Page 38 of Sunny Skies and Summer Kisses

Anoushka’s gaze flicked to the bouquet in the sink. ‘Did Dad send you them?’ Her dad wasn’t known for being big on sending flowers, usually saving the gesture for birthdays and his and Kitty’s wedding anniversary and other such special occasions, none of which were today.

‘They’re not for me, lovey, they’re for you. They arrived ten minutes ago. I just popped them in there ’til you had a chance to arrange them.’

‘They’re forme?’ Anoushka never got flowers. A thought raced through her mind; could he have sent them before he set off for the village?Please, please don’t let them be from Damon.It was just the sort of thing he’d do.

‘Yes, for you. There’s a card tucked in amongst them.’

Anoushka’s stomach started churning as she headed over to the bouquet, chewing at her bottom lip. Half of her felt thrilled at being sent flowers, the other half felt trepidation ‘They’re gorgeous.’ Her eyes skimmed over the roses in scrumptious shades of dusky pink and pale purple. They were interspersed with frothy gypsophila and other stunning flowers in complementary shades. Feeling Kitty’s eyes on her she nervously slipped the card from the envelope, quickly scanning the words. Overwhelming relief was quickly followed by confusion.

‘They’re from Gabe. For the new dance studio.’ She fixed a smile to her face, not really knowing how she should react. Talk about mixed messages. Why was he sending her flowers when he was supposed to be madly in love with Lilith Dean?

‘Oh, how thoughtful of him.’ There was an uncertain tone in Kitty’s voice. Anoushka had given her a brief version of what Anita Matheson had told her in the pub and the photos she’d seen on Kristy’s phone. Though her step-mum had sounded surprised by it all, she’d warned that things might not be as they seemed. ‘I just get the feeling those pictures aren’t telling the full story,’ she’d said. But Anoushka hadn’t been convinced.

‘Mmm. He says he’s sorry he won’t be able to get up here in time for the party but wishes me the best of luck. Says he knows the dance school is going to be an amazing success.’ A ripple of sadness ran through her, and she pushed her smile as high as she was able, handing Kitty the card to read for herself.

He would hardly want to rush up here for the opening of a little rural dance school when he could be spending time with Lilith Dean in some swanky restaurant she reasoned. A thought flashed through her mind: at least he wasn’t going to turn up with the model; that was something, she supposed. Anoushka cringed at how excruciatingly awkward that would be.

Since seeing the photos, every time she’d found her mind wandering to Gabe, she’d quickly remonstrated with herself, focusing her mind on something else. Anything else. She repeatedly reminded herself she wasn’t at all bothered by his new relationship; she couldn’t expect him to wait around for her to change her mind about dating him. And it had worked. Until today. Reading his note and the strength of the disappointment it had triggered had taken her completely by surprise; she really didn’t want to be feeling this way. He’d sent her flowers as a friend, nothing more; he was a kind-hearted man making a kind-hearted gesture. She’d be a fool to read anything more into it than that.Just focus on your dance school and forget about Gabe.

‘Right then, I’ll just grab a vase to pop the flowers in rather than them taking up the sink,’ she said with faux breeziness. Kitty could read her like a book and Anoushka hoped her step-mum hadn’t detected the disappointment she was feeling. The last thing she needed was sympathy and soothing words; they’d only make her blub. Today was all about moving forward, taking her business to the next level. Without a man in her life. She was an empowered woman, she told herself firmly, and that’s how she intended to stay.

She ignored the ache in her heart and the little voice that told her she was fooling no one.

25

‘Right then,’ Jimby clapped his hands together and glanced around the table, ‘as you all know, the village hall is booked for Saturday the ninth of July; I’m told we can have the keys from two o’clock that afternoon – apparently the knitting club are using it until twelve-thirty; they’ve had to switch from the usual time for some reason.’

In his capacity as chairman of the Village Fundraising Committee, Jimby had called a meeting at his favourite venue for such things: the pub. And, as it was a Friday evening, nobody needed much convincing to attend which meant there was a good turnout.

‘Can’t imagine the knitting club leaving it in a mess,’ said Molly, lifting an amused eyebrow. ‘Mind you, Granny Aggie’s a member; I suppose anything’s possible.’

Granny Aggie was the grandmother of Molly’s late husband, Pip. Molly kept a watchful eye on the old lady, and though she regularly grumbled about her, it was done with fondness, despite the fact she was Granny Aggie’s first port of call to get her out of the mischief she was locally infamous for, particularly with Rev Nev, the long-suffering vicar.

‘Too right,’ said Vi with a giggle. ‘Hey, maybe she could promise not to hassle Rev Nev for a day. I reckon he’d pay generously for that.’

‘I bet he would, poor sod,’ said Molly.

‘Well, I think she’s really sweet,’ said Noushka. Only last week she’d seen her sitting in her garden with Little Mary, chuckling as they read from one of the books they’d borrowed from the mobile library that called at the village every week. The pair were known for their fondness for racy novels. Little Mary swore blind she skimmed over the more salacious pages, but no one believed her for a minute.

‘You wouldn’t think that if you had to make excuses to poor old Rev Nev for the horrendous text messages she sends him. Honestly, they’re something else.’ Though Molly rolled her eyes, a smile was playing over her mouth. ‘In her latest one, would you believe she asked him if he’d enjoyed dogging with Mrs Richardson – you know, she’s the new woman who’s renting Sycamore Cottage with her husband; sniffy madam by all accounts. Anyroad, I’m not so sure she’d see the funny side if she heard about that one.’

‘Bloody hell!’ Jimby almost sprayed his mouthful of beer over the table as everyone fell about laughing. ‘Not so sure Mr Richardson would either!’

‘How the hell can Granny Aggie blame that on predictive text?’ Ollie asked through his laughter.

‘Or arthritic fingers.’ Jimby chuckled, wiping beer from his chin.

‘I daren’t ask what she meant,’ said Anoushka, looking horrified. She’d offered to babysit that evening so Kitty could attend the “meeting” but her step-mum had declined, citing a brewing headache as her reason. Anoushka suspected Kitty had invented it to encourage her to go out. It had been a week since the dance school’s opening party – which had been a roaring success – and a week since Damon’s visit which had shaken the young woman more than she’d let on, though she’d guessed Kitty had sensed it. Apart from heading up to the studio for her dance classes, Anoushka had been reluctant to go out for fear of finding him lurking somewhere. Much as she was loathe to admit it, he still had some kind of hold over her.

‘She said she’d seen Rev Nev and Mrs Richardson going past her house, both walking their dogs. Reckons she thought “dogging” was the same as “dog walking” so couldn’t see what was wrong with the text. It’s a load of rot; we’ve had the dogging one before and I explained it to her then,’ said Molly.

‘And when Moll went round to ask her about it, she acted all innocent and said she couldn’t see what the problem was,’ said Camm, chuckling.

‘Yeah, right,’ said Jimby.

‘Innocent, my arse; she knows exactly what she’s doing.’ Molly grinned, shaking her head.

‘You certainly get plenty of laughs out of the old stick,’ said Vi.

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