The Little Shop of Hopes and Dreams (Mills & Boon M&B)

by Fiona Harper

  Peggy and Mia looked at each other and grinned.

  ‘I’m right with you on that,’ Peggy said. ‘I was just trying to work out a way to tell you, but I was going to wait until after Saffron’s job—it seemed to be turning you a little loopy.’

  Nicole laughed softly. She’d definitely been a bit weird recently. ‘Well, money can’t buy you love,’ she said, teasing.

  Peggy picked up on it instantly. ‘Every cloud has a silver lining.’

  Mia even chimed in. ‘All’s well that ends well!’

  ‘And who wants to plan proposals where everything has to be beige and white and dripping in diamonds?’ Peggy added, looking slightly affronted at the thought. ‘I like a do with a little more pop and pizzazz. I mean, you gave Saffron all those wonderful ideas, and in the end all she plumped for was an outrageously expensive party for all her friends at a posh hotel. I’d rather be known for our creativity and originality, not for just how much money we can throw at something. If we can survive this rough patch, that’s what’s going to attract the clients—all sorts of clients. We’ll just have to make sure we’re so fabulous they can’t bear not to ask us to do the whole thing for them!’

  Nicole had to give Peggy another hug for that. She really hoped that things did go well, that both her friends could join her in her business full-time in the future. She needed them; she’d just tied herself up in knots trying to do it on her own.

  Peggy pulled away and grinned at Nicole. ‘Anyway, don’t forget that apart from the earful you gave those two posh cows the other day, you’ve got what you wanted anyway and proved you’re every bit as good as “those girls” you go on about.’

  Nicole raised her eyebrows. ‘I have?’

  Peggy looked puzzled. ‘Of course you have. You always said that kind stuck together, but you’ve bagged one of “those boys” from under their noses, haven’t you?’

  Mia looked at both her friends’ frowns of confusion. ‘I don’t think she knows, Peg.’

  Nicole stepped back and examined their faces. ‘Knows what?’

  Peggy looked at Mia then started to explain. ‘Alex…He’s the son of Lord Westerham. The eldest son. Marry him and you’ll end up a proper toff one day.’

  Nicole had a sensation similar to when she’d ridden a glass-bottomed elevator up to the top of the CN Tower when Mum and Dad had taken her to visit Auntie Mags in Toronto. The speed of the lift and the fact she couldn’t see a firm floor below her as the ground sped away had made her feel disoriented and queasy. However, this was ten times worse. She felt as if there were no floor at all, that she was suspended on fresh air, ready to plummet back down to reality.

  ‘He’s what?’ she whispered.

  Peggy and Mia looked at each other.

  ‘I thought you already knew,’ Mia said.

  ‘Or at least that you’d be pleased now you’ve found out,’ Peggy added.

  Nicole didn’t know what she felt. Only that, once again, the world had shifted and she hadn’t quite managed to keep up.

  ‘But he can’t be…His name doesn’t match.’

  ‘I thought you’d have looked all this up on Google weeks ago,’ Mia said. ‘He’s got his own Wikipedia entry…’

  Nicole shook her head. She’d been doing her level best not to think about Alex while she was planning Saffron’s proposal. Why would she torture herself searching the internet for information about him?

  Peggy looked crestfallen she’d said anything. ‘He changed his name—or uses a professional name. I don’t know which. I read he didn’t want to trade on his family’s status, that he wanted to make it on his own.’

  Nicole nodded, feeling a little numb. That made sense. It fitted in perfectly with what she knew about Alex. Suddenly his comments about his family not accepting his choice of career all made horrible sense.

  ‘This doesn’t matter,’ Mia said, rubbing her arm. ‘It doesn’t change anything.’

  ‘I know…’

  At least it shouldn’t matter. Her head knew that, but another part of her was running around screaming and freaking out.

  ‘Jasper might have been weak enough to get brainwashed into preserving the family bloodlines or what have you,’ Peggy said, ‘but Alex isn’t like that, is he? He likes you. He broke up with Saffron Wolden-Barnes for you. That has to say something, doesn’t it?’

