The Tea Garden by the Sea E-Book

Anne West

• Herausgeber: Z&K
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: Return to the Dutch Island
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 448

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Fleur and Rosa are cousins, best friends and business partners, owning three successful patisseries in Amsterdam. But their close bond breaks when Rosa falls for Fleur's boyfriend Cas, and Cas chooses Rosa. At the opening of their newest patisserie, Fleur and Rosa try to stay professional, but nothing is the same anymore. So when their grandfather sends both of them a letter asking for help with his bakery on the small island of Texel, they jump at the opportunity to get away from their messy relationships on the mainland. It's only when they arrive on the island that Fleur and Rosa realize they are stuck with each other – again. And this time, running away isn't an option…

Leseprobe

Prologue

She did not know which memories she cherished more: those of the island or of their friendship. She could still see the two of them running on the beach, holding on to the kite’s string. Elegant as a seabird, the candy pink kite shot into the air as they watched it, squealing with delight. The wind played with their hair and still now she felt the sun on her face and heard the rushing of the ever-present surf. Exhausted from hours on the beach, they drove to the bakery, where grandma had just sold all the bread and cakes, always except for two delicious pastries. Grandma led them into the garden behind the bakery, which in her memory was always in bloom, and there, under the trees, they enjoyed lemonade with apple pie, cherry tart or chocolate puffs as they heard the sea rush behind the dunes. And after all the goodies were finished, they begged grandpa to get back out there.

In her childhood brain, the island was still endless, even if everywhere was at most 20 minutes away. As a child, neither had noticed that every day went the same. Running on the beach, breathing in the sea air on the dyke and bird-watching through binoculars with grandpa, eating cake in their own tea garden, waving goodbye to the ferry full of tourists and then joining grandma’s delicious dinner. Summers were wonderful, as were winters, which quietly followed. They were almost the same, except that the bakery garden was replaced by the big kitchen table that stood between the ovens and grandpa’s work tables. They were always together, all over the island. They saw tourists come and go, but they stayed.

Until that one day that changed everything. Now she was on the boat. On the pier, they waved her off and as they called out words to each other that were driven away by the wind, tears ran down her cheeks. Things would never be the same again. There were still summers and winters on the island, but they ended as quickly as they came. Their time together was suddenly limited. Now she often sat alone with grandma in the garden or in the kitchen. The pastries no longer tasted so good. The island seemed empty and smaller until the day came that she too had to pack her bags. On the boat, she stared at the ever-shrinking island. Without regret. The island was in the past, a place in her life history she would not visit much again. Real life waited on the other side, in the big city. There she would become successful and happy. Just like her dear friend. The island, the bakery with its tea garden and, yes, even grandpa and grandma were forgotten. But somewhere in the back of both their minds were the memories, which became all the stronger when things went horribly wrong.

1

‘Congratulations!’

Fleur van Nierop disappeared in a double embrace of her friends Kyra and Merel.

‘Thanks so much.’ She gasped and tried to straighten her hair again.

‘This looks really great.’ Merel let go of her and looked around. ‘Wow, Maison RosaFleur Downtown. That just sounds hugely successful right from the start.’

‘That remains to be seen,’ Fleur said.

‘Are you kidding? The other two shops are also running like hell, so it will totally work here,’ Kyra said, pulling Fleur in once more. ‘It really has turned out beautifully.’

‘Yes, that’s Rosa’s work.’ The meaningful look Kyra and Merel gave each other could hardly escape Fleur’s notice.

‘Is the man-eater coming too?’ Merel asked.

‘Of course. It’s her business too.’

‘Hm,’ Merel said.

‘Well,’ Kyra said.

‘Come on, girls.’ Fleur was in no mood for an argument she had had dozens of times before. She directed her friends further into the patisserie, to the table with the champagne. Booze always helped to dodge difficult issues. ‘We are going to make a success of the opening today without discussion.’

‘Of course. We’re here to help you,’ Kyra said.

‘On every front you can think of,’ Merel stressed.

‘Merel!’ Fleur looked at her quizzically.

‘I don’t mean anything by that,’ Merel replied.

‘I want you to be nice to Rosa.’

Merel shrugged. ‘I’m always nice.’

Fleur decided to let the subject rest. She knew that when it came down to it, her friends would do their best to make this important day a success, even if they had to do things that went against their conscience. Like being nice to her business partner Rosa. ‘What do you guys think of the end result?’

‘The connection with the other two shops is immediately obvious,’ Kyra said.

‘Yes, it really has become a patisserie chain,’ Fleur said proudly.

‘Wow, our friend owns a chain of shops. Soon you’ll have all kinds of foreign branches too,’ said Kyra, whose imagination knew no bounds.

‘Amsterdam is enough for me,’ Fleur replied. Even now, she wondered how she was going to manage it all with the three locations spread across the capital. Owning an actual chain of shops sounded great, but in practice it mostly meant spending a lot of time in the car, getting stuck in traffic jams and being late everywhere all the time. Fleur looked around her third shop with a sudden feeling of endless fatigue. It had taken all her energy to get this done. And now it was really beginning. She yearned for a day off, for sleeping in and not leaving the house. For not seeing anyone and not thinking, for romantic films with bad endings so she could have a good cry.

She shook off those feelings for the umpteenth time. The patisserie was beautiful. Rosa had once again gone all out with her interior design. The bright, sleek and chic space had glass display cases with pastries and chocolates. A modern chandelier hung from the ceiling – not really Fleur’s taste, but it suited the rest of the interior. The counter was equally sleek and on top were two smaller display cases with even more pastries. Customers were tempted to buy things everywhere they looked for the very simple reason that there was nothing else to distract them. All you could look at were the display cases full of goodies. With that concept, the shop matched the other two exactly. But in case anyone still doubted who the owners of this new shop were, the striking logo of Maison RosaFleur, also designed by Rosa of course, made that clear.

Kyra grabbed the bottle of champagne from the table. ‘May I?’

