True Colours
Page 24
‘So in the end it all worked out better than you expected?’ Sophie said.
Frances smiled. ‘Yes, thank goodness. Harry loves his new school and we both love the flat and living in Stamford.’ She paused. ‘None of it would have been possible without Adam. I don’t know what I would have done without him.’
‘So, are you still working for him?’ Katie asked.
‘Yes. I hardly dare believe it but everything seems to be on course for us at last.’ She looked up. ‘But enough about me.’ She looked at Sophie. ‘You’re looking fantastic. To what do we attribute that glow?’
Sophie smiled. ‘I told you that Greenings was finally sold,’ she said. ‘I had to move out in a hurry in the end but I found a temporary flat so I wasn’t exactly out on the street.’ She regaled them with the story of Mrs Lowe’s flat and her custody of Albert, which meant she was stuck at the flat over the Christmas break.
‘But I didn’t mind,’ she said. ‘Albert is a poppet and I really missed him when his owner came home.’
‘Don’t tell me it’s a cat that’s given your eyes that sparkle?’ Katie enquired mischievously.
‘Not exactly, no.’ Sophie avoided their eyes, playing with the stem of her glass. ‘Actually Rex and I have decided to give our marriage another go.’ Both girls gave a whoop of delight that had other customers turning to look. ‘And we’ve found the perfect house,’ she went on. ‘As it happens we both turned up to view it at the same time, which isn’t quite the coincidence you might think. I suspect my mother of having a hand in that. To cut a long story short we both liked the house and we put in an offer which was accepted. We’ll be moving in a few weeks’ time but before that happens we’re going on a second honeymoon during the Easter break.’
‘That’s fantastic!’ Katie said, but it was Frances she was watching. Finally, unable to contain her curiosity any longer, she said, ‘Fran, Adam – your boss – seems to have gone to an awful lot of trouble for you. Do we take it that you and he are…?’
‘Katie!’ Sophie looked shocked but Frances shook her head.
‘It’s OK. I’m not free anyway until my decree comes through, remember.’
‘He does sound lovely though.’ Katie observed.
Frances smiled. ‘He is.’
‘Oh, come off it. He’s obviously head over heels in love with you,’ Katie said. ‘So how do you feel about him, Fran? Come on – give!’
Sophie quickly put in, ‘As Fran says, it’s early days and she still isn’t free. We shouldn’t press her. I don’t suppose she knows what she feels at the moment.’
‘I do actually,’ Fran said suddenly. ‘Since Christmas Adam has been a tower of strength, helping us and keeping my job open for me. At first I thought I felt the way I did about him because of his kindness and understanding, but for a few weeks after Christmas he kept his distance because of the divorce and it was then that I realized then how much I missed him. I did some work for him at home during that time and we spoke on the phone regularly but as the days and weeks went by I found myself longing to see him. That was when I knew.’
‘That you shared his feelings?’ Katie asked.
Frances nodded. Looking up, she grinned ruefully at Katie. ‘Satisfied? Any more you’d like to know?’
Seeing that Katie was about to ask the inevitable question and unwilling to see her friend pressed further Sophie put in quickly, ‘So, what about you, Katie? We haven’t heard a word about you so far and last time we were all together things looked pretty bleak for you. I take it you eventually confessed to Imogene about the devious Drew.’
‘Funny you should mention him.’ Successfully diverted, Katie couldn’t keep the grin off her face. She leaned forward, eager to impart her recent piece of good luck. ‘I told you how he was trying to con me into leaving Imogene and Fantaisie. That was bad enough and the thought of confessing to Imogene was even worse. It took me ages to screw up enough bottle. My knees were knocking that morning, I can tell you. I was quite prepared for her to sack me on the spot but to my surprise she was amazing about it. She knows her ex pretty well and she knows what he’s capable of. She finished up asking me to become a full partner.’
‘Really?’ The other two looked at her in amazement. ‘After what had happened – how come?’
‘Well, you see, the lease on the shop was in both their names and it was up for renewal, which was why Drew was hoping to see her go bust. He planned to take over the business and run it himself. Imogene suggested that we let him think she was bankrupt. She pulled out of the lease and I took it on in her place.’
‘Sounds great, but is it all above board?’ Sophie asked cautiously.
‘Oh yes. The lease is in my name now, but it’s only a formality. Everything was legally arranged before Christmas, and guess what – I – well we have been offered the shop next door so we’re actually expanding; using the new shop for the hire service. We’re going to call it Something Borrowed. When we open in a few weeks’ time we’re going to have a grand opening day with champagne and everything. I’ll make sure you both get invitations.’
‘So what about Drew,’ Sophie asked. ‘Did you ever hear any more from him?’
Katie laughed. ‘Oh yes! Obviously he was hopping mad when he realized Imogene had turned the tables on him, but his curiosity got the better of him and he couldn’t resist coming round to see for himself. Imogene let him think she was working for me. I don’t think he was fooled for a minute but there was nothing he could do about it. He actually congratulated us but you could see how much it pained him.’ She chuckled. ‘The words came out sort of shredded, as though he was straining them through his teeth.’
Sophie laughed. ‘So all’s well that ends well then. I think all this calls for a celebration.’ She caught a waiter’s eye. ‘We’ll have a bottle of bubbly and toast the success of Something Borrowed.’ She looked at the other two. ‘Just think, this time last year we’d almost forgotten one another existed. It’s thanks to the school reunion that we met up again and it seems to have been lucky for all of us.’
‘Not without all of us going through the mill first though,’ Frances reminded them. ‘Let’s hope that we’ve all managed to learn something from it.’
Sophie nodded. ‘And let’s hope that next Christmas will be better for all three of us than the last one.’
‘Actually I had a fantastic Christmas,’ Katie said with a grin. ‘Imogene took me to this fantastic health spa and we spent four days being seriously pampered. The best Christmas I ever had!’
The waiter brought their champagne and drew the cork with a loud pop. The girls laughed as they watched the champagne fizz into their glasses. Sophie raised hers.
‘To us,’ she said. ‘Here’s to marriage, divorce and Something Borrowed.’
‘To us,’ the other two responded. ‘The best of good luck to all of us!’
By the Same Author
Wives and Mothers
The Long Way Home
Oranges and Lemons
This Year, Next Year
The Lost Daughters
Thursday’s Child
Eve’s Daughter
King’s Walk
Pride of Peacocks
All That I Am
The Happy Highways
Summer Snow
Wishes and Dreams
The Wise Child
You’ll Never Know…
Should I Forget You
Falling Star
Too Late to Paint the Roses
Copyright
© Jeanne Whitmee 2012
First published in Great Britain 2012
This edition 2013
ISBN 978 0 7198 1004 6 (epub)
ISBN 978 0 7198 1005 3 (mobi)
ISBN 978 0 7198 1006 0 (pdf)
ISBN 978 0 7198 0748 0 (print)
Robert Hale Limited
Clerkenwell House
Clerkenwell Green
London EC1R 0HT
www.halebooks.com
The right of Jeanne Whitmee to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988