somewhere else I need to be.’
‘But – but – but …’
I can see Poppy’s going to push this, so I jump in. ‘We totally understand. Fireworks and cheating the parking wardens, that’s more than enough excitement for one day.’ Quite apart from never wanting to see him again, there’s no way I want to have to stare across a room at him knocking back pitchers of Sex on the Beach. In the same way that both Chris Hemsworth or Hugh Jackman are sizzling but you might not necessarily want them dangled in front of you in the same room, especially if you weren’t in the best place in your life to take advantage. I mean, every woman has her limits. And I think I’ve found mine.
His lips are curving into a smile. ‘In that case, I won’t say see you later.’
That’s good for me. I call after him, ‘In that case, neither will I.’
Poppy’s leaning her bum on the end of the van, watching him disappear into the shadows. ‘From the grin on your face, we can safely say that was instant gratification?’
I’m laughing. ‘Hell yes. Those permits are like gold dust. Mr Snow Goose just saved me from two weeks of parking nightmares.’
Poppy’s shouting. ‘That’s not what I mean, and you know it!’ She lowers her voice again. ‘But you do feel like you made that whole new “somewhere over the rainbow” start?’
I’m shaking my head now too. ‘Pops, it was twenty seconds …’
She’s not letting this go. ‘It was SO closer to a minute!’
‘As if a few seconds could change anything.’
‘But it has, hasn’t it?’ Her stare is so intense it’s like she’s peering into my head. ‘Tell me what you’re thinking!’
Phoebe stole my fiancé, and now they have a baby. Sure, my heart was banging so hard the van was shaking just before, but it’s going to take more than one kiss to mend my broken life. Not that I want to go back to serving coffee. It’s just that now weddings are trigger points for me rather than my destination happy place. In the long term, for the sake of my sanity, I could do with a change of direction. Ideally, I need a career change.
But I’m staying totally quiet on all of that for now. ‘I’m thinking, if we don’t leave in the next ten seconds, you’re going to have some very impatient cocktail customers.’
She’s laughing. ‘And I’m thinking some time in St Aidan is exactly what you need to shake you up and turn you around.’
I have to say, as we hurry up the steep, winding street towards the shop, my heart is pounding in a way that has to be down to more than us racing up a killer of a hill. I can’t remember when I last felt this alive.
Chapter 2
Friday, Valentine’s Day.
Brides by the Sea, St Aidan.
Cranberries and camper vans.
‘So what can I tempt you with? Tie-me-up-tie-me-down? Hanky-panky? A Kiss on the Lips?’
Half an hour after Poppy and I arrive at the shop and I slosh drinks into glasses from tall glass jugs, any inner howling in my head is being drowned out by a room full of revellers. And in case anyone thinks this is me channelling my inner sex-goddess, I’m shouting about the delights of the Valentine’s cocktails on offer.
With every group of guests who push their way in from the cobbled mews outside, the salt-laden gusts are blowing in straight off the sea, catching the chandeliers, making their crystals flash, ruffling the chiffon on the snowy dresses beneath the hanging strings of paper hearts and tiny studded fairy lights in the window. At one time this would have had my heart racing too, now it just gives me an ache in the pit of my stomach. But obviously I do my best to hide that.
As another wave of people unwrapping their scarves walks in, I turn to Poppy who’s next to me behind the drinks table. ‘Where are they all coming from?’
Poppy laughs. ‘I told you, St Aidan Singles Club events are huge. And we’re dishing out free stuff so everyone will call in here. As Jess says, it’s never too early to bring a single person aspiring to be part of a couple to a wedding shop.’
It’s no surprise. This is the kind of long, hard-nosed game Jess plays. In her eyes every unattached adult downing Poppy’s complimentary cocktails and cupcakes tonight is a potential bride or groom down the line. It’s the same determination Jess had