Fleur hesitated. The opening was an official moment, scheduled for later that day. The specially invited guests had yet to arrive, but Fleur yearned for a sip of alcohol. ‘Oh, do. I have another bottle in the back.’

‘Okay, everyone!’ Kyra shook the bottle.

‘No!’ cried Fleur. ‘I just mopped the floor.’

Kyra grinned. Deftly, she uncorked the bottle. With a loud plop, the cork fell onto the shiny floor. Champagne foamed down.

Fleur watched with a mixture of disgust and resignation.

‘We’ll clean it up soon,’ Merel promised as she held two glasses to the bottle to catch some of the precious stuff. Moments later, the three of them stood together, holding an overly full glass.

‘To you, to your patisserie and to your tremendous success,’ Kyra said as she tapped her glass against Fleur’s.

‘Yes, and to your happiness.’ Merel nodded to her warmly.

Happiness. Fleur tapped her glass against her friends’. She had once felt happiness. Now it was gone.

‘Look.’ Kyra nodded outside. ‘There’s already a line of people waiting.’

‘Oh well, that’s just nosy tourists,’ Fleur replied. She didn’t know why she suddenly felt so down. Even a whole row of potential customers couldn’t make her happy. She just wondered if she had made enough pastries and chocolates.

‘It doesn’t matter. As long as they buy something.’

‘Shall we open the doors?’ Merel asked.

‘No, we can’t do that. We have to wait for Rosa and Cas.’

‘Why?’

‘Because it’s also Rosa’s business. And we’ve invited some guests. My parents are coming soon too.’

‘We might as well start without them,’ Merel replied.

‘No, we are doing the opening officially and together,’ Fleur said decidedly. She put down her glass and walked to the back. She took out a bucket and a mop from the cleaning room.

‘I’ll do it.’ Kyra took the mop from her.

Fleur sighed and returned to the back. Here was a small but functional kitchen, meant for putting the finishing touches on the many pastries and chocolates. On the countertop and in every empty spot she could find were plates full of tiny, shiny chocolate pastries. If you hovered above them, you could easily see your face reflected in the frosting. Fleur grabbed a box of red berries from the fridge and placed two berries on each miniature pastry. Sceptically, she looked at the end result of the first series. Sleek, modern, seductive. Still, a dollop of whipped cream wouldn’t look out of place, or a nice, bright chocolate. But that did not suit this patisserie, where efficient, sleek and bare had driven out all the mustiness, whipped cream and warm apple pie. Just like in their other patisseries, by the way. And this was the right concept. Her photo on Instagram of this elegant mini-artwork already had more than 10,000 likes. For every 25 euros spent in the shop on this opening day, customers would get one of these small pastries to take home. An extra treat that would hopefully attract even more people. Fleur knew how to play social media with her pastries and chocolates, and she had succeeded again. But instead of being happy with her success, she became increasingly worried as her post got more and more likes. Seemingly, all of Amsterdam was planning to buy some to get their hands on the shiny chocolate pastry with secret filling. Did she have enough? Wouldn’t she have to disappoint future customers later on? That would be disastrous for their reputation.

‘Surely you have enough,’ said Merel, who had come to stand next to her. ‘You have some plates in the van too, don’t you?’

Fleur nodded. She had driven back and forth three times early this morning from the large bakery that belonged to their second shop.

‘Hey.’ Merel pulled her in for a hug. ‘Did you actually sleep the last few nights?’

‘Hardly,’ Fleur admitted. ‘But yes, that’s normal this close to an opening.’

‘Spoken like an old hand, having been through several openings.’ Merel laughed, but Fleur did not feel her joy. This opening was different. It seemed like she couldn’t draw any energy from the prospect of another great shop soon. That dream, which had provided an endless dose of adrenaline at the other two shops, was not enough now to even get her out of bed. In fact, preparing for this third shop had been a long torture in which even the end goal seemed futile in her eyes. But she couldn’t tell anyone, not even Merel and Kyra.

She picked up a plate and walked into the shop, where she set the pastries down on the counter. Merel followed her with another plate.

‘You are going to enjoy today,’ Merel said decidedly. ‘Today we are working for you and everything you tell us to do we will do without a murmur.’

‘Everything?’ Fleur laughed despite her gloomy feelings. Suddenly she saw a whole spectrum of possibilities in front of her.

‘Well, maybe not quite everything,’ replied Merel, who had apparently seen her look.

‘No, I am not going to stand at the station half-naked, with only some pastries in my hands, to solicit customers,’ Kyra shouted as she wrung out the mop.

‘And you won’t get me in a wedding dress to convince brides to choose your wedding cakes at the wedding fair,’ Merel complemented.

‘I thought those were very good ideas, though,’ Fleur replied shrugging.

‘Sure, if you’re fed up with your own career and life, it’s best to do that.’

‘Imagine if Merel’s boss saw her at that station.’ Kyra suddenly yawned. Merel’s boss was none other than the managing director of an international, decent bank with a reputation almost equal to that of Mother Teresa.

‘He really wouldn’t survive it,’ Merel predicted gloomily.

‘Has he actually asked you out yet?’ Fleur asked interestedly.

‘Oh, stop,’ Merel moaned.

‘You do realise that if you marry him you will never have to work one more day, right?’ Kyra asked jealously.

‘He is 20 years older than me,’ Merel said.

‘But he’s nice,’ Fleur replied. ‘And reliable.’

‘20 years, Fleur,’ Merel repeated.

‘And you like him a lot too,’ Fleur continued a little meanly.

‘What does it matter? Twenty years is really too much,’ Merel said.

‘Love knows no age,’ Kyra said wisely.

‘I disagree,’ Merel replied. Fleur knew she was only trying to convince herself because Kyra and she had long since been convinced of the good intentions of Clive Randall, the bank’s director, who was originally of British origin. He was a true English gentleman, straight out of a Jane Austen story. If Fleur did not renounce men for the rest of her life, she would run off with Clive.

