Page 50 of Finding Love at Roseford Blooms
‘Just had to see if it was still standing,’ Andy replied. His face was suddenly serious. ‘Didn’t expect to see you here, though. Thought you’d had enough of Cross Dean to last you a lifetime.’
Simon smiled slightly grimly. ‘I’ve a bit of an ulterior motive, as well as wanting to put a few ghosts to rest,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a new project on the go. Thought I’d see if anyone might be interested in backing it.’
‘Ah, the old boys’ network in action!’ Andy replied. ‘Well, if you can get anything out of a visit to this grisly joint, I say good luck to you. So, what’s this venture, anyway?’
Simon took a deep breath, and before he could think better of it, he was off. Andy listened attentively, nodding in all the right places, until Simon had informally put his pitch.
‘Sounds interesting,’ Andy said, looking thoughtful. ‘Look, I might be able to help. Marina’s family is in publishing, so let me have a talk to her and I’ll see what we can do. Put the word out in the right places, you know. Have you got a card or anything?’
Simon shook his head, wishing he’d been better prepared. ‘It’s all still in the early stages. I haven’t even had approval from the BHF yet, but hopefully that’ll come soon.’ Simon pulled out his mobile. ‘Let me give you my number though. It would be great to catch up, away from here, as well as just talking business.’
As they swapped numbers, Simon felt a rush of confidence. He could do this, he thought. He really could. Andy had been a great person to talk to about RoseFest, and he hoped that more opportunities would soon follow. As they finished swapping details, Andy’s phone rang.
‘Bugger. Sorry, mate. Marina’s ringing me from the car park. I’ll catch you later?’
‘Sure,’ Simon replied. ‘I hope everything’s all right with your youngest.’
‘Thanks,’ Andy called back over his shoulder. ‘See you soon, Simon.’
Smiling broadly, Simon turned back to Lizzie. ‘Well, that was encouraging.’
‘Well done,’ she said, smiling back at him. ‘I told you you could do it.’ Just as she was leaning forward to give him a hug, a much less pleasant voice cut into their celebrations.
‘I thought it was you. Good to see you again so soon,mate.’
Simon’s good mood evaporated instantly. There, in front of him, smiling insouciantly, was none other than Jago McAvoy.
42
‘Jago.’ Simon nodded coolly in his direction. ‘I might have known I’d see you here.’
‘Wouldn’t miss a chance to get back to the old place for the night,’ Jago replied. ‘Especially since I’m thinking about sending my son here next year.’
‘That figures,’ Simon replied. ‘Got to breed the next generation of twats and bullies somewhere, I suppose.’
Lizzie stiffened. The rudeness was so unlike the Simon she knew, who, though often mildly flustered, never seemed capable of outright bitchiness. She placed a hand on his arm. ‘Shall we get another drink?’ she said softly, hoping to defuse the situation.
‘Not yet,’ Simon replied.
Jago regarded them both, a look of smug amusement on his face. ‘Now, now, Lord Treloar. No need to be like that.’ His gaze lingered on Lizzie for a long moment. ‘Nice to see the two of you finally found each other. You looked pretty cosy at the wedding. Is floristry going to be your new venture, Lord Treloar? Or are you just partial to dating the hired hands?’
There was no escaping Jago’s tone, dripping with sarcasm, and Lizzie felt her own prickle of irritation at the carefully worded insults. His flat, bitchy tone reminded her of all those girls who’d made her own life miserable at school, and she could see clearly how someone like Jago would have made Simon’s life hellish, too.
‘What did you say?’ Simon’s voice was low, and dangerous, and Lizzie felt the hand that was holding hers clenching tightly.
‘Only a joke, mate.’ Jago gave an insouciant grin. ‘We’re all good friends here, aren’t we? After all, I still haven’t signed off on future weddings at that chapel of yours yet.’
‘If you think you can hold that over me, you’ve got another think coming.’ Simon had raised his voice and was pale with anger. ‘After everything you put Sarah and me through when we were kids, you owe us your signature on that report.’ He took a step towards Jago, and Lizzie got the very real sense that if she didn’t step in soon, fists were going to fly.
‘Come on, Simon,’ she said firmly. ‘There are plenty of people here to talk to. Let’s not waste any more time here.’
As she said it, she was distracted by a woman coming up to join them. She was immaculately dressed in a simple, well-cut black shift, her blonde hair piled up on top of her head and the kind of make-up that looked subtle but actually took a long time to achieve. Her long neck was graced by a pearl pendant, and she was greyhound slim. She looked elegant, but awfully high maintenance, Lizzie thought.
‘Sorry, darling, there was a queue for the ladies’, as ever,’ the woman said as she took the glass of fizz that Jago handed to her and sipped. ‘Won’t you introduce me to your friends?’
‘We were just going to the bar,’ Simon said quickly, the arrival of the woman causing him instinctively to back down. He glanced at Jago, the question in his eyes obvious.
The woman smiled up at Simon. ‘Any friend of my husband’s, and all that,’ she said lightly. ‘Oh, look, Jay Jay, there’s Sukey and Marcus. Let’s go and catch up.’
