‘Nick. These look amazing. You must have spent hours on this.’
He shrugged. ‘I enjoyed it. When I’m away with work, evenings alone in a hotel can get so boring so it was refreshing to have something to do other than stare at the TV. Besides, it was far more interesting than some of the businesses I’ve done sites for.’
‘I don’t know what to say. Thank you. Can I hang onto these?’
‘They’re yours. There’s no rush to look at them. If you like a design, let me know. If you want to pick and mix from several, I can do that too. And if I’ve completely missed the mark, please say and I’ll do some more.’
I continued to flick through image after image. ‘I think it’s going to be a case of being spoilt for choice rather than not liking them. You must tell me how much I owe you.’
‘Nothing.’
‘Nick! It’s too much.’
‘They’re only ideas. Maybe you can do me a deal on the next bouquet I buy.’
‘The next ten I think.’
‘You may have just made your first Bay Trade.’
I laughed. ‘Okay. You’ve convinced me.’
‘I’ll see you a week on Monday.’
‘How sweet is he?’ Elise said when I locked the door again.
‘I know.’
‘You wish he was Steven don’t you?’
‘No!’
‘Sarah?’
‘Yes. Yes, I do.’
‘Then why don’t you give it a go with him?’
As I walked towards the counter to put the presenter down, I caught a whiff of his fragrance on my T-shirt and my stomach flipped again. It was so unbelievably tempting to chase after him and ask him out.
‘You know I’m right with you in believing the tape,’ Elise continued. ‘But I can also see that your Auntie Kay was right about you two. What if Madame Louisa got the name wrong? What if you push Nick away but Steven never materialises? What if Nick’s moved on and found someone else by the time you accept that?’
‘And what if I go for it with Nick and then Steven does appear? The poor guy’s best friend ran off with his fiancé the day before their wedding. He’s been wary of relationships ever since. Imagine if we had a few dates and things were going really well, and then Steven walked into my life and swept me off my feet. If Nick’s as keen on me as you and Auntie Kay seem to think he is, imagine what that would do to him. I couldn’t put him — or me — through that. Plus, selfish as it may sound, I really like him as a friend. You’re the only friend I have who still lives in Whitsborough Bay. I like the idea of having two.’ The more friends I had, the less likely I was to end up alone like Uncle Alan.
Elise nodded. ‘Perhaps it’s too soon to rush into things with Nick. But I think you should seriously consider his suggestion of putting a timescale on it. How about two months starting from the New Year? That would mean you’ve been home for about four months. If Steven doesn’t appear in that time, maybe he never will. And maybe then you should start considering people with other names. Like Nick. Agreed?’
‘Okay, okay. It’s agreed. Two months from New Year it is, then.’ Oh Nick, why don’t you have the right name so we could save ourselves all this dancing about?
Chapter 18
* From Nick
Hope your 1st day is perfect and you sell loads. Emailed all at Bay Trade and they promised to be customers. Can’t believe how much you’ve done to the place. Hope you emailed Kay some pics. Tell me all on Monday xx
* From Auntie Kay
Hi Angel. Thanks for photos. Shop looks amazing. You’re amazing. So proud of you. Let me know how it goes xxxxxxxxxxx
* From Clare
Keep the customers locked in till they spend a fortune. LOL! Wish I could be there doing PR for you instead of for this bunch of numpties. Good luck! You can do it! xxx
‘I’m nervous.’ I squeezed Mum’s hand. ‘What if nobody comes?’
‘They will. I know of at least a dozen of Kay’s regulars who’ve said they’ll be in today to give you their support.’
‘What if they’re the only ones?’
‘Sarah,’ Elise scolded, ‘you can’t fail. The place looks amazing. You’ve sent discount vouchers to all Kay’s regulars. You’ve done a stack of advertising. You’ve even been on Bay Radio. I think you’ll be run off your feet. I’ve already seen several people looking through the window this morning.’
‘So have I. Squashing their greasy noses on my nice clean glass!’ I turned to Mum again. ‘Do you really think Auntie Kay would like what I’ve done to her shop?’
