Chapter 9

NINE

Half an hour later, after Florrie and Ed had given a quick interview to the press and TV reporter, the shop was bustling with customers and a queue was forming at the counter where Florrie and Leah were busily serving people. The pair quickly fell into a system with one bagging up the purchases while the other took payment. It seemed to be working efficiently as Florrie kept one eye on the clock; she didn't want to overrun into Jack's time.

They'd decided to keep the shop open for the hour between the window reveal and Jack's reading in order to maximise on any potential sales it might generate. It had been Ed's suggestion. ‘It's an ideal opportunity, so we'd be mad not to take advantage of it,' he'd said. Florrie couldn't argue. She loved how his enthusiasm for the bookshop had grown since they'd first taken the helm.

She stole a quick glance around the room. Things had tailed off from the initial rush, but there were still a number of customers browsing the aisles or admiring the Christmas decorations. The excitement of earlier still hung in the air, though now it was more of a jolly burble rather than the exuberant roars and cheers. She spotted Jean and Paula over by the door to the reading room, greeting people warmly, taking tickets and guiding them to their seats. Both women looked to be enjoying themselves enormously which gladdened Florrie's heart.

Her gaze next landed on Stella, head and shoulders above the rest and looking uber-smart as always. She was describing something animatedly to Jasmine, Maggie and Lark, her long, blonde hair pulled back into neat ponytail. Jasmine's vibrant red pixie crop stood in stark contrast, as did Lark's flaxen blonde waves, woven with fine plaits and threaded with silver beads. They'd all been best friends since primary school, with the exception of Maggie whom Florrie had met when they'd been students at university in York. Though she'd known her the least amount of time, Maggie was the friend Florrie was closest to.

With the line of customers at the till finally dying down, Florrie left Leah in charge and headed towards her friends where she was greeted with happy smiles.

‘Hey, Florrie, the windows are amazing.' Stella squeezed the top of Florrie's arm. Judging by her long, dark coat and black trouser suit she'd clearly come straight from her chambers in York where she was based as a criminal barrister.

‘Thanks, Stells, and thanks for coming. I'm so glad you could make it, though I thought you were tied up in a trial.'

‘I managed to wangle an early finish with the judge. Used my cunning powers of persuasion to get him to agree that we'd reached a good point to adjourn for the day.' She flashed a wide grin, the star-shaped diamond studs she always wore glinting under the lights.

‘Didn't think you'd be able to use your style of "cunning powers of persuasion" in court, Stells.' Jasmine gave her an impish smile. She looked toasty in her padded jacket, its deep shade of green emphasising the colour of her hair. ‘Thought that kind of behaviour would mean you'd end up in court on the wrong side of the law as it were.' She gave a throaty giggle, setting the others off.

Before Stella had met Alex, she'd been resolutely single, refusing to be tied down to a relationship and was well known amongst her friends for her colourful love life. But those days were apparently well behind her now, and she freely admitted she'd fallen for Alex hook, line and sinker. She pulled a face at Jasmine though she couldn't help but laugh. ‘Very funny, Jazz.' A smile played over her mouth. ‘I can assure you, the powers of persuasion to which you allude were kept under wraps – as they always are when I'm in court. And if you saw what a crusty old sourpuss His Honour Judge Mitchem is, you'd understand why. The simple fact is it actually made sense to finish at that point. He could see it, too, hence I'm here on time. And besides, I'm a one-man woman now, as you know.'

‘Aye, so you are,' said Jasmine. ‘And it's taking some getting used to it.' She shot Stella a cheeky grin.

‘You're not wrong, not that I'm grumbling.' Stella smiled back.

‘Aye, I know, we didn't see that one coming, did we, lasses?' Maggie chuckled.

‘Sure didn't.' Florrie observed her friend. There was no getting away from the fact that being in love suited Stella; she was glowing with happiness.

