Chapter 34
THIRTY-FOUR
‘You’re looking very handsome tonight.’ Florrie’s eyes roved over Ed who was wearing the new sky-blue shirt she’d bought him for his birthday, the colour setting off the deep blue of his eyes.
‘Thank you, you don’t scrub up so badly yourself.’ He crossed the floor, closing the space between them and slid his arms around her neck, brushing his lips against hers.
‘Why, thank you.’ She chuckled at his choice of words.
It was the evening of the final hen party celebration and the only clue she’d been given was to get dressed up.
The instructions had thrilled her; it was always a nice change to wear something special.
Tonight, she’d opted for an A-line silk dress in a sumptuous shade of midnight blue, splashed with dots embroidered in a sparkly silver thread.
It was a vintage piece she’d picked up in Lark’s Vintage Bazaar and it was the first time she’d worn it.
She was secretly relieved when Stella had told her she didn’t have to wear her hen party sash and other items, since where they were bound that evening wasn’t keen to attract ‘that type’ of celebration with the potential for rowdiness – so the restaurant manager had informed her.
‘Give us a twirl.’ Ed took her hand and spun her round. ‘Actually, you don’t just scrub up well, you look gorgeous.’ He delivered a warm kiss to her lips.
‘Mmm. That was nice.’
‘Plenty where that came from, if you play your cards right.’ His playful grin that followed made her giggle.
‘Looking forward to your curry with the lads?’ As well as it being Florrie’s hen do, it was Ed’s stag celebration and the men had a table reserved at the Indian restaurant in Middleton-le-Moors, which was always a favourite.
‘Too right. The thought of the delicious food’s been tormenting me all day.’ He grinned. ‘Chicken Tikka Masala. Mm-hm.’ He gave an exaggerated chef’s kiss.
‘Well, at least you know where you’re going. I’m still completely in the dark about where we’re heading.’
‘Ah, don’t worry, you’ll enjoy yourself, and all I can tell you is that you’ll be enjoying some delicious food, too.’
‘You tease! You could give me a little more info.’
‘Sorry, no can do.’ He looked at his watch. ‘Ey up, we’d better get a move on if we’re meeting everyone in twenty minutes.’
Florrie glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table. ‘Oops, you’re right.’ She scooped up her shoes, threw her smart navy-blue velvet coat over her arm and grabbed her bag. ‘See you downstairs.’
The Cellar was heaving when Ed pushed the half-glazed door open, a babble of chatter spilling out onto the street, the indie-rock track that was playing growing louder.
‘There they are, over at the bar,’ he said, squeezing his way through.
‘I’ll take your word for it,’ she said, following him. Saturday nights were always popular at the town’s microbrewery thanks to its award-winning beers and friendly, welcoming atmosphere.
Arriving at the bar where a line of beer pumps gleamed under the lights, they were greeted by a flurry of hellos from their friends.
It had been arranged for them to have a drink together before the men went one way and the women the other for their respective celebrations.
They were to have one drink in The Cellar, then the men would climb into a minibus where a driver would whisk them over to Middleton-le-Moors and wait there to bring them home, though Florrie had known none of this before tonight.
A thread of excitement wove through their conversation, as the group of friends caught up on their day.
‘So, this is the last Saturday night you’re going to be able to call yourself Florrie Appleton,’ said Stella. ‘This time next week you’ll officially be a Florrie happy Harte.’
Florrie giggled at that. ‘Oh gosh, I know! I can hardly believe it.’
‘Exciting times, flower.’ Lark flashed one of her kind smiles. ‘You’re perfect for one another.’
‘Thanks, Lark.’
‘Let’s raise a glass to Florrie and Ed’s last Saturday as singletons,’ said Al, holding his bottle of beer aloft. ‘Cheers to Florrie and Ed.’ The others followed suit, echoing his words.
Waving the men off as the minibus headed out of the square, Jasmine looked at Florrie and said, ‘You’ll probably be very pleased to know we haven’t got far to go.
We remembered you saying you’d be happy to celebrate your hen party by having a meal at Oscar’s, just the five of us, so that’s what we’re doing tonight. This one’s our Stells’ idea.’
‘Thought it’d be a good way to round things off.’ Stella smiled fondly at her.
‘Ah, lasses, I’m thrilled, thank you. I feel like I’ve been thoroughly spoilt over the last week or so. I might have to get married again, if this is what happens.’
‘That’s greedy,’ joked Maggie. ‘Surely, it’s Jazz’s turn next.’
Jasmine and Florrie exchanged a look that was instantly caught by eagle-eyed Stella.
‘Ey up, what’s this? Did our Maggie inadvertently touch on something exciting there?’
‘Shh! Stells.’ Jasmine waved her hand in a bid to get her friend to lower her voice. Even under the muted glow of the streetlights, her blushes were hard to miss.
‘What’s this?’ asked Lark, cottoning on and leaning in.
‘I’ll tell you once we’re sitting down in the restaurant.’ Jasmine linked her arm through Florrie’s, hurrying them along, no doubt before she got dragged into any further conversation on the street.
Inside the bistro, they received a warm welcome, their shoes clipping over the polished floorboards as they were led to a table in the corner by the window.
Florrie glanced around her as she pulled out the bistro-style wooden chair in front of her.
Oscar’s was one of her favourite places to go for a meal and she loved the typically French décor, with arched mirrors trimmed with fairy lights set above wainscotting painted a tasteful sage green.
The wall at the far end, with its exposed imperial-sized bricks afforded the restaurant a rustic quality, while lighting was courtesy of pendant lights with vintage-style bulbs suspended from twisted fabric cable, and candles wedged in old wine bottles sat on the mismatched tables.
A selection of old-style crystal decanters filled with yet more fairy lights were dotted around the place along with a variety of quirky memorabilia.
