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

Chapter 82

82

Daisy felt sick with nerves. Her stomach had twisted itself into so many knots that she could barely sip at the glass of water in front of her. And all she could do was wait.

‘So, do you want to get started now? I can run through it all with you now and then with your friend when they come if you want? Maybe you could look?—’

‘No,’ Daisy cut across the woman before she could say any more. ‘We’ll wait until he gets here.’

‘Okay.’ The woman brushed her hands on her apron before moving over to the other side of the studio.

Daisy checked her watch. Why had she come early? Parking was one of the reasons. She knew that spaces around the studio were limited and she hadn’t wanted to drive up and down the roads, stressing that she wouldn’t find a place and worrying that she was going to be late. But it had been surprisingly easy to find somewhere for the car, and now she was here with all this time to wait. She had told Theo explicitly to come at eleven, and yet Daisy had been there since twenty to, her pulse racing with every passing minute. She had not had the courage to give him the paintings and letter directly, but instead had placed them on the stern of his boat, meaning that all she could do was assume he had seen them. That he had looked at the paintings and read the letter properly. There was a chance, of course, that he had just picked up the entire package and thrown it straight into the canal. That thought was enough to make the nerves billow through her at unprecedented speed, but she couldn’t dwell on them. Besides, that didn’t seem like a very Theo thing to do.

Daisy looked at the clock on the wall and compared it to the one on her phone and the watch on her wrist. They all said exactly the same time. Two minutes to eleven. Theo would be here. He would. She just had to wait.

A message pinged on her phone, causing her stomach to somersault, although when she looked down it was Claire wishing her good luck.

We are here if you need us , the message read.

Did she know something? Daisy panicked. Did she know that Theo wasn’t coming, and that was why she had reminded her they were there if she needed help? Maybe it was. She picked up her phone, ready to ring Claire and check, only to change her mind. She wasn’t going to jump to conclusions. Not until she knew for sure. That was what she tried to tell herself, although her mind was already racing. No matter how much she had tried to work through the worst-case scenario of Theo not coming, she hadn’t wanted to believe it. She had been so convinced that this would work. That the letter and the paintings would work and once he was here, she would show him it was forever. But as she looked up at the clock again, it was as if her entire world had dropped away. It was 11.01. Theo was never late. He was probably the most punctual person Daisy had ever known. And for important events, he was always early. Always. Only he wasn’t there. Which meant only one thing. He wasn’t coming.

Daisy tried to stand up, only her legs didn’t want to move. Her head was spinning, and she could feel her body rocking back and forth as she tried to balance.

‘Is everything okay?’ the woman said, moving across to her. ‘You look a little peaky.’

‘I’m really sorry, I can’t… I don’t think… I’m sorry.’ She could barely see for the tears that were blurring her eyes. ‘I’ll send you the money. I’m sorry… I just can’t.’

She stumbled backwards, her eyes still on the clock, praying there had been a mistake, but there wasn’t. Two minutes past. Theo wasn’t coming.

As she bent over and grabbed her bag from the ground, she stumbled backwards, eyes down, not even noticing as the door swung open.

‘Sorry,’ Daisy said as she moved to go, only to see her way was blocked.

‘Don’t tell me you’re leaving already?’

She lifted her gaze, not wanting to believe the voice that rang around in her head. Blinking, she drew in a breath, only for the tears to tumble faster than ever. It was Theo. Theo was there, and he was looking straight down at her. But he hadn’t come on time. What did that mean?

‘Parking in this place is a nightmare,’ he said.

‘It is.’ Her words came out in a half cough as she struggled to smile, but she couldn’t manage it. ‘I didn’t think you were going to come,’ she said. ‘I thought… I thought…’

‘I’m here, Daisy. And I’m not going anywhere.’

She nodded. All she wanted to do was kiss him. She needed to kiss him, and yet she couldn’t. She wouldn’t believe it was real, not unless he kissed her first. No sooner had the thought entered her head than Theo leaned forward.

‘No more running away scared?’ he whispered.

‘Never.’

Daisy wasn’t sure how long the kiss lasted. It could only have been a few seconds at most, and yet it was undoubtedly the most important kiss of her life. In that single moment, it felt like everything in her world had fallen back into place.

‘Excuse me? Are you ready to begin? I just want to give you as much time as possible. I’m assuming neither of you have designed your own jewellery before?’

It was then that Daisy finally managed to show the smile that had been filling her heart since Theo entered the studio, even though her eyes were still filled with tears.

‘No,’ she said. ‘We haven’t.’

‘Great, well, let’s talk through some ideas. What is it you are hoping to make, exactly?’

Daisy looked at Theo. She hadn’t mentioned this to him, and for a split second feared she had made a bad call, but when she saw the grin on his face, she knew she had picked the right place to show him how committed she was.

‘An engagement ring,’ Theo said to the jeweller, though he was still looking at Daisy as he spoke. ‘We want to design an engagement ring.’