? You have as much to say about the clinic as me.’
He leaned forward, his eyes betraying the touch of mischief that Marie loved so much. At any other time than this.
‘And the whole point of a man’s dinner suit is to show off a woman’s dress.’
Suddenly she felt sick. ‘I can’t hobnob with the rich and famous, Alex. I don’t know how to talk with these people, or how to act.’
‘How about just the same as you always do?’
There was a trace of hurt in his voice. He was rich. And it was only a matter of time before he’d be famous. She knew Alex was under no illusions that he could keep his royal status under wraps indefinitely—he just wanted to put the moment off for as long as he could.
‘I can’t,