Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Flick walked back through the studio, looking at it through new eyes.
Now she knew there was a bit of money to do the place up, she needed to see what they could do with it.
She didn’t know how much was in the kitty and she didn’t want to go crazy with suggesting improvements everywhere so she was going to create two lists: Need and Want.
The carpet in the area between the studios needed to be replaced.
It was so tatty and threadbare she could see the wooden floor underneath poking through.
There was no chance of being able to appreciate the different colours or patterns either as the carpet was a dirty shade of brown. She added it to her Need list.
The lights along the halls were very dated.
They did their job but it would be more atmospheric to have something a bit more cool or retro.
Maybe some light fittings that looked like old brass gas lamps or those lights made from old taps, or maybe even just some fairy lights. She added lights to the Want list.
She hovered on the edge of the mosaic studio, watching Katherine creating a much smaller mosaic scene of hills, rivers and trees.
Even at this size, Flick could see there was a lot of work involved as she measured and cut the glass to the right size and shape.
But Katherine was fast too, clearly with her skills and experience she could produce something much faster than someone just starting out.
And that skill and experience should be reflected in the price.
Flick glanced around the room. There wasn’t much that was needed in here, as every bit of wall space was taken up with beautiful mosaics.
She moved on to the next studio where Ethel, Rose and Aidan were talking in hushed, angry whispers. As she approached, Rose spotted her and shushed them. They all fell quiet and stared at her with contempt.
Flick didn’t linger, hurrying past and going upstairs to the café. If they decided to stay, she would ask them what they wanted to update their spaces then, but the café was probably the most important, at least for now.
It definitely needed a lick of paint, she would let Polly choose the colour if she decided she wanted to be a part of it.
The wooden floor was OK, probably just needed a good clean.
The countertops, however, were peeling plastic and definitely could do with a big overhaul.
In fact the tables and chairs probably needed replacing too .
She saw the archway that led through to another studio space, probably the area Luke had planned for the gift shop.
She wandered through and looked around. It was quite a large area with shelves already fitted into the walls.
There was also a large octagonal area in one corner of the room which was in the turret part of the house and a curved staircase that led up to a mezzanine level.
There was even a little arched alcove where she could display her wish jars.
It had character and there was a small, hopeful, excited part of Flick that could see herself there, selling all her craft supplies and sourcing cool gifts to sell in the shop.
Could she really do it? What did she have to lose? As Luke said, the studios might be gone in six months. She could easily run the gift shop and do the marketing for the studios too. And having a gift shop and selling craft supplies might help the studios as well.
‘What do you think?’
She turned round to see Luke watching her from the doorway.
‘I’m going to do it,’ Flick blurted out before she could change her mind.
A smile spread across his face. ‘I think you’ll be perfect at it. I’ll get you the link to the website where you can buy the gifts and you can choose your stock. Is there anything you want doing in here?’
She looked around. ‘I’m obviously going to need some more shelves and tables for the middle of the room and the mezzanine area upstairs but I don’t think it needs any renovations.
Maybe just some fairy lights round the roof beams and the mezzanine railings.
I could put fairy lights on the shelves too. ’
‘I can sort that out no problem.’
‘I think our biggest outlay will be the café. It needs a paint job, new counters, tables and chairs and whatever machines or equipment Polly will need to make it work. I had thought about new carpets in the halls between the studios, but there’s wooden floor underneath.
I think if we ripped up the carpet and just had the floor cleaned and polished, it would probably do the job.
Then we can save the kitty money for the café and I guess the stock for the gift shop but I won’t have a lot of stock to start with.
I’ll have to start small and build up from there. ’
‘You don’t have to worry about not having enough in the kitty. There’s probably more than you think and I can get things for the café pretty cheap, so please get what you want for the shop.’
Flick suddenly felt like a kid in a toy shop being told to buy whatever she wanted.
She had so many ideas for the gift shop, all the different craft supplies and kits she could buy so people could have a go at making mosaics, or crochet or painting themselves.
And she had lots of ideas for the kinds of gifts she wanted to sell too.
‘You look excited?’ Luke asked.
‘Yeah, I am.’
‘Good.’
She looked around the room, potential shining from every corner. She frowned as she glanced over at one corner of the room .
‘You know, I used to play here as a child and I’m pretty sure this room had a secret room. Some kind of bookshelf that led to a little cupboard-type area.’
‘Oh yeah, that’s over here,’ Luke said, leading the way to the corner she had looked at.
‘It’s not very big though, I’m not quite sure what the point of it was, unless it was purely put in to entertain small children with tales of secret passageways and smugglers and pirates hiding secret treasure. ’
She smiled at the thought of Luke telling stories like that to small children.
‘Luke!’ a female voice called.
‘Shit,’ Luke muttered. ‘Quick, in here.’
He grabbed her hand, flicked a little switch on the bookcase and as it swung open he bundled her inside, closing the bookcase behind them.
‘What are you—’ Flick started before Luke clamped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened in surprise.
The next moment she heard footsteps walk into the room. High-heeled footsteps by the sound of them as they strode across the wooden floor. ‘Luke, are you in here?’
Flick looked up at Luke as he shook his head frantically, silently urging her to be quiet.
She peered out through the tiny crack and could see a very pretty blonde woman walking round the room.
Flick held her breath as the woman strode past the bookcase and started going upstairs to the mezzanine calling Luke’s name again.
Luke released her mouth but put a finger over his lips to tell her to keep quiet.
They were standing very close. Luke was right, there was very little room in this little cubbyhole.
In fact she could feel the warmth of his skin against hers, feel his breath on her face.
She could see the tiny flecks of gold in his toffee-brown eyes and the dark stubble shading his chin.
She was so acutely aware of his scent, which smelled like the tang of the sea on a summer’s day, coupled with something sweet like apples.
He smelled delicious. She really liked him.
He was sweet, kind, funny, easy to talk to.
She knew she could very easily fall for him.
If only fate wasn’t taking him away from her.
She looked up at him and he was staring at her too.
The world outside the cupboard seemed to fade away.
Something sparked between them, a connection, a need, she wasn’t sure what it was, but she felt sure he was going to kiss her and she was surprised by how much she wanted that.
She was vaguely aware of the woman coming back down the stairs and leaving the room but they were still staring at each other, his breath heavy, her heart racing. She felt him lean in towards her, or was she leaning in towards him? Either way their bodies were now touching.
Then he cleared his throat. ‘I think she’s gone, we can probably go back outside now.’
‘Right, yes, of course.’
He swung the bookcase open and stepped out into the main room again.
Flick brushed a hand through her hair, suddenly feeling awkward with him.
Had she completely imagined the way he had been looking at her?
She cast around the cubbyhole so she wouldn’t have to look at him.
‘You know, the secret room is much bigger than this.’
‘What?’
‘This little cubbyhole is just the entrance to it.’ She felt around the back panel which was engraved with leaves.
But she knew one of them was a button, she just couldn’t remember which one it was.
Finally she found it, pressed the leaf down like a little catch and the back panel swung open to reveal a small dusty room that still held the cushions she had laid on when she was a little child and was reading her favourite books.
There was a small window that let in a shaft of sunlight and there was fairy lights wrapped around the shelves at the back, although currently unlit.
‘Oh my god, how did I not know this was here?’ Luke stepped into the room.
‘It was well hidden.’
‘Did your grandad make this for you?’