Chapter 12

TWELVE

TUESDAY 5TH DECEMBER

Business was brisk at The Happy Hartes Bookshop, and the first couple of hours since they'd opened that morning had whizzed by. Florrie and Leah had been kept busy serving customers and restocking shelves, with Florrie dealing with the orders that had been placed after Jack's reading, whenever time would allow. She'd been delighted with the positive feedback they'd been deluged with about their evening, and a buzz of excitement lingered in the shop. Ed's window displays continued to garner much interest on the pavement outside, "oohs" and "aahs" filtering through the glass. Several of the people who'd stopped to admire his handiwork had been tempted inside the shop, eager to take a look at the festive decorations and, in most cases, make a purchase. The tills had rung merrily, much to Florrie's delight.

As busy as she'd been, Florrie had regularly found her thoughts venturing down the path to Ed's suggestion. The prospect of them opening a tearoom upstairs sent a thrill rushing through her each time. It had toyed with her concentration, making it difficult to give the task in hand her full attention; she wished he'd hurry up and get himself back from Nate's upcycling shop where he'd arranged to meet her dad and Bear. And, as luck would have it, Alex had agreed to call in en route to his appointment with a client. She was desperate to hear whether their plans had legs. They'd decided not to share any of this with Leah just yet, thinking it was best to keep it to themselves until they knew whether the idea was feasible, but it had been a struggle to keep the smile from her face.

‘Someone's happy this morning,' Leah had said when she'd caught Florrie grinning inanely to herself.

‘Oh… um, it's just because last night was such a resounding success,' she'd replied, thinking quickly.

Florrie had surprised herself at how passionate she'd become about Ed's suggestion; she'd be bitterly disappointed if Alex advised them it was a no-go.

She glanced over at the clock above the counter, feeling a rush of anticipation. Surely Ed would be back soon. It had been over an hour since he'd popped out. They must have decided whether using the staircase was doable by now! She consoled herself that at least they'd set the ball rolling, rather than sitting around and pondering the idea. She'd hoped to have joined Ed to take a look at the staircase, but it wouldn't have been fair to leave Leah on her own. Paula – who had started doing the odd shift at the bookshop since business had increased at the store – hadn't been able to step in and help since she had a hair appointment and couldn't rearrange at such short notice. Oh, how Florrie wished she could be a fly on the wall as they discussed the logistics. Her heart had leapt every time the bell above the door went, expecting it to be Ed returning with news.

She was deep in conversation with Jean Davenport, going through the itinerary for next week's Christmas-themed visit by a group of children and their teachers from the local junior school, when Ed landed back with Gerty. Florrie's stomach looped-the-loop, and not just because he looked out-of-the-way attractive, with his dark hair all tousled and windswept, his complexion fresh. He scanned the shop, breaking into a wide smile as his eyes locked on hers, making her heart flutter. Oh my days! Please tell me it's good news!

‘Hi,' he said, bending to kiss her once he'd released Gerty from her lead and had exchanged hellos with Jean. Florrie was relieved to see there was no evidence of the odd mood that had plagued Ed yesterday evening when Jack had mentioned his autobiography.

‘Hi.' His cheeks felt chilly against hers, and cool, salt-laden air clung to his clothes. ‘How did it go?' Florrie asked, as her heart rate upped its pace.

‘Went well. Sounds very optimistic.' His smile reached all the way to his eyes.

Jean gave them a puzzled glance before saying, ‘Listen, why don't I stay here and give Leah a hand while you two go and have a chat? The reading room's nice and quiet at the moment. We can manage.'

Florrie met Ed's gaze, attempting to read his thoughts. She glanced over at Leah who was chatting to Jessie Evans at the counter. ‘There's no need for you to shoot off, Jean, we're happy for you to hear our exciting plans for the bookshop,' Florrie said, keeping her voice low, hoping Ed would agree. She beamed happily at the older woman. Jean was the soul of discretion and someone who Florrie would trust with her deepest secrets.

‘Exciting plans? Ooh, now that does sound intriguing.' Jean smiled.

‘Oh, Jean, it's all I can think about at the minute!' said Florrie, unable to keep the excitement from her voice.

Jean's eyes twinkled as Florrie and Ed gave her a quick rundown of their fledgling ideas for the tearoom. She clasped her hands together happily. ‘Well, I think that sounds wonderful! It's just what the town needs, somewhere to go for a decent cup of tea and a slice of cake. The coffee shop on Skellergate isn't what it used to be, and I can't think of anywhere better than having a tearoom in a bookshop – and this bookshop, in particular. It's the perfect combination! Dinah and Bernard would be overjoyed to hear it, my loves.'

