Chapter 3
Chapter Three
L eah glanced up when the bell above the door to her flower shop chimed and grinned when she saw Maya and the coffee. Maya adored walking in here because the sage Leah liked to use in her arrangements added an earthy aroma with a herbaceous note that reminded her of her grandad’s potting sheds. Leah finished tying a peony bouquet with pale-pink petals and plump buds surrounded by tiny white fluffy gypsophila and soft green eucalyptus leaves and picked up scissors to curl and secure the gold ribbon.
Maya loved that her best friend’s shop was just along the river from where Joe’s boat was moored and across the bridge that connected this side of town to her own riverside townhouse. The flower shop wasn’t huge, but the double-fronted Victorian windows gave Leah room to show off her floristry skills to everyone on the river and people came from miles around to buy her latest arrangements and admire her displays. The shop was a floral paradise with a deep Parisian-blue paint on the woodwork and window frames. Discreet lighting directed the eye around the room and Leah’s own range of floral scented candles stood proudly by the front door. It worked well because river cruise customers often popped in. Unfortunately, it didn’t translate to many sales for Joe’s old steamboat, but Maya had placed leaflets advertising Bertha by the till.
‘Good day?’ asked Maya and Leah nodded and gripped a piece of ribbon between her teeth to hold it in place whilst she finished the bouquet in her hands, gratefully accepting the coffee afterwards, taking off the lid to sip it.
‘Bliss.’ It was cool in the shop's interior to keep the flowers fresh, so a warm coffee from Penny’s café was always welcome – Leah often wore fingerless gloves, even in summer. ‘It’s been hectic as usual,’ she answered. ‘Matt’s in the back if you need him?’
Maya grinned, as she always needed Matt — just differently to how Leah needed him. He’d made himself indispensable. He was a huge part of her life, as was Leah.
Maya always thought that Leah looked like a Flower Fairy, her red hair often loosely tied up with a ribbon from the shop to keep it off her face. She was petite and when they visited a bar outside of town, security or bar staff always asked for ID.
‘I’m ready for a break,’ sighed Leah, taking a packet of chocolate biscuits from a drawer and waving them at Maya.
‘Have you been on the boat?’ asked Leah as she led the way to the fairly large back room that they used as an office. The space was white and modern and had backlit images of models wearing Maya’s jewellery in slim metal frames on the walls. They were walking into the heart of Matt’s fledgling modelling agency and Maya still felt a thrill of excitement every time she walked inside, and she knew Matt was enjoying his new role as her model agent as much as she was. Maya was so thankful that her brother, Arthur, had set her sparkling new website up because she wouldn’t have known where to start. It was high tech, but had been of minimal expense to her because of her brother’s know-how. An overnight success: two years of slog and experience running a business before.
Maya hugged Matt and then sat down in the chair next to him, Leah did the same. There was another screen; to alert Leah if a customer came in. Maya gave Matt his coffee and he sipped it gratefully and filched two biscuits before Leah could eat them all.
Matt was Maya’s very own James Bond. He was one reason that the company had reached the stage it was at now. Being the first No.1 Ethereal Lane model held kudos and the publicity from the furore that had surrounded their first campaign had catapulted him to fame and helped him raise the money to start his own agency from the space behind the flower shop. His own modelling career had kept him busy and travelling for years, but now he wanted a new challenge and he’d hated leaving Leah because their relationship was getting pretty serious and he’d even tentatively mentioned to Maya about designing a very special ring at some point. How she’d managed not to let that slip to Leah she didn’t know, but the thought of Leah’s face when he did eventually ask her would be worth the subterfuge.
‘You two are sickening,’ Maya joked as Leah picked up some digitals of a recent photo shoot and handed them to Matt with a flourish and an air kiss.
‘You need to find your own Prince Charming,’ teased Leah and Maya pushed her chair back and bumped into the desk, almost knocking her half-full coffee cup over as that reminded her she’d just told her sister she had a boyfriend! She knew Romy would mention it to Leah if she saw her, as she’d expect her to know, so Maya needed to come up with a plan for the family party and quick. She patted her flushed cheeks and picked up her coffee, then paused mid-sip.
Maya saw a look pass between her friends.
‘What’s up?’ she demanded, glancing between them as they clearly wanted to tell her something and Leah should probably be back in the shop by now.
‘There’s a lot in the press about Blake at the moment,’ said Matt, who always sounded affronted to have to mention that name.