Mum squeezed me tightly. ‘She said so in her text, didn’t she? We’re both so proud of you.’
‘And keep remembering that it’s not her shop anymore; it’s yours,’ said Cathy who’d jumped at the offer of her old job back. ‘She deliberately gave it to you as an empty shell so you could create this. I’m so excited to be working here with you. I bet Kay wishes she was here. She’d be beside herself with excitement and pride.’
I swallowed hard on the lump forming in my throat. Today was not a day for tears; I’d scare the customers away if I started. I surveyed what the last four weeks of hard work had achieved and couldn’t help but be impressed. Half the shop was devoted to fresh flowers including a range of more daring modern blooms that I wanted to test on the market. The other half of the shop was now devoted to gifts. My teddy bears had arrived and looked so adorable with their pudgy tummies and cute faces, ready to be hugged. I’d spent the last week unpacking deliveries, sorting out the stock room and doing a final clean before a busy day of bouquet preparation.
‘You don’t think it was a daft idea opening less than a month before Christmas, do you? Should I have waited till New Year?’
‘No!’ they chorused.
Although I’d been too late to order Christmas gifts, I’d still managed to make the shop look festive with red and white poinsettias, holly, wreathes, and beautiful Christmassy-looking bouquets and baskets. I’d decorated a small tree and hung a stack of red and white fairy lights around the shop to create ambiance.
Mum looked at her watch. ‘Nearly time. Are you ready to face your public?’
‘As ready as I’ll ever be.’ I took a deep breath, wiped my sweaty palms down my uniform — a dark green apron with the slightly revised shop name and a white rose embroidered on the bib part — and picked up the keys. I placed them in the lock and grinned at my team as I announced, ‘It gives me great pleasure to declare Flowers and Gifts open!’
Mum had been right; I needn’t have worried about a lack of customers. All my hard work in promoting the shop, plus loyalty to Auntie Kay, meant there was a constant stream of customers, old, new, and just visiting the town for some Christmas shopping. I’d prepared twenty or so simple inexpensive red and white Christmas bouquets and displayed them on a little barrow outside the shop. They sold out within an hour so Mum and Cathy spent the next hour or so making more that sold out again by lunchtime.
The cards and gifts also sold really well, I took bookings for two wedding flower consultations, a request for a large floral arrangement for a couple’s Golden Wedding Anniversary party in February, and a booking for a funeral, which made me cry.
Dad dropped in to lend his support and ended up staying for three hours to help us out. He left with a huge bouquet for my mum and wouldn’t let me sell it to him at ‘mates rates’. He became quite tearful, muttering about how proud he was that I’d returned home and accomplished so much. It set me off again.
‘I don’t know about you three, but I’m exhausted,’ I said as the last customer of the day left and I was finally able to lock the door. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard in my life. Thank you all so much for your help.’
‘You’re welcome,’ Elise said. ‘I’ve really enjoyed it.’
‘And you know I’m available to help any time you need me.’
‘Thanks Mum.’ I stretched and rolled my head to try and relax my stiff neck and shoulders. ‘Are you sure you don’t want a permanent job?’
‘Thanks but no thanks. I’ll help you any time you need me, though, and I’m more than happy to work here for the next month or so until you decide how many staff you need and get them trained.’
‘I have a proposal for you all,’ I said. ‘How about I get cashed up, one of you sweeps the floor, one of you puts some fresh water in the flowers and one of you washes the mugs, then I take you all out to Mario’s; my treat.’
‘That garlic bread was to die for!’ I wiped butter off my chin forty-five minutes later.
‘Can I propose a toast?’ Mum raised her glass. Elise and Cathy nodded in agreement and grabbed theirs. ‘To my beautiful daughter on the incredibly successful opening of her new business.’
‘To Sarah!’
Mum took my hand in hers as she continued. ‘You know your dad and I have always been supportive of you, wherever you’ve lived and, if you’d stayed in London and got Kay to sell the shop, we’d have supported you in that decision. But can I just say how incredibly proud and delighted we are that you’ve decided to come home because we missed you so much.’
