‘Stop right there.’ I had held up my hand, although as it had a large glass of wine in it at the time, the stop gesture I was going for, didn’t quite work. ‘I know you want me to move down to Fairlight Bay, but I need to work for a living. The only thing I know how to do is policing, and now that I’m a D.I. opportunities to transfer to another force, aren’t as plentiful. So unless Elliot is up for a holiday fling, I think setting me up with one of Sam’s friends, is a no-no.’
I still couldn’t get over the fact that Sam owned a thriving business selling and restoring motorbikes, let alone the fact that he ran advertising campaigns, albeit it in Bikers’ magazines and the local press, not on TV. Elliot did his photoshoots and Sam had models he employed on a regular basis.
Neither Lucy, nor I, had ever been on a motorbike – until recently. Lucy now loved them. Me? Not so much, as it happened.
The last time Lucy and Sam were in Kingston upon Thames, a couple of weeks ago, they’d come up on one of Sam’s expensive, gleaming black, top of the line, motorbikes and Sam took me for a brief ride. It was called a Honda Gold Wing Tour which, Sam told me, had exceptional passenger comfort, heated seats, an air bag in case of accidents (not particularly comforting to hear, surprisingly) and it also a large luggage capacity.
‘Am I the luggage?’ I had joked.
‘No,’ Lucy had quipped. ‘You’re the air bag.’
‘I’m saying nothing,’ Sam had laughed.
Lucy was right about Sam’s smile – it was drop dead gorgeous, as was he, and his laugh was like a melody. If I hadn’t been Lucy’s best friend, I might’ve fallen for Sam Worth myself.
I’ll admit that clinging to Sam on that bike, as if my life depended on it – which it did – was rather thrilling, but I was exceedingly glad to get off the giant machine. I could see what Lucy meant when she’d told me how fit the man was though. Nevertheless, I’d be sticking to dating men who drove cars.
It was that weekend that Lucy had told me her latest news. She’d invited me to her mum and stepdad’s house for Sunday lunch. Fortunately, I’d gone on that bike ride with SambeforeI’d eaten lunch. Anyway, it was a gloriously warm day and after lunch we’d all sat out in the garden. Lucy’s stepdad, Chris was showing Sam his prized vegetable plot, and Sam was gallantly pretending to be interested. Lucy’s mum had dozed off in a sun lounger, and was snoring. Although she’d never have believed us if we’d told her she was. Lucy and I were finishing off a bottle of red wine. Well, it would’ve been rude not to, especially as we were the only ones drinking alcohol that day.
‘Do you remember me telling you about that elderly woman who predicted the blizzard?’ Lucy said.
‘The one who told you to make sure you were with someone you liked when you got snowed in? Which you were – and you did.’
Lucy laughed and then let out a wistful sigh as she glanced to the end of the garden where Sam was studying a large marrow, which judging by the size of it already, would be ginormous by harvest time.
‘Yes,’ she said, returning her attention to me. ‘Her name’s Tilly Trotton. And I told you she owned a bridal shop in Fairlight Bay called Fairlight Brides, didn’t I?’
‘You did.’
Lucy beamed at me. ‘Well, Tilly, and her husband, Willy, have decided it’s time for her to retire. Their Dachshund, Billy is getting on in years and they want to spend more quality time with him, apparently.’
We both raised our eyebrows at one another, and grinned.
‘Fair enough,’ I said. And then the penny dropped. But I kept my mouth shut because I didn’t want to spoil her announcement.
‘That’s why we’ve come up this weekend. I wanted to discuss it with Mum and Chris. And to tell you, of course.’
‘Of course. Tell me what, exactly?’
She slapped me on my arm and laughed. ‘Oh, Erin! As if you can’t guess. And you are a detective, after all.’
‘Excuse me. I’m a detective inspector, as of three weeks ago. And yes. I can guess. But I thought you’d want to tell me.’
‘Okay. I’ll tell you. Tilly and Willy have asked me if I’d be interested in taking over Fairlight Brides. They own the building, so it means buying that as well as the business and the shop, but the price they’re asking is less than they could get if they sold it on the open market. We’ve grown close since I met her in February and I often pop in for a cup of tea and a chat. As I told you, she loves my wedding dress designs, and, thanks to her, I’ve already got some commissions for several bridal gowns and one or two bridesmaid dresses for next year.’
‘That’s fantastic news,’ I said. ‘Both about your designs, and taking over the business.’
‘I wasn’t sure it was affordable at first, but with the money I’ve got from the sale of my house, and with some investment from Mum and Chris, I thought it might be possible. As soon as I told Sam about it, he immediately offered to pitch in, if I wanted, as a sleeping partner.’
‘He’s already your sleeping partner,’ I joked, ‘so that makes sense.’
She laughed again, and my heart ached a little with how much I missed her.
‘True. Anyway, when I told Mum and Chris, they also thought it was a fantastic opportunity. So you’re looking at the soon to be owner of Fairlight Brides.’
I put my glass down and leant over and hugged her.
‘Congratulations, Lucy! I couldn’t be happier for you. I know I thought that when you booked that last minute break to that cottage in Midwinter it was a crazy idea, but things couldn’t have turned out better for you if you’d had a fairy Godmother.’