‘But now we still have no answer as to whether he asked her out,’ Kyra said with a wink at Fleur. Fleur watched with interest as Merel turned as red as the berries on the chocolate pastries.

‘I think so,’ Fleur replied.

‘Yes, okay, okay. He asked me out,’ Merel admitted.

‘Oooh,’ Kyra sighed.

‘And I said I would think about it.’

‘What?’ Fleur noticed that Kyra instantly snapped out of her romantic dream. ‘Are you out of your mind?’

‘Twenty years, Kyra. Twenty years! And now I don’t want to talk about it anymore.’ Merel walked away from them demonstratively, seemingly to rearrange some pastries in the display case in the corner of the patisserie. Kyra cast Fleur a telling glance.

‘Maybe we should stop talking about it,’ Fleur said. ‘It’s her choice and she should do what feels right.’

‘Well, I would know.’

Fleur pulled Kyra against her for a moment. For her friend, the successful Clive was a dream of a man whom she was convinced would never cross her path in life. Kyra also had every reason to think so, as her love path was littered with losers who had mostly used her.

The shop bell chimed old-fashionedly. Fleur looked up and saw Rosa and Cas entering. She sighed deeply and straightened her back.

‘Don’t be cowed,’ Kyra hissed in her ear. ‘Let him feel what he has lost.’

Fleur swallowed and looked from Rosa to Cas and back again. Damn, it still hurt so much. And there was very little chance Cas would regret his choice today. Rosa drew all attention away from the beautiful shop as if she were a delectable strawberry pastry surrounded by sagging and mouldy banana puffs. She was wearing a bright red dress that totally suited her image as a successful designer of shops. Her gorgeous dark hair waved around her beautiful, expressive face. Fleur glanced down at the dungarees and yellow T-shirt that she had put on early this morning to add the finishing touches here. A dirty apron, full of chocolate smudges, completed the look. She felt at her blonde, spiky hair and noticed that it had long since escaped the elastic band that should have held it together. Moreover, she suspected that some chocolate glaze here and there added cachet to her messy appearance. She put her already dirty glasses straight on her nose and in a hopeless, sickening moment she completely understood why Cas had left her for her cousin Rosa. Who wouldn’t want to spend the rest of their life with that gorgeous woman?

‘Fleur!’ Kyra nudged her. ‘Don’t!’

Kyra knew her thoughts. She had expressed them aloud often enough in tears and surrounded by countless tissues. This was not the place for sadness. She was opening her third patisserie. She was a successful pastry chef and an entrepreneur with even some staff under her. She had a lot to offer any man. Only, apparently, that man was not Cas. Angry at herself, Fleur shook off this thought.

‘Hi Fleur.’ Cas approached her. His arm, which a moment before had been around Rosa’s shoulder, hung down his body again. It did not escape Fleur’s notice that Rosa was widening the distance between her and Cas as if they were not a couple at all, and as if they together were not responsible for the nightmare Fleur had fallen into.

‘Hi.’ Fleur wished she had a full sentence at her disposal that would show her intelligence and dignity. But of course she did not know what else to say and to make matters worse, she also felt her cheeks turning red.

‘Wow, now with those full display cases in there, it’s absolutely fantastic,’ Rosa said.

‘Yes,’ Fleur replied.

‘Oh, and all those pastries. They’re great, Fleur.’

‘Thank you. That neat look was a good idea of yours,’ Fleur admitted unwillingly.

‘We got so much publicity. There’s a whole queue outside,’ Rosa said.

‘I’ve seen it.’

‘Maison RosaFleur Downtown. I’m so happy.’ Rosa’s beaming eyes showed she meant it. Fleur wished she could feel so happy too, but she just couldn’t.

‘You did a great job, girls.’ Cas looked at Fleur and she felt herself grow warm. Surely his unconcealed pride meant something? It had to. His gaze slid to Rosa, whom he looked at just as proudly. No, it meant nothing.

‘What can I do?’ Rosa looked at her questioningly.

Fleur shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Just run through everything to see if I haven’t forgotten anything.’

Rosa smiled. ‘Okay, though I’m sure you’ve arranged everything perfectly, Fleur, as always.’

Fleur turned away from her, not knowing what to do with this compliment.

‘There’s the family.’ Cas nodded towards the door, which once again swung open and this time let in Fleur’s parents and her aunt and uncle, Rosa’s parents. She cast a sidelong glance at Cas, who seemed to hesitate. If she were him, she would have wanted to disappear now. Yet Cas did not seem intent on fleeing to the back, which annoyed Fleur. She walked towards her parents and hugged them.

‘Oh, dear. It’s fantastic.’ Her mother looked around the shop proudly. ‘You’ve done very well.’

‘Totally awesome,’ her father confirmed.

‘I concur.’ Uncle Joris, Rosa’s father and her mother’s brother, nodded to Fleur.

‘This is the most beautiful one so far,’ Aunt Elze said.

‘So far? Fleur’s mother looked at her sister-in-law questioningly.

‘There are more to come, mark my words. Our daughter’s ambition knows no bounds.’

‘Well, I think this is enough for now.’ Fleur’s mother protectively wrapped an arm around her daughter.

‘Okay, of course, there doesn’t have to be another patisserie right away.’

‘I don’t think so either. Fleur has been through a lot recently.’ Suddenly an icy silence fell.

‘Mum!’ hissed Fleur, breaking free from her embrace. ‘There’s nothing wrong.’

‘You look tired,’ her mother said imperturbably.

Fleur did not know where to look. Suddenly she was the centre of a group of worried relatives. Not only her parents and aunt and uncle stared at her, but also Rosa and Cas. Shit, she really couldn’t stand this now.

‘Of course I look tired. I baked and glazed all night. Don’t they look beautiful?’ Fleur pulled her mother along to the counter.

‘I’m just worried about you,’ muttered her mother, who was obviously not distracted by the manoeuvre.

‘That’s not necessary.’

‘It must be tough for you to see Rosa and Cas together.’

