Page 96 of The Little Island Flower Stall
‘Wow. You should write.’
Bella had to laugh. ‘I can’t imagine I’d earn much from a one-line book.’
‘Cider and chips and a large serving of remorse then. Tomorrow night?’
‘Tomorrow night. If I still feel like it.’
‘If you still feel like it. Fair enough. I deserve that too. I suppose…’ He shifted awkwardly, as if he wanted to say more but wasn’t sure if he should. And then, eventually, he gave a vague shrug. ‘I suppose you need to get on here?’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘Tomorrow then. Thank you.’
‘Tomorrow. Maybe. There are no promises.’
Bella watched him walk away, a smile about her lips.
No sooner had he gone than she felt a tap on her arm and turned to see Dolly back again.
‘Is that him?’
‘Dolly!’ Bella grinned. ‘Have you been here the whole time?’
Dolly gave a sheepish nod. ‘I couldn’t help it. I saw him coming over, and I…I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.’
‘You little—And you heard the whole lot?’
‘I might have heard some of it.’
‘That means yes if I know you. So what do you think?’
‘He’s very good-looking.’
‘I don’t mean that. I mean what do you think about me and him? Should I give him a second chance?’
‘He seems sorry. And we all make mistakes. Sounds to me like he was in a pickle and he didn’t know how to fix it. We’ve all been there too.’
‘But can I trust him?’
‘Who can say? But if there’s a chance of love, don’t you think you ought to take it? Your poor aunt Celestine would have jumped at it.’
‘Would she?’
‘She married Roland. I think she knew deep down he wasn’t in love with her, but she loved him, and she thought it was worth a try.’
‘I’ve thought about this loads,’ Bella said, her gaze following Rory as he walked the promenade. ‘Why on earth did Roland propose to her if he didn’t love her?’
‘Who knows? Perhaps he did in his own way. Maybe he thought if he couldn’t have Violette, Celestine was the next best thing. I wonder if he married Celestine to teach Violette a lesson because she’d been with another man and got a baby by him.’
‘Celestine said he didn’t know about the baby.’
Dolly gave Bella a withering look. ‘Everyoneknew about the baby. It was obvious, even if she never brought him back to Jersey once she’d had him.’
‘I’m sure Violette wouldn’t have cared about Roland’s revenge anyway. She didn’t even fancy him, did she?’
‘It wouldn’t have made any difference to him. If he was hurting, he wouldn’t have seen it that way.’
‘It all seems far more complicated than it ought to be.’
