Page 44 of Finding Love at Roseford Blooms
Finn looked sheepish. ‘Not exactly. She’s insisting she’s perfectly fine, and she’s got plenty of help in the café, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to have you keep an eye on her while I’m gone, too.’
‘Let me guess… she’s a whole lot more relaxed about it than you are?’
‘She’s done it before. I haven’t.’
‘Fair enough.’ Simon grinned at Finn. ‘But let her know I’m here if she needs anything. I don’t want to come across as taking an unhealthy interest!’
‘I will. Thanks, man.’
As they walked back towards Roseford Hall, Simon felt a pang of something that seemed like envy. Finn and Lucy seemed to have everything sorted out now; they had each other, their careers, a secure future and now were going to meet a new addition to their family, which already comprised themselves and Lucy’s daughter, Megan, whom Finn adored. He had a sudden vision of himself in the future, with Lizzie by his side, and a couple of kids of their own, enjoying all that RoseFest had to offer. But at the moment it all felt like a dream. Filled with renewed determination to look at the RoseFest project again that afternoon, he said goodbye to Finn, looking forward to catching up with him when he got back from Iceland.
After a busy afternoon, mostly clearing up the last of the admin from the wedding, Simon sat back in his chair and stretched his fingers above his head. Having cleared his immediate in-tray, he cracked open the RoseFest file again and scanned it, even though he’d read it so many times he virtually had it memorised.
Was there something in it? Could he make it work? Feeling rather foolish, he opened his web browser and did a search for ‘how to run an event on British Heritage Fund property’. He figured, if he was going to use the field the family still owned, he might as well go all in and see what the restrictions were for using parts of Roseford Hall’s land as well. He scanned the information on the website, and then copied and pasted the email address for further information into his RoseFest document. So far so good. Then he stopped short, feeling even more foolish as it occurred to him that he didn’t have the first idea about how to write a business plan. Watching the latest series ofThe Apprenticecertainly hadn’t given him any ideas, and, with a pang of frustration, he realised he was still a long way off forming anything coherent that he could present to the BHF.
Simon hated asking for help. It was a flaw in his character that he’d tried hard to overcome through the years, but it had made the decision to hand Roseford Hall over to the BHF even harder. He’d been used to being self-sufficient, emotionally and practically, and the idea of having to seek advice for a project that felt so personal was making his insides squirm uncomfortably. His best friend, Olivia, whom he’d known at university, used to berate him constantly for not seeking help until it was too late, and she was one of the few people he’d opened up to and trusted. Her death a few years ago had devastated him almost as much as it had her husband, Chris. Chris had found love again, eventually, with Stella Simpson, and they co-ran the writers’ and artists’ retreat at the other end of Roseford. They’d taken a chance, reached out and trusted each other. Simon was tired of being cautious. But he needed to learn to ask for help. And merely googling ‘how to write a business plan’ didn’t cut it.
But perhaps there was someone who could help. He pulled out his phone and sent a text, asking Lizzie if she’d like to meet later for a drink. As he was typing, he suddenly had a great idea about what they could do that evening. Asking Lizzie to meet him at the gates of Roseford Hall at eight o’clock, he wondered if he had time to get to Roseford Café for some supplies.
37
Through blurry eyes, Lizzie tapped the message from Simon as it appeared on her home screen. It had taken her a long time to calm down after the dressing-down from her father, made worse by the fact that they’d only come to see her on the way to somewhere else.Story of my life, she thought. So why did it still hurt so much? She’d always known she’d been the second fiddle to Georgina, but now she had been left in no doubt that she was barely in the bloody orchestra. Her father’s attempt to micro-manage her into another role where he could keep an eye on her seemed well intentioned, but Lizzie couldn’t help feeling it was done more out of a need to re-establish order than any real concern for her future. He’d always been like that. He’d always needed a plan. And she’d gone along with it. But no longer.
Simon’s text, cryptic as it was, did at least raise a smile. She wondered what he had in mind for the evening. In hindsight, they’d rushed into bed together, high on the emotions. It would be nice to spend a bit more time getting to know each other, to be sure that what they both felt was genuine attraction and not lust.
She had a bit of time to compose herself, too. She was contemplating what to wear – Simon hadn’t given her any details about what they’d actually be doing that night – when she heard the front door opening and Bee calling her name.
‘I’m here,’ Lizzie replied, scrubbing at her face, trying to eradicate any evidence of the upset of the day. The last thing she wanted to do was go over it all again.
Bee popped her head around the bedroom door. ‘Are you all right, love? Feeling tired?’
‘A bit,’ Lizzie replied. She couldn’t quite meet Bee’s enquiring gaze.
Bee made her way into the room and sat down next to Lizzie on the bed.
‘Don’t be nice to me or I’ll cry again.’ Lizzie sniffed.
Bee sighed. ‘Your dad’s been up to his old tricks?’
Lizzie nodded. ‘He just wants to control everything. Georgina can cope with it, but I can’t any more. Not after everything that’s happened.’ She looked up at Bee. ‘I’m sick of trying to play the game. I need some space to be myself.’
Bee sighed. ‘I know it doesn’t seem that way, but he means well. He grew up with nothing; he just wants the best for you and your sister.’
Lizzie gave a laugh. ‘I don’t know how you can say that when he’s been so consistently vile to you over the years. He never could understand how you could settle for a “little” life as he sees it.’
‘I know.’ Bee smiled sadly. ‘And I’d be lying if I said we hadn’t had our arguments about it. But your mother, my sister, chose him, and he’s tried, in his own way, to give her a good life. Even if that life is quite different from the one I chose.’
‘Well, he’s not making decisions for me any more,’ Lizzie said firmly. ‘I don’t need his help.’
Bee smiled. ‘I’m glad to hear it.’
Lizzie turned to Bee and looked her in the eye. ‘He did make me think about one thing, though,’ she said. ‘If I’m going to stay here any longer, I need to start paying you some rent.’
‘Don’t be daft!’ Bee laughed. ‘I’d never ask you to do that.’
‘I know, but I’m going to do it anyway,’ Lizzie replied. She looked sheepish. ‘That’s if you don’t mind me staying a bit longer? I’d kind of like to hang around, if that’s all right with you?’
Bee put an arm around her. ‘I said when you came you could stay here as long as you wanted,’ she replied. ‘But instead of paying rent, why don’t you do something more useful for me?’