‘Yeah, well, I better get used to that, right?’

‘Fleur…’ Her mother looked at her penetratingly. ‘I mean it, I’m worried about you. You’ve been working way too hard recently.’

‘Surely that makes sense when you open a third business.’

‘Your hard work has nothing to do with it. You just didn’t want to feel anything or think about what happened to you.’

Fleur glanced over her mother’s shoulder, where the entire family was still staring at her. ‘Nothing happened to me. Things go the way they go. It all happened by mutual agreement.’

Her mother rolled her eyes. ‘That really doesn’t make it any less painful.’

‘I could never stand in the way of the happiness of the people I love.’

‘Very nicely said. But what about your happiness? I don’t feel that anyone has even considered that.’

Fleur had had more than enough of this conversation. The shop bell saved her. The councillor they had invited stepped in with the local press in his wake. Oh, shit. Not already. Fleur glanced down at her dungarees and felt panic rising. ‘I have to change.’

‘Fleur, come with me.’ Kyra popped up and pulled her away from her mother. Fleur was grateful to her for that for more than one reason. Her friend pushed her into the back room next to the kitchen, which was now full of boxes. Later, this was supposed to become a cosy space where salespeople could retreat for a while or talk at length with customers about their bigger needs. Right now, it didn’t look like it. Fleur shook off that thought. Yes, this too should have been ready by now, perhaps, but they really hadn’t got around to it.

‘Time to shine.’ Kyra pulled out a huge bag and unzipped it.

‘Oh, Kyra, it’s beautiful.’ Bewildered, Fleur stared at the beautiful, deep green dress that very subtly featured a pattern of red roses. The roses were a reference to the sumptuous, lavish rose cake she had caused a furore with early in her career as a pastry chef, which had put their first shop on the map. How different that cake was from the sleek pastries that now filled the display cases.

‘Do you like it?’ Kyra looked at her uncertainly.

Carefully, Fleur touched the fabric. ‘It is fantastic.’ She was no connoisseur of fabrics, but she could also easily see that this dress had to be very expensive. ‘I can’t afford this, Kyra. I really can’t.’

‘This is my gift to you. You’ve earned it, sweetheart.’ Kyra removed the dress from its sheath. ‘I want you to shine at this party so everyone can see how wonderful you are.’

Fleur knew very well that by everyone Kyra meant just Rosa and Cas. ‘This has taken you weeks.’

‘That doesn’t matter, does it? You’re my best friend.’

‘I will have my picture taken from all sides and I will make sure it is clear in all the media that you made this dress. Surely someone must see how talented you are.’

Kyra shrugged. ‘Me and a million others.’

Fleur shook her head. ‘No, you are unique.’

‘Now go put it on before the press only takes pictures of Rosa.’

Fleur hugged her friend. ‘Thank you.’ She ducked into the toilet and changed. The dress fit like a glove. She hadn’t expected anything else. Kyra was a needle-wonder. And yet it wasn’t right. This was a dress Rosa would wear, not her. The lavish colour suited Rosa’s social nature, the fact that she was always the centre of attention everywhere. It didn’t suit Fleur, who liked to watch all the fuss from the sidelines and then pretend she wasn’t there herself. It was as if she wanted to imitate her cousin with this dress.

Suddenly, Fleur felt ridiculous. She had asked Kyra to design a dress to stand out, purely in the hope that Cas would see her again. What a humiliating, pathetic reason. But it was too late. She had to show herself in the dress. She couldn’t do it to Kyra not to wear it. She ran a comb through her hair, pulled out the glaze with a pained face and playfully put it up. Unfortunately, she also noticed immediately that she needed a good layer of make-up to cover up the puffiness that was clearly visible behind the glasses. Fleur rummaged in her bag and plastered away all her sadness as if it had never existed. With a deep sigh, she looked at her now unreal mirror image. She looked ridiculous. Like a clone of Rosa. She swallowed and averted her gaze.

‘Does it fit?’ cried Kyra.

Fleur threw open the door. Kyra jumped up and down with joy when she saw her. ‘So Cas, put that in your pipe and smoke it,’ she said triumphantly.

Fleur shrugged. ‘I don’t think that’s what it’s about.’

‘Really.’ Kyra walked around her, smoothing out a few more imaginary creases here and there. ‘He’s going to regret it one day.’

Fleur decided it was time for the hard truth. Not just for Kyra, but also for herself. ‘No, he won’t. Rosa is his great love.’

‘That’s what he thinks now.’

‘Kyra, I have to let this go and so do you. It’s really over between Cas and me.’

Kyra sighed deeply. ‘Do you really believe that?’

‘I have to. Surely you can see for yourself how happy they are. Rosa is the one Cas wants to share his life with.’

‘So you just step aside?’ Kyra looked at her inquiringly.

‘What else am I supposed to do? What’s the point of continuing to fight?’ Fleur realised she was speaking more to herself than to her friend. ‘I should never have given you the order for this dress.’

‘Why not?’ Kyra asked.

‘I look like Rosa.’

‘That’s not true,’ Kyra said fiercely. ‘You look fantastic. Really.’

‘I look like someone I am not. I radiate something I don’t feel.’

‘Fleur.’ Kyra put her hands on her shoulders and looked at her penetratingly. ‘Maybe we chose this design for the wrong reason, but this dress can also serve an entirely different purpose. It shows how beautiful and successful you are. And you are. You are opening your third shop today. You may radiate that. Regardless of the whole situation.’

Fleur swallowed. ‘I don’t feel successful at all, Kyra.’

‘I know.’ Kyra hugged her and held her tight. ‘But now you mustn’t give in to it. The roses don’t represent Rosa, they represent that delicious rose cake you made for the first shop.’

‘Yes, I know, but nobody remembers that.’

‘I do, and that pastry was blissful. Why isn’t it actually here in the display cases?’

‘It doesn’t suit our new, sleek style,’ Fleur said.