‘He’s just launched his most popular collection yet,’ said Leah with a slight snarl in her voice, even though she’d never met Blake. As Maya and Leah had grown close, Maya had decided she needed to trust. This time, she’d chosen well. Leah was the best person she knew outside of her own family. Maya was a solitary soul by nature, but Leah had scaled the walls she’d built around herself through sheer persistence. She’d popped up whenever Maya was sitting watching the river meander. They’d discovered mutual creativity; Maya had helped Leah set up her floristry business. She was a gifted florist who didn’t have a business head. After a previous business failure, Leah had been in debt. Maya had immediately seen her potential and, one day, they’d walked along the river and peered into the windows of the run-down shopfront that was partially covered by ivy.
Maya had seen the potential of the property, but Leah had been reluctant. She was scared to fail again. But after agreeing the lease and weekends spent scrubbing and painting the woodwork, the shop shone. Two years later, Leah’s debts were paid off and her gorgeous shop was a destination in itself. Matt being able to work there too worked well for the couple as it saved paying for extra office space. Maya felt that in her own way she’d had a hand in her friend’s happiness by finding Matt, even though Leah had chased him a bit at first – but that was another story.
‘Blake has run out of the hummingbird designs now, so I won’t have to see them out and about any more,’ said Maya, straightening up a stack of paperwork on the desk in front of her and tutting at the stray used teabag that sat on the edge of a plate by an old mug of tea. Maya swiped the teabag into the bin by her feet and put the cup on the plate, before realising that her friends were watching her with half smiles because she was a little obsessive about cleanliness.
‘He’s certainly milked them for all they were worth,’ said Matt, shaking his head.
‘He’s a businessman,’ said Maya sadly. ‘It didn’t occur to me he’d use the designs in so many ways, adapting them to bracelets, earrings, belts and everything else he could think of. He’s smart. He was always smart,’ she added quietly.
‘Not always,’ said Leah with another eye roll of contempt. ‘These are your designs, not his. He’s just taken the credit for them.’ Leah’s hair bobbed up and down as she spoke, and Matt put a calming hand on her arm. She stopped ranting and smiled in apology.
Maya felt warmth fill her veins at her friend’s loyalty. Blake hadn’t actually been that awful of a designer, but he’d realised where his skills lay early on. He could manage talent – hers, anyway. They’d been a winning combination until he’d broken her trust. All the love and passion had drained from her designs for a while and that had almost been as devastating to her as losing her relationship, which should have told her something. She'd been too upset to take a deeper look at how she felt and was full of self-pity.
Then she’d started living by the river again, met Leah and drawn every day. No. 1 Ethereal Lane had evolved from a different place. She made exquisite jewellery of the grasses and flowers that thrived around the river bank and intricate designs incorporating precious stones that she set into her designs, which seemed to drive her customers wild.
‘Leah is right, though. He’s a thieving git,’ said Matt after a pause.
‘I signed the company over to him to get out of our partnership. The finances were tricky at that point; we’d both invested heavily.’
‘You lost your investment, though!’ Leah raged.
‘But I also walked away from the risk of any debt chasing me later. I just wanted out.’
‘He made a fortune from your designs,’ seethed Leah, clearly attempting to tone her voice down for Maya’s benefit, but she could almost see the steam coming out of her ears.
‘He’s within his rights to exploit the designs,’ said Maya, eyeing the almost empty pack of chocolate biscuits that Leah was waving around. Her stomach grumbled, but from too much sugar, than hunger. She really must get back to swimming at the local pool to stretch her muscles out again. She was a strong swimmer and loved the solidarity of head and arms pushing through the water without having to talk to anyone else.
‘He manipulated you, for sure,’ ground out Matt, snapping her back to reality. She zoned out of Blake-bashing, even though she’d been the instigator often enough. She didn’t really care what he did now, unless it directly affected her business, which she didn’t think ‘his’ latest designs would. He could pretend as much as he liked. He’d pretended to be in love with her for long enough, why stop the pretence now?
‘I don’t really care… I’ve moved on…’ she hedged, wond ering if this was the right moment to spill her new boyfriend news. Leah raised an eyebrow at this and Matt stayed silent for a moment, which spoke volumes, as both of her friends often voiced their thoughts out loud and they equally spoke over each other when feeling cross. They thought it was about time she began dating properly again and had tried to set her up with friends often enough, which Maya found exhausting and sad. Now she’d thrown a fake boyfriend into the mix to Romy, she’d have to pretend to Leah and Matt as well, and she hated lying. The problem was that it was too late now because she’d already blurted it out to her sister, who was like a dog with a bone when she happened upon interesting titbits of information about her siblings. Maya was very selective post Blake, and it got her into no end of trouble now.
