A Jersey Kiss (Jersey Romance Series) by Georgina Troy Page A

Monday I’ll hopefully show you that you can trust me.”
    Bea sighed. “Thank you. You must think me so rude to ask you this after the lovely evening we’ve had?”
    “ Not at all. Once you can see for yourself the seriousness of the situation, it’ll help you keep Luke in his place in your mind. It doesn’t have to be too difficult; he’s carrying out work for you, nothing more. I’ll give you a ring in the morning, if that’s ok?” he asked, as the taxi moved through the noisy St Helier streets. “Not too early, I promise. Maybe I could take you kayaking?”
    “ I'd like that,” she agreed, wishing she felt a little less miserable. “But not before ten, though. I have to make the most of any lie-ins I can get nowadays.” She didn’t mention that she wanted to avoid Tom bumping in to Luke, who she hoped would have seen to any work his men needed to do and left her house by that time.
    The taxi drew up at the front of her house and Bea opened the cab door. “Thank you for a lovely evening,” she said, kissing him on the cheek and getting out. She watched as he waved back and the taxi disappeared into the darkness.
    She bent to cuddle Flea as soon as she got into the house. It would be good to finally see some proof about Tom’s allegations against Luke, Bea decided, not wishing to think about how awkward it would then be to deal with Luke when he came to the house. Bea removed her makeup and was thinking back over her evening, when the phone rang. “Bloody hell, that was quick, Flea,” she laughed. “He must live very near here to get home so quickly.”
    Bea slumped back onto the bed, picked up the phone, and placed it immediately against her ear. “When I said after ten, I meant ten in the morning,” she teased.
    “ Am I talking to Beatrix Potter?” demanded a controlled, clipped voice, tinged with what Bea assumed sounded like a definite threat.
    Well, it certainly wasn’t him. “This is Beatrice Porter, and if you don’t mind me stating the obvious, it's one-thirty in the morning,” she retaliated, irritated by the caller’s aggressive tone.
    “ Never mind the fucking time,” the woman screeched. “What the hell were you doing with my husband?”

SEVEN
    Bea Stings
    “ She said what?” Shani gasped when she phoned her as soon as she’d ended the call with Vanessa.
    “ You needn't sound so excited about it,” Bea said, annoyed that Vanessa’s call had given her such a fright.
    “ Sorry, you must have been spooked being in that house all by yourself.” Shani lowered her voice. “You can't do anything about it tonight, so why don't you snuggle up to Flea and try to get some sleep? I haven’t got any classes first thing tomorrow, so I'll be able to come over to your place after ten. We’ll discuss everything then.”
    “ I want to go round to her place and give her hell.” Bea said. “Her call was so unexpected I didn’t have time to think of anything clever to say.”
    “ You don’t know where she lives,” Shani said, “and anyway, losing your temper with her probably won’t solve anything. Let Tom sort his shitty wife out.”
    Bea had to agree. Vanessa was Tom’s problem, not hers. She lifted Flea onto her bed, and settled down for the night, relieved to find she was a little dozy despite everything and put it down to the alcohol she and Tom had consumed earlier in the evening. She closed her eyes and let her mind wander until she fell asleep.
    ****
    Bea heard Shani’s battered Astra backfiring down the driveway as she hurriedly finished dressing the following morning. She pulled on a pair of pink cut-off trousers and ran to open the front door to be instantly engulfed in a bear hug by Paul. “Oof.” Flea barked in protest.
    “ It’s all right, little man.” Paul let go of Bea and stroked Flea’s head before standing back up again. “Poor you,” he said, leaning back and studying her face for a moment. “Shani told me what that cow said to you last