‘Oh, wow! Something smells absolutely delicious,’ said Maggie, inhaling the mouth-watering aroma of seafood infused with garlic, which was the bistro’s speciality.
‘Mmm. It does,’ agreed Jasmine, just as their server appeared, handing them all oversized menus.
‘I think I’m going to have the crayfish salad to start; the thought of it has been torturing me all day,’ said Lark.
‘Well, I haven’t had that luxury, since I only found out where we were going ten minutes ago,’ Florrie said dryly, a smile making her mouth twitch.
‘The element of surprise will add to the flavour,’ Stella said, chuckling, just as the server arrived back at the table with a basket of sliced French bread and a carafe of water.
Once they’d placed their orders, Maggie waited until the server was out of earshot and asked, ‘Dare we ask how things have been with Ed’s parents?’
‘Quiet since they’ve gone back to London.’ Florrie finished buttering her slice of bread and set her knife down. ‘It’s been reassuring to know Dawn can’t sneak into our house again.’
‘Did you ever get to the bottom of what she was looking for?’ asked Stella.
‘No, but we suspect it was probably documents relating to our ownership of the bookshop.’ Florrie shook her head.
‘I did notice something missing, though. It was when I went to pay the window cleaner from the tin on the dresser – you know how Jed prefers cash. Anyroad, I thought it felt light when I picked it up and when I took the lid off, it was completely empty, not a single penny left. She must’ve taken it when she had a key to the cottage. ’
Jasmine tutted, and Stella asked, ‘Do you know how much was in there?’
‘Maybe around fifty quid, made up of notes and coins.’
‘Thank goodness you stopped her access when you did,’ said Lark.
It had made Florrie feel uneasy at the time, and not wanting to risk those feelings returning – despite her determination not to let Ed’s parents get her down – and casting a cloud over the evening, she figured a change of subject was on the cards.
‘So, have you been getting any cravings, Stells, or going off particular food? I recall Mags saying she went off her beloved bacon butties.’
‘Ooh, I did, big time.’ Maggie pulled a face at the memory, setting off a flurry of giggles around the table.
‘I can’t say I’m craving anything yet, I think it’s still early days for that, but I’m definitely struggling with the smell of coffee. Even the thought of it makes my stomach turn over.’
‘No coffee for us tonight, then, lasses,’ chirped Jasmine.
‘So, what are you going to do about living arrangements when the baby arrives, Stells?’ asked Maggie. ‘I mean, you don’t actually live together, do you?’
Stella and Alex lived in separate luxury apartments in Fitzgilbert’s Landing, a recently converted warehouse that overlooked the newly created marina.
Their apartments occupied the same floor and were located opposite one another, so the close proximity had meant they hadn’t felt the need to move in together. Until now.
‘Well, rather coincidentally, you might recall I told you Al had plans approved for a decent-sized family home on that plot of land he bought not far from Max’s place on the cliffs.
He’d originally planned to build then sell the house, but the unexpected baby news has thrown a slightly different light on things.
’ She glanced around the table. ‘So he’s decided to keep it and make it our family home.
We’re going to hang on to my apartment, rent it out, and he’s going to sell his. ’
Florrie observed her friend, delighting in seeing her look so happy and settled.
There was no denying Stella’s brittle edges had been smoothed since she’d changed her stance on relationships.
She’d previously denounced them as being only for fools, that men weren’t to be trusted.
But meeting Alex had changed all that. He was good for her, as she was for him.
He loved her strong, sassy personality and wasn’t intimidated by her ball-breaking attitude or her successful career as a formidable prosecution barrister.
In turn, she loved his calming nature, how he was slow to anger, knew just what to do or say to soothe her tendency to be highly-strung.
It was obvious to all who knew them, they were a good match.
He was the proverbial yin to her yang. He’d gained her trust and made her feel safe and secure such that she’d done something she’d sworn she’d never do: she’d opened up her heart to love.
‘Wow! You’ve got it all worked out, the pair of you, haven’t you?’ exclaimed Jasmine, smiling happily.
‘Ah, Jazzy-Pants, that reminds me, I rather got the impression you have a little secret you’d quite like to share with us this evening.’ Stella quirked an eyebrow, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she smiled back at her friend.
Colour flooded Jasmine’s cheeks. ‘Er, I do, yeah. Mind, it’s top secret for now. But’ – she covered her face with her hands, muffling her voice – ‘I feel so embarrassed saying this, but Max popped the question and I said yes.’
The table bounced with excitement as the friends all congratulated her, mindful of keeping the subject secret from other diners, though a squeal did manage to escape from Lark, turning heads nearby and making Jasmine laugh.
‘He’s taking me to choose a ring next week; says he wants to do it properly and get down on one knee, and all that mushy stuff.
’ She rolled her eyes affectionately, her cheeks still blazing.
‘Then we’re going to tell the kids – who’ve been hounding us to get married anyway.
Zak and Connor keep telling us they’re desperate to be “proper brothers” as they call it.
Then we’ll tell everyone else, though my mum and dad already know and are chuffed to bits for us, as you can no doubt imagine. ’
‘It’s fantastic news, Jazz.’ Florrie squeezed her friend’s shoulder.
‘Wow, what a couple of years it’s been for us, lasses. Who’d have thought we’d have joined Mags and Bear in the loved-up club?’ Stella said, beaming.
‘Funny how things slot together, isn’t it?’ observed Jasmine. ‘Look at Jean and Amery. And even Ando’s found someone to share his pickled eggs.’
‘Ahh, who says romance is dead?’ said Maggie, deadpan.
‘I think we can say, love is in the air in Micklewick Bay,’ said Lark.
‘Sounds like a cue for a song,’ said Stella, launching into a song with that very title, the others following suit.