‘I do know that pastries are also true works of art these days, but isn’t this going a bit far?’ Kyra asked.

Before Fleur could answer, a knock on the door announced Merel. ‘Are you okay there?’

‘Fleur is having a Cas moment.’

‘Oh.’ Merel immediately came over and hugged Fleur too, so that she was sandwiched between her two friends. She didn’t need to explain anything to them. They both knew that a Cas moment meant she was about to burst into tears. For a moment, she allowed herself to stand limp and defenceless between them. A lone tear ran down her cheek.

‘Mind your make-up,’ said the ever-practical Merel.

Fleur had to smile despite the situation. ‘Yes, yes, okay.’ It was amazing how her friends always dragged her through everything.

‘You look breathtaking,’ Merel said. ‘You really are a top talent, Kyra.’

‘Too bad you are the only ones who think so,’ Kyra said gloomily.

For a moment, Fleur forgot about her own problems and kissed Kyra on her cheek. ‘I’m sure the whole world will soon know what talent you have.’

‘Sorry, am I interrupting?’

Fleur felt her friends’ arms slip away from her. Standing in the doorway was Rosa.

‘Yes, you are indeed interrupting,’ Merel said. ‘What do you want?’

‘The councillor and the press are waiting.’

‘Yes, we understood that a long time ago,’ Merel said fiercely. ‘You don’t need to come here for that.’

‘Merel.’ Fleur pulled her back. ‘We’re coming.’

‘She always manages to spoil all the moments too,’ Merel said loud enough for Rosa to hear even though she was already walking out of the room.

‘You have to stop this,’ Fleur said sternly. ‘Despite everything, Rosa is and will always be my business partner.’

Merel shrugged. ‘She’s not mine, so I can say what I want.’

Fleur sighed. ‘Yes, you have that right, of course, but none of it helps.’

‘Fleur thinks we should let it go,’ Kyra explained obligingly. ‘We all have to accept that Rosa is Cas’s great love.’

‘Indeed.’ Fleur looked at her friends decidedly, ignoring the pain she felt.

‘That’s complete nonsense, of course,’ Merel said. ‘Cas is an idiot and Rosa a man-worshipper.’

Fleur raised her hands imploringly. ‘Girls, come on. You have experienced everything up close. It’s not so black and white.’

‘He should have chosen you. What a cowardly, weak…’ began Merel.

‘Stop it now!’ Fleur had had enough, even though she appreciated that her friends were right behind her and did not hesitate to let everyone know.

‘Yes, Merel, let’s just do what Fleur says.’ Kyra walked around her one more time inspectingly. ‘You’re ready for the councillor and the press.’

Merel muttered some more inwardly, but otherwise kept her tirade inside. Fleur was grateful to her for that. Ahead of her friends, she walked into the shop, where Rosa had stood in front of the assembled guests. The shop was crammed, Fleur saw. She spotted friends and family, but also strange faces and, of course, some journalists. After all, she had managed to attract attention again through her popular Instagram photos. She went to stand next to Rosa. Two years ago, they were also standing next to each other like this, she suddenly remembered. Back then for the opening of their second business. Two cousins and friends, overjoyed together by their success, proud of their joint achievement, arm in arm in front of a then much smaller crowd. How different was it now? To Fleur’s feeling, she was standing next to a stranger, a woman she preferred never to see again. How much could change in two years.

Rosa, of course, gave the speech. Fleur really didn’t have to think about that. With her bubbly personality, lilting voice and funny anecdotes, Rosa had the audience on her hand in no time. Fleur barely heard what she was saying. Everyone applauded, phones were held up for the necessary photos, some professional photographers clicked fanatically. The third shop of Maison RosaFleur had opened. Now the door opened to the customers waiting outside, hunting for the pastries Fleur had made as an opening gift. The employees ducked behind the till. Fleur knew she didn’t have to check on them, they were experienced workers from the other shops.

‘Fleur? Rosa?’ A woman their age beckoned to them. Next to her stood a man with a large photo camera. ‘I am Willemijn, I write for the women’s section of The Daily News. I would love to write an article about you. Our audience loves women’s success stories.’

Success story? Fleur was close to tears.

‘Could I take pictures of you and ask you some questions?’

Fleur hesitated and looked at Rosa, who looked at her just as unsure. Publicity was always good. For the sake of their business, they had no choice. ‘Yes, of course,’ Fleur said accordingly.

‘Oh, nice. Can you stand over there by the counter by those pastries? Then Pieter will take some photos here.’

With a sense of distaste, Fleur walked to the counter. Rosa came to stand beside her.

‘Come on, a bit closer together!’ cried Pieter. ‘Like you like each other.’ He laughed at his own joke, but Fleur found nothing funny about it. What was she doing? ‘Just put your arms around each other. Yes, good!’

Fleur wanted most to run away when Rosa put her arm around her.

‘You are cousins, aren’t you?’ Willemijn asked. Fleur could only nod silently. ‘And girlfriends?’ the journalist asked on. A head nod sufficed, Fleur knew, but it cost her the utmost effort.

‘How did you come up with the idea of opening a patisserie shop?’

As always when there was a need to speak, Rosa did the talking. ‘We both more or less grew up in our grandfather’s bakery shop in Texel. We learnt the trade from him.’

‘He must be proud of you,’ said Willemijn.

Fleur looked at Rosa for a moment. Was their grandfather proud of them? Actually, she had no idea if he even knew about their third business. She hadn’t been in touch with him in ages. From Rosa’s red cheeks, Fleur could see that she too had forgotten their grandfather in all the commotion. She knew Rosa all too well. ‘He is very proud,’ Fleur said anyway. After all, publicity had to show the fairy-tale version of their story and not the raw reality.

‘What challenges do you have as best friends and cousins working together?’ Willemijn asked.

Well, it was very challenging to stay nice when your so-called best friend took the love of your life away from you. Fleur bit her lip and thought that Rosa should just come up with an answer. After all, this whole situation was her fault. But the ever so eloquent Rosa was also apparently at a loss for words. Why were they standing here keeping up appearances? Did they have to send this lie about their friendship out into the world?

