Florrie nodded. ‘Yes please.’
‘Now, come on, let’s get you out there and get that pretty face of yours plastered all over the internet, in the national newspapers and on TV screens.’
Heading to the front of the cottage, Florrie was overwhelmed by how fast this campaign was moving. She’d never anticipated this level of interest in her social media channels or The Vintage Flower Van. The number of people already queuing seemed implausible for this time in the morning and as she walked up the path of Rose Cottage, she saw that phones were pointed in her direction and Aidy was busy taking photos. There was excited chatter all around her as Florrie opened up the van and began to sell flowers.
She spent the next thirty minutes chatting to every customer about flowers and romance, The flowers were being sold at record speed and as hordes of people parked their cars at the end of the lane and walked towards The Vintage Flower Van, Florrie began to worry that they wouldn’t even make it to mid-morning.
Martha appeared at her side.
‘This is unbelievable,’ whispered Florrie before turning towards the next customer. ‘And what brings you here today?’ she asked.
‘We just had to visit.’ The woman linked arms with her partner. ‘We’re on holiday, staying at the B&B in town, and when we saw your story on TikTok we couldn’t believe the gorgeous flower van in the video was right here in Heartcross. What we would like is’ – the woman looked towards her partner then back towards Florrie – ‘the same bouquet of flowers that your great-grandfather sent your great-grandmother every week, because we’re getting married very soon and I hope we’ll make each other happy and share love for a very long time, just like your great-grandparents.’
Florrie put her hand on her heart. ‘That’s a lovely thing to say. Congratulations!’ She walked to the front of the van and picked out thirty tranquil stems of baby pink, dusky lilac and creamy white roses from the buckets, expertly hand-tying them. ‘Some of them are still in bud, which will help extend the vase life of the bouquet. For a longer-lasting display, trim an inch off the stems and place in lukewarm water with the florist food in this packet. This arrangement should last between five to seven days.’
With a smile, Florrie handed the bouquet over to the woman. Approving sounds could be heard from the people behind them in the queue. After taking payment Florrie posed for a photo with the happy couple.
After that, it took over an hour before either Florrie or Martha got a breather. They looked at the empty buckets. ‘I just can’t believe this is happening. How busy was that?’ Florrie asked rhetorically.
Aidy was standing in front of the open hatch of the van, snapping a few more photos. ‘This is a very lucrative business.’
‘I know,’ replied Florrie. ‘But it was never about the money for Great-Aunt Ada. She did it because, as she said, “Flowers make people happy and it’s a short commute to work. Win-win.”’ Florrie laughed.
‘I’ve taken some fantastic footage. I’m just waiting for a call back from my contact at the TV studios.’ As soon as he said those words, his phone rang. ‘And this is the call I’m waiting for.’
Aidy walked away from the van to answer the call and Florrie and Martha turned towards one another.
‘I bet you didn’t think it would be this manic this morning,’ said Martha.
Aidy hung up and walked back to them. ‘Florrie Appleton, I’m pleased to say that you’ll be sitting on the sofa ofToday’s Scotlandwhen they air tomorrow morning. I’ll forward you the details of times and where you need to be.’
With feelings of excitement yet trepidation racing through her, Florrie knew this was the perfect opportunity to share Rose Cottage and The Vintage Flower Van’s plight, and to put a definitive wrench in the plans of W. Houston Property Developers.
She gave a little shriek as she hugged Martha before turning back to Aidy. ‘Thank you.’
Aidy nodded and then headed towards his car, clearly eager to file his story.
Florrie turned to Martha. ‘Do you think W. Houston Property Developers has any idea that all this is going on around them?’
‘If they don’t, they soon will.’
ChapterFourteen
Florrie was sitting at the kitchen table recording the day’s takings. According to the accounts book, she’d made more money today than the busiest day of last year, Valentine’s Day. It wasn’t that much of a surprise though, just as predicted the flowers had sold out by early afternoon. After tripling tomorrow’s order from the wholesalers, Florrie checked over the email that Aidy had forwarded with all the details from the TV company about tomorrow’s schedule. She would be appearing in the first segment of the show, which meant she would need to be up and out early, arriving at the station by six a.m.
Knowing she needed to be prepared, she scribbled down the facts of her great-grandfather’s and Great-Aunt Ada’s stories on a piece of paper. She memorised the dates of when Aunt Ada was married, the day they moved into Rose Cottage and of course when the business began. Once she’d pulled on the viewers’ heartstrings, Florrie planned to announce the sad news that The Vintage Flower Van would have to close its doors. Florrie was not going to leave any stone unturned.
Aidy’s article was now online and Florrie quickly copied the link and pinged it over to Isla with the caption ‘This is brilliant’. The article included photographs of the long queue outside The Vintage Flower Van and Aidy had woven into the story the couple who had asked for the same bouquet that her great-grandfather had chosen for her great-grandmother. The comments were so lovely, with people even suggesting it had the makings of a great romantic movie.
As Florrie began to scroll through the rest of the day’s news, she stopped on an article with the headlineTom Houston Prepared to Take Over W. Houston Property Developers. Florrie quickly scanned the accompanying photo and easily picked out Tom and Edward Houston. As she looked at the other faces, she knew who she was looking for … and there she was: Sophia Henley. Tom was quoted as saying, ‘This is the next chapter of my life and I’m excited to carry on my grandfather’s legacy.’
‘And that’s exactly what I’m going to do with Great-Aunt Ada’s legacy. Just you try and stop me,’ she murmured.
Staring at the photograph, Florrie suddenly became worried. These people had money, influence and no doubt a huge legal team at their disposal. Was she was doing the right thing in taking them on? What would happen if she ended up entangled in some legal battle that she couldn’t afford to pay for?
Florrie FaceTimed Isla. ‘Where are you?’
Isla didn’t have time to answer as she was budged out of the way by a beast with long horns and flowing red locks.