‘Hear hear,’ Elise said.
I blushed as I raised my glass. ‘To Flowers and Gifts. And to you all for your amazing support today. I couldn’t have done it without you.’
A waiter cleared our plates and advised us that our main courses would be along shortly. ‘I think I’ll just nip to the ladies before our mains arrive,’ Mum said.
Cathy stood up. ‘I’ll join you, Sandra.’
Elise twisted in her chair. When they were clearly out of earshot, she said, ‘While your mum’s not here, what’s the latest online news?’
‘I’ve been so busy getting ready for the shop, I’ve hardly looked.’
‘Liar.’
I laughed. ‘I’ve genuinely been too busy for the last few days.’
‘When was the last time you looked?’
‘Tuesday.’
‘Were there any then?’
‘A few.’ I drained the last few sips of wine and raised an eyebrow at Elise who promptly refilled my glass.
‘Emailed anyone?’ she asked.
‘No. I’ve put a couple down as favourites but I haven’t made contact. I thought I’d better get opening week out the way.’
‘Good plan. Are you all set for your hot date with Nick on Monday?’
‘Behave,’ I said. ‘It’s not a date.’
‘Of course it isn’t.’
‘Elise! It isn’t. And you know why. Stop looking at me like that. I’ve got Auntie Kay nagging me by text, Clare on at me over the phone, and now you.’
Mum and Cathy re-appeared and sat down. ‘They have the most gorgeous-smelling soap in there,’ Mum said. ‘Smell.’
I backed away. ‘Mum! I’m not smelling your hands. But I think I may check out the facilities too before our mains come.’
On my way back from the ladies, I got caught behind a party of roughly thirty rowdy students en route to a table strewn with streamers and twenty-first birthday balloons. As I waited for the seemingly endless group to head through the restaurant, I had a strong sensation of being watched. I turned slightly and caught the eye of a man two tables away. He looked to be in his mid to late-thirties with greasy hair and a dodgy goatee. He wore a deep maroon shirt that was at least two sizes too small if the bursting buttons were anything to go by. He stared for a bit longer then raised his hand and waved, revealing large sweat patches under his arms. I frowned and looked round to see if he was waving at someone behind me but there was nobody there. He waved again and smiled. It was a sinister smile; the sort you’d expect to see on a photo-fit on Crimewatch. I shuddered.
He stood up, still staring at me. Oh my God, he’s coming over. Do I know him? Maybe he was a customer today.
‘Sarah,’ he said, ‘it is you isn’t it?’
‘Erm, yes.’ And you are…?
‘I thought it was. You’re even more beautiful in real life.’
‘Than what?’
He laughed loudly and snorted. Several people looked in our direction and I felt my whole face flush. ‘Than your photo of course,’ he said.
‘My photo?’
‘I like to look at it before I go to sleep each night.’
No! He isn’t…?
‘I meant to email you as soon as you added me to your favourite list,’ he continued, ‘but I kept hoping you’d email me first. I’m not great at making first contact.’
I could hardly bear to ask the question. ‘Your name’s Steven?’
‘Yes! Steven Bell. Ta-dah!’ He waved jazz-hands at me, the dandruff on his shoulders bouncing up and down as he moved. ‘How did you know? There’s no photo on my profile.’
‘Lucky guess.’ I tried to sidestep him but he had my route blocked.
‘Seeing as we’ve met now, would you like to go out tomorrow night?’
Eek! Saying no on email was one thing but being confronted with the anti-Steven on a night out with my mum was quite different. ‘I’ve just opened a new business today,’ I said. ‘I’ve got stacks to do tomorrow to get ready for my second day of trading, especially with it being just a few weeks to Christmas.’
‘Monday night then?’
‘Sorry, I’ve got plans with friends.’ Thank goodness for Bay Trade!
‘Tuesday?’
‘Sorry, Steven, but this week really isn’t good for me.’
‘Next Saturday then?’
