Cherry Blossoms Read Free

came to let you know that Oliver’s holding a meeting at eleven. Would you be an angel and sort it out. They’ll only want coffee and biscuits, that sort of thing.”
    “ No problem. Come and have a look at the drawing Jay did of the boat.”
    * * *
    By mid-morning, Cherry had cleaned and aired the room once more. It was rather a cheerless place, she thought, as she threw a spotless white cloth over a table in the corner and unloaded crockery from a trolley. She found herself counting the teaspoons in order to prolong her stay there, hoping that Oliver would materialise. But time was getting on and she couldn’t afford to draw attention to herself. All she needed to do now was collect the thermos jugs of hot coffee from the kitchen. When she returned with them, she was surprised to find the room occupied. She recognised the jogger from yesterday, but today he was dressed in a baggy blue shirt, tucked into navy chinos. With that colour combination, it was hard to dismiss his good looks as he surveyed her with his cobalt blue eyes.
    “ Hi there!” said Darius.
    “ You shouldn’t be in here, you know,” Cherry said sternly, as he poured coffee for himself.
    “ Missed breakfast,” grinned Darius, not looking at all ashamed.
    “ Well now you’ve poured it, take it along to the lounge to drink. There’s an important meeting due to start here in a few minutes.” She followed him back down the corridor and made sure he was installed in the correct room. Her face softening, she tossed a cellophane packet of crispy biscuits on the table in front of him.
    He l ooked up, his eyes twinkling. “What’s that for?”
    “ You said you missed breakfast.”
    * * *
    As Cherry continued with her work she couldn’t get Oliver Fingle out of her head. She felt an overwhelming attraction for him which she couldn’t understand as usually she was so level-headed. She hardly knew him. What she needed was a distraction, and was relieved to be asked to go down to the kitchens to help André with the inventory of the dry goods. There was just enough time before Jay came back from school.
    André always made her feel welcome and the large larder packed with tins and packets of fascinating ingredients delighted her. She raced around, dodging between the shelves quickly identifying items and calling out to André how many were left. There must have been a less time-consuming way of doing these inventories, but Cherry loved it so much, she was quite happy for things to remain the same. The hotel was, as she had admitted to Oliver, a little old-fashioned . . . behind the times. Whatever did he think of her? She’d been told before that she opened her mouth without thinking. But, at the time, she’d had no idea that Oliver was one of the owners.
    Her thoughts jumped to Darius. She was surprised that a young man like him was staying here. She would have expected him to be at one of the more central hotels where there was a lot more going on. Just as she’d rounded up the last box of sugar sachets, she heard Pat call to her.
    “ Jay’s home. No need to hurry, he’s playing cards.”
    S trange. Usually, Jay snuggled into an armchair in the lounge and read his Roald Dahl books until Cherry was free. Although anxious to greet her son, she knew Pat, who doted on him, would have given him a drink of milk or juice and a couple of cookies.
    “ That’s the lot then, André. See you soon.”
    Hurrying upstairs, she f ound that Pat was quite right. Jay was in his usual armchair and on the table in front of him were a pile of matches and a pack of cards. She heard him say, “Twist,” just as she identified his opponent.
    “ Darius? I see you’ve met my son.”
    Darius stood up, scattering cards and mat ches. “I didn’t realise. I thought this poor child had been abandoned.” He grinned, but the words stung Cherry and made her feel she’d neglected Jay. She hurried round and put a hand on Jay’s shoulder, not wanting to kiss him in case