Page 20 of Merrily Ever After
‘Hey you.’ I was still holding the glue gun and he held his hands up in mock surrender.
‘Don’t shoot.’
I laughed. ‘Don’t worry, I’d hate for you to come to a sticky end.’ I switched off the gun at the wall, set it down to cool and washed my hands. ‘You look deep in thought.’
‘I am. Very deep.’ He crossed the room in three long strides, wrapping his arms around me from behind while I dried my hands. He bent down, his lips finding the hollow of my collarbone.
‘Should I be worried?’ I said huskily, leaning back into him. ‘Mind you, kiss me like that again and you could literally say anything, and my brain wouldn’t even be able to process it.’
‘I was just looking at you, thinking how such a beautiful woman could possibly be my fiancée. And that I’d do anything for you.’
‘Just love me forever. That’ll do.’ I turned around to face him and kissed him back.
Mushy or not, I felt the same about him. Although I’d had boyfriends before, Cole was the first man who’d taught me not only how to love but how to be loved. There was no doubt in my heart that he was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
‘That’s easy.’ He pulled back from our kiss and traced his fingertips down my spine. ‘I was also thinking that I used to be the workaholic in this relationship and now here you are and it’s after seven o’clock. I was driving past on my way home and saw the lights still on.’
‘Sorry. It was like this last year just before Christmas, if your dad hadn’t joined me at Merry and Bright, I’d never have got through the orders.’
‘And now the business has grown, and you’ve still only got my dad on the payroll.’ He laughed softly. ‘I don’t know how you manage.’
‘I need to employ more staff, but …’ I shrugged. ‘It’s not easy finding the right people.’
Just after we’d opened the shop in spring, I’d hired a guy who’d previously managed a sports shop to work alongside Fred, but he had insisted on stacking the shelves so high with candles that customers couldn’t reach them. Then he started arriving late and phoning in sick on Monday mornings and I’d had to let him go. Next there’d been the woman with marketing experience who I’d employed to help grow the brand while manning the shop. She quickly got too big for her boots and tried delegating her work to me. The final straw was when she told me off for experimenting with new scents when I was scheduled to be doing something else. She didn’t last long after that.
Cole gave me a cynical look. ‘You mean you don’t believe anyone else can do the job as well as you.’
My shoulders sagged. ‘I know I’ve got to let go a bit more, but Merry and Bright is my baby, my brand. Letting anyone in is a big deal for me.’
He kissed my forehead. ‘Merry, I’ve been there. Hiring a site foreman was a big step for me. I took Josh on before I really needed him. But now I couldn’t manage without him; not only have I got someone to share problems with, but if I’m not there, I know the building site is in safe hands.’
I nodded, acknowledging he was right. ‘I’ll give it some serious thought in the New Year, I promise. I’ll have to,’ I said. ‘I went in to check on Fred earlier and found him dozing behind the counter. It made me feel terribly guilty, he should be winding down at his age, not working in my shop. We were fairly quiet, so I sent him home early.’
Cole chuckled. ‘Good old Dad. I know how he feels though,’ he said, stifling a yawn. ‘I’ve had a crazy busy week too.’
As soon as Orchard Gardens, his last construction project, had been finished earlier this year, he had bought another plot of land nearby. This time, he was building three luxury homes. It had been this opportunity that had put his plans to buy a house for himself on hold in the spring. I preferred older properties, but I had to admit, he did build beautiful homes; I was friends with two sisters, Cesca and Fliss, who’d bought houses next door to each other in Orchard Gardens, so I got to go inside regularly.
‘Let’s go home,’ I said, turning the computer off, ‘get the fire on and think about where to hold the wedding reception.’
‘Aha!’ he exclaimed smugly. ‘A bit of good news on that score. Drumroll please?’
I groaned as he picked up two pens and tapped them on the desk.
Come on, little drummer boy, the suspense is killing me.’ He was drumming mad. Fred once told me that one summer he’d spent hours in the garden with an upturned bucket and two sticks, perfecting the drum solo from Phil Collins’s ‘In the Air Tonight’ until the neighbours had complained.
‘What do you think of this place for the wedding reception?’ He took out a glossy brochure from inside his coat and handed it to me. The front cover depicted a grand-looking hotel set in acres of Derbyshire countryside.
‘The Claybourne Hotel?’ I read, flicking through it. ‘It’s beautiful, very fancy.’
If I was honest, it was too fancy for my tastes. My ideal venue for the reception would have been Holly Cottage: relaxed, cosy, familiar. But it wasn’t big enough, and I didn’t want the responsibility of getting the house ready for wedding guests before leaving for the actual ceremony.
‘I hoped you’d say that.’ He took my coat from the hook on the back of the door and held it out for me. ‘It’s got a lovely garden room we could use. I’ve made an appointment for us to view this Saturday afternoon. If you can close early, we can drive over, perhaps have dinner in the restaurant while we’re there, test out the menu. What do you think?’
I slipped my arms into the sleeves and turned around to face him. ‘Oh Cole, I’m sorry, but I can’t this weekend.’ I felt awful seeing his face fall in disappointment.‘We’ve got to make the candles for our next TV appearance. It’s a Black Friday special and we’re expecting mammoth sales. I’ll be working late.’
‘I understand,’ he said with a sad smile. ‘No worries. I’ll call them back, rearrange.’
‘You could always go by yourself?’ I suggested. ‘If you like it, I’m sure I will too.’
