‘Aww, that’s so kind, Lark.’ Florrie pressed her hands to her chest. ‘Thank you.’ She was regularly touched by her friend’s kindness. Lark had given her some of the bubble bath last Christmas and Florrie had loved it, regularly finding herself drifting off as the soothing aromas had filled the bathroom and worked their magic.
‘How’ve things been?’ Lark’s usual speaking voice was soft, but now she kept her tone extra low. ‘I saw Dawn arrive at the shop the other day. She has a very determined walk. Looked like she was on a bit of a mission.’
‘Er, yeah, you could say that. I’ll tell you about it tonight; I’d value everyone’s opinion.’
‘Fair enough, as long as you’re okay.’ Lark’s expression told Florrie she wasn’t completely convinced, but then again, she andthe rest of the group of friends were all too aware of Dawn and Peter Harte’s track record. It included the attempted sabotage of an author event, which had been circling around Florrie’s mind with the latest one inching closer.
Their conversation was brought to a halt by Mrs Plews coming to the counter with a handful of books.
‘Right, I’d best scoot, but I’ll see you after work.’ With that, Lark flashed her a wide smile and dashed off, flicking her long blonde plait as she went.
Once Mrs Plews was dealt with, Florrie returned to her task of checking Jenna’s book on the stock level management system. Installing the software had been a godsend as far as keeping up with stock and reordering was concerned. It had saved Florrie hours of time, leaving her free to focus on other ways of improving the bookshop. She’d just got started when the shop door burst open and Dawn arrived in her inimitable way, making Florrie start.
The woman knew how to make an entrance, that was for sure. Dawn glanced over at Florrie, wearing what could only be described as a smirk. Behind her strode a tall woman Florrie had never seen before. The stranger had a mass of glossy dark waves offset by her berry-coloured long velvet coat. She wore an aloof expression as her eyes, framed by impossibly long eyelashes, tracked around the bookshop, the faint hint of a sneer pulling at her mouth.
‘Where’s Edward?’ Dawn asked in her usual officious tone, completely bypassing any pleasantries.
Hello to you, too, Dawn.Florrie groaned inwardly – so much for not letting Ed’s mother get to her. ‘He’s working on the display in the window.’ Florrie could easily see how Ed had been intimidated into giving his mother his key. She was a force to be reckoned with, a woman used to getting her own way. Florrie had never encountered anyone like her before.
‘Right, well, I need him out here.’ She marched over to the window, vigorously shaking the curtain that hid the display. ‘Edward, I need you to get yourself out here. Now.’
The way she spoke to her son made Florrie bristle. Anyone would think he was someone she disliked or that she was a sergeant major, barking out orders at a bootcamp.
Florrie glanced at the younger woman, feeling awkward. The sooner she served her and got her out of the shop, the better. She didn’t want to risk a potential new customer being put off by Dawn’s behaviour. ‘Can I help you?’ she asked, fixing a friendly smile to her face.
The younger woman gave a scornful laugh. ‘I very much doubt it.’ Her condescending tone knocked Florrie off kilter.
‘What’s up?’ Ed appeared from behind the curtain, stopping dead in his tracks. Florrie watched as the weary expression he was wearing on hearing his mother’s voice was replaced by a mix of shock and disbelief, the colour draining from his face. He glanced first at his mother and then to the other woman, then back to his mother. There was no mistaking he was shaken to the core. Finally finding his voice, he said, ‘Luella?’
Luella?Florrie’s mind scrambled to remember where she’d heard the name before, but her brain was too fuddled by the strange situation that was unfolding, making it impossible to grasp hold of.
‘Hi, Eddie,’ Luella said, in what Florrie thought sounded like a transatlantic accent. ‘It’s been a while.’ She giggled as she gave him a coy smile, wiggling her fingers in a wave.
Eddie?It was the first time Florrie had ever heard anyone address her fiancé as ‘Eddie’.
Florrie looked on, trying to make sense of this odd scene playing out in front of her, noting how uncomfortable Ed seemed. In that moment, realisation struck and she remembered where she’d heard the name Luella before. Her hand flew to her mouth. ‘Oh my gosh!’she said with a gasp.It was his ex-girlfriend!
SIXTEEN
Florrie had known about Luella before she and Ed had got together. She was the woman he’d been dating right before he first came to Micklewick Bay a couple of years ago. If her memory served her correctly, Luella hadn’t taken Ed breaking up with her too well and had trashed his London flat while he was here. Memories started tumbling into her mind, clashing around chaotically: Mr H mentioning an ex of Ed’s that put him in mind of Dawn and how they shared an aggressive temper and were prone to throwing and smashing things. Him describing them as manipulative, that they had a conversational style that was to shout and dominate. It was rare for Mr H to say anything negative about anyone, which was why his comments had struck such a chord with her.
Florrie’s pulse started whooshing in her ears and her stomach churned so violently it was making her feel physically sick. If she was feeling this way, she dreaded to think how Ed must be affected by it all. Her heart went out to him.
‘B… but… but… What are you even doing here?’ Ed pushed his fingers into his hair, looking at Luella in disbelief. ‘How did you find out where I live?’
‘Your mom told me.’ Luella’s smile widened as shehitched her oversized bag further onto her shoulder, seemingly oblivious to the chilly tone that laced Ed’s words.
He pressed his hand to his forehead, glaring at Dawn, his breathing shallow. ‘Would you like to tell me what’s going on, Mother?’ he said. From the way he spoke, it was clear he was trying to keep his anger from his voice.
‘Calm yourself down, boy. I can assure you, nothing’s going on,’ Dawn said, adopting her familiar overbearing tone. ‘Lu’s the friend I bumped into the other day – remember, I told you it was the reason I didn’t get back here with your key.’ Dawn treated him to a rare smile that had no warmth to it. It crossed Florrie’s mind that it could easily be mistaken for a snarl.
‘You appear to have omitted an important detail.’ He set his mouth in a hard line.
Dawn steamed on, evidently choosing to ignore what Ed was getting at. ‘You know very well you’d be disappointed if I didn’t let you know Lu was in the area. And, since she said she was keen to catch up with you, it made sense for me to bring her here, rather than that poky house you share where there’s hardly room to swing a cat.’ She side-eyed Florrie, as if to make sure her thinly veiled barb hit its target.
Florrie’s eyes widened at the thought of Dawn turning up at Samphire Cottage with Luella. That would’ve been unbearable on so many levels. And, ludicrous as it sounded, she wouldn’t put it past Dawn pulling a stunt like that.
‘Mother, that’s hardly helpf?—’
