‘Hungry?’ he asked.
‘You bet.’
‘Breakfast in bed?’
She grinned.
He unwound himself from her body and sat up. She ran a finger down his spine. ‘You’d better stop that if you want breakfast any time soon,’ he warned, pushing himself off the bed. ‘I’m going to shower, then cook you the best breakfast you’ve ever eaten. I suggest you do the same. You’ve got some detective work to do.’
After showering, Fiona wrapped herself in Ru’s dressing gown, breathing in his scent, then tidied the bedclothes and sat cross-legged on top, sipping a mug of hot chocolate.
They ate breakfast from trays, alight and frothy soufflé omelette, which Ru served with smoked salmon from a localsmokehouse, along with Fiona’s favourite cinnamon toast.
Fiona took a bite of omelette. It was so light it seemed to melt on her tongue. It might even be the best omelette she’d ever eaten ... but then everything seemed better now. She was back with Ru, where she was meant to be. ‘Can I ask you something?’
He laughed softly. ‘Go on.’
‘Did Ivy find you this flat to rent?’
He chuckled and the mirth rippled through her. She loved that sound. She’d missed it. ‘What you’re really asking is, did your aunt help me? And the answer is yes. She told me about the job, and she found me somewhere to rent. I wasn’t sure it would work, but you’d blocked my number. I had to explain why I did what I did with the investors and show you how much I loved you. It wasn’t easy though, especially when you kept disappearing for lessons with Josh.’
Fiona smiled; grateful that Ivy had intervened. Ivy had been at the heart of everything. She had orchestrated the reunion with Fiona’s parents too.
‘Tell me, why do you think Kim tried to frame me?’
He spoke gently. ‘I think that was my fault.’
She frowned. ‘How so?’
‘Kim kept pestering me to take her out for a drink. I told her I was in love with someone else. I think she guessed it was you, and then set you up, because after you left, she cornered me and asked me to give her a chance. That’s when I confessed that you and I had been a couple and that I was still in love with you.’
Fiona felt a rush of love for Ru, tinged with sympathy for her rival. Ru’s admission that he was still in love with her must have been what she’d witnessed on the stairs the last time she’d been at the pub, after Fiona’s unsuccessful attempt to make Rose listen to her side of the story. What must it have been like for Kim to hear those words from Ru? No wonder she’d lashed out. But that didn’t explain why Kim had been so nasty to her forweeks. ‘She’s never liked me.’
‘That’s not true.’
Fiona thought back to all the incidents that Kim had orchestrated to catch Fiona out. ‘Hmm.’
‘She’s afraid of you . . .’
Fiona’s eyes popped wide. ‘Why?’
‘Josh told me about some pairing notes she dropped in the staffroom. I suspected she didn’t know anything about wine when I asked her advice about what to add to enhance a new dish. When I challenged her, Kim told me why she keeps those notes. She’s got. She’s got no sense of smell or taste – tricky if you want to work in a fine dining restaurant.’
‘And she wanted her parents to be proud of her, to prove to them that despite her anosmia, she could work in fine dining, which of course they’ve invested in?’
‘Exactly. And you, my dear, as the sommelier, Rose’s go-to, right-hand special agent, represented all she could never be. When Rose interviewed her about the missing wine, Kim thought the boss was going to discover her secret and fire her.’
‘Wow. That explains a lot.’ Like why Kim had been so defensive and prickly; she couldn’t smell or taste the wines or dishes she was supposed to be recommending to customers. No wonder she carried those detailed, stilted notes everywhere and panicked when they were almost discovered. If Rose found out about her anosmia, Kim’s career in fine dining would be over in a heartbeat.
‘Kim expected suspicion to fall on her, so she set you up with the Krug.’
‘But Kim knows nothing about wine; she’s not the thief, and she couldn’t have pulled that stunt with the courier. That must be someone else, but who?’ She dropped her fork, sighing, ‘I don’t know what to do!’
Picking up her fork, he fed her a mouthful of soufflé.‘Fortunately, I think I do. When you’ve finished, I think we should have a family confab.’
The autumnal sun streamed through the windows of Ivy’s cottage, highlighting dust motes in the air. To Fiona the room felt smaller than usual, crammed not only with people but with tension. She was sitting in a worn, floral armchair, her chest tight with a mix of gratitude, anxiety and frustration. Ru sat beside her, his hand resting over hers.
Her parents normally concealed their emotions behind calm exteriors, but Fiona could see the strain on her mother’s face.
