Chapter 54
‘Knowing me, knowing you, aha !’ screeched the women in the back of the car, bellowing along to the ABBA song on Ginny Harrington’s Spotify. Breathing alcohol fumes down Nella’s neck earlier, Ginny had said, ‘We’re going to carry on partying tonight, you must come over and join us. It’s going to be sooo epic!’
‘Thanks. I’d have loved to,’ Nella lied. ‘But I can’t.’
‘Oh nooo! We’ll be dancing!’
‘I have to work. Such a shame. Sorry.’
The journey back to Starbourne took forty-five minutes, during which Nella had plenty of time to regret having sent that message to Nick. His response had been decidedly curt and his phone was now switched off.
Dropping the women outside Pine Lodge – now singing ‘The Winner Takes It All’ and waving their discarded stilettos above their heads like football rattles – Nella reversed the car across the gravel and set off for the farm shop. The Taylor-Greys were a lovely family, so if they were complaining about the state of the flower arrangements, they definitely needed to be replaced. As soon as that was done, she would track Nick down and tell him she had no intention of leaving, that it had all been Tommy’s idea and that going back to Manchester wasn’t an option or a—
‘Waaaah!’ A black and white cat darted out in front of the car and Nella slammed on the brakes, yanking the steering wheel to the left. The tyres screeched but this time the road was dry and she didn’t skid into a ditch or hit a wall.
The last thing she needed was for that to happen again.
With a disdainful flick of its tail, the cat disappeared through a gap in the fence on the other side of the road. Nella took her hands off the wheel and shook them to make the trembling stop. Time to get a grip and stop worrying about Nick’s reaction to her message.
Dubarry’s farm shop was busy. She pulled into the crowded car park and managed to reverse into a tight space at the far end. OK, head in and grab the flowers, pray there wasn’t a queue at the till, then shoot back out. She found a tissue in her bag and rolled it between her damp palms. What was Nick going to say? How annoyed was he? Should she pick up one of those bars of mint and dark chocolate he liked, as a peace offering? Right, stop it, stop thinking about him, just concentrate on the task in hand.
Except when she weaved her way through the ever-popular shop, past the enticing displays of farm-fresh fruit and vegetables, glass cabinets of cheeses and charcuterie in the deli section and shelves stacked with bottles of wine, she reached the flower section only to discover there were no pink peonies for sale.
None at all. No white peonies either. The aluminium buckets where they were usually on display were empty, as were the ones where there should have been roses, alstroemerias, sunflowers and mixed bouquets.
Typical. Either the shop hadn’t had a delivery today or there was a big event happening nearby and some greedy, selfish people had come in and nabbed the lot. Since there was no point in standing here picturing them making off with all the flowers, Nella turned to leave and went smack into the man behind her.
Who was Nick.
Startled, she jumped back and blurted out, ‘Didn’t you trust me to come and buy them?’
He looked at the empty silver buckets, then at her empty hands. ‘Where are they?’
‘I just this minute got here. There aren’t any. I’ll drive into town and find some.’ She felt her face heat up, because the way he was looking at her was unnerving. ‘Look, that message I sent you, it was Tommy’s idea.’
‘I know. I mean I didn’t know, until today.’ Nick rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head, seemingly lost for words. ‘It was a bit of a shock, finding out about it like this. I had no idea it was on the cards, that you were ready to move—’
‘ Nooo , it wasn’t me,’ shrieked a small boy in a Batman suit, crashing into Nella’s knees and almost sending her flying into the row of buckets.
‘It was you, you’re so naughty,’ scolded an older girl. ‘I saw you steal those sweets and that means you’ll go to prison.’
The boy tried to hide behind Nella’s bare legs. ‘I’m Batman!’
‘Jasper, Matilda, stop fighting ,’ shouted a harassed woman as the girl made a grab for her brother and wrestled him to the ground. The next moment, two cellophane-wrapped lollipops went skidding across the floor.
‘See?’ roared the girl. ‘You’re a thief .’
The boy kicked her. ‘One of them was for you!’
Everyone had now turned to enjoy the spectacle of Batman and his sister having a full-blown wrestling match on the fake grass in front of the flower stall as their mother attempted to break up the fight. Nick’s gaze met Nella’s and he said in a low voice, ‘Come on, let’s get out of here.’
Outside, leaving the blissful aircon in the shop behind them, he led the way over to the other side of the car park, where his own car was parked, hidden from view behind a dusty blue van with WASH ME scrawled across the back doors.
‘Right, there’s something I need to say to you.’ Having evidently forgotten that his Ray-Bans were perched on top of his head, Nick raked his fingers through his hair and sent the sunglasses flying. ‘I know Tommy’s your friend, but I don’t want to lose you. I mean I really don’t want you to go.’
