Chapter Twenty-One
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Bella rearranged the flowers on the grave. The headstone was new and smooth, the words etched in gold. The family had tussled with the idea of burying Celestine alongside Roland. Her parents had wanted to, but Bella wasn’t quite so sure. Knowing what she now knew about their marriage, she wondered if it was what Celestine would have wanted. In the end, the decision had been taken from their hands because they’d found a will and Celestine had left instructions for her burial. She’d requested her own plot, and nobody was going to argue with that. She’d also left Villa Rosa and Bay Blooms to Bella’s dad, her closest surviving relative.
And so here Bella was, several months later, living in Villa Rosa and running the stall her great-aunt had so loved. It was like nothing had changed, and yet everything had changed.
‘I’d better go and open up,’ she said to the grave. ‘Wouldn’t do to be late, would it? I’ll pop in and see you next week.’
Walking slowly towards the gates, Bella could just make out the line of the sea in the distance. The church overlooked St Rosa, and almost all of its past residents could be found here in the churchyard. If she’d had more time, she might have been tempted to track down some more of her own ancestors; they’d be here, their stones shaded under heavy-boughed trees or nestled in the branches of spiny holly bushes. Perhaps one day she’d get round to it.
As she threw open the shutters of Bay Blooms, she noticed a hunched figure out the corner of her eye and turned to see Dolly shuffling over.
‘Morning!’ Bella called. ‘Been to pick up your bread?’
‘Yes.’ Dolly pulled a paper box from her shopping bag and held it out. ‘And I picked up an eclair for you. You still like them, don’t you?’
Bella smiled ‘Do I! I’m never going to go off eclairs! You shouldn’t have done, but thank you.’
‘Well, you’re so good to me.’
‘You’re good to me. What time shall I expect you for tea this evening?’
‘Is six too early?’
‘I think it will be all right as long as you don’t mind coming back to Villa Rosa with me from here.’
‘Only I don’t want to be out too late.’
‘No, of course not. Six is fine. I thought we might go home via Kelvin’s boat and get a fish.’
‘That sounds lovely. I’ll see you later then.’
‘Yes, where are you off to now?’
‘Bingo.’
‘Right. Well, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.’
Dolly grinned as she walked away. Bella shook her head with a wry smile. Poor Dolly hadn’t known what to do with herself after Celestine’s death. Not only that but she’d been more shocked than Bella could have imagined once the truth about Violette and Klaus had come out. Bella suspected she was a little annoyed too that she’d been the only member of the friendship group who hadn’t been included in the secret, but when Bella reminded her of the danger she’d have been in, Dolly understood that they’d only looked to protect her rather than leave her out. She had been a few years younger than the rest of them, after all.
On the pavement, she had boxes stacked with the day’s delivery of fresh flowers. Autumn was already close to its end, and it wouldn’t be long before misty starts turned to frosty mornings. Bella had never been in Jersey during the winter, and so she didn’t know what to expect, but whatever the weather brought, she was certain of one thing – she was going to be happier here than she’d ever been in Shrewsbury with Sean. That life was well and truly behind her now, and things from here were only going to get better. She had the business she’d always dreamed of, a home that didn’t depend on the whims of a man, and an island full of new friends.
She started to haul the flowers inside, trimming and plunging them as Celestine had taught her, and when they were all safely stowed, she set about making up some bouquets to sell. She’d painted the inside of the kiosk a baby pink and installed some cupboards since she’d taken ownership. One of them now had a digital radio perched on top, set at the same classical station her taxi driver friend Brian always had on. She hummed to something she knew from an advert as she weaved some roses into a mass of ferns.
‘Are those for sale?’
Bella’s head flicked up. ‘ Rory ?’
‘Yes.’ He nodded at the flowers. ‘You’re really good at that now. Not that you weren’t before…’
‘What are you doing here?’
‘Quite honestly I don’t know. I was missing it, I suppose. I had a week off work, and this was where I wanted to be.’
‘Right. Well, that’s nice.’
‘I heard you’d taken the stall on.’
‘I figured it was what Celestine would have wanted.’
‘I think you’re right. You’re happy working here?’
‘Yes. Very.’
‘Good…’ He glanced up and down the promenade, as if trying to find something else to say.
‘Why are you here?’ Bella asked. ‘I know why you’re in Jersey, but why are you here now?’
‘I didn’t want to visit the island without seeing you.’
She put the flowers down. ‘I don’t know what I’m meant to say to that.’
‘I suppose not. I keep getting it wrong, don’t I?’
‘A bit. How is Lisa?’
‘We’re divorced now. It finally came through.’
‘I suppose that’s what you wanted.’
‘Does it change anything?’
‘Not really.’
‘But you read my last message?’
‘The one that was full of excuses? Yes, I read it. Can’t say it changed my mind.’
He had the grace to look ashamed, and Bella’s resolve to stay angry crumbled.
‘Life seems to be going well for you here,’ he said.
‘It is.’
‘Bella…could we start again?’
‘In what way?’
‘Could we at least be friends? I’ll be here a lot more often, and I would hate to think we couldn’t be civil to each other.’
‘I can be civil to anyone.’
‘That’s not what I…’ He let out a sigh.
‘I suppose if I see you around, we could stop and chat. Life’s too short to hold grudges.’
‘I’d like that,’ he said. After a pause, he continued. ‘Is there any news on your divorce?’
‘It’s progressing. I would imagine it’s messier than yours was.’
