Page 53 of Christmas at the Little Bookshop by the Sea

‘Anyroad, owing to finances, I gather you might have to tackle the building work in stages.’ Jack paused for a moment.

‘It’s looking that way,’ said Ed. ‘I’ve been trying to get a rough idea of costs.’

‘We don’t want to find ourselves in a difficult position financially, and end up having to sell the bookshop – especially not to the likes of Dodgy Dick.’

‘Urgh! I don’t blame you.’ Jack gave a theatrical shudder. ‘Dreadful individual. Makes my skin crawl.’

‘Which is exactly what prompted me to speak to Jack,’ said Jean. ‘I felt sorry for you after you’d told me about it. You’d seemed all fired up about the idea – which, I should add, I think is genius – but the concern on your face when you started talking about not getting yourselves into a financially sticky situation just about broke my heart. And as for the way that man’s been hounding you, it’s a disgrace. What happened at Jenna’s reading just spurred us on to approach you about our… well, I’ll hand you back to Jack, let him carry on telling you.’

‘Thanks, Mother.’ He smiled, turning back to Florrie and Ed. ‘So, pushing that slippery weasel aside, the upshot of our conversation was that we have a business proposition for you.’

THIRTY

Florrie sat dumbstruck for what felt like several long minutes as her brain tried to process what they’d just been told. ‘A business proposition?’ she said, finally finding her voice. Next to her, she sensed Ed sit up straight in his seat.

‘Yes, lovey.’ Jean beamed at her. ‘A proper, official business proposition, drawn up by a solicitor, all done legally.’

‘What we’re proposing is that we invest in the bookshop – that way, the conversion of the flat could get started as soon as possible. You wouldn’t need to scrimp and save, you could get the place looking exactly as you want it from the kick off. I hear you’ve got a rather wonderful vintage staircase lined up.’ There was no hiding Jack’s enthusiasm.

‘Er, yeah, we do.’ Ed ran his fingers through his hair. ‘Nate gave us a tip off about it. It’s a beauty.’

‘An investment from Jack and me would also have another benefit.’ Jean focused her attention on Ed. ‘I’ll apologise in advance for what I’m about to say, lovey, but having two extra investors – who love the bookshop dearly, and only have its, and yours and Florrie’s, best interests at heart – would make it more difficult for your parents, or that dreadful Dick Swales, to get their hands on the place. I’ll be honest with you, afterhearing who was behind the power cut the other night, I just thought, “enough’s enough”. Us investing in the bookshop should, hopefully, get the message across loud and clear: it’s not for sale!’ It had been a while since Florrie had seen Jean so fired up.

‘We wouldn’t ask for a huge percentage of shares in the bookshop, but just enough to make a difference and to allow you to crack on with your conversion plans. You’d be the main shareholders, it’s not about us wanting to take control, or tell you how to run the place – you’re doing a brilliant job of it as it is and we wouldn’t expect you to change anything. We’d just ask for enough so that our involvement would add a couple more layers of protection, if you like. With us on board there’d be two extra people for them to have to wear down,’ added Jack.

They really have been giving this some serious thought.

‘We’d love nothing more than to contribute to the bookshop’s continued success.’ Jean smiled.

‘See, the thing is, I’ve got a bit of money left to me from when my adoptive parents died. It’s just sitting there in the bank, doing nowt, and I’d rather it was getting put to good use.’

‘And I’ve been squirrelling money away for years and have a decent little nest egg that I’ve been saving for a rainy day. And I think that rainy day has finally arrived. Nothing would give me greater happiness than to invest in you two wonderful young people.’

‘Think you’d better change that to a snowy day, Mother.’ Jack chuckled as he nodded towards the window where fluffy snowflakes were swirling frantically outside. Shoppers were now hurrying by, their heads bent against the elements.

Florrie blinked, her mind spinning as she followed Jack’s gaze. ‘Wow! And I don’t mean about the snow.’ This all felt slightly surreal. If she’d been asked to guess what Jack and Jeanhad wanted to talk to them about, there was no way she’d ever have come up with anything like this.

‘Yeah, wow!’ Ed scratched his head.

Jack and Jean chuckled. ‘You don’t have to give us your answer now. Take your time to think it through, have a good chat about it over the weekend,’ said Jean.

‘We can talk figures when you’ve had a chance to consider it fully,’ added Jack.

‘I’ll be at Clifftop Cottage on Monday morning, helping Maggie with the bears, but I’ll be free in the afternoon, if that’s not too soon,’ said Jean.

‘That’s amazingly generous of you both,’ Florrie said. ‘Thank you doesn’t even cover it.’

‘It’s… it’s… mind blowing,’ said Ed, bemused.

Jean and Jack’s offer occupied all of Florrie’s thoughts for the whole afternoon. She and Ed had saved discussing the unexpected proposition until they were safely back at Samphire Cottage that evening, not wanting to risk anyone overhearing their conversation. Gossip had a knack of whipping round the town faster than lightning and they didn’t want word getting out before they’d reached a decision. She had a brief discussion with Paula as her mum made a pot of tea. Florrie had joined her in the bookshop kitchen, quietly closing the door. Speaking barely above a whisper she gave an abridged version of the conversation, Paula listening intently.

‘You know your dad and me are always happy to help you out financially, lovey. You only had to ask.’

‘It’s very kind of you, Mum, and I know you would, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable about it.’ Though Paula and Charlie were always keen to make sure their daughter had no financial worries, Florrie persistently refused their offers of money. Shewas proud of her independence, and besides, it didn’t feel right taking from the pot of money they’d been saving towards their retirement. They’d often spoken of their plans to do a spot of travelling, and after Paula’s brush with cancer, Florrie was eager for them to fulfil their dreams and make the most of being able to relax and take things easy together. ‘And anyway, it’s not about the money, it’s more about the strong message it’ll send out, having Jack and Jean as investors in the bookshop. It wouldn’t be the same if it was Dad and you – no offence. And besides, Dad’s offered to do the work cheaply for us, which is more than I could ask for.’

‘Aye, when you put it like that, I suppose you’re right, sweetheart. And it does sound like a brilliant idea – joining forces, as it were, with Jean and Jack. It’s very fitting, what with Jean’s connection to the bookshop and her being such a good friend of Mr and Mrs H. But don’t forget to shout up if you need us.’

Florrie smiled affectionately. ‘I won’t, Mum. You and Dad are the best.’ She dropped a kiss to her mother’s soft cheek and gave her a squeeze. ‘Love you.’

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