Forever Love at Wildflower Lock (The Wildflower Lock #4)

Chapter 71

71

Claire stayed until after the lunchtime rush, and as much as Daisy didn’t want to admit it, she was grateful. More than once during the day she suddenly welled up uncontrollably and had to excuse herself from serving. One time was when she saw an old couple walking arm in arm. She had served the pair dozens of times before and they always ordered two drinks and a cake to share, and though the drinks were always lattes, what cake they chose varied. Daisy hadn’t yet learned their names, but she always felt a warmth when she saw them coming towards her. Except that day. That day, seeing them caused her stomach to drop, her chest to tighten, and a sickness to swell through her. So many times, she had imagined that they were what she and Theo would be like when they were old. She had even said so much to him.

‘Although I’d have my own slice of cake,’ Daisy had said when she’d told him about them a month or so before.

‘I would buy you all the slices of cake you could want,’ Theo had replied. ‘Although it would be tough because they probably wouldn’t be as good as ones you make.’

‘You know you’re the one who taught me to bake half the things I can do, right?’ Daisy had laughed. ‘And you still do them better than me, in most cases.’

‘In that case, I will bake you all the cakes you want,’ he’d said. And then they’d kissed. It hadn’t been a passionate kiss. It had been gentle and light, the type of kiss people shared when they thought they had a lifetime of sharing kisses ahead of them.

‘Are you okay if you serve these two?’ Daisy had said to Claire before disappearing back into the boat without waiting for a reply. When she had reappeared at the hatch twenty minutes later with blotchy red eyes and her mascara smudged, Claire hadn’t said a thing.

The second time Daisy had to excuse herself was because of a dog and his owners. A young couple was walking a spaniel puppy, but they could barely get two steps without the dog stopping and turning around to bound up at them. Its tail wagged furiously as it covered them in licks and each time, the young couple spent several minutes fussing over their dog. Daisy and Theo had talked about getting a puppy plenty of times. Company for Johnny. That was the excuse they used, although in truth, they both would have loved a little one to look after, even though they knew how much trouble it could be. Thankfully, the couple hadn’t come to the coffee shop and ordered from her, but still, Daisy struggled to watch them.

‘I’m going to have to head off now,’ Claire said when it hit two o’clock. ‘Amelia’s in an after-school club, but I don’t want to hit the traffic getting back.’

‘Thank you,’ Daisy said. ‘I think you were right. Having you here was a good thing.’

‘You’d do the same for me,’ Claire replied, and Daisy didn’t disagree. She had the best friends in the world and she would do anything she could for them. Claire reached in for a hug and Daisy squeezed her as tightly as she could, hoping it would be enough to convey the gratitude she felt.

‘Just call us, any of us,’ Claire said when they broke apart. ‘And maybe call Theo too. I don’t think this is anything you two can’t get past if you want to.’

‘Thank you,’ Daisy said. ‘But what’s happened is for the best. In the long run, at least.’

Daisy could see there were more things Claire wanted to say. Words twitching on her lips. But she held them in.

‘If you say so,’ she said instead. ‘Speak to you later, okay?’

‘Absolutely. You know I love you, right?’

‘I love you too. Take care of yourself.’

A moment later, Claire was gone and the September Rose felt emptier than it had ever done before.