‘The best.’
‘I’m walking and groaning like Mum. Every step hurts.’
Chloe came through to the shop bearing two cups of coffee, which she put on the counter. As usual, she was power-dressed, as if she was working in an office in the City, with executive heels, and a dark trousers and white silk blouse combo. She always looked amazing and made Jenna feel just a little bit lacking with her undoubtedly toddler-food stained T-shirt and jeans. Chloe peered closely at her sister. ‘Actually, you do look a bit knackered.’
‘Geez, thanks. I am. I feel like I haven’t slept for twenty years.’ There was no hiding anything from Chloe. They had a weird telepathic relationship borne out of years of living in each other’s pockets. Actually, Chloe had sometimes been the insufferable older sister, and Jenna had often felt she was being smothered, particularly when Chloe hid the financial problems their wedding planning company Something Borrowed had been facing over the last year.
But her big sister had been looking out for her, looking after her, she got that. Jenna just wished she’d been able to pull herself out of her grief fog earlier and helped, instead of Chloe bearing that burden on her own. But at least now they were properly working together, towards something better. Still, keeping the surprise wedding plans under wrap was going to be hard when they shared the same space.
Chloe was still peering at her, her nose wrinkled up. ‘Something’s not right with you. Did Evie keep you up in the night? Oh, poor thing, is she still sick?’
‘No, she’s fine. Actually….’ Through the stiffness, Jenna felt an unusual little jolt of pride. She was finally starting to do things for herself instead of just going through the motions and focusing all her energies on her daughter and surviving. There was definitely no grief fog, although there were still intense moments of missing Ollie, but she knew she had to move forward. And even though her body ached, her brain felt the clearest and brightest it had for years. She hoped it was the effect of early morning exercise and not early morning sexual yearning. ‘I got up early for a run.’
Chloe’s hand stilled in mid-air, coffee cup hovering precariously from her fingers. ‘Ha ha. Good one. No, really, why are you so tired? Oh, please tell me, you’re not having night terrors all over again? I thought they’d gone for good.’
‘They have.’ Jenna couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a nightmare. They’d come thick and fast after losing Ollie, then again after having Evie, but gradually lessened until nothing. ‘I ran.’
‘You did not.’ Her sister shook her head and laughed. Some joke.
‘I did. Look, it says on my app.’ Jenna flashed her phone and bristled. ‘I did almost three kilometres. Most of it was in shuffle or walk mode, but I did manage to run a bit too.’
‘Well done, you! No wonder you want to die.’
‘To be honest, that’s more because I bumped into Nick while I was doing it.’
‘Oooh? That explains the funny look on your face and the overall glow. It has nothing to do with exercise. Having him living just round the corner is very convenient for… things.’ Chloe’s eyes twinkled and Jenna’s heart started in free fall. One day her sister would realise that not everyone wanted to be in a relationship. In fact, Chloe had been that anti-relationship person too, only a few months ago, which she seemed to have conveniently forgotten. ‘What happened? Did your eyes meet romantically across the road and then you jogged together in perfect harmony?’
‘No, he caught me hugging a lamppost and struggling to breathe while my vajayjay ate my shorts. One day that man will find me being sophisticated and calm and in complete control, he will.’ And why it mattered that he kept on finding her compromised, she didn’t want to admit. Ollie had accepted her for who she was; he’d loved her, cherished her and then he’d gone. What did it matter how a man felt about you if he was going to break your heart in the end anyway? Much better to avoid any of that and get on with being on your own.
And then there was little Evie to think about; Jenna wasn’t about to take risks with a man if her daughter’s heart was also on the line.
Chloe came from behind the counter and wrapped Jenna in a hug. ‘You are who you are, Jenna. Just adorable. If he doesn’t love you for you, then he’s not the one you want.’
‘He’s not the one I want. No one is. Oh, and that’s another thing. He gave me the impression you had something to do with him appearing at the shop opening. Did you invite him?’
‘I may have sent a little text.’ Chloe waved her hand aimlessly in the air as if none of this mattered. It did. He did. And that was the problem.
