Chapter Eight
Kivi
That’s all I need, Kivi thought grumpily as she spotted Miss Saltmarshe crossing the road from the bakery towards the boutique.
Luckily, the woman didn’t spot her coming down the road.
She’d already rattled Kivi’s cage – which was remarkably unlike her usual placidity – and the last thing they needed right now was another conversation full of treading eggshells.
She had a far more important conversation to hold this morning.
She’d left Eva at the guest house, doing the rooms. Her week was split between working with Kivi at the guest house and working with Anastasia at the florist, and today was one of the days she worked with Kivi.
That was why Kivi had judged it safe to leave her to it and come into the village.
She needed to speak with her sister’s other boss, and it was going to be a delicate conversation.
Luckily, Anastasia was lovely, and greeted Kivi with a beam. Of course, it helped that Kivi was probably one of her best customers. “Good morning, Kivi! What are you after this morning?”
“You, actually,” Kivi said, and Anastasia’s eyebrows raised.
“Don’t let my girlfriend hear you say that,” she teased. “She’s very possessive and protective of me.”
“Where is Miss Berry?” Kivi asked, her stomach giving a sudden anxious lurch. Anastasia’s girlfriend was the terrifying ice-queen of a headmistress who ruled the village primary school, and there was no way Kivi wanted to get on the wrong side of her.
“At work,” Anastasia laughed. “Don’t look so terrified. Come on, come around the back. Jade can handle the shop floor for now.”
Anastasia’s hospitality and affable manner were second-to-none, and soon Kivi was sitting opposite her desk with a cup of tea and a Belgian bun from the bakery over the road.
Anastasia sat herself down on the other chair and looked over at her expectantly.
“Come on then, what is it? You look like you’ve got something on your mind. ”
Kivi opened her mouth and shut it again. Being with Miss Berry for the last year or so had clearly rubbed off on Anastasia, because her poise and presence were exactly that of the headmistress. And her… intimidating-ness.
“I do, and I’m not sure how well you’re going to like it.”
“Is it about Eva?”
“Yeah, it is. I was wondering how open you’d be to the prospect of… temporarily adjusting the agreement.”
“In what way?”
“You see, I’ve been asked to plan a wedding. You know that Cassandra Mulligan and Felicia Wilson are engaged?”
“I am aware.” Anastasia’s mouth twitched. “I’m aware of all the Sapphic goings-on in this village. They’ve asked you to plan their wedding?”
“Yes. I used to be a wedding planner before I opened the guest house. The thing is… obviously, it’s a big job, and so is running the guest house.
So I was wondering… for the next few months, how would you feel if I poached some more of Eva’s time?
Having her around at the guest house a bit more would allow me more time to work with Cass and Felicia, you see. ”
“I do see,” Anastasia said, and frowned. “Is this already agreed? That you’re planning the wedding?”
“No, not at all,” Kivi said. “I’ve asked them for some time to think about it.
I wanted to figure out how it would work, first. And I’ve not discussed it with Eva, either.
I wanted to get an idea of how feasible it would be before I broached it with her.
No point concerning her over something that might not happen if you say no. ”
“Oof.” Anastasia winced, but in a light-hearted way. “No pressure then. If I’m understanding you right, Cass and Felicia’s wedding plans are dependent on me saying yes to having less of Eva for the next few months?”
“Well, let’s say two months,” Kivi said. “Just up to the start of August. That would give me time to lay the ground work with Cass and Felicia, and then we can take another look at the arrangement.”
“I see,” Anastasia said, and pulled a thoughtful face. Silence descended between them – enough for Kivi to start panicking. If Anastasia said no, then there would be no way she could do the wedding, and she actually wanted to, so-
“It’s okay if not,” she said quickly. “There’s no pressure, genuinely. Cass and Felicia can find another wedding planner.”
“Have her.” Anastasia shook her head, and smiled.
“Sorry?”
“You were immensely gracious last year, when Victoria had her accident and I was all but AWOL for three months while I cared for her. I essentially snatched Eva from your grasp and kept her locked up in here in my place. God knows how you coped.”
“It was a struggle,” Kivi murmured. That was putting it mildly. She’d hardly stopped for months, running the guest house pretty much on her own.
“And if we are going to lose Eva, then this is about the best time of year to do it. Jade’s daughter Emilia is coming home on Saturday for the summer – she’s just finished her first year at uni, and I was going to put her on Saturdays here.
But if she were to take Eva’s hours, I could find another Saturday girl.
I’d have to check with her first, of course, but I’m sure she’ll be fine with it.
She’ll want the money for next semester. ”
“Really?” Kivi said. “You think it could work?”
“I do,” Anastasia said. “I really do. And I owe you a favour, too. Your Ukrainian fund… really means a lot to me.”
Anastasia was Ukrainian, and when the war over there had started the previous spring, Kivi had started a donation box in the guest lounge. People had been remarkably generous, even after all the press coverage of the situation had died down.
“Give me a week or so to sort things out with Emilia,” Anastasia said. Where she had been briefly misty-eyed, now she was all business again. “And you talk to Eva. If there is a problem, we’ll let each other know. But let’s call it a tentative yes for now.”
“Great,” Kivi said, and they shook hands. The bell on the shop floor went – it had been dinging on and off the whole time she had been sat here as customers came and went, but now she heard an unmistakeably familiar voice.
“Nastya,” Jade called. “Someone for you out here!”