The Little Shop of Hopes and Dreams. Fiona Harper

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      She’d thought she’d got rid of that woman, that only an echo of her had been left behind. It was a shock to see her staring back at her, the pale face superimposed on those of the actors in the posters.

      She couldn’t be that person again. Not now. And definitely not for the next six weeks as they ran up to Christmas and Saffron’s big proposal. The clock couldn’t turn backwards. She wouldn’t let it.

      She had this horrible feeling that if she didn’t finish the journey she’d started after Jasper left her, she’d always be stuck in some horrible limbo between being the girl she once was and the woman she wanted to be. And that wouldn’t do. She needed every bit of armour about her now.

      Especially if she was going to survive a whole Saturday in the company of Alex Black.

CHAPTER TEN

      It was bright and frosty that Saturday morning when Alex pulled up outside Nicole’s flat in his car. She didn’t wait for him to ring the doorbell. Instead she ran down the stairs, intending to intercept him on the pavement outside before he even got out of the car. The less he knew about her the better, because if Alex found out what she really did for a living before Saffron proposed, her whole life would be toast.

      She’d formulated a plan while she’d been waiting. In lieu of anything better, today’s objective was to be the consummate professional—on two fronts: the real job and the fake job. She would not flirt. She would not stammer. She would forget all about how attractive he was and treat him the same as any other fiancé-to-be.

      And he was, really. Despite what had happened on New Year’s Eve. There was no reason to feel as if she’d known him for years, no reason to believe they were part of a secret club of two, no matter how much the air seemed to close in around them every time they were within three feet of each other. It was just physical. She had to remember that. Chemicals firing off in her brain at the sight of a nice-looking man. Nothing more.

      And she didn’t need to get to know him, either. At least no more than she needed to so she could do her job and provide Saffron with the proposal she’d hired her for.

      He spotted her emerging from the door to the street as he stepped from his car, and one corner of his mouth lifted in greeting. Her disobedient heart went into overdrive, causing her pulse to bang in her ears. She took a deep breath and ignored it. Talk the talk, walk the walk, and the rest will follow.

      ‘Will this do?’ she said, opening her coat and showing him what she was wearing. He’d said she should dress smartly but practically and with a view to being as unobtrusive as possible.

      It had taken a while to find something that would truly help her blend into the background. While she favoured understated elegance, she realised that she always dressed hoping others would notice the pared-down style, the subtle message that said, ‘I’m not trying to impress you’, even though she subconsciously was. In the end she’d plumped for a soft charcoal jumper over smart black trousers and boots with a heel that wouldn’t give her nosebleeds.

      Alex was dressed in a dark suit with a thin black tie and a large and slightly scruffy overcoat thrown over the top. He should have looked smart, but somehow the overall effect, including the battered boots that still graced his feet, gave him the air of a rock star who was trying very badly to be on his best behaviour.

      He gave her a wink. ‘It’ll do,’ he said.

      She told herself the rush of heat to her face was down to the icy wind pinching her cheeks. She nodded and slid into the passenger seat of his Jeep while he rather gallantly held the door open for her. She wished he hadn’t. The only way she was going to make it through today was if she cast herself as lowly helper and packhorse. She didn’t want him to do the sort of thing he might have done if they were out on a date.

      ‘How long will it take us to get there?’ she asked, as he started up the engine and pulled away.

      ‘An hour to an hour and a half, depending on the traffic.’

      She nodded and kept her focus straight ahead as they headed east, through the almost empty streets. She’d hoped it would be a local wedding, something at a nice hotel in London. Something she’d have been able to get the Tube to, then get away again as quickly as possible. But it had turned out they were heading across London and into deepest Kent, to a stately home called Elmhurst Hall. She’d heard of it, but had never been there before. All of a sudden, an hour and a half in a Jeep with him felt like an eternity.

      ‘Do you mind if I put some music on?’ he asked.

      Nicole shook her head, and Alex prodded a couple of buttons on the stereo. Pretty soon a rock station was blaring into the car. She welcomed the noise, hoping it would fill the space between them, hoping it would stop her noticing each tiny movement of his arm near hers as he moved the gear stick.

      It didn’t work.

      It also didn’t remove the subtle scent of his aftershave from the confined space or stop her listening to the thrum of his voice as he hummed along with a favourite song. She decided the only way she would keep her sanity was if she did talk.

      ‘Tell me about the location,’ she said. Maybe, if she could keep herself in ‘work’ mode—even if her work wasn’t just being photographer’s dogsbody—then she’d survive this monster of a day.

      ‘It’s the home of Lord and Lady Radcliffe, but they open the house and gardens to the public and do a great wedding package,’ he told her, only flicking a glance in her direction as he weaved through the London traffic. ‘I’ve done a couple of weddings there before, so I didn’t need to go down and scout out the place beforehand. The ceremony is going to be in the church at the edge of the grounds and the reception will be held in the grand hall. It’s medieval, complete with a raised dais at one end and shields and swords on the wall. Lighting will be a bit of a nightmare, by the way, because it’s a bit gloomy in there this time of year…One of the reasons I could do with an assistant today.’

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