Page 134 of My Kind of Happy

I bit my lip, nodding. ‘It doesn’t make her happy any more, and it was only ever a temporary job for me. As soon as Laura and Hamish’s wedding is over, we’re closing the shop. We’re not even going to stay until the end of the lease.’

He began pacing the floor, a hand pushed into his hair. ‘You mean I went through all that confrontation for nothing?’

‘I feel awful,’ I whispered, feeling sick with guilt. ‘I was going to tell you on Sunday and then when you turned up on your bike, work just slipped out of my head.’

Suddenly he started to laugh. ‘Do you know what, I don’t regret it at all. I hated working there and now I’ll be forced to find something I really love.’

My shoulders sagged with relief. ‘Thank goodness for that. I’m so sorry, Sam.’

‘And me.’

He reached out for my hand and I didn’t move away this time. It felt like a goodbye and my throat burned with all the words I didn’t dare to say.

‘Oh, William! You idiot!’ came a disgruntled cry from outside.

‘Now what?’ Sam released my hand and sighed. ‘I love them but, honestly, the bickering.’

I smiled. ‘I can’t say anything, Freddie and I were just the same as kids.’

Annabel marched back in, tugging her brother behind her. ‘Dad, we’ve got to go. Will’s just remembered he’s got a singing lesson at five o’clock.’

‘Oh Christ,’ Sam mumbled, pulling some money out of his wallet for the potted plants. ‘We’ll never make it.’

‘Bye, kids!’ I called after them, ‘goodbye Sam. I’ll ring you about the wedding.’

‘Sure.’ He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. ‘Thanks again.’

I kept looking at him right until the car was nothing but a blur in the distance, just in case he’d waved or looked at me at the last second, but he hadn’t.

So that was that apparently. Our relationship had ground to a halt before it had even got going.

I should have listened to Ethel; I’d let things escalate between us and now I was facing the consequences. I groaned so loudly that Scamp’s ears pricked up in alarm.

‘Right, that’s enough moping,’ I said aloud, clearing my throat. I was going to have to push thoughts of him to the back of my mind. ‘Sam is now officially a friend again and we’re just going to have to get used to it. Now, Scamp, where was I?’

At least I sounded convincing even if I didn’t feel it …

I pulled my notebook in front of me and read through my to-do list and thought about local flowers and how to incorporate Annabel’s ideas about using the plants which were already growing in the garden. After a few minutes, I noticed I’d doodled a rose bower with a happy couple underneath it.

Laura had said hundreds of times that there was no lovelier place to be than the English countryside in the sunshine. Laura and Hamish would love to get married under a rose bower. Let’s face it, who wouldn’t? Simple, beautiful and fuss-free.

Someone else had said something similar to me recently. I ran over those words trying to remember when I’d last heard them. Oh yes! I knew who it was. I wonder …

I scanned through the customer database until I found what I was looking for and called the number. To my delight, the phone was answered after the third ring.

‘Hello, it’s Fearne from the florist, I’ve had an idea. Can you meet me at the shop tomorrow morning for a chat?’

The call succeeded in lifting my spirits. My own love life might be going off the boil, but if my plan came off, things might just be hotting up for someone else.