Meet Me at Willow Hall: A perfectly charming romance for 2019!. Carla Burgess

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ in here, has it?’ Anthony said, looking around him.

      ‘No, nothing’s changed,’ I said, a slightly bitter edge to my voice.

      ‘It’s like stepping back in time.’ He smiled and I felt a little glow of happiness. I was glad he had good memories of this place, even if he had ultimately dumped me. ‘Who’s living upstairs now?’

      ‘Erm, a family.’ I glanced up at him. I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk about when we lived together in the apartment above the shop. Everything was broken and wrong now. It made me feel sad to think about it. ‘My parents no longer own the flat. They sold it last year.’

      ‘Oh, really? That’s a shame.’

      ‘Hmm… it was getting too much for them. Dad decided he didn’t want the stress of dealing with tenants.’

      ‘Were we such bad tenants?’ he joked. A wide smile spread across his face and his eyes sparkled mischievously. I wondered what he was playing at, coming here and joking about our relationship when it was still so painful to me. But then, I suppose he didn’t know that. Most normal women would have moved on and been over him by now.

      ‘The worst,’ I replied. At last my brain slotted into gear and I managed to send Daniel’s number to Anthony. His phone gave a beep and he glanced down at it in his hand.

      ‘You’re still on the same number?’ He seemed surprised.

      I shrugged. ‘There was no reason to change it. I still have the same phone.’

      There was an awkward pause and he hovered in the archway between the shop and the back room as though he was about to leave. I was caught in a kind of panicky limbo where I couldn’t tell if I wanted him to go so I could calm my nerves and have a good cry, or stay so I could be with him for longer.

      He seemed undecided himself for a moment, but then he leaned back against the wall, seemingly in no hurry to leave. ‘Where’s Bobbi?’

      ‘On her lunch.’ It was on the tip of my tongue to mention she was out with her boyfriend, until I remembered I was supposed to be engaged to Jayjay myself. Bobbi had been hugely amused when I’d told her what had happened at Willow Hall and hadn’t seemed to mind me hijacking her boyfriend’s name.

      ‘Is she well?’

      ‘She’s good, thank you. Her mum’s a lot better and back at work so Bobbi’s not shouldering all of the responsibility any more.’ Bobbi was only nineteen and had had a tough time last year, struggling to support her family on her wages after her mother fell ill. Anthony had been particularly kind and supportive towards her.

      ‘That’s good to hear.’

      ‘Yep.’

      Another pause.

      ‘And how are your parents?’

      ‘They’re fine, thank you. Dad’s slowing down a bit, which is why he sold the apartment. He’s seventy this year.’

      ‘Really?’

      I nodded. My goodness, this was painful. Without the subject of Willow Hall or Elena’s wedding, we were just trying to make small talk, with neither of us mentioning his accident or the fact that he’d dumped me and banned me from the hospital. What I really wanted to ask was why? What had I done that was so wrong? Why had he pushed me away at such a crucial time? I’d been so upset by him being injured. I’d been desperate to know how he was, and yet he’d shut me out. Cath had kept me updated for a while, but I felt guilty phoning her when she had so much to deal with herself.

      ‘What about the shop? He’s not selling that I take it?’

      ‘Oh, err…’ I had to wrench my head back from reliving the moment I’d shown up at the hospital only to be told he didn’t want to see me. ‘No, well, not right now, anyway.’

      ‘But they might in the future?’

      I swallowed. ‘Perhaps.’

      His brow furrowed and he gave me a searching look. ‘So what will that mean for you?’

      ‘I don’t know right now. We haven’t really talked about it.’

      ‘But surely as their only daughter you stand to inherit this place?’

      ‘Yes, but it… it depends if it’s profitable.’ I sighed. I really didn’t want to be discussing this with Anthony of all people. Besides, this was business I’d been putting off thinking about for months now. There had been a vague suggestion around the time they’d sold the flat that they might look into selling the shop if it didn’t make a profit this year, but we were doing pretty well so I wasn’t too worried. ‘And I think it is profitable, so it will be all right.’

      ‘Are you still doing wedding flowers?’

      ‘Of course.’

      ‘Would you like for us to put you forward as one of our recommended florists? You could come and exhibit at our next open day.’

      ‘Oh! Really?’ I frowned slightly, confused by the offer. ‘Aren’t I a bit too far away?’

      Anthony shrugged. ‘It’s only an hour’s drive.’

      ‘I suppose.’ I frowned, confused about why he would want to promote his ex-girlfriend’s business when he hadn’t seen me in so long. I opened my mouth to say something gracious, then changed my mind and decided to say what was actually on my mind instead. ‘But that would mean you’d see me more often, Anthony. And forgive me for bringing it up when we’re going to such pains to avoid it, but you actually banned me from your hospital room because you didn’t want to see me again.’

      I didn’t know what kind of reaction I’d expected from him, but the slight shrug of his shoulders took me by surprise. Was he really so oblivious to how much he’d hurt me?

      ‘This is business,’ he said. ‘We’re trying to get Willow Hall known as a great wedding venue, and you’re an experienced wedding florist with lots of contacts. I think we could be very useful to each other.’

      ‘Really?’

      ‘Yes, of course. Why not? The past is the past. You’ve moved on, haven’t you? You’ve got this… Jojo…?’

      ‘Jayjay.’

      ‘Right, that’s what I said. Anyway, we’re both adults, aren’t we? I don’t see why we can’t work together. Besides, you probably wouldn’t be seeing a lot of me anyway. I’m planning on taking a backseat in all of this. Weddings aren’t my favourite thing, as you well know.’ He grimaced and straightened up slightly. ‘How are your wedding plans, anyway?’

      ‘Errr…’ I shook my head. ‘Nothing yet.’

      ‘No ring, I see.’ He nodded at my empty left hand.

      ‘Not yet.’

      Unable to stop myself, I shoved my hands in the pockets of my cardigan. I was rubbish at lying and convinced Anthony would see straight through me. He was a detective, after all, and trained in reading people’s СКАЧАТЬ