‘Stop it right now. Do not meddle. I don’t want Nick in my life. Not that he’s ever given me the slightest hint he wants to be in mine. We’re not going there. I don’t want to go there, okay?’ Trying to convince herself, Jenna untangled her body from her sister’s arms and started to empty the boxes of fresh flowers the delivery guy from New Covent Garden had left.
Chloe sighed and came over to help. ‘I think the lady protests too much.’
‘How many times do we need to go over this? I’m not ready. I’ll never be ready. Okay? I’m wobbly and a mother, and it’s too much for my head to get round. I have enough to do.’ Jenna could feel her voice rising and tried to calm it, protesting as little as she could get away with without stupid comments. ‘I’m fine on my own. I don’t want another man. I don’t want to fall in love. I’ve done it once. Never again, thanks.’
The only reason she had a modicum of sanity left was because she’d spent the last three years consoling herself that Ollie was watching down on her, so she could hardly pretend all that was nonsense when it wasn’t convenient. In the early days, she’d felt his presence. Or, at least, had ached so much for him she’d looked for any kind of sign and told herself it was a message from him. White feather on the ground? He was close by. His face, vivid, in a dream? He was telling her he was okay. How could she do anything frisky with him watching her? How could she do anything frisky at all with a stomach like a muffin, oozing over the top of her jeans? No one would want to frisk with her anyway, not like this. ‘I don’t want Nick to love me. I don’t want anyone to love me.’
‘You do. You just don’t realise it.’
Which was exactly the same sort of sentiment Jenna felt about Chloe not wanting to marry Vaughn, so she let it go. Yes, they needed to stay out of each other’s love lives, but Jenna was arranging the surprise wedding for a good reason. It was coming from a good place. She loved her sister dearly and wanted her to be happily settled with a good man. One of them had to be, or how would Evie ever learn about developing good solid lasting relationships? ‘Right, well, once I’ve finished putting this lot out, I’ll check the website for any messages or orders.’
‘Oh, yes.’ Chloe snapped back into work-mode. ‘I’ve taken two calls already about an order for a delivery to Royal Crescent.’
‘Oooh, sounds posh. I’ll put on my best voice, then.’ Jenna tried to mimic the Queen. ‘Good morning, haw can ah help?’
Coolly regarding her over her coffee cup, Chloe grimaced. ‘I think that’s more likely to put them off; you sound like you’ve got your mouth full. It’s for a get well soon bouquet and no lilies, please. I told them I’ll be doing deliveries later this morning.’
‘I know we said you could do the deliveries until we get really busy and can afford to take on someone else, but can I do it today? Please? I’d love to see where my flowers end up. I want to see the look on their face when they receive them. Just this once.’
Chloe looked horrified. ‘What? Leave me here on my own? What if someone wants to buy something?’
‘You can manage. You know how the chip and pin machine works. You can sell a bunch of flowers, surely? It’s not that hard. Anyway, I won’t be long. It’s only down the road.’
‘I don’t know… I really don’t.’ Chloe shook her head.
‘Please?’
‘If anyone needs anything other than bunches while you’re
out, we’ll be in big trouble.’
‘We’ve been over this, Chloe. You did really well when I was showing you what to do, and how many times have you tweaked a drooping bouquet or weather damaged posy at a wedding? You need to do some on your own in case I’m ever sick or something. You said it, we’re in this together. I help you with your business, you help me here. My first delivery. Wow. Please? Then it’s all over to you until we can find someone to do it for us on the cheap.’
There was a long pause, but eventually Chloe rolled her eyes—frighteningly similar to their mother in some ways. ‘Okay. Okay. You do the first delivery. And it’ll be your last until we get someone in to do it. Then we really do need to get your website pages up and running so people can just click and message and link you up to Interflora and all the other online services. I’ll sort it when I get back from the XO launch meeting. You know, I’m really glad we decided to branch into general event planning. The books are really filling up.’ Chloe was on full switched-on mode today. She hauled a breath as she tapped her pencil on her notepad. ‘Oh, and Tammy Devereaux called and said she needed to speak to you. Which is very weird, seeing as she’s a wedding celebrant and I’m the wedding planner, not you. I asked if she had her wires crossed and she said no, you’d left her a message. Why did you leave her a message?’