Nella opened her mouth to say, ‘But—’
‘ No .’ He held up a hand to stop her. ‘Just hear me out. I could be making the biggest mistake of my life here, but I have to say this. I don’t know about you, and maybe I’m wrong, but I’ve had feelings for you since the day you came to work here. Even before that, if I’m honest, but the one rule I’ve always had is never to get involved with an employee. So I told myself that couldn’t happen and thought I could handle us being good friends who work well together, nothing more. Anyway— Shit . . .’ Racing to blurt everything out, he’d forgotten about the Ray-Bans again, and this time his agitated hand sent them sailing into the air, landing with a clatter on the bonnet of the dusty van behind them.
Knowing how much he loved his favourite sunglasses, Nella pointed and said, ‘Shall I get those?’
‘ Stop .’ Nick reached for her wrist as she went to move past him. ‘Please, let me finish. The thing is, I can’t carry on like this any more. When I’m not with you, I’m thinking about you and wishing you were there. At night, I dream about you.’ He shook his head in disbelief. ‘Honestly, I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I’ve never liked someone and not let them know about it either. I tell you what, it’s the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do in my life. But I told myself it was worth it just to have you here, because if you didn’t feel the same way, things would be awkward and you might leave. And if we gave it a go but it didn’t work out, you’d almost definitely leave.’ He spread his free arm helplessly and exhaled. ‘And now I have to tell you because it seems you could be leaving anyway, so this is probably the only chance I’m going to get.’
Nella couldn’t tear her gaze away from his face. Nick was always so calm and in control of every situation. She’d never seen him like this before, had never imagined he could be like this. And yes, of course she could have stopped him in mid flow before now, to tell him she had no intention of leaving, but why would she? Doing that would have meant missing out on hearing the most amazing declaration of her life.
Her heart was doing a tarantella in her chest. She couldn’t believe he’d come here to the farm shop and blurted all this out in response to that one brief question she’d asked him over WhatsApp.
Belatedly the penny dropped. She said, ‘I didn’t mention Tommy in my message. How did you know it was him?’
Nick said, ‘He texted me. Told me.’
Of course he had. That was Tommy all over. When he wanted something, he did everything in his power to make it happen. He’d been into manifestation for years; believe in yourself and others will believe in you too. It was his mantra.
‘This afternoon?’ She guessed Tommy had messaged Nick within seconds of ending his call to her.
Nick nodded. ‘Yes.’
She couldn’t keep him on tenterhooks any longer. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’
His intake of breath was audible. ‘What?’
‘Tommy offered me the job. I said no. He upped the salary. I still wasn’t tempted. He kept on at me to ask you about the notice I’d have to give, said it wouldn’t do any harm. I just did it to see if it would make you appreciate me more.’ She became aware that the fingers on her left hand had gone numb and realised that Nick’s grip on her wrist had tightened. ‘I was never going to leave, I promise.’ Now her mouth was as dry as the Sahara. ‘Because . . .’
‘Because?’
‘I just couldn’t.’
‘Why?’
‘I guess for the same reason as you. I like living here. I like working with you.’ It was her turn to say it. ‘I like . . . you.’
‘Right.’ He nodded slowly. ‘So, to clarify. You like me . . . as a boss?’
Nella felt the weight of her doubts fall away like shrugging off a lead-lined cloak. She said simply, ‘I like you in all the ways. Every way you can think of. And there’s something I’ve been wanting to do for months.’
‘Oh?’ Nick was still fixated on her, not moving, but there was a muscle beating wildly in his jaw.
Sometimes, it seemed, even normally super-confident men needed a prod in the right direction.
She broke into a smile. ‘Haven’t I waited long enough? Are you going to kiss me, or what?’
And there it was, the offer he – thankfully – couldn’t refuse. As his arms wrapped around her and his warm mouth closed over hers, their bodies pressed together and time lost all meaning because everything that mattered was taking place right here, right now, in this hot, dusty car park that couldn’t have been a less glamorous location if it tried, but which still didn’t prevent the kiss from exceeding all expectations.
Best of all, it didn’t stop.
It was perfect. And definitely worth waiting for.
On the subject of waiting for . . .
‘Oh God.’ Nella pulled away in a panic. ‘The peonies! We have to find some before the shops shut.’
Amused, Nick said, ‘Or we could stay here and carry on doing this.’
‘But the Taylor-Greys need them for their big dinner party tonight!’
