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An Offer You Can't Refuse

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Ten Years Ago

There are some places where you might expect to bump into your boyfriend's ultra-posh mother. At a Buckingham Palace garden party perhaps, or Glyndebourne, or turning her nose up at Ferrero Rochers at some foreign ambassador's cocktail party. And then there are other places you wouldn't expect to bump into her at all.

Like, for example, the Cod Almighty at the dodgier end of Tooting High Street.

'Blimey, it's Dougie's mum.' Instinctively wiping her hands on her green nylon apron and curbing the urge to curtsey — because Dougie's mum was that posh — Lola said brightly, 'Hello, Mrs Tennant, how lovely to see you!'

And how typical that she should turn up two minutes before closing, when all they had left to offer her was a tired-looking sausage and a couple of overlooked fishcakes. Maybe Alf could be persuaded to quickly chuck a couple of fresh pieces of haddock into the fryer and —

'Hello, Lola. I wondered if we could have a chat.' Even for a visit to a fish and chip shop, Dougie's mother's make-up was immaculate, her hair swept into a Princess Michael of Kent chignon.

'Oh, right. Absolutely. I'm just finishing here.' Lola glanced across at Alf, who made good-humored off-you-go gestures. 'We close at half past two. So you don't want anything to take away?'

Was that a shudder? Mrs Tennant shook her head and said with a flicker of amusement, 'I don't think so, do you?'

Having retrieved her shoulder bag from the back room and shrugged off her nylon apron — youch, static — Lola ducked under the swing-top counter and took the king-sized portion of chips Alf had wrapped up for her, seeing as they had so many left.

'Bye, Alf. See you tomorrow.'

'I can drop you home if you like,' said Dougie's mother. 'The car's just outside.'

Lola beamed; free chips and a lift home in a brand new Jaguar. This was definitely her lucky day.

Outside on the pavement it was stiflingly hot and muggy. Inside the Jaguar the cool air smelled deliciously of expensive leather and Chanel No. 19.

'This is such a great car,' sighed Lola, stroking the upholstery as Dougie's mother started the engine.

'Thank you. I like it.'

'How could anyone not like it?' Lola balanced the steaming parcel of chips in her lap, careful to keep it away from her bare legs. Her stomach was rumbling but she heroically resisted the temptation to open them. 'So why did you want to see me? Is this about Dougie's birthday?'

'No. Actually it's about you and Dougie. I want you to stop seeing him.'

Bam, just like that.

Lola blinked. 'Excuse me?'

'I'd like you to end your relationship with my son.'

This couldn't be happening. Her shoulders stiffening in disbelief, Lola watched as Dougie's mother drove along, as calm and unconcerned as if they were discussing nothing more taxing than the weather.

'Why?'

'He's eighteen years old.'

'Nearly nineteen.'

'He's eighteen now,' Mrs Tennant repeated firmly, 'and on his way to university. He is going to university.'

'I know.' Bewildered, Lola said, 'I'm not stopping him. We're going to see each other whenever we can, take it in turns to do the journey. I'll catch the coach up to Edinburgh every other weekend, and Dougie's going to drive down here when it's his turn, then —'

'No, no, no, I'm sorry but he won't. This isn't the kind of relationship Doug needs right now. He told me last night that he was having second thoughts about going to university. He wants to stay here. And that's all down to you, my girl. But I won't stand by and let you ruin his life.'

The hot chips were burning Lola's legs now. 'Honestly, I'm not ruining his life. I want the best for Dougie, just like you do. We love each other! I've already told him, if we miss each other too much I'll move up to Edinburgh and we'll live together!'

'Oh yes, he mentioned that too. And the next thing we know, you'd be feeling left out because he'd have all his university friends while you're stuck working behind the counter of some backstreet fish and chip shop.' Mrs Tennant's lip curled with disdain. 'So to regain his attention you'd accidentally get yourself pregnant. No, I'm sorry, I simply can't allow this to happen. Far better for you to make the break now.'

Who did this woman think she was?

'But I don't want to.' Lola's breathing was fast and shallow. 'And you can't force me to do it.'

'No, dear, of course I can't force you. But I can do my best to persuade you.'

'I won't be persuaded. I love Dougie. With all my heart,' Lola blurted out, determined to make his mother understand that this was no silly teenage fling.

'Ten thousand pounds, take it or leave it.'

'What?'

'That's what I'm offering. Think it over. How much do you earn in that fish and chip shop?' Dougie's mother raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. 'No more than five pounds an hour, I'm sure.'

Four pounds actually. But it was still a mean dig; working at the Cod Almighty was only a temporary thing while she applied for jobs that would make more use of her qualifications.

'And if I took your money, what kind of a person would that make me?'

'Oh, I don't know. The sensible kind, perhaps?'

Lola was so angry she could barely speak; her fingernails sank through the steamed, soggy chip paper, filling the air-conditioned interior of the car with the rank, sharp smell of vinegar. Something else was bothering her too; up until today, Dougie's mother had always been perfectly charming whenever they'd met.