Damn. The celebrant Jenna had hoped to book for Chloe and Vaughn’s wedding. It was supposed to be a secret, and she’d expressly said that in her voice message. ‘Really? No, can’t imagine why she’d call me. Maybe there’s another Jenna she meant to call and she pressed the wrong button on her phone. She has her wires crossed. I’ll call her later.’ When you’re out.
‘Okay, still weird, but whatever. Oh, and you might like to see something.’ Chloe’s eyes glittered.
But Jenna’s heart crashed. Whatever it was, Chloe was deriving great satisfaction and fun from it. ‘What?’
‘Oh, just something online.’
Jenna couldn’t imagine what it could be. But then… ‘Oh God, the opening write-up.’ There was a clutch in Jenna’s chest. ‘I don’t want to look. I’m all nervous. What the heck has Marnie said? There are photos of me looking gargantuan in lavender cream, right? And a piece about the whole opening being a disaster.’
‘Come see.’
‘Oh, I can’t look.’ Jenna followed Chloe into the office, sat in front of the computer and put her fingers over her eyes, leaving tiny gaps so she could squint away her embarrassment. ‘Move. Let me look.’
‘Here. See. Not so bad at all. She mentions the attempted theft and the chase, but makes it sound completely not your fault. She even says the shop smelt divine. See.’
Marnie had embraced the feel-good nature of a new local business start-up and had included details about special offers and the limited time discounts. She’d also included a photo she’d taken before the great cupcake calamity and Evie’s opening upchuck. ‘Well I never, perhaps Marnie’s starting to soften in her old age.’
‘Old? She looks about the same age as you. But, whatever, yes. It’s good. For something she’s written, anyway.’
Jenna’s poor heart started to slow a little. ‘It’s the first positive sign I’ve had.’
Chloe tapped her pen harder. ‘For goodness sake, just listen to yourself. There was a little glitch and that was all. Look at the good things that are happening; a shop, a daughter. A man… er, friend. They far outnumber a bit of cream on your dress.’
‘A bit of cream? Nick said it was up my nose. It was in my hair. I looked like a walking bloody cupcake—no, I looked like a muffin, especially with these hips.’
‘Oh, stop catastrophising. It’s not like you, Jenna. You’re usually so positive.’
‘I can’t help it. I think it’s because I’m transitioning to a new phase in my life and I’m unsure and a bit unsettled. The counsellor at Grief Group says it’s to be expected, but I’ll get over it. I am getting over it. I will get over it.’ She had to. She had to have normalcy in her life. She had to stop veering from disaster to potential disaster. Stop seeing the danger in everything, otherwise she’d become a nervous wreck. Again.
There was a bumping sound in the front of the shop. ‘Was that the door?’ Chloe gave a quick squeak of excitement. ‘Jenna, my love, you have your first real face-to-face customer.’
Jenna’s heart started racing all over again as she wiped her hands down the front of her jeans. ‘Oh my God. This is it. Wish me luck!’
‘You don’t need luck. You’ll do just great.’
Jenna tried to get up, but her knees had given up completely. She pushed up slowly and managed to stand. Eventually. ‘If only I could make it to the next room without crawling. I don’t know how Nick runs for miles and miles and miles without breaking a sweat.’
And damn it if she wasn’t right back there again. The feel of his cheek against hers and the heat in those lovely dark eyes as he smiled at her. She felt a shiver through her body, a responding heat down low.
Nick. Nick. Nick. Always at the forefront of her mind, even when there were other pressing things to think about, other things she should be doing.
She wished he’d run right out of her head altogether.
*
Three hours later, Jenna was standing outside a grand terraced house with white pillars framing a bright blue door, and window boxes filled with slightly shabby and needing-to-be-dead-headed geraniums, in Royal Crescent. Even though her hand was itching to snap off those brown curly leaves, she kept it tightly wrapped round the large lily-free bouquet. With her other hand, she pressed the doorbell and waited.
