Florrie felt a pink blush springing to her cheeks.
‘We’ve had a lot of misunderstandings, haven’t we? Let’s not let that happen again, eh?’
‘Most definitely not. What’s the plan after we’ve found this document?’
‘Sophia will report him to the charity commission to investigate and we’ll just step away, letting him take the consequences that are heading his way.’
‘It’s going to be an interesting week. I dare not ask what your father thought about my campaign to save the cottage and gardens.’
‘Think of those cartoon characters that get angry and have steam coming out of their ears. He resembled something like that. Whereas me? I thought, there’s Florrie Appleton, standing up for what’s right and still as passionate and as beautiful as ever.’
Tom’s words gave her a warm feeling all over.
‘And then there’s The Vintage Flower Van; it was a little extreme he wanted that too, don’t you think?’
‘I honestly have no words. My father must have brooded about this for years, just waiting to take everything back.’
‘Even after everything that happened, I didn’t hate you, you know.’
‘I realised that when I saw you still had my number in your phone.’
Florrie gave a chuckle. ‘I tried to delete it, believe me, but my heart overruled my head every time. It was always going to fight for what was right.’
‘And that goes for me, too. We’re in this together. On the same side, the same team.’
Florrie could feel the warmth towards him rising up through her body. ‘Team,’ she repeated. She liked the sound of that. ‘And when we save The Vintage Flower Van and the gardens, we’ll be the most liked people in Heartcross.’
‘Just like my grandfather and your wonderful role model, your great-aunt Ada.’
‘I wish you could have met her.’
‘Me too. I know I’ve already told you this, but I think it’s worth saying again – our two weeks together were very special to me. Maybe we could … do it again some time? After all, we have a lot of catching up to do.’
‘I think that’s possible.’
Tom slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her in close.
She pressed a hand against his chest, over his heart. ‘But first we need to find that document.’
‘Spoilsport.’
He stared deeply into her eyes.
‘I want to kiss you, Florrie Appleton.’
‘I want to kiss you too, Tom—’
Tom bent his head and kissed her mid-sentence.
‘I’ve been waiting to do that since the moment I saw you again,’ he said once he’d pulled away.
‘Ditto,’ she whispered. ‘But now we need to find out who the cottage belongs to and I’m hoping it’s not your father.’
‘I’m hoping that too. But are you sure I can’t have another one of those kisses first?’ Tom asked as he leaned in again.
Florrie had never been so attracted to anyone before. Tom kissed her again, taking her breath away. It was some minutes before she pulled away slowly. Hand in hand they walked back to Rose Cottage.
Standing outside the gate, Tom looked around. ‘I can’t believe anyone would want to destroy the beauty of this place.’