‘Bella…you have no idea how sorry I am about everything. I should have been straight with you. I should have been honest with Lisa, but she was so fragile at that time. I wanted to tell her, but…I swear I hadn’t intended to lie to you both, but it would have broken her…and you…I knew how much Sean had hurt you. I was scared you’d think I was the same as him.’
‘You do realise that leading me on the way you did made me think exactly that.’
‘I didn’t mean to lead you on. I really did mean to tell you about Lisa. I panicked, and then Lisa turned up at the hotel and I knew I was in trouble. I handled it badly, and I’d do anything to put it right.’
‘Hmm…’ Bella held him in a frank gaze. ‘You said all that in your message, but thank you for saying it to my face.’
‘Is there a difference?’
‘Yes. Now I can see if you really mean it.’
‘I do. Could you forgive me? I’m not asking for a second chance for us as lovers or whatever, but I don’t want to lose you as my friend. I think that would be the worst thing that could happen to me.’
Bella finally caved in. Standing here, seeing how genuine his remorse was, looking into those eyes, she knew she was going to forgive him eventually. She was going to do it properly this time, though. They’d take it slowly; she’d know him fully before she gave him that second chance, but she wanted it as much as he did.
‘I don’t want to lose that either.’
‘So let me start to make things right. What can I do?’
‘Chips and cider,’ she said with a smile that she couldn’t keep from her face. ‘We’ll start with chips and cider, and we’ll go from there. You’re buying.’
‘That sounds amazing. When?’
‘I can’t do tonight – I’ve promised to cook for Dolly. Tomorrow?’
‘You’re cooking for Dolly? How is she?’
‘Sad a lot of the time. I think she misses Celestine.’
‘I suppose you must do too,’ he said softly.
‘Yes. But this is life, isn’t it? We have people; we lose people. It never ends until we join the lost ones.’
‘Wow. You should write.’
Bella had to laugh. ‘I can’t imagine I’d earn much from a one-line book.’
‘Cider and chips and a large serving of remorse then. Tomorrow night?’
‘Tomorrow night. If I still feel like it.’
‘If you still feel like it. Fair enough. I deserve that too. I suppose…’ He shifted awkwardly, as if he wanted to say more but wasn’t sure if he should. And then, eventually, he gave a vague shrug. ‘I suppose you need to get on here?’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘Tomorrow then. Thank you.’
‘Tomorrow. Maybe. There are no promises.’
Bella watched him walk away, a smile about her lips.
No sooner had he gone than she felt a tap on her arm and turned to see Dolly back again.
‘Is that him?’
‘Dolly!’ Bella grinned. ‘Have you been here the whole time?’
Dolly gave a sheepish nod. ‘I couldn’t help it. I saw him coming over, and I…I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.’
‘You little—And you heard the whole lot?’
‘I might have heard some of it.’
‘That means yes if I know you. So what do you think?’
‘He’s very good-looking.’
‘I don’t mean that. I mean what do you think about me and him? Should I give him a second chance?’
‘He seems sorry. And we all make mistakes. Sounds to me like he was in a pickle and he didn’t know how to fix it. We’ve all been there too.’
‘But can I trust him?’
‘Who can say? But if there’s a chance of love, don’t you think you ought to take it? Your poor aunt Celestine would have jumped at it.’
‘Would she?’
‘She married Roland. I think she knew deep down he wasn’t in love with her, but she loved him, and she thought it was worth a try.’
‘I’ve thought about this loads,’ Bella said, her gaze following Rory as he walked the promenade. ‘Why on earth did Roland propose to her if he didn’t love her?’
‘Who knows? Perhaps he did in his own way. Maybe he thought if he couldn’t have Violette, Celestine was the next best thing. I wonder if he married Celestine to teach Violette a lesson because she’d been with another man and got a baby by him.’
‘Celestine said he didn’t know about the baby.’
Dolly gave Bella a withering look. ‘ Everyone knew about the baby. It was obvious, even if she never brought him back to Jersey once she’d had him.’
‘I’m sure Violette wouldn’t have cared about Roland’s revenge anyway. She didn’t even fancy him, did she?’
‘It wouldn’t have made any difference to him. If he was hurting, he wouldn’t have seen it that way.’
‘It all seems far more complicated than it ought to be.’
‘Isn’t it always?’ Dolly folded her arms and aimed a practical look at Bella. ‘They say the course of true love never runs smooth. Now don’t you think there’s a reason they say that?’
‘I suppose so,’ Bella said with a light laugh. ‘It sure doesn’t run smooth for me.’
‘I’d say your Rory is potty about you.’
‘There’s a bold statement if ever I heard one.’
‘You must know it. And I think you’re a bit potty about him too.’
‘I was,’ Bella said thoughtfully. ‘Before…’
‘He’s all divorced now and free as a bird. What’s the problem?’
Bella was silent for a moment as she considered Dolly’s words. What was the problem? Why was she holding back? Would it hurt to give him another chance? Not just at friendship but at something more, something they’d both wanted, something they’d very nearly had. She’d been drawn to him right from the beginning. Something bigger than both of them had been at play. Why else would there have been so many coincidences bringing them together?
She’d made no promises, and it was a risk. Then again, it was a risk that had brought her here. She had a new home and a new life in the place she loved best in the world, and it had all been down to a hastily taken decision made in the heat of the moment the day she’d caught Sean cheating. It hadn’t worked out too badly, all things considered.
Cider and chips. It was a start.
* * *
If you fell in love with The Little Island Flower Stall , then you won’t be able to resist A Helping Hand for the Village Nurse , a completely beautiful and romantic read about healing after heartbreak and learning that the darkest clouds have a silver lining…
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