And waited.
And waited. She tiptoed to try to peer into the window, but the blinds were down. There was no sound coming from inside, no evidence of anyone at home. No one eagerly waiting to receive the flowers, no surprised grin or an ‘oooh, they’re lovely’ at her carefully crafted bouquet.
So much for her first delivery. Great.
Be positive. At least she’d got out into the fresh air of the lovely early September day. The tips of the leaves on the maple trees were starting to turn from green to russet. Soon the pavements would be strewn with leaves and she’d take Evie to crunch through them as she had done as a child. There was a soft chill in the air and a sense of time moving forward, always—always in nature things were changing. Little stood still.
Funny, she felt as if she’d been standing still far too long, not just here on these stone steps, but in her life.
A new beginning. She smiled to herself and her heart tripped a little. A shop and even a run this morning, however difficult it had been, was a start.
She absolutely refused to think about Nick again, and the way his muscles moved as he ran. Or the soft, warm look in his eyes.
The gentle kiss on her cheek.
But there he was, in her head.
No. Focus. What to do with the flowers? Leave them here on the step announcing to the world that the house was empty? Take them back to the shop and try delivering them later? Yes. She’d get Chloe to come back later.
As she turned to leave, her phone rang; the celebrant she’d been trying to get hold of. Finally.
Jenna leaned against one of the white pillars. ‘Tammy, hi! Thanks for getting back to me. I’m just out and about, so reception’s not great, but I was wondering whether we could have a chat?’ Was this going to sound really stupid? Yes. It probably was. ‘Look, I need a celebrant for Chloe’s wedding, and I know she likes you, so I wondered if you’d be free on the first of October?’
‘Oh? She didn’t mention it when I called her this morning.’
‘You were supposed to call me. Chloe doesn’t know she’s getting married. I’m arranging it for her.’ There was a long pause. Jenna assumed Tammy was joining all the dots, but just in case she wasn’t, she added, ‘It’s a surprise wedding.’
‘Oh. Is that wise?’ Tammy was Chloe’s favourite celebrant because she was so easy to deal with, always accommodating and just a little quirky
with her recommendations for personalised vows. She was Jenna’s perfect fit for what she had in mind, but Tammy didn’t sound convinced. ‘I’ve heard of brides organising things for grooms, and grooms organising things for brides, but not… not this.’
‘I think they just need a gentle push, that’s all. They’re a little wedding shy.’
‘That’s not always unusual. Is there any other reason? Has either of them been married before? Is one of them still married?’
Good point. Jenna had no idea about Vaughn’s past, only that his previous important someone had died. ‘Hmmm. Leave it with me. I’ll let you know. But is it something you can do?’
‘I, well, I suppose I could. Let me have a think…. It’s a bit out there, Jenna, to be honest.’
Seemed to be the only feedback she was getting from everyone. Maybe it really was a stupid idea. ‘Okay, well, could I call you back in a couple of days?’ Jenna hammered on the door again. Last chance, mate. Time was ticking on and she needed to get back to the shop.
Inside the house, something hit the floor with a loud crash.
Then, ‘Aaaaaargh!’
The sound of something shattering. Another screech and, ‘I’ll bloody kill you.’
Whoa. A chill ran down Jenna’s back. Someone was in trouble. Balancing the phone in one hand and the bouquet under her arm, Jenna called through the brass letterbox, ‘Oh. Hello! Are you okay?’
‘Jenna?’ Tammy’s voice called from her phone. ‘What’s happening? Is everything all right?’
‘I’m not sure. Hang on. I’m just looking through the letterbox.’ She couldn’t see anything, but there was a strange dragging sound in one of the rooms, like someone pulling something heavy across the floor.
A body?
Her heart rate doubled against her ribcage.
Don’t be silly. There she was with the catastrophising again. Before Ollie died, she’d never been like this. Get a grip.
Now, an almost animal meowl came from the house. A cracked, wobbly woman’s voice sobbed, ‘Oh, no! What have you done?’
Something was happening just out of view in the room at the end of the corridor.
Something About You (Something Borrowed Series Book 2) Page 6