‘No challenges, eh?’ Willemijn chuckled. ‘You really are the ideal couple.’

Fleur smiled with difficulty and Rosa too had a fake smile on her face.

‘I will write a nice article about you and this opening,’ Willemijn said.

‘By the way, this dress was made by Kyra van Vlijmen,’ Fleur said quickly.

Willemijn shook her head. ‘It’s very nice, but I don’t do this kind of surreptitious advertising.’

‘Maybe you could interview her anyway. Kyra has great designs.’ Fleur pointed to her friend, her real friend.

‘We’ll see.’ Willemijn nodded at her and walked away from them. Fleur breathed a sigh of relief. What a ridiculous display this was. Was this what her life was going to be like now? Keeping up appearances everywhere? Lying everywhere? She couldn’t bring herself to do that. She knew that already. She was so tired of all this.

‘Are you all right? You look tired.’ Rosa looked at her with concern.

‘Yes, I’m fine.’ Fleur wished this day was finally over. Given the influx, she could forget about that for now.

‘I guess it will be a nice story,’ Rosa said.

Fleur shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t really care anymore.

‘Can I have a word with you?’ Rosa looked at her almost pleadingly.

‘You’re talking to me now, right?’

‘In private.’

Fleur hesitated. Speaking to Rosa in private was something she had avoided for months. Did she even want to hear what Rosa had to say?

‘Please.’

‘Okay then.’ Fleur gestured to the room behind the shop and Rosa followed her. Fleur closed the door and looked at her expectantly.

‘This may not be the right time, but I want to tell you anyway before you hear about it through others.’ Rosa looked past her and Fleur felt herself slowly chilling. Could she still leave here? ‘Cas and I are getting married.’

All the blood drained from her face. ‘Getting married? She heard herself how broken her voice sounded.

Rosa nodded.

Getting married? Then it was really over. Then there was no hope. Fleur walked to the small window that looked out over a bare courtyard surrounded by high walls. The ground here had never seen sunshine and looked just as she felt. Dark, bleak, empty and devoid of life.

What was she whining about? She knew it was over, didn’t she? That Cas was going to marry Rosa was only the logical next step. Yet it was as if her world was collapsing again. For the umpteenth time this year.

‘Fleur?’ She heard Rosa walking towards her.

‘How nice. Congratulations.’ She had no idea how she had got the words out of her mouth. They sounded forced and empty.

‘You don’t have to say that. I know you don’t mean it.’

‘Will you please leave?’

‘I’m sorry, Fleur. Cas didn’t want to keep it to himself any longer, you know what he’s like and I didn’t want you to hear it through back channels. I know how terrible this must be for you.’

‘Go away, Rosa.’ Fleur could not turn around. Rosa, who knew her better than anyone else, would immediately see how she collapsed, how she was beset by despair and pain again.

‘Fleur, please.’ Rosa’s voice sounded pleading, but she did not come any closer.

‘Go away.’ Fleur’s voice was no more than a whisper.

‘What are you doing here?’ Merel’s clear voice suddenly sounded in the room.

‘I had to tell Fleur something.’ Rosa’s voice was still trembling.

‘What?’ Merel changed from woman to defensive wall, Fleur heard.

‘Cas and I are getting married.’

‘Bitch!’ Merel shrugged fiercely and this time Fleur made no effort to stop her. ‘And you just had to tell her today? What a bitch you are. Get lost.’

Fleur heard some tugging and pushing and the door slammed shut.

‘Fleur?’

The tears were already flowing. She looked down at her beautiful dress. A dress in which she had wanted to stand out, in which she had wanted to be like Rosa. But she was not Rosa. That was why Cas had left her. Forever. She sank through her knees and immediately she felt Merel’s arms around her. All she could do was whimper. Again. Intense sobs shuddered through her body. She could do no more.

Amid all her grief, a clear thought occurred to her. She could not go on like this.

2

‘Let’s go home.’ Rosa put a hand on Cas’s arm.

Inquiringly, he looked at her. ‘Already?’

‘Yes, the girls can manage by the looks of it. They are our most experienced.’

‘You won’t let Merel and Kyra scare you away, will you?’

‘No, I told Fleur of our marriage.’

Cas nodded understandingly. ‘Okay, but that’s no reason to run away, girl.’

‘I shouldn’t have done it.’

‘Otherwise, she would have found out another way. I don’t want to hide our relationship any longer. I want to shout it from the rooftops that I love you.’ Rosa smiled wearily.

‘Hey.’ Cas pulled her against him for a moment in the middle of the patisserie full of people. ‘We haven’t done anything wrong. We’ve always been honest.’

Rosa saw Fleur’s mother looking at them disapprovingly. ‘But no one sees it that way.’

Cas followed her gaze. ‘They will have to get used to it.’

‘Fleur’s family is also my family.’

‘I know, dear.’

Rosa was silent. How could she ever explain to Cas how lonely and guilty she felt? By choosing Cas, she had alienated almost everyone. She was just the one who had taken Cas away from Fleur. Like a true man-eater and diva, she had gone for her goal and she had taken someone else’s man. Only it hadn’t gone that way. Unfortunately, no one wanted to hear that story.

‘I just want to leave. I can’t stand all those stares anymore.’

‘This is also your opening and your shop.’

Rosa shrugged her shoulders. For weeks she had dreaded this moment. The moment she had to face Fleur’s parents again, not to mention Merel and Kyra. Accusations hung all over the shop. Rosa would have preferred to close the shop immediately so she never had to come here again.

‘I think we should stay a while longer.’ Cas squeezed her hand and looked at her encouragingly. ‘Running away won’t solve anything.’

He was right, of course. It would be strange for her, as co-owner, to leave the premises so early. ‘Okay.’ Rosa glanced at the still-closed door of the back room. Her news had hurt Fleur greatly, she realised only too well. Should she have told her? Was there ever a good time to deprive someone you loved of all hope?