‘Ah, that's because Cupid waited for the right man to come along before he took aim and fired his arrow.' Lark's pale green eyes twinkled. She was looking every inch the boho hippy chick, wrapped in a flowing velvet coat in a rich shade of amethyst, her feet encased in a pair of cosy looking slouchy boots.

‘You reckon?' Stella chuckled. ‘Anyroad, when d'you think he's going to take aim at you? Poor old Nate deserves an award for his patience.' Her words triggered a ripple of giggles from the others.

They were stopped from saying anything further by Jasmine's children who rushed over on a wave of excitement. They had been allowed to spend their pocket money on some of the new trendy stationery items the bookshop had just taken delivery of. Leah had advised on what would appeal to a younger target market, and it would seem she was right.

Zak and Chloe were quickly followed by Jasmine's mum, Heather, who was taking the children back home so Jasmine could stay for Jack's reading.

‘Time we headed off, lovey.' Heather gave a warm smile. She and Jasmine shared the same red hair and luminescent skin.

Jasmine returned her smile. ‘Okay, Mum, thanks for this. I really appreciate it. I'll head back as soon as it's finished here – shouldn't be too late.'

‘No need to rush, flower. Your dad's watching some sport on the telly, so it's not as if I'd be getting much sense out of him for the rest of the evening. Once these two have gone to bed, I'll be quite happy snuggled up in your living room, reading my book.' She tapped her recent purchase that was tucked under her arm.

‘You're a star.' Jasmine beamed at her mum before turning to Zak and Chloe whose freckled faces were wearing matching mischievous expressions. ‘Be good for Grandma, you two little monsters, okay?' Jasmine said affectionately, ruffling Zak's dark red hair before giving Chloe's strawberry-blonde pigtails a gentle tug. They both nodded enthusiastically.

Just then, Leah bounded over, her cheeks flushed from the warmth of the room. ‘Have you seen the time, Florrie?'

‘Ooh, no.' Florrie glanced up at the clock. ‘Thanks for letting me know, Leah, that last ten minutes has flown by.' She turned to her friends. ‘I think we should probably head to the reading room now, lasses.' Her dark eyebrows drew together as she scanned the room, ticket-wielding customers filing past her on the way to where Jean and Paula were awaiting their collection. ‘I don't know where Ed's got to, or Jack for that matter.'

‘Last I saw they were having a natter in the kitchen with Bear and Alex. Nate's there, too – looked deep and meaningful. I'll go see if they're still there and chivvy them along if they are.' Maggie smiled before heading down to the back of the shop.

Something deep and meaningful. The words sent a momentary shard of anxiety shooting through Florrie, piercing her bubble of happiness. Thoughts of the recent phone call from Ed's father rushed into her mind, quickly followed by what Leah had told her about Dodgy Dick hanging around. Was Ed talking to the men about his latest concerns for the bookshop? she wondered. Maybe asking their advice? Or was it to do with the reason he'd been disappearing into the attic, rooting amongst his stuff? Were the two connected? That thought made Florrie's stomach churn and she felt her buoyant mood begin to ebb away.

Don't think about that now! Just concentrate on the reading and what an awesome night this is. She plastered a smile on her face and made a determined effort to focus on positive thoughts, but not before her worries had been picked up by the ever-perceptive Lark.

‘You okay, flower?' she asked, her armful of silver bracelets jangling as she reached out and squeezed Florrie's hand.

‘I'm fine, thanks.' Florrie pushed her smile up higher. ‘Something's happened, but I'll tell you about it later.'

‘Okay.' Lark nodded, smiling gently. ‘We're all here for you if you need us.'

‘Thank you.' Florrie returned her smile.

‘What's up?' asked Maggie, picking up on the conversation. ‘The fellas are just coming, by the way.'

‘Has something happened?' asked Jasmine, whose smile had been replaced by a frown.

‘Please tell me buggerlugs is behaving himself.' Stella's face had turned serious. ‘I've already warned him if he messes you about, I'll relieve him of his testicles and feed them to the seagulls. And that's just for starters.' It was easy to see how she'd make for an intimidating opponent in court.

