She smiled.
‘So, have you not been in a serious relationship since him?’ Xander asked.
‘No, nothing serious. I’ve been on dates and had passionate flings with incredible men.’ She stroked his face. ‘Or dated someone for a few weeks but it’s never lasted.’
‘Zac broke your trust, he let you down when you needed him the most. Your heart is probably looking for someone it can trust again.’
‘Yeah, maybe. I think I’m scared to fall in love again. Love necessitates need. A need to be with each other. I’ve worked very hard not to need anyone. Today was weird for me, having all these people help me. I’ve never had that before.’
‘We all need help now and again and it’s OK to ask for it or accept it. And I promise you now, no matter what happens between us, I will always be here for you. No matter how small or insignificant it might seem to you, if you need help tying your shoelaces or brushing your hair, or you need something bigger, I will be more than happy to do it. No matter what time, night or day. You just need to ask. And I will never, ever get frustrated when you ask. You’re my friend, we’re supposed to be there for each other.’
‘That will take a lot of getting used to.’
‘Well, get used to it. But most importantly, you will never be a burden, you or our baby. Every relationship has problems, it’s never going to be smooth sailing. Sometimes those issues are with the couple, their baggage, their pasts, their own feelings and emotions, but a lot of it is external, work problems, in-laws, stepchildren, family, money. The thing that matters is that we face those problems together, whatever it is. There is not a single part of me that wishes you weren’t pregnant or that we weren’t together. If it’s meant to be, we will weather the storms.’
She smiled with love for him and, sliding her arms around him, leaned up to kiss him.
‘Thank you for talking me down. I never realised I was doing it until you pointed it out. No more apologising from now on. Well, at least for stuff like this.’
‘I’m not sure you can suddenly turn off something like that. The scars of that kind of betrayal, watching someone you love belittle you and make you feel that way, run deeper than we think, but I’ll also try to help you with that as much as I can.’
‘Thank you.’ She hugged him.
‘Always.’
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Immy was standing in her shop the next morning surveying the empty walls and bare concrete floor. Right now, the shop looked worse than when she first moved in here. There was so much to do and she didn’t know where to start. As it was Tuesday there wasn’t much time left to get it all finished before the Easter egg hunt on Sunday.
‘Hello,’ a voice called from the door.
Immy turned around to see Belinda standing there. ‘Hi.’
Belinda walked in. ‘How are you doing?’
Immy nodded. ‘There is so much to do but I’m feeling cautiously optimistic that the hunt will still go ahead. The cardboard bunny ears will be delivered tomorrow and the Easter-themed sweets will be delivered on Thursday. We can store it all in Xander’s shop until the day of the hunt. So as long as you can get the map and clues printed off somewhere we should be allsystems go. Although if we’re in the middle of decorating or doing the floor, it could make it tricky to run the hunt from in here, but we can run it from a table outside.’
Belinda stepped closer. ‘I meant, how areyoudoing?’
‘Ah… I’m OK. It’s hard to see my shop like this and yesterday, when it was all ruined and watching everyone throwing everything out, that was difficult. I spent so much time getting my shop looking how it was, painting it, decorating it with all my little sweet-themed ornaments. Some of my decorations were one of a kind. And I know they are only things, but they were mine. I know I’m incredibly lucky that I’m OK, Jacob is OK, no one else got hurt. I’m so relieved that there is no structural damage so I can return to my flat to get my stuff and that we can get in here and clear up. But it’s still difficult to know I have to start from scratch all over again. I love my little shop, I loved working in it. Meeting people, chatting to them. And right now, it feels like I’ve lost all of that. I know we’ll get it back to how it was, or maybe even better. And the community room hasn’t been touched at all so all my little local groups can still come back once we’re all finished, but I feel like I’m at the bottom of the mountain right now and I’m not sure how to get to the top.’
‘I get it, I do, I know how heartbreaking it is. And knowing that it’s just superficial damage doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. But we will all help you get back on your feet. You are a valued member of our community and while I would say that to any shop ownerbecause everyone contributes something to our little town – the pet shop, the candle shop, the costume shop, everybody brings something wonderful to our little corner of the world – what you do here with the community room is something special. We don’t really have anywhere as big as your back room to hold these activities, or the spaces we do have are too big and too expensive, and the fact that you offer it out for free is really kind. You have so many little groups that meet here, sometimes you’ll have two or three different groups on one day. Plus your sweet shop has been the focal point for the Easter egg hunt for many years. I think it’s safe to say Lovegrove Bay has felt this tragedy more than it would have if the fire had affected any other shop. So many people have contacted me offering their help. And…’ She dug out a cheque from her bag. ‘Lots of people have donated too.’ She passed Immy the cheque.
Immy stared at it in shock. ‘Five thousand pounds? But why would they give that much?’
‘People care about you and the shop.’
Immy was so unbelievably touched by that. She wasn’t strictly a local as she hadn’t been born and raised here. She was a blow-in, someone with no roots in the town, and, although her sister had been there for around eight or nine years and she had been there for around four years now, she didn’t think she would ever be classed as local. So for all these people to want to help her made her feel warm inside.
‘But… I don’t think I’ll need that much money.’
‘I don’t know. You’ll need cleaning equipment, paint, new flooring, wood for shelves, a new coffee machine, new till, new sweet dispensers, new stock, possibly a new sign outside if you can’t clean that soot off. There might be repairs to pay for with the electrics. I’m sure there are more things I haven’t thought of, but I don’t think five thousand pounds will go far once you start buying things. If you have any left over once you’re completely finished, then donate it to a brain injury charity or Alzheimer’s or dementia charity.’
‘OK.’
‘But don’t skimp either. Get what you want – people want to help so let them help.’
Immy nodded. It was a weird feeling to accept help, but she could see she would have to get used to it.