‘Your designs get better every time.’ Elze, her mother, came to stand beside her with a glass of champagne in hand. ‘Even though this shop belongs to the other two, I can clearly see your growth too.’

‘Thank you, mum.’ Rosa glowed with pride at the compliment. Her mother was a designer of world renown. The interiors of many extraordinary buildings were by her hand. Rosa had learnt the trade from the best.

‘Judy and Peter have asked if we will join them for a drink.’ Joris, Rosa’s father, also emerged from the crowd.

Elze heaved a deep sigh. ‘Do we really have to?’

‘Yes, we really should.’ Rosa’s father was always implacable when it came to his sister, Fleur’s mother. The bond between them was close. Something Rosa’s mother just wouldn’t understand. He put an arm around Rosa’s shoulders. ‘I’m sorry, darling.’

‘I wasn’t invited,’ Rosa understood.

‘For that reason alone, we shouldn’t go. I wish they would finally put this whole unsavoury business behind them.’ Elze sipped her champagne.

‘Fleur is very hurt by…’ Joris was silent and looked apologetically from Rosa to Cas. ‘My sister just wants to protect her as a mother.’

‘We understand,’ Cas said.

Rosa only nodded. She was afraid that if she said anything, her parents would hear the tears in her voice. How much she used to love coming to Fleur’s house? How many times had she sat on the old, worn-out sofa in the living room that her mother described at best as ‘cosy’? Lemonade and freshly baked biscuits were always at hand. As was a warm hug from her aunt Judy, who had never distinguished between her and Fleur. It was her second home. The place she went to when school was out, or later, when she finished at university. Now the front door of the simple terraced house in the Bijlmermeer near Amsterdam was forever closed to her.

‘She’ll get over it one day,’ her father said comfortingly.

‘Well, no. If you come after Fleur you come after Judy. She simply refuses to see the shortcomings in her own child,’ Elze said. Rosa knew her mother thought that was a bad trait, but she herself had always really appreciated how Aunt Judy was in life. Elze constantly saw flaws in everyone.

‘Mom, I don’t think the whole situation has anything to do with Fleur’s possible shortcomings.’

‘No, you’re right,’ her father said.

‘Of course it does. If Fleur was so perfect, you would have stayed with her, wouldn’t you, Cas?’

Oh no, had she really said that? Shocked, Rosa looked at her mother. ‘Mum, stop talking about it.’ To her horror, she saw Willemijn standing nearby. There went their carefully constructed image. She saw the journalist’s gaze glide over her seemingly uninterested. Had she heard her mother’s words? Rosa could already see the headlines in front of her. Two women fight over man among pastries or Female betrayal in a patisserie. Well, it was publicity, but surely not what Fleur had in mind when she talked about successful media campaigns and generating attention.

‘I’m just tired of the whole family treating you like a pariah,’ Elze said defensively.

Rosa bit her lip. Actually, she was fed up with that too. On the other hand, she kept feeling that she had brought it upon herself and deserved this.

‘Three grown-up persons have made a choice, it would be nice if everyone came to terms with that,’ Elze continued brightly.

‘It makes sense for Judy to take sides with her daughter,’ Rosa’s father said condescendingly.

‘Yeah, you always stick up for that sister of yours,’ Elze snapped at him.

‘Mum, leave it alone.’ Rosa looked at her pleadingly. Willemijn did come very close to them.

‘Yes, Elze, leave it. You can’t just change someone else’s feelings.’ Rosa’s father walked away from them annoyed. Rosa braced herself. The relationship between her and Cas had not only driven a wedge between her and Fleur, but had put all family relations on edge. Especially her good-natured and warm-hearted father, who loved his sister and her family, was having a very hard time of it. Rosa was essentially like her father. She always strove not to hurt anyone. But her very actions, prompted by her deep and passionate love for Cas, had hit the people she loved most rock hard. Fleur, of course, but also her parents and her dear aunt and uncle. Not so long ago, her feelings of guilt were so intense that she had vowed to Cas to break off their relationship. Only she loved him so much. And what did it solve? The harm had been done for a long time.

‘Oh, aren’t those pastries cute!’ A high-pitched voice broke through Rosa’s thoughts. ‘I’ll buy whatever it takes to sink my teeth into those!’ She saw a somewhat stout woman make her way to the till. Rosa straightened her back and walked towards the woman. It was time she started acting like an owner and not an outcast victim. Her job had always been to welcome and guide customers once the design was done. Fleur worked in the bakery and she talked to the customers. Rosa enjoyed this division of labour.

‘Can I help you?’

‘Oh, please. Yes, I want to get extra so I can bring my daughter and my mother lots of pastries. They immediately loved it when they saw it on Facebook.’

Rosa smiled. As so often, Fleur’s social media campaign was a great success. ‘They have indeed turned out very nice. What else would you like to have?’

‘Did you make them yourself?’ the woman asked, ignoring her question.

‘No, my friend… business partner. She’s the pastry chef,’ Rosa said.

‘Oh, that one has great talent,’ the woman said as she grabbed her purse. Apparently, she had not heard Rosa’s slip of the tongue.

‘She learnt from the best,’ Rosa said.

‘Oh yeah?’ Curious, the woman looked at her.

‘From our grandfather. He had a bakery and my business partner and I were there a lot.’ Rosa hated that she constantly referred to Fleur as her business partner. Before, when they opened their second business, Fleur had still been her friend, her cousin. She was still the latter, of course, although many people around her would prefer to forget the family relationship.

‘Oh, so this is actually kind of a family affair.’

Rosa nodded. ‘Yes, you could see it that way.’ She followed the woman to the display cases, where she pointed out one pastry after another until she had ordered enough for three more give-aways. Rosa feared the woman’s family would be eating nothing but pastries for weeks. Satisfied, the woman left the shop after Rosa had carefully placed the orders in boxes. Out of the corner of her eye, Rosa saw that the back room door opened again and Fleur appeared in the shop flanked by Kyra and Merel. Obviously, Kyra, who was a fashion designer and also very handy with make-up, had pulled out some powders and creams to fix Fleur up a bit. Rosa looked through that layer of make-up. She knew Fleur better than anyone else. She immediately saw how her news had reduced her cousin to a pile of misery. She shouldn’t have told her.

