‘I hope Aunt Ada, Ewart, William and Rose are all looking down on us and smiling.’
‘They will be and they’ll be so proud.’ Tom gave her a squeeze.
‘How are you feeling about being the main speaker at Flynn’s charity event with the brand-new charity you’ve set up?’
‘Privileged, and glad that my new charity in honour of my grandfather will get the recognition it properly deserves. No money will ever go missing from it on my watch. And it gets better. I’m proud to say that the charity Dolores has chosen for this year’s Flowers in Bloom is the brand-new William Houston charity, with the first donations going to the hospital and ward where Ada volunteered.’
‘She would be over the moon to hear that.’
It had been a hell of a couple of weeks. As soon as the letter had been discovered, Tom had taken legal advice from Jaydon, as he had known and worked with Ada in the past. He confirmed that the document was indeed legitimate and the cottage was now Tom’s property. Jaydon had also immediately prepared a letter to the council stating that the planning permission Edward had submitted couldn’t be granted as he didn’t have a legal right to the land. To add to Edward’s misfortune, Sophia had reported his charity for a number of fraudulent claims. As expected, it had quickly turned ugly. Edward was livid and had cut all ties with Tom.
‘What needs doing first today?’ asked Tom.
Florrie pointed to the table. ‘We have a list and not much time,’ she replied, glancing at the clock. ‘Firstly, we need to prepare The Vintage Flower Van and decorate the front of the cottage with balloons and bunting. The Vintage Flower Van is going to be bursting at the seams with roses, including on the roof, and with bucketloads in front of it. Hector is arriving from Heartcross Castle in the next twenty minutes to mow the lawns one last time. Flynn is arriving not long after that with the barriers and seating. Drew and Fergus are almost done erecting the makeshift stage in front of the fountain. Rona and Felicity are already organising the tent for refreshments and Dolores’s team will be arriving with her band’s instruments and setting up the microphones in about an hour.’
‘And breathe,’ Tom smiled. ‘What would you like me to do?’
‘Mmm,’ she replied with a wicked glint in her eye. ‘I’ve got a spare twenty minutes to spend wrapped up in the arms of a gorgeous man. What do you say?’
‘I say, your every wish is my command.’
Placing her mug on the table, Florrie took Tom’s hand and led him straight back up the stairs.
Exactly twenty minutes later, Florrie looked through the cottage window to see a hive of activity outside. The Flowers in Bloom event was due to begin in a little over an hour, with Dolores performing at midday.
‘You get yourself ready. I’ll make sure everything is running smoothly downstairs.’
‘Thank you,’ replied Florrie, kissing Tom one last time before she jumped in the shower.
After applying her make-up and blow-drying her hair, Florrie put on her favourite summer dress and stood in front of the mirror. She smiled at her reflection. She’d come a long way in the last month. Her eyes sparkled and her skin looked radiant, as she’d caught the sun while prepping the garden for today’s event, and she noticed a lone line of russet freckles dotting her nose. She checked her appearance one last time, then she walked downstairs, where Tom was making drinks in the kitchen.
‘Here she is. You look gorgeous,’ he said as he leaned in towards her. ‘And you smell divine. Are you sure you don’t have any more minutes free?’ He jokingly looked back towards the stairs.
Florrie laughed and then gave him a firm no. ‘How’s everything going out there?’
‘Running like clockwork. Martha and Isla are currently out front, and the wholesalers have just arrived with all the roses. We have over five hundred to decorate The Vintage Flower Van.’
‘Perfect. I’ll go and take a look.’
‘I’ll be with you in a minute. I’m just making drinks for Drew and Fergus, who have just finished erecting the stage.’
Florrie couldn’t believe her eyes when she walked around to the front of the cottage. The barriers were in place leading the queue towards The Vintage Flower Van, Isla and Martha had hung bunting between the street lamps, and clusters of colourful balloons were tied from every tree.
‘It looks magnificent!’ she exclaimed.
‘The question now is what exactly would you like us to do with these five hundred roses?’ asked Martha.
‘I’m going to use them to decorate The Vintage Flower Van. We’re going to tie them into bunches and cover the roof and have them bursting out of the milk churns in barrels of colour leading the way to the gate.’ She shouted towards Tom who was making his way around the side of the cottage. ‘Tom, could you possibly bring me the step ladders?’
He acknowledged the request with a wave and disappeared.
‘And what did I tell you?’ Martha pointed first in Tom’s direction and then towards the van. ‘Your future love had something to do with The Vintage Flower Van after all. Tell me I was wrong.’
‘Look at you being all smug!’ Florrie laughed. ‘Yes, Martha, you were right as usual!’
‘And are you going to be staying here with Tom?’
Tom had suggested Florrie move into Rose Cottage but she’d declined. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to – she wanted that more than ever, and was anticipating it happening in the not too distant future – but for the here and now, she wanted them to enjoy the getting-to-know-each-other stage, the first flush of love, while still having their own spaces. Florrie was very happy with how things stood and very much looking forward to the next chapter in her life.