No. Not next Saturday. Not ever. Please get the message. You’re creepy and telling me you look at my photo before you go to bed is not a chat-up line I’d recommend. Please leave me alone. But I was too polite to say any of that. I settled for a non-committal, ‘Maybe.’
‘I’ll take that as a “yes” then,’ he gushed, showering me with spit.
‘It’s not a “yes”.’
‘But it wasn’t a “no” so that’s good enough for me.’
Where was straight-talking Clare when I needed her? Why couldn’t I be strong like her? ‘Email me,’ I muttered. ‘I must go.’ I finally managed to squeeze past him and return to my table.
‘Who was that?’ asked Mum.
‘Just some guy who thinks he knows me.’
‘Does he?’
‘No. Definitely not.’ I didn’t dare catch Elise’s eye.
I sat back in my chair and took a long glug on my wine as I listed off my Steven encounters in my head. My search for Steven hadn’t got off to the best start. Was I strong enough to cope with three more months of it? Or should I just give it all up as a bad job, conclude that Madame Louisa has given me the wrong name, and make it clear to Nick at that Bay Trade thing on Monday that my search was over and if he’d like to retry that moment on the beach — without the playful Labrador — I wouldn’t push him off?
Chapter 19
* From Nick
Hi you. Bad news. Tomorrow night’s off. Bob has the runs! :( Rescheduled till a week on Thursday. Hope you can still make it. Been offered another week’s work in Edinburgh. Had turned it down for Bob’s do but may as well go now. Am just packing or I’d have suggested a drink. Can’t wait to hear about your 1st day xx
Damn. I slumped back on the sofa. As I felt my shoulders sag with disappointment, I had to check myself. ‘So much for re-living the beach moment,’ I muttered. But at least it gave me another week to search for Steven. I kept blowing hot and cold on it. One moment, I would drift into a fantasy about kissing Nick, but the next I’d be reflecting on the discovery of the lighthouse photo and Grandman’s bracelet and start fantasising about The Steven appearing imminently.
* To Nick
That’s a shame. Have fun in E’burgh. Next Thursday’s fine. Same time and pl
ace? 1st day exceeded expectations. Exhausted now xx
* From Nick
Phew. Glad you can still come. Everything’s the same but the date. Hope you get to relax today after all that prep for opening day. Have an amazing full 1st week. Will be thinking of you lots :)
‘Will you be thinking of me because you fancy me or thinking of me because it’s my first full week?’ I said to the phone. Auntie Kay and Elise were convinced he was into me, but I kept having doubts about that too. What if he just wanted friendship? I could make a fool of myself if I wasn’t careful. I shook my head and put the phone down before I typed an appropriate text for my pro-Nick moments that would be completely inappropriate for my search for Steven.
I lay back on the sofa, rubbed my eyes, and wished I hadn’t been to Mum and Dad’s for lunch. With a huge Sunday roast inside me and a few glasses of wine, I didn’t have the energy to do anything. I’d hardly slept a wink the night before, on a high from such a great first day, and it had definitely caught up with me. I half-wished the shop was open on a Sunday to keep the momentum going but, at Auntie Kay’s suggestion, I’d decided to close on Sundays so I could guarantee myself at least one day a week to recharge my batteries.
I phoned Clare, hoping she was back from her team-building weekend.
‘Sounds like your first day was grand,’ she said. ‘So why do you sound so down just now?’
‘I’m not down. I’m just tired. It was such a big build-up to opening yesterday. I don’t really know what to do with myself today.’
‘No Elise?’
‘I don’t see her every day, you know. She helped in the shop yesterday but I probably won’t see her again till the end of the week.’
‘You know what you need?’ Clare said. ‘A night on the beers with me. I’m seeing my Leeds client on Friday so I’m coming to stay for the weekend whether you want me to or not. What time can you be home on Friday?’
‘Shop shuts at half five so about six.’
‘I’ll be there for six.’
‘I might have other plans.’
‘Do you have other plans?’ she asked. ‘Because I’d love to hear that you had plans for a night of steamy sex with a stranger.’
Searching for Steven (Whitsborough Bay Trilogy Book 1) Page 15