‘Any moment would have been a bad choice.’ Cas came up behind her and led her away from behind the till.

‘She still loves you.’ Rosa shrugged sadly.

‘I know.’ She noticed he was not immune to this thought either. ‘I love her too and I hate seeing her like this, just…’ Cas was silent.

‘I know.’ She squeezed his hand and smiled at him. Their love had been too strong to ignore, hard as they had tried. It had all been a futile and painful effort that had only delayed the inevitable longer.

‘Let’s go now,’ Cas said.

Rosa nodded. ‘I’ll tell Fleur.’

‘Okay.’

With lead in her shoes, Rosa walked over to Fleur, who had now moved behind the counter. Merel and Kyra stood by her as if they were bodyguards instead of friends. Willing to headbutt anyone who got too close to Fleur. Suspiciously, they both looked at her.

‘Cas and I are going home,’ Rosa said. Stupidly, what did she say now? She had meant to say, ‘I’m going home.’ Just so as not to stress their relationship.

‘Yes, bye-bye,’ Merel said spitefully.

‘Okay, thank you for everything, Rosa,’ Fleur said. Up close, she saw her red, teary eyes.

‘You’re welcome.’

‘I’ll text you.’

‘That’s fine.’ Rosa hesitated. Should she say anything else? Something to comfort or support Fleur? But Merel’s menacing look deterred her from doing so. She turned and walked back to Cas. ‘We can go home.’ She turned to see her parents and Fleur’s parents walking towards the girls, and soon the whole party was laughing at a raunchy remark from Fleur’s father. Rosa felt a stab in her heart. There stood her family, there stood her friends. They were going home together soon and she was not allowed to come along. As usual the last few months. Cas gripped her hand tight, but even his presence couldn’t stop her from feeling lonely and left out.

‘Hi mum.’ Rosa walked into her mother’s large, bright studio. It was still early, but her mother already looked like she had done mountains of work. She probably had. There were piles of paper on the big drawing tables and all over the studio were unusual art objects that inspired her mother to great deeds. She got them from everywhere and money was no object. Elze stood by a large sculpture with a colourful piece of fabric in her hand.

‘Hi, you’re late.’

‘It’s half past eight, mum.’

‘What?’ Her mother looked at her watch. ‘Oh, well, I feel like I’ve been here for hours.’

‘So you are, I suspect.’ Rosa went to her neatly tidy table in the studio. She waved to Robert, her mother’s loyal, slightly odd illustrator who was also busy. Rosa looked at the white surface that was the paper on her table now. By the end of the day, it was to contain a design for a window display for a luxury deli. Rosa was happy with the assignment; it was right up her street. Still, she wondered if she would forever be satisfied with the crumbs her mother gave her. Surely with Maison RosaFleur she had shown that she could handle larger projects just fine, that she could show coherence yet differences in the designs for the shops. Of course, her mother had wanted to get heavily involved in the design of Maison RosaFleur, but Rosa had held off. This was her project and hers alone.

‘I want to show you something.’ Her mother walked to the computer in the corner and Rosa meekly followed her. ‘Look.’

An exuberant logo appeared on the screen with the letters ‘E’ and ‘R’ woven into it.

‘Um, nice,’ Rosa said cautiously.

‘Nice?’ Her mother looked at her for a moment. ‘This will be our studio’s new logo.’

Rosa stared at the screen. Did she understand this correctly now? ‘Our studio?’

‘Yes, exactly. Our studio, Rosa. Mother and daughter. And soon, when I stop, it will be all yours.’

Overwhelmed, Rosa wondered how to react. Had they ever talked about this possibility? She couldn’t remember. Or did her mother take it for granted that Rosa would work in the studio for good? She had dropped hints often enough that she expected this, but there had never been a proper conversation about this option.

‘What do you think?’

‘I didn’t expect this,’ Rosa said truthfully.

‘It’s the next logical step. I really know you wanted to poke around and do other projects first. That’s also good for your experience, but now that the third patisserie is finished, maybe it’s time to take your place here.’

Rosa shook her head. ‘I don’t know about that, mum.’

‘I need you, Rosa. The work is growing over my head and you are the only one who understands my style a bit. Well, possibly you need some more time. Think about it. Do you already have some ideas for the shop window?’

‘Yes, sure,’ Rosa lied. It took her some effort to shift gears from fully going to work in the studio to designing a shop window. Slowly she walked to her workplace with her mother following behind. She had not thought about it at all. Last night she had hung out in front of the TV, wondering how the rest of her family were doing. ‘Was it fun yesterday?’

‘Yeah, well, you know Aunt Judy. She stuffs you all over with all kinds of homemade goodies.’

Rosa smiled at the memory. She had tasted many such delicacies in the past and she could not be stuffed enough with them back then. It was very clear that baking talent ran in the family. ‘Nice, right?’

‘It was fine.’ Rosa could see from her mother that she did not want to talk about it. She often avoided family topics and Rosa wondered if she did so to protect her or because her mother really didn’t care. She had always looked down on her sister-in-law, Judy, who was far too bourgeois in her eyes, as she called it. Rosa didn’t know what was wrong with bourgeois. She loved the cosy atmosphere at her aunt and uncle’s house. It was so different from her home.

‘What are you up to?’ Her mother tapped on the blank paper.

‘Erm.’ Rosa had been smart enough to look up some photos and colours to form the mood board. She grabbed her phone and showed her mother what she had put together.

‘Hm,’ said Elze. ‘This looks like RosaFleur.’

‘Really?’ Rosa hadn’t even noticed.

‘Same style and colour palette. The customer wants a window display from me.’