'I thought you liked me.'

'Of course you did.' Mrs Tennant sounded entertained. 'That was the whole idea. I know what young people are like, you see. If a parent announces that they don't approve of their children's choice of partner, it's only going to make them that much more determined to stay together. Fueling the flame and all that. Goodness no, far better to pretend everything's rosy and you think their choice is wonderful, then let the relationship fizzle out of its own accord.'

'But ours isn't going to fizzle out,' said Lola.

'So you keep telling me. That's why I'm giving it a helping hand. Goodness, this traffic is a nightmare today. Is it left down here at the traffic lights or straight on?'

'Left. And how's Dougie going to feel when he hears what you've said to me today?'

'Well, I should imagine he'd be very annoyed with me. If you told him.' Mrs Tennant paused for effect. 'But do yourself a favor, Lola. Don't say anything just yet. Give yourself time to really think this through, because you do have a brain. And ten thousand pounds is an awful lot of money. All you have to do as soon as you've made up your mind is give me a ring when you know Dougie isn't at home, and I'll write out the check.'

'You can stop the car. I'll walk the rest of the way.' No longer willing to remain in her boyfriend's mother's plush Jag, Lola jabbed a finger to indicate that she should pull in at the bus stop ahead.

'Sure? OK then.'

Lola paused with her hand on the passenger door handle and looked at Dougie's mother in her crisp white linen shirt and royal chignon. 'Can I ask you something?'

'Feel free.'

'Why don't you approve of me?'

'You risk ruining my son's future.' Mrs Tennant didn't hesitate.

'We love each other. We could be happy together for the rest of our lives.'

'No you couldn't, Lola. Do you really not understand what I'm trying to explain here? You're too brash and noisy, you have no class, you're not good enough for Dougie. And,' the older woman paused, her gaze lingering significantly over Lola's low-cut red tank top and short denim skirt complete with grease stain, 'you dress like a cheap tart.'

'Can I ask you something else?' said Lola. 'How are you going to feel when Dougie refuses to ever speak to you again?'

And, heroically resisting the urge to tear open the parcel of chips and fling them in Dougie's mother's face, she climbed out of the car.

* * *

Back at home in Streatham — a far more modest house than Dougie's, which his mother would surely sneer at — Lola paced the small blue and white living room like a caged animal and went over everything that had happened. OK, now what was she supposed to do? Dougie was currently up in Edinburgh for a few days, sorting out where he was going to be living come October and acquainting himself with the city that was due to be his home for the next three years. Doubtless Mrs Tennant had planned it this way with her usual meticulous attention to detail. Her own mother and stepfather were both out at work. The ticking of the clock in the kitchen was driving her demented. Bloody, bloody woman — how dare she do this to her? What a witch.

By four o'clock she could no longer bear to be confined. Deliberately not changing out of her low-cut top and far-too-short denim skirt, Lola left the house. What she was wearing was practically standard issue for teenagers on a hot summer's day, for heaven's sake — not tarty at all. And if she didn't talk to someone about the situation, she would burst.

* * *

'Ten thousand pounds,' said Jeannie.

'Yes.'

'I mean, ten thousand pounds.'

'So?' Lola banged down her Coke. 'It doesn't matter how much it is. She can't go around doing stuff like that. It's just sick.'

They were in McDonald's. Jeannie noisily slurped her own Coke through two straws. 'Can I say something?'

'Can I stop you?'

'OK, you say it's a sick thing to do. And you're going to say no. But what if Dougie comes back from Edinburgh on Friday and tells you he's met someone else? What if he sits you down and says, "Look, sorry and all that, but I bumped into this really fit girl in a bar, we ended up in bed and she's just fantastic"?' Pausing to suck up the last dregs of her Coke, Jeannie pointed the straw at Lola. 'What if he tells you you're dumped?'

Oh, for heaven's sake.

'Dougie wouldn't do that.'

'He might.'

'He wouldn't.'

'But he might,' said Jeannie. 'OK, maybe not this week, or even this month. But sooner or later the chances are that you two will break up. You're seventeen years old. How many seventeen-year-olds spend the rest of their lives with their first love? Let's face it, that's why it's called first love, because you go on to have loads more. You're too young to stay with the same person, Lola. And so's Dougie. I know you're crazy about each other now, but that's not going to last. And if Dougie is the one who finishes it, you can't go running to his mother crying that you've changed your mind and can you have the money now please? Because it'll be too late by then. You'll have lost out big time. Think about it, you'll be all on your own.' Mock sorrowfully, Jeannie clutched her chest. 'Heartbroken. No more Dougie Tennant and no ten thousand pounds.'

* * *

So that was the advice from a so-called friend. Well, what else should she have expected from someone like Jeannie, whose parents had fought an epic divorce battle and left her with a jaundiced view of relationships? Jeannie now despised her mother's new husband and was escaping all the hassle at home by moving to Majorca. The plan was to work in a bar, dance on the beach, and generally have the time of her life. Sleep with lots of men but very definitely not get emotionally involved with any of them. Any kind of romantic relationship was out.