  Nicole nodded again. ‘Of course it does…’

  Then she shook herself, blasted her friends with her usual ‘everything’s fine’ smile. They looked back at her a little strangely, and she didn’t blame them. Her features felt weird contorting themselves into that shape, but she didn’t drop it. It was all she had left.

  She walked over to her desk. She needed to think about something else for a bit. ‘Anyway…Saffron’s due in this afternoon. Before that we’ve got to put our heads together and try and work out a low-cost but effective way to publicise Hopes & Dreams without the advantage of a string of articles in Buzz Magazine.’

  CHAPTER FORTY

  Nicole had just about regained her equilibrium when Saffron arrived for their two o’clock meeting. She rose from her desk and went to greet her, taking a deep breath as she crossed the office. She put on what she hoped was a welcoming but sympathetic smile; however, when Saffron walked through the door she beamed back at her.

  Nicole’s heart went out to her. She was doing a very brave job of covering it all up.

  ‘Shall we go straight through?’

  Saffron nodded and Nicole followed her through to the meeting room. Once there, they sat down. Nicole folded her hands in her lap and waited. This was not going to be easy to hear. ‘How are things?’

  Saffron was silent for a moment. Her face, as always, was eminently readable, and Nicole watched a whole spectrum of emotions flit across her features before she settled on determination. ‘Fine. Or they will be.’

  What did that mean? And how could things be fine? Her boyfriend, the man she was about to propose to, had just told her he didn’t think things were working out between them. If Alex had said that to her, Nicole would have been a snivelling wreck. Heck, she was a snivelling wreck just thinking they might never even start anything. That made her feel a little bit relieved. Maybe Saffron hadn’t been in love with Alex as much as she’d thought.

  ‘Oh, by the way,’ Saffron added dreamily, ‘I gave your name to Jimmy Hunter and Marcus Babbington. They both happened to mention they were getting serious with their other halves and I said I’d heard of a good proposal planner—without giving myself away, of course.’

  Nicole nodded. ‘Thank you.’

  A silver lining to the situation, thank goodness. Maybe, even with Saffron’s proposal going south, they’d benefit a little from the connection.

  She didn’t really know how to react to Saffron’s stiff-upper-lip approach. Saffron was always so open that Nicole had just expected her to break down and tell her everything as soon as the meeting-room door shut behind them. She decided to carry on—sort of—as usual and hope that her client would eventually come clean. After all, they couldn’t possibly keep planning a proposal that wasn’t going to happen.

  ‘So…’ she said tentatively, ‘are you still happy with the plans we’ve talked about? Do we need to change anything?’

  Saffron shook her head. ‘No. I know I take a long time making my mind up, but once it’s made, that’s it. I can be very pig-headed like that.’

  ‘Ok-ay,’ Nicole said, pretending to write something on the pad in front of her. ‘And you’re sure…? That there’s nothing you want to change or…erm…’ she swallowed ‘…cancel?’

  Saffron leaned forward, clasping her hands together. Her eyes were large and full of emotion.

  This is it, thought Nicole. The deluge is about to start.

  ‘Are you okay, Nicole?’ she asked, her voice warm. ‘I know we’re really client and proposal planner, but I’ve come to think of you a little bit as a friend too.’

  Nicole was struck dumb, partly because she w
as touched, but mostly because of the crushing weight of guilt that had just started pressing down on her chest. She just nodded her response.

  ‘Oh, good!’ Saffron said brightly and sat back against the sofa. ‘What is it, then? Had a wild weekend?’

  Nicole nodded again. ‘Something like that.’ While not the party-filled few days Saffron was probably imagining, her weekend certainly had been unexpected and exciting, and now it had given way to a Monday that was getting more bizarre by the second.

  ‘And what about you?’ Nicole managed to finally ask, realising that turning the spotlight back on her client was probably the safest thing to do, given the circumstances. ‘How have you been?’

  At last Saffron showed something other than her dazzling smile. She frowned, but even that looked cute on her. ‘Well, Alex has been a bit funny recently…’

  Nicole leaned forward. ‘Oh, yes?’

