aura tainted by the aftermath of a conversation with my mother.
‘Hey, Freya,’ he said, answering with a smile.
‘Hey,’ I said, my jangling nerves settling a little as I took in his familiar face.
‘How’s it going?’
‘Good,’ I said, perhaps a little too quickly. ‘Great.’
‘Are you sure? You don’t sound it.’
‘I’ve just got off the phone with Mum.’
‘Ah.’
Peter knew full well that was enough of an explanation, but I elaborated anyway.
‘She told me to ask if I needed any professional input with the Winter Garden.’
‘That will account for the frown then.’
I ran my fingers over my forehead, trying to smooth my brow.
‘Yeah,’ I swallowed. ‘Look, I don’t actually need any help to do this.’
‘Of course, you don’t.’
‘And practically everything’s already been approved, but if I email you my plan and proposal would you just have a quick read? Confirm that I’m on the right track.’
‘That Jackson guy really undermined your confidence, didn’t he? And your mother obviously hasn’t helped either, has she?’
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to agree out loud. It was enough carrying the evidence around in my head. The Mum and Jackson combo really had struck quite a blow.
‘There’s no doubt in my mind that everything you’ve planned is perfect, but by all means send it,’ Peter said kindly. ‘I’m really interested to see what you’re working on.’
‘Thanks, Peter,’ I said, feeling better.
I took a moment to look at the detail around him. He obviously wasn’t at his place.
‘Are you in a restaurant?’ I squeaked, the second I realised I had interrupted what appeared to be an evening out.
‘I am,’ he nodded, turning the phone around so I could see a yacht-filled harbour and a very pretty woman sitting opposite him. ‘I’m actually on a date.’
‘Oh my God,’ I said, cringing as he turned the screen back to his face, ‘I’m so sorry. Why did you answer?’
‘It’s fine,’ he laughed.
‘Of course, it isn’t,’ I hissed. ‘I’m going now.’
‘Okay, but before you do, tell me, how’s that Finn fella you mentioned? Still an interesting character?’
‘Oh yeah,’ I said, rolling my eyes. ‘He’s getting more intriguing by the day. I’ll email you later and please apologise to that lovely woman you’re with.’
I hung up before he handed the phone over so I could say sorry myself. At least one of us had got our love lives back on track, that is, assuming she’d forgive him for taking a call from an ex in the middle of their dinner date.
Nell and I jogged across the road, arriving hot and flustered in the Prosperous Place kitchen and full of apology for not getting there sooner. I noticed there was no Finn either.
‘Where’s Finn?’ I whispered as I slid into the empty space next to Chloe, and Nell headed for a spot in front of the range cooker with the cats. ‘I thought he said he wasn’t backing out.’
‘He’s not. He was here,’ she whispered back, ‘you’re sitting in his seat, but he spoke first and then excused himself so he could get back to work. His session is still going ahead.’
‘And what are you doing here?’
‘You’ll find out in a minute.’
Having waited until I was settled in my seat, Carole then told us all about her grand cake and pudding plans. She was followed by Mark and Poppy and their delicious-sounding chutney and bread proposals. There was also a needlefelt session being run by Heather who had sorted childcare, planting up winter garden containers with Graham and making a woodland-inspired wreath, which was where Chloe came in.
‘I didn’t know you could do that,’ I said to her, once she had finished talking.
‘I’m full of hidden talents,’ she smiled. ‘I’m hoping you might give me a hand. But only in an assistant’s role,’ she hastily added.
So that must have been the extra session Carole had signed me up for!
Lisa and I were up next. Just like the others, we ran through what our schedule was going to include, timings for each section and what each attendee would need to bring. Had I not been helping out; I would have signed up to take part myself because it sounded wonderful. It all did.
After a quick coffee break, Luke went through the formalities and handed around the contact details of each attendee to the relevant session leader – Lisa in my case – and we drafted out emails which we then read out, before all pressing send at the same time. It might sound silly, but it was very exciting and I wished Finn could