The memory of Dougie's mother continued to haunt Lola all the way home, that pale patrician face and disparaging voice letting her know in no uncertain terms why she was nowhere near good enough for her precious son.

Lola pictured the smirk on that face if Jeannie's cheery prediction were to come true. Then again, imagine how she'd react if she and Dougie defied her and got married! Ha, wouldn't that be fabulous?

Except ... except ...

I'm seventeen, I don't want to get married just to spite someone. I'm too young.

Back home again, Lola was overcome by an overwhelming urge to speak to Dougie. No plan in her head, but she'd play it by ear. When she heard his voice she would decide what to do, whether or not to tell him that his mother was the world's biggest witch. God, how would he feel when he found out?

Dougie was staying in a bed and breakfast in Edinburgh. The number was on the pad next to the phone in the narrow hallway. Dialing it, Lola checked her watch; it was five o'clock. He should be there now, back from his visit to the university campus ...

'No, dear, I'm afraid you've missed him.' The landlady of the B&B had a kindly, Edinburgh-accented voice. 'They came back an hour ago, Dougie changed and showered and then they were off. Said they were going to check out the pubs on Rose Street!'

'Oh.' Lola's heart sank; she'd so wanted to hear his voice. 'Who was he with?'

'I didn't catch their names, pet. Another boy and two girls ... isn't it lovely to see him making new friends already? The boy's from Manchester and the pretty blonde one's from Abergavenny! I must say, they do seem absolutely charming. I'll tell him you rang, shall I? Although goodness knows what time he'll be back ... '

Hanging up, Lola heard Jeannie's words again. It wasn't that she was overwhelmed with jealousy that Dougie had gone out for the evening with a group of new friends, two of whom happened to be female. It was just the realization that this was the first of many hundreds of nights when she would be apart from him and —

Lola started as a floorboard creaked overhead; she'd thought the house was empty.

She called out, 'Hello?'

No reply.

'Mum?' Lola frowned. 'Dad?'

Still nothing. Had the floorboard just creaked on its own or was someone up there? But the house seemed secure and a burglar would have his work cut out, climbing in through a bedroom window. Taking an umbrella as a precaution, Lola made her way upstairs.

What she saw when she pushed open the white painted door of her parents' bedroom shocked her to the core.

'Dad?' Lola's stomach clenched in fear. Something was horribly, horribly wrong. Her stepfather — the only father she'd ever known, the man she loved with all her heart — was packing a case, his face almost unrecognizable.

'Go downstairs.' He turned his back on her, barely able to speak.

Lola was shaking. 'Dad, what is it?'

'Please, just leave me alone.'

'No! I won't! Tell me what's wrong.' Dropping the umbrella, she cried, 'Why are you packing? Are you ill? Are you going to hospital? Is it cancer?'

Grief-stricken, he shook his head. 'I'm not ill, not in that way. Lola, this is nothing to do with you ... I didn't want you to see me like this ...'

It was such an unimaginable situation that Lola didn't know what to think. When she approached him he made a feeble attempt to fend her off with one arm.

'Daddy, tell me,' Lola whispered in desperation and tears sprang into his eyes.

Covering his face, he sank onto the bed. 'Oh Lola, I'm sorry.'

She had never been so frightened in her life. 'I'm going to phone Mum.'

'No, you mustn't.'

'Are you having an affair? Is that why you're packing? Don't you want to live with us any more?'

Another shake of the head. 'It's nothing like that.'

'So tell me what it is then.' Lola's voice wavered; they were both crying now. 'You have to, because I'm scared!'

Twenty minutes later she knew everything. Unbelievable though it seemed, Alex had been gambling and they'd never even suspected it. Through his twice-weekly visits to a pool club he had been introduced to a crowd of card players and gradually, without even realizing it, he'd found himself being sucked in. They had all met regularly at a house in Bermondsey to play poker and at first Alex had done pretty well. Now, he suspected that this had been the plan all along. Then the tide had turned, he had begun to lose and the genial group had made light of his run of bad luck. When the losses had mounted up to a worrying degree, Alex had confided in them that he needed time to pay back what he owed them. It was at this point that the genial group had stopped being genial and begun to threaten him. Terrified by the change in them, realizing he was in way over his head, Alex had done the only thing possible and concentrated all his energies on winning back all the money he'd lost. Since his bank manager wouldn't have appreciated this as a sensible business plan, he'd borrowed the money from the friend who'd introduced him to the poker group in the first place.

A week later he'd lost it all.

He borrowed an emergency sum from a moneylender, tried again.

Lost that too.

Meanwhile his family was oblivious. When Lola's mum asked him if he was all right, he explained that he was just tired and she told him he shouldn't be working so hard. The following night, as he was leaving the garage where he worked as a mechanic, he was stopped by two heavies in a van who explained in graphic detail what they would do to him if he didn't repay every penny he owed by this time next week.

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Excerpted from An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell. Copyright © 2008 Jill Mansell. Excerpted by permission of Sourcebooks, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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