  Saffron laughed and shook her head. ‘You’ll never guess what the daft man thinks I did!’

  Nicole’s insides grew as dense as lead, making her feel as if she’d sink through the armchair cushion if she weren’t careful. ‘No…what?’

  ‘Well, he found that text from you about our meeting on my phone and he thought I was seeing someone else!’

  Nicole swallowed. Suddenly her throat felt very dry. ‘A text from me?’

  Could Alex have found out? And if he had, how come he’d still kissed her at the wedding, invited her out on Sunday afternoon…?

  ‘Yes,’ Saffron said, laughing harder now. ‘He kept on and on about “Who’s this ‘N’?” and “Where are you meeting him?” It was so funny.’

  ‘It was?’ Nicole said, feeling increasingly bemused. This didn’t sound like what Alex had told her of the conversation at all.

  ‘Yes, but I didn’t mind,’ Saffron said, looking happy. ‘I was right. He’s jealous! And that proves I’m doing the right thing after all, doesn’t it? I know I said I was sure about doing this proposal when I first came to you, but I had a few doubts—I mean, who doesn’t in a situation like this—but now I know for certain that Alex has strong feelings for me too, don’t you see?’

  Nicole nodded, even though inside she was shaking her head.

  Saffron folded her hands in her lap. ‘I know he’s still cross with me, but it’s all a silly misunderstanding. He’ll see that, won’t he, when I pop the question and the truth comes out? He’ll see he needn’t have worried.’

  Nicole rubbed a palm over her forehead. Suddenly she was developing an awful headache. ‘So…what you’re saying,’ she asked slowly, more for her own benefit than for Saffron’s, ‘is that, despite the current…problems…between you and Alex, that we’re going ahead with everything as planned?’

  Saffron beamed at her. ‘Yes,’ she said, nodding emphatically. ‘I’m going to propose to Alex at my Christmas party—and you’re going to help me.’

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  Alex had snapped a pigeon pecking around on the windowsill of his office-slash-darkroom on his phone and sent it off to Nicole. One of the more random shots he’d sent her, to be honest, but she seemed to like the little snippets of his life, had even started sending back ones of her own.

  Like the picture of her furry slipper boots that had made him laugh. Nicole Harrison so did not seem like a slipperboot kind of girl, although, for some reason he was secretly pleased she was. She’d also sent him a photo of the frothy cappuccino she’d obviously had for breakfast. The strangest one was a frame that had contained nothing but hot fuchsia pink. He was tempted to guess it was a wall, but he couldn’t be sure.

  He’d carried on sending pics to her, but her messages had stopped coming back. The last one he’d had was a shot of worn cobblestones, sent sometime on Monday morning. After that, nothing. Not for two whole days.

  But then a text—all words, no pictures—had arrived a couple of hours ago, saying simply, I need to talk to you. Face to face. N

  He’d got stupidly excited when he’d read the message. He knew she’d said she had ‘complications’ in her life, that she needed time. He’d been thinking on a timescale of weeks, maybe even months, but maybe he’d been overestimating. Maybe she’d had all the time she needed. The picture messaging was cute and all, but it would be nothing to really being with her.

  Shall I come to yours? he’d texted back.

  No was the reply that had pinged back almost instantly. Meet me at Trinity Arts Centre. Eleven o’clock.

  So here he was. Eleven o’clock on the dot. He walked through the double doors and nodded at Tia, who manned the little shop. The exhibition space was filled with the local watercolour society’s annual show and a handful of people milled around. He checked quickly to see if Nicole was amongst them, but a movement out of the corner of his eye made him turn and look in the little coffee-bar area instead.

  It was her. He had that heart-stopping, defibrillating sensation again, and this time he hadn’t even touched her. She was waving at him, her smile nervous. He wanted to wipe it away with his lips, change it to that sweet little just-kissed smile he liked so much. He started walking towards her, but instead of rushing to greet him, she sat back down and clutched her handbag in front of her on the table.

  He slid into the chair opposite her. ‘Hi,’ he said, smiling.

