Page 7 of Forever Love at Fleur's Flower Shop

The door chimed. He was here.

‘Morning.’ Matty’s familiar gravelly voice filled the shop.

Squeezing her eyes tight shut, Fleur fought against every cell in her body which was screaming at her to stand up and speak to him, to look into his eyes and see if there was… What? Anythingleft of the love they felt for each other? She sighed audibly before clamping her free hand over her mouth. What was she thinking? She wasn’t some young, naïve woman in love anymore. She knew the deal, and she knew that people like her didn’t get the happy-ever-afters that seemed to come so easily to others. The only thing she’d see in his eyes was the remnants of anger. Or worse, indifference. And she wasn’t quite strong enough to see that. Not just yet.

‘Morning. How are you today?’ Bea’s voice shook. She was uncertain. In unfamiliar territory.

‘Fine, thank you.’ His footsteps came closer to the counter. ‘Yourself?’

‘Good, good thanks. How can I help you?’

‘I was actually wondering if Fleur was about?’ He paused before continuing. ‘I assume it’s her shop by the sign out front?’

‘Yes, yes, it is.’ Bea shuffled on the spot as Fleur quickly pulled her legs out of the way. ‘But, no. She…umm… she’s not here.’

‘Oh. Do you know when she’ll be back?’

‘When she’ll be back?’ Bea paused. ‘Err… no.’

Fleur placed her forehead on her knees. Could Bea have made it any more obvious that she was avoiding him? She should have known not to ask Bea to lie for her. Bea couldn’t lie to save her life.

There was a pause, the silence in the shop deafening before Matty spoke again. ‘In that case, I’ll just take this, please?’

‘Certainly.’

Fleur listened to the rustling of tissue paper and the ping of the till as Bea served him. It felt like a lifetime before the door finally chimed again, signalling that he had finally left.

‘He’s gone. You can show your face again.’ Bea looked down at Fleur, her hands on her hips. ‘Please don’t ask me to lie for you again. I hate it.’

‘I know. I know. I’m sorry.’ Gripping the edge of the counter, Fleur pulled herself to standing and lowered her cup and cake on the counter before drawing Bea into a hug. ‘I forgot how awful you are at this stuff.’

‘Oi!’ Hugging her back, Bea laughed.

Lowering her hands, Fleur walked around the counter to the other side and made her way up and down the tiers of three dark oak shelves, each with cut-outs to hold the buckets of bouquets and bunches of flowers displayed along each wall. Trailing her fingers across the soft petals, she tried to work out what was missing, what Matty had bought.

‘If he’s here to stay, you’ll have to face him one day.’

‘Uh-huh. Hopefully he won’t be.’ Fleur stopped in front of the cluster of buckets closest to the counter. Something was missing from here. Matty had chosen one of her most expensive bouquets. No, scrap that. She rearranged the bouquets. Itwasher most expensive bouquet. She turned to Bea. ‘He bought my most expensive bouquet. Did he say who he was buying it for?’

‘Nope.’ Bea shook her head. ‘You would have heard if he had, anyway.’

Fleur nodded. Yes, she would have. She turned the small carousel of tags and cards she kept on the counter. ‘Did he take one of these?’

‘No, just the bouquet.’

‘Right.’ She sighed. The takeaway last night and now a bouquet of expensive flowers. He wasn’t here alone then.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing. I just… he’s with someone.’ She took a deep breath, trying to calm the feeling stirring in her stomach. ‘Which is fine. It’s to be expected. Of course he’s with someone. It’s been ten years; he’s not exactly going to have stayed single in case I changed my mind.’

‘Oh, Fleur…’ Bea walked towards her, her arms outstretched.

Holding her hands up in front of her, palms forwards, Fleur stepped back. ‘No, don’t. I don’t have any right to feel upset or… anything. I lost every right I had when I walked away from him at the church.’

‘It still must be difficult…’

‘It’s not as though I’ve not been dating either. No, I haven’t found my Mr Right, but it’s not for lack of trying.’ Fleur looked away from Bea. She couldn’t stand to see the pity on her friend’s face. If she did. She’d know what a lost cause she really was.

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