Kev Poppleton, a regular at Jack's readings who was walking by on his way to the reading room, winced at the comment, and upped his speed, making Maggie giggle.

Florrie's gaze swept over the four concerned faces looking back at her, her heart instantly warmed by their love and loyalty. They were all fiercely protective of one another, ready to offer words of support and comfort at the drop of a hat. If any one of the group was feeling down or having a hard time, no matter the reason, the others would rally and do all they could to help make things better. Florrie had been so glad of their friendship when Mr H had passed away, and through the ensuing drama with Ed's parents and the bookshop. They'd been a tower of strength, bolstering her, encouraging her to face the day even though all she'd wanted to do was hide under her duvet and forget what was happening with the rest of the world.

She mustered up a reassuring smile. ‘Everything's fine, there just seems to be…' She paused, smiling a hello at an excited-looking customer who was walking by, ticket in hand. ‘I can't really say too much now, but I'll just tell you quickly that his dad rang the other night, though I'm not really sure of the reason.' It didn't feel right to mention that she was sure he'd bandied Jean's name about.

‘Oh, Florrie.' Lark pressed a hand to her chest, her many bracelets sliding down her arm.

‘And we all know Peter Harte never gets in touch with good news,' said Jasmine.

‘Please tell me you're joking.' Stella's face was as dark as thunder. ‘I thought they'd gone quiet.'

‘They had.'

‘But I thought they'd accepted how things are,' said Maggie.

‘I thought so, too, but something about this feels different. I'm not a hundred per cent sure it's about the bookshop. And what's worse, Leah told me Dodgy Dick was hanging around outside the shop for ages this morning.' Florrie drew in a deep breath, her heart feeling heavy at the reminder. ‘Anyway, I daresay I'll know more by our get-together on Friday. I'll share it all then. In the meantime, we'd best get through to where the action is.'

Jack's reading proved to be the perfect distraction for Florrie. He held the audience, including her, in his thrall as he read from his latest novel, tension hanging in the air. It was set in and around Micklewick Bay in the seventeenth century and based on infamous landowner Benjamin Fitzgilbert who'd lived a double life as a wealthy and highly respected gentleman by day and a prolific smuggler under the darkness of night. Jack's writing was so evocative Florrie had almost been able to smell the damp of the tunnel, hear the sails of the ships flapping in the wind and see the clouds rushing across the moon. Gasps were exhaled as he described how gunshots were fired into the darkness, a woman's blood-curdling scream, the sound of someone falling…

‘And that' – he closed his book and looked up at the captivated sea of faces – ‘concludes this evening's reading, folks. I'm afraid if you want to know what happens to Brave Lass Bess, you're going to have to read the book yourselves. And for those of you who haven't already got a copy, I'm very pleased to say, you can buy one here and I'd be happy to sign it for anyone who's interested.' He gave a roguish smile and the audience erupted into raucous applause, cheers bouncing around the room. Jack's readings always went down a storm and tonight's was no exception. In fact, Florrie thought it was his most popular yet, no doubt helped by the fact that he'd based this novel on local history.

Florrie looked up at Ed who was standing next to her at the back of the room, behind the audience, clapping his hands with great gusto, a delighted smile on his face. He caught her eye and gave her a wink. There was no trace of the concern clouding his features the way it had after his father had rung. She told herself he could have been talking to Jack and the other men about anything in the kitchen – it didn't have to be his father's latest phone call, or Dodgy Dick, or the reason he kept disappearing into the attic.

Ed leant towards her. ‘That was fantastic! I'd say it counts as a happy Christmas memory. What do you reckon?'

She beamed a smile up at him, joy surging through her. ‘Oh, absolutely!'

He dipped his head and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, sending her heart into a frenzy. Oh my days! Despite what was going on in the background, she loved this man with an intensity that burnt fiercely inside her.

Florrie turned back to face the room, clapping hard along with the rest of the audience, a huge smile on her face.