Chapter 29
29
F leur woke up, blinked a few times, and was rather disoriented about where she was. She’d been having a dream about her dad; she was young and had been upset at a party. Bill was in the dream telling her that, unfortunately, there were not very nice people in the world and that she was okay. For a second, Fleur forgot that Bill had passed away, and then it hit her like a sledgehammer as reality slammed into her brain. She looked over to the other side of the bed to see that Patrick was long gone. Because of years of having to get up in the dark for work, even on the weekend, he was not one to lie-in for long. Fleur suddenly sat bolt upright as another realisation struck her as she remembered what had happened the night before—the proposal. She wasn’t quite sure what to think, but she did know that it hadn’t gone to plan, that was for sure.
She smiled to herself as she recalled the boat, the startled proposal, and Colin. As the image of it went through her brain, she suddenly remembered that she hadn’t even given Patrick the ring. Grabbing her dressing gown and heading down the stairs and into the kitchen, she decided she’d get the ring out later. Reaching for the kettle and after making herself a cup of tea, she went to find Patrick, who was sitting out in the garden.
‘Morning.’ Patrick looked up from his phone.
‘Morning. How are you?’
‘Yeah, I’m good. You? You were zonked out when I got up. I’m already on my second cup of tea.’
‘Not too bad. I had a dream about my dad, so that was a bit strange.’
‘Aww…’
‘It was fine, weird though when you realise they’re gone.’
‘Yep.’
Fleur sat down on the chair opposite Patrick and curled her legs up beneath her. ‘You okay?’
‘I am. So, any regrets yet?’
Fleur narrowed her eyes and turned her head to the side. ‘About what, exactly?’
‘About proposing to me in what can only be described as a spur of the moment action.’
‘Not quite. I’ve been planning it for a bit.’
Patrick raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m still in shock.’
Fleur took another sip of tea. ‘It was a perfectly unique proposal, that’s for sure.’
‘Unique is one word for it.’
‘Charmingly unique.’
‘And completely out of the blue,’ Patrick countered.
‘Spontaneous and memorable.’
Patrick laughed. ‘Oh, I’ll give you that. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the moment you just blurted it out and then started laughing.’
Fleur groaned, covering her face with her hands. ‘I didn’t mean to laugh.’
‘It’s not every day a man gets proposed to on a boat. It was sweet, I’ll give you that. And definitely heartfelt. Romantic, though?’ He shook his head. ‘Not quite sure it ticks that box.’
Fleur giggled. ‘Well, you know what? It doesn’t matter. Because you said yes.’
‘Yeah. I did.’
Fleur tilted her head. ‘And you meant it, right?’
Patrick wrinkled his nose. ‘Of course I meant it. I’d have said yes, no matter how you asked.’
Correct answer, Patrick. You can stay.
A fter finishing her tea, Fleur went inside to get the ring, not really sure about how she was going to give it to Patrick. Going into the hallway, where her handbag was on the dresser, she opened the inner pocket and frowned to see it wasn’t there. Rifling through it, she realised that it was nowhere to be seen. What in the actual? The proposal shenanigans continued; she’d lost the blooming ring.
Her mind went over the night before; she’d taken the ring out in the deli and had it in her lap, but when she’d baulked on the question, she’d thought she’d tucked the ring back in the inner pocket of her bag, but it wasn’t there. She couldn’t believe it. After all the palaver and everything that had happened, she hadn’t even given Patrick the ring—and not only that, she’d lost it.
Dumping the contents of her handbag onto the kitchen table, as if by some miracle the ring might magically appear amongst the receipts, lip balm, and rogue mints at the bottom, she tutted. As she rummaged, it wasn’t there. Taking a deep breath and gripping the edge of the table, she spoke aloud. ‘Okay. Think. Think. Think.’
The last time she’d had it was at the deli. She’d taken it out, meaning to give it to Patrick, and then it must have slipped off her lap, or she’d put it down and never picked it up again. No, she’d definitely put it back in her bag. ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake,’ she groaned, rubbing her forehead.
All the build-up in her head, all the drama on the boat, and she hadn’t even completed the proposal properly. She was officially the worst person in history at getting engaged. Realising that she must have left the ring in the deli, she went upstairs, quickly got dressed, grabbed her keys and her phone, called out to Patrick that she’d be back soon and headed straight back out of the cottage, practically jogging down the lane towards her car.
The deli was quiet when she arrived, the morning rush long gone. The scent of fresh bread and coffee filled the air as she pushed through the door. She scanned the floor and tables as if she might just spot the ring lying there.
Alice looked up from behind the counter. ‘Morning. Coffee? Take-away? You look like you’re a bit off-colour.’
‘Morning, Alice. Worse. I think I left something here last night. Something important.’
‘Oh?’ Alice put down the tray she was holding. ‘What was it?’
Fleur bit her lip, lowering her voice even though there was barely anyone else in the deli. ‘An engagement ring.’
Alice’s eyebrows shot up. ‘An engagement ring?’
‘Yes.’ Fleur felt embarrassment creeping in. ‘I had it in my lap, and I must have dropped it or left it somewhere and completely forgotten about it.’
Alice let out a slow whistle. ‘Well, that’s a new one. Most people lose sunglasses or a scarf—not engagement jewellery. Blimey! Did Patrick propose, and what you lost the ring? Ahh! I have Lovely gossip before Birdie. Well, that’s a first. Wow! Congratulations!’
Fleur groaned. ‘Thank you, but no, it’s not mine! It’s his.’
‘What? I’m lost.’
‘Long story. Look, sorry, is there any chance someone handed it in?’
Alice scratched her head. ‘We had our usual tidy and set-up for the morning after everyone left, but I don’t remember seeing anything. Give me a sec, I’ll check out the back here, but I don’t think so.’
Fleur’s stomach twisted into knots as Alice disappeared into the back. She tapped her fingers against the counter, glancing around as if the ring might reveal itself to her in a moment of divine intervention.
Alice reappeared a minute later, shaking her head. ‘Sorry, nope. Nothing back there.’
Fleur’s stomach sank. ‘You’re sure?’
‘I’ll have another proper look in a bit before the lunch people start coming in, but if it’s not behind the counter, then it’s probably not here. Someone would have seen it.’
Fleur pressed her hands to her temples. This could not be happening.
‘Hang on,’ Alice said suddenly, clicking her fingers. ‘Clive was in here after you left; he might have seen something.’
‘Clive? Yes, he was next to me actually. We were tightly packed in that corner.’
‘Yeah. You know what he’s like, always lingering about, chatting away. He was helping me close up, actually—maybe he picked it up? He would have said though…’
‘Okay. Okay. That’s a lead, at least.’
‘He’s probably down at the jetty. He was in here very early this morning. He said he was on duty in the hut.’ Alice said, nodding towards the door. ‘If anyone’s got it, it’ll be him.’
Fleur nodded, already heading for the door. ‘Thanks, Alice! I owe you.’
‘You owe me a story!’ Alice called after her with a grin.
‘I do. Don’t tell anyone if you don’t mind. Nightmare!’
Fleur didn’t even look back; she was already out the door, heading straight for her car and the jetty, praying that Clive had the ring and that she wasn’t about to go down in history as the woman who lost an engagement ring before even giving it to her fiancé.