Leah had fallen madly in love with Matt the first time she’d seen him, and she hadn’t understood why Maya wasn’t already in love with his dashing good looks. To her (and many of the female population), Matt was the perfect male. He was tall, dark and handsome, as well as being astute and kind. Maya would never cross the work/life divide again and although she loved Matt dearly, and he had an extra special place in her heart for being her first ever No. 1 Ethereal Lane model, there was no spark. She was grateful for that now, as Leah had come into Maya’s house and fanned her flushed face when she’d first met Matt and had to grab a cool glass of water to ease her parched throat. She hadn’t stopped talking about him for days and she’d stalked his social media to find out if he was interested in anyone else, even though Maya had told her he wasn’t.
These days Leah and Matt were inseparable, even working out of the same space, which would drive Maya nuts. Maya had never fully worked Blake out when they were together, so there was no reason for her to do that now.
‘That model he shagged probably thinks he’s a genius,’ scoffed Leah and Maya flinched. Leah refused to call Portia by her name, even though she and Blake were still together two years later. Both had benefited hugely by their association, and Blake often paraded his prized girlfriend out to the press, something he hadn’t done with his fiancé. Portia never cracked a smile to the photographers and had been dubbed the ‘ice queen’ as she was always draped in diamonds. Maya squeezed her eyes shut and refused to picture Portia draped in her diamonds. It had taken her ages to use the stone again, but now she did with bravado. Her most successful design to date had a stunning diamond draped in a delicate flowering eelgrass, as if it had just been unearthed and pulled from the river. The well-known interior designer Maya had created it for was powerful, talented and an advocate for sisterhood, so it had found its rightful home. Plus, she felt like it was her own private way of sticking two fingers up at Portia when it was worn and photographed by the press.
‘Why don’t you tell everyone the truth about your new work?’ quizzed Matt. It was a question he’d asked repeatedly, but her answer was always the same.
‘I’m not ready.’ She knew that response still wouldn’t satisfy Matt or Leah, but it was all she could give them because it was the truth. Maya was happy producing her best work from the steamboat or studio on the top floor of her rented house, often sitting on the little balcony at night and letting the breeze from the river wash over her as she listened to late-night radio.
‘You might get asked to loads of exclusive parties and meet lots of delectable men if you tell everyone how amazing you are and how popular your brand is getting,’ winked Leah as she pulled the ribbon out of her hair and tied it tighter, preparing to go back to work.
‘I don’t have time for parties.’ Maya could feel her heartbeat ramp up as she knew what was coming next.
‘You’ve got that family party coming up soon, so it could bag you a date for that,’ said Leah.
Maya knew she needed to get out more, but her space and time was sacred, especially now that she was making more expensive pieces with delicate gems like sapphire and ruby which took her breath away with their beauty. Her days were spent on the river with Joe, sketching and, once in a while, she’d join one of Mason’s art classes. People came and went as their circumstances changed, but the ethos of the class remained: everyone was welcome. Now the looming family party was on her mind. She had thought that she might bring Mason, as they had a lot in common and she had a feeling he liked her by the way his eyes always sought her out, but neither of them had overstepped the friendship mark… yet.
‘I’ve got no interest in being famous…’ she said finally, ‘but I am over my ex.’ That wasn’t exactly the honest answer. She knew she’d been using Blake as a barrier for not jumping back into the real world and living again. ‘Plus, I’ve just started dating someone else,’ she added and then ran for cover as Leah chased after her, demanding to know more. Luckily Maya was faster, and a customer had just walked into the flower shop, so Leah had no choice but to slap on a smile after sending Maya a ferocious glare that told her she would be made to give up more information later. Maya leaned back against the side wall of the shop and caught her breath while her mind whizzed over all the other things she could have said. Why had she told two people she was da ting someone new? They might assume he was special for Maya to have told them, but it was their own fault for hassling her to find someone for the dratted family party. Her family went all out for these kinds of events, so it would be flamboyant, dramatic and completely bonkers. If she dragged someone along it might scare the life out of them! Maya stomped home muttering to herself at her own stupidity, whilst wondering how to sign up for several hundred dating apps in one go.