Chapter Twenty-Eight
Life had a strange way of going on.
One moment, Bo was living in the room above Ida’s shop, crying herself to sleep, missing Max and wondering how she would ever move forward with her life, and the next, sheownedthe shop and the room above it, and was going to sleep at night, wondering what sort of flowers she would need to buy for the week ahead.
She was busy in the best possible way, and that busyness kept her from missing Max too much. Eventually, she stopped crying herself to sleep at night, and eventually, she was able to look at his awful purple shirt without feeling a pang of wistfulness which stole her breath away.
Progress.
She redecorated the shop and added her name to it too. It went from beingIda’s BloomstoIda Bo’s Blooms,and Bo liked it. Ida liked it too, and Bo retained her as part-time help (as Ida said, it was either work part-time for her or go on couple’s golf tournaments with her husband, which was an all-round unsupportable idea). They’d switched roles in a way, and it was pleasant for them both. It helped that the shop was incredibly busy, which Bo knew she had Willa to thank for. Videos and images of Willa working at the shop for those few weeks Bo was away went viral, and people still came hoping to get a glimpse of her.
“Your friend was good for business, even if she was hopeless at the job,” Ida remarked. “You’re the perfect set of friends: she’s a fantastic actress but a terrible florist, and you’re a terrible actress but a fantastic florist.”
Bo had laughed, knowing Ida was right. It had been a relief to leave her agent and tear up her headshots, just as it was arelief to finally be free of a career she hated and be in a job she genuinely loved.
Progress.
She didn’t see Max and learned from Hugo Crags that he’d gone back to Berlin, as he’d always intended. The phone call from the office of Cavendish, Crags and Clerk had been a surprise, as Bo always imagined Max would deal with the sale of their properties privately.
“There’s been an offer on 13 Orchard Drive,” Hugo informed her one morning. “One point three million.”
“Oh.” Bo thought for a moment. “You told me not to settle for a penny under three million pounds. What does, umm, what does Max say?”
Hugo had cleared his throat. “Actually, this offer is only for 13 Orchard Drive, not the house at number 12.”
Bo’s stomach sank. “A developer?”
“Surprisingly, no. A gentleman who wants to make the whole place a family home. He’s already bought number 12, by the sounds of things. Now he wants the garden too. I spoke with his agent earlier today.”
Bo thought for a moment. “You mean, Max sold his half without me?”
Hugo was silent for a moment. “That’s how it seems. He dealt with it before he went back to Berlin.”
It had been months, but Bo still felt a stab of pain. They’d agreed to sell together. Agreed to split the proceeds in half. Instead, Max hadn’t even told her he was selling, which hurt. Not just because he hadn’t told her, but because it was clear he couldn’t even stand in the same room as her now to sign on a dotted line.
“Oh.” Bo exhaled heavily. “Okay.”
“Shall I refuse the offer?”
“No,” Bo replied quickly. “You say he wants to keep the place as a family home? The whole place together?”
“Yes.”
An image of Geoffrey came to Bo’s mind. She thought of how he would feel, knowing that the home he’d bought but never managed to fill with a family would finally be complete.
“I love that house and garden,” Bo whispered, and Hugo cleared his throat again.
“Right. Well, shall I turn him down? Press him for a higher offer?”
“No.” Bo took a deep breath. “Tell him I accept.”
It was another weight off her shoulders, another step in the right direction.
She paid Lisa’s loan back with interest, and her sister had never sounded so proud when she called Bo to thank her.
Progress.
She went back to Geoffrey’s house just once to pack up the last of her things. It made her heart pulse to realize that nothing had changed; that everything was the same as always. Madelief was in full bloom, and Bo thought seriously about digging the whole plant up and transplanting her to a new home, before deciding against it. In her heart, she knew Madelief belonged here in Geoffrey’s garden; that she’d never belong anywhere else. So, she simply took a cutting of one of the branches, before sealing up her boxes and moving on.