  ‘Hi,’ she replied, not smiling back. She hadn’t even taken off her coat, he realised. A tan trench coat was tied tightly round her waist and he could see a business suit underneath, caught just a glimpse of matching high heels below the table. Her hair was scraped back into a low plait. All in all, it reminded him of the very first time he’d seen her in this place, but for some reason these clothes made him feel as if there were a wall between them.

  She looked around furtively as he sat down. He didn’t know why. She’d chosen the table in the furthest corner, half-hidden behind one of the old church’s ornate pillars. It wasn’t as if anyone could see them properly, even if they had been feeling nosy.

  ‘What’s up?’ he asked.

  She pulled in a breath, hard, through both nostrils and released it again. ‘I’m sorry, Alex, but I think this all has to stop, even the messaging.’

  ‘What?’

  She shook her head, but her face remained just as expressionless, just as unreadable. ‘I can’t contact you any more. I’m sorry. I thought at least I owed it to you to say it to your face.’

  He blinked. This was not what he’d been expecting at all. ‘Why?’ he asked, realising he’d been reduced to one-syllable questions.

  She sighed and for the first time he saw just a flicker of emotion in her eyes before it quickly disappeared again. ‘This has all happened so fast. What if what we feel is just the pressure-cooker effect?’

  ‘The what?’

  ‘You know…When two people work together in a high-pressured, tense environment and it magnifies the emotions, making them think they feel things they don’t really feel.’

  He shook his head. That wasn’t what it was like for him. No way.

  ‘Maybe we both need a complete break for a bit, some time to think.’

  He stared at her, felt his jaw clench a little. Just when he thought he’d finally got her worked out. ‘I don’t need time to think,’ he told her. ‘I know what I want.’

  Her. Simple as that. As scary as it was, he wanted to start taking risks again, particularly in the areas of his life that mattered the most.

  She shook her head, as if she’d heard his silent answer and was rejecting it as erroneous. ‘You’ve only just split up with someone…Are you sure she’s not right for you? Maybe you should…’ her voice caught, going hoarse, but then she continued ‘…give her another chance?’

  He shook his head. ‘Why are you saying this?’

  Finally her mask of composure sagged a little. He saw the sorrow in her eyes. ‘Because those complications I told you about? Well, they just got a whole lot more complicated.’

  He felt his blood pressure rise a notch. ‘Are you saying ther
e’s someone else?’

  She’d told him otherwise, but he didn’t know what to think any more. He hadn’t thought Saffron capable of that kind of deception, either, and while she’d spun a good story, he still wasn’t sure he bought it.

  ‘Yes,’ she replied, and the chill of the big open space, the centuries of hallowed air swimming in the vaulted ceiling above them, got to him. ‘But not in the way that you think.’

  What did that mean? All this woman gave him was riddles.

  She leaned forward a little, covered his hand with hers and waited for him to meet her gaze. ‘I promise,’ she said, her lashes clogging with moisture, ‘that you will know everything there is to know soon. But I can’t see you again or talk to you or even text you until it’s all out in the open, because only then will you really be able to decide what—or who—it is you really want.’

  She still made no sense, but he couldn’t fault the sincerity in her eyes. Whatever else she might be hiding from him, she meant that.

  ‘Nic…?’

  She shook her head and stood up. ‘I can’t…I can’t stay any longer.’ Her ankle wobbled, the same way it had done back in that club almost a year ago, when she’d walked across the dance floor towards him. And then she rushed from the coffee bar and out into the street. He rose to follow her, but as she turned the last corner he thought he saw her wipe something from the corner of her eye with a long, slim finger, and he sat down again.

  Why did this whole damn thing have to be so hard? From the first moment he’d laid eyes on her he’d known she was special. But fate seemed to keep messing with them, teasing them by throwing them together then tearing them apart again.

  As he sat there, trying to decide whether he might as well order a coffee now he was here, his phone rang. He checked the caller display. Oh, God. Not again. He really was going to have to do something about this. As much as he wanted to send it to voicemail, as he had the previous five calls, he decided it was better to face it head-on.