Taking the car key from his pocket, he pressed the button to unlock the boot. It swung open, and Nella gasped at what lay inside, because now she knew why all the silver buckets in the shop had been empty. There were pink peonies and white ones, cream roses as well as crimson and dazzlingly bright yellow ones. There were also a few mixed bouquets wrapped in cellophane. All smelling glorious and crammed into the boot of the car.
‘The pink peonies are for the Taylor-Greys,’ said Nick. ‘The rest are for you.’
‘Are you crazy?’
‘I was in a panic. Thought it might help.’
She studied the contents of the boot. ‘No orange roses? Disappointing.’
‘Sorry about that. All sold out.’ His mouth twitched. ‘Again.’
‘They’re beautiful. But I don’t need flowers.’ Touched, Nella slid her arms around him, ready to kiss him again. ‘I only need you.’
A minute or so later, a cheerful voice rang out behind them. ‘Oh, whoops, sorry, am I interrupting something?’
Breaking apart, they spun round and saw Rhoda, one of Esme’s famously gossipy twin daughters, approaching with her arms full of drinks cans and looking delighted with her unexpected discovery.
‘Well, well, look at you two! First it was my mum and Jed, and now this!’ Slinging the cans onto the passenger seat of the van, she reached across the bonnet. ‘These your Ray-Bans? You should be more careful, they’re expensive.’ She lobbed them across to Nick, who caught them one-handed. ‘So is this a huge secret? Because I’m telling you now, I’m really not great at keeping secrets . . . they kind of just spill out. Mum calls me the walking megaphone.’
‘It’s OK.’ Nick’s arm had returned to Nella’s waist and the physical contact felt almost as incredible as the sensation of his kiss. No longer lacking in confidence, his warm fingers were caressing the inch of bare flesh between her cotton top and the waistband of her shorts as he grinned at Rhoda. ‘This isn’t a secret that needs keeping. Feel free to let it spill out.’
‘I’ll leave you to it. Tell you something, though.’ Indicating the graffiti scrawled across the rear doors of her dusty vehicle, Rhoda said with a wink, ‘My van might need a wash, but I reckon you pair could do with having a bucket of water chucked over you too.’
‘She has a point,’ said Nick when Rhoda had driven off with a toot of her horn and a merry wave. Pulling Nella against him, he gave her another long kiss then murmured, ‘Might be an idea to get home.’
She had to tell him. ‘You know, the first time I saw you, I gave you eight stars out of ten.’
‘Only eight?’
‘No one gets a full house. And I had to mark you down because your car was covered in mud.’
She saw Nick thinking back to that fateful day. ‘I call that unfair, because Hugo had borrowed it to go hill-racing the day before.’ He kissed her again. ‘What’s my score now?’
‘I’ll tell you later.’ Nella’s mouth curved against his. ‘When I know for sure.’
Seven minutes later, back in Starbourne, Nick took the peonies over to the Taylor-Greys at Hay Hall. Letting herself into her own cottage, Nella called Tommy’s number. He picked up on the second ring and said, ‘Well?’
‘I’m not moving to Manchester. Not coming to work for you. Not going to happen.’
‘Great, but that’s not what I meant. How’s it going with you and Nick?’
Nella exhaled; it really should have occurred to her before now what Tommy had been up to. He was an inveterate deal-maker, problem-solver and meddler; it was the way he’d always lived.
‘It’s going . . . well. You messaged him deliberately, didn’t you?’
‘Who, Nick? To put the fear of God in him, make him think he was about to lose you and finally force him to take action?’ Tommy started to laugh. ‘Of course I did. And did it work?’
‘It did.’
‘Ha, Jed said it would. We cooked it up between us.’
Nothing surprised her any more. ‘You didn’t actually want me to come and work for you? What would you have done if I’d said yes?’
He was still laughing. ‘I’d have loved that. But we were pretty sure it wouldn’t happen.’
‘You’re such a chancer,’ said Nella.
‘We could all see it. The two of you are crazy about each other. We just decided the time had come to give you the push you needed. Are you happy?’
‘Yes. But also scared. It could still all go horribly wrong.’
‘I’m pretty sure it won’t. Trust me, you’re perfect together. What’s he like in the sack, then?’
‘I don’t know, we’ve just this minute got home!’ At that moment, Nick’s car pulled up outside and Nella felt her pulse quicken in anticipation, because it wouldn’t be long now before she found out.
‘Why are you wasting time talking to me, then? Get off the phone,’ Tommy ordered. ‘And once you have the answer, let us know.’
An hour later, she rolled over in bed and reached for her phone.
Next to her, Nick said, ‘Who are you messaging?’
Nella hid a smile as she typed 100% perfect , then pressed send. ‘Just a friend.’