‘I'm so pleased you like it, Jean, it means a lot,' said Florrie, a tug in her heart at the mention of Mr and Mrs H. In truth, she knew Mr H wouldn't have been that taken with the idea if he was still here; in his later years, especially after his wife had passed away, he'd been deeply averse to change. It had been a battle getting him to agree to stock a range of stationery that had become hugely popular thanks to Jenna Johnstone, a popular romance author, one of whose books had been made into a television series, and who they'd booked to do a reading at the bookshop. Jenna had collaborated with a small North Yorkshire artist who had a range of stationery emblazoned with images of her designs, the notebooks of which had become particularly popular. Jenna, who declared she used a fresh notebook for each new manuscript, had plastered images of the artist's collection across all her social media pages. It had created a huge amount of hype and Florrie had thought stocking a selection of the stationery was too good an opportunity to miss. Unfortunately, Mr H had shown he had a stubborn streak to rival the donkeys that traipsed the beach over the summer months, but Florrie's persistence had eventually paid off and they'd struggled to keep up with the demand.

‘Yes, me too,' Ed said, quietly, before turning to Florrie. ‘You'll have to head down to Nate's and take a look at the staircase. Honestly, Florrie, it's amazing . It's in great condition and the patina on the banister's just incredible. It'll be perfect for here.'

‘So it's definitely doable, then?' Florrie's heart started pumping with anticipation.

‘Alex thinks so. He'll need to get measurements, of course, but he seems to think the dimensions of the properties on the square will be pretty similar. Mind, he did say there'd be a load of building regs to comply with, but he didn't think it would involve anything insurmountable.'

‘That's brilliant news!' Florrie could barely prevent herself squealing with delight.

‘And Bear said he'd be happy to give your dad a hand, too, so it's all good.' Ed smiled down at her.

Florrie beamed back, her chest filling with joy as her mind started swirling with book-themed tearoom ideas.

‘Actually, I've just remembered I need to tell Jack he doesn't need to pick up my order from the bakery,' said Jean, breaking into Florrie's thoughts.

She blinked, turning to Jean, her eyebrows arched in question. ‘Oh?'

‘He's popping in for his tea tonight and I asked him if he could collect my order on his way for me but since I'm here, I can get it myself. I'd best give him a call before it slips my mind. Won't be a minute, lovey.' She patted Florrie's arm. ‘But your tearoom idea really is most exciting! And I promise I won't breathe a word.'

With Jean heading off in the direction of the kitchen to retrieve her phone from her handbag, Florrie turned to Ed, grinning broadly. ‘So, do you reckon we can add this tearoom/staircase idea to The Happy Christmas Memory Project?'

‘You know,' he said thoughtfully, rubbing his hand across his chin, ‘I reckon we can. It doesn't matter that it won't get started until well after the festive period, but it'll definitely go down as a happy Christmas memory because of all the excitement it'll generate right now.'

‘I like that.' Florrie smiled up at him. The couple weren't ones for public displays of affection, but at this very moment in time, she'd like nothing more than to wrap her arms around Ed and squeeze him tight. If he was to throw in one of his delicious kisses, then that would be an added bonus. She cast her gaze over to Leah at the counter where a queue was forming. It looked as though Florrie would have to wait until tonight to enjoy the feeling of Ed's arms around her, his lips soft against hers. The thought prompted an inward shiver of delight.

She was pulled out of her musings by the sound of Ed's phone ringing. He heaved a sigh, his face falling as he eased the offending object from the back pocket of his jeans.

‘You've got to be kidding me!' He clapped his hand to his forehead, their happy mood of only moments ago crashing into hundreds of tiny pieces on the floor around them.

Florrie didn't need to ask as to the identity of the caller, Ed's reaction told her everything she needed to know.

He silenced the phone and pushed it back into his pocket. Florrie looked on with concern, words evading her. He was going to have to speak to his dad before all hell blew up. A few moments later, a ping, heralding a voicemail, sounded from Ed's back pocket. He raked his hands impatiently through his hair, catching her eye before quickly looking away. Now evidently wasn't the time to pursue the matter; she got the feeling it wouldn't go down well.

She was distracted by a flurry of activity over at the counter where Leah had been inundated with yet more customers. The young girl threw a concerned glance Florrie's way. ‘I'd best go and help Leah,' she said to Ed.

‘Yeah, 'course,' he said, forcing a smile.