Page 1 of Flowers Go Flying in Crumbleton

PROLOGUE

CRUMBLETON TIMES AND ECHO - 14TH JUNE

What’s on This Week

Bendall’s Stores Special Offer!

The weather is finally due to cheer up at the weekend - perfect timing for Stuart’s special offer on bamboo skewers (middle door), fresh sausages (right-hand door) and all flavours of Crumbleton-in-the-Dip Dairy Ice Cream (left-hand door, past the tinned goods and around the back next to the breakfast cereal. Please remember to close the freezer when you’ve loaded up your basket!)

Wedding Wonders at the Dolphin and Anchor - Saturday!

It’s the first big bash of the season on Saturday. Wishing luck to our very own Milly Rowlands at Milly’s Flowers who’s in charge of the flowers for the big day.

A Note on Parking

A quick reminder to everyone who isn’t a hotel resident to move your cars over into the Marsh Carpark to make way for the bride and groom and guests before the big day. Please note - there will be no parking on the grass at the back because the ground is still unseasonably wet from all the rain. The Marsh Carpark is only partially submerged at present - council engineers are working on the problem.

Caroline Cook. Editor

CHAPTER 1

MILLY

‘Witter-woo boss! Get you… I didn’t know you had actual legs!’

Milly Rowlands came to an abrupt halt on her way out of the tiny staff bathroom at Milly’s Flowers. She glared at her trainee. It had precisely zero effect. Jo Burton just stood there with her customary cheeky grin plastered across her face.

‘I have legs,’ Milly muttered.

‘Very nice ones, too!’ giggled Jo, wiggling her eyebrows.

‘Oh hush!’ said Milly. She bit her lip, doing everything she could to keep a stern expression on her face… but as usual, a smile was threatening to break its way through.

This was what always happened whenever Jo was in the shop. The girl might be a complete scatterbrain – and she definitely approached her work with more enthusiasm than care – but she was unerringly cheerful. Almost obnoxiously so. Still, it meant that she was a joy to have around, and every single one of their customers at Milly’s Flowers adored her.

‘Seriously though,’ said Milly, ‘do I look okay?’

She wasn’t really sure why she was bothering to ask Jo. The girl definitely had style – but not the kind Milly was aiming for right now, considering she was off to a very fancy-pants wedding.

This morning, Jo’s purple hair had been teased into corkscrew curls. Although she was wearing her Milly’s Flowers pastel pink polo shirt, she’d pulled it on over a long-sleeved skull and crossbones top. The bottom half of her outfit boasted a lurid pink net tutu over fishnet tights. The whole look was finished off with a pair of floral embroidered Doc Martins.

Milly smirked. She really was going to have to go back over the uniform policy again at some point… but not right now. Jo was doing her a huge favour by stepping in to deal with her Saturday deliveries – including ferrying the wedding flowers down to the Dolphin and Anchor so that Milly could turn up looking like an actual guest, rather than a bedraggled, overworked florist.

‘You look great,’ said Jo, studying Milly’s wrap dress with its white, blue and pink forget-me-not print. ‘Give me a spin so I can see the full effect.’

Milly raised one eyebrow but then – realising Jo wasn’t about to let her off the hook – executed a reluctant pirouette.

‘It really suits you,’ said Jo, nodding her approval. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so girly!’

‘Yeah… well…’ said Milly awkwardly.

‘It was a compliment,’ laughed Jo. ‘You know, considering you spend nearly every waking moment talking about weddings, I don’t think I’ve ever known you to go to one before.’

‘That’s because I’m usually delivering flowers via the back door,’ said Milly, ambling over to the large packing table that ran down one side of the shop. She started to survey the array of vases, boxes, bouquets and cartons of fresh blooms that were all waiting to be loaded into the van Jo had just parked outside on the cobbles.

‘You get invites all the time, though,’ said Jo.

Milly nodded. In fact, she’d received no fewer than half a dozen wedding invitations that week alone.

---