Elijah executed a smart about-turn and hurried back to the high street. He would buy a nice bouquet and deliver it personally. And if she was still out on her walk, he’d wait until she got back, because, let’s face it, he didn’t have much else to do this afternoon as Andrea was at the bakery today. She was managing to do a couple of days a week but wasn’t back full time yet and wouldn’t be for a while. Her dad was on the mend though, so that was the main thing, and what was even better news was that the old chap had agreed to take a look at Honeymead when he was discharged from the hospital.
Elijah hadn’t bought flowers for at least a decade, so when he entered the florist’s shop and came face to face with buckets of blooms, he had no idea what to go for.
‘Need any help?’ the woman behind the counter asked.
‘I’m after some flowers.’
To her credit, she didn’t roll her eyes. ‘Then you’ve come to the right place. Any idea what you’d like?’
‘No?’
‘What’s the occasion? Birthday, anniversary…?’
‘An apology.’
‘Ah.’ She nodded her understanding. ‘Who is it for? Wife, girlfriend, mum?’
The words were out of Elijah’s mouth before his brain could rein them in. ‘For someone Iwishwas my girlfriend.’
‘I see. Do you want it delivered?’
‘Can I take it with me?’
‘Of course. Give me a few minutes and I’ll put something together, and you can let me know what you think.’
Elijah watched her select several flowers and stems of foliage, holding them in her hand as she fitted them together, turning the growing bouquet this way and that until she was happy with the result.
‘I think Nora will like them,’ she said, startling him.
‘Nora?’ How did she know?
‘I take it thesearefor her?’
‘You saw.’Of coursethe woman had seen, he realised in dismay. She would have had a front-row seat from her a shop window.
‘I did.’
‘I wasn’t very nice.’ He hung his head in shame.
‘You saw someone you care about almost get flattened by an SUV. No wonder you were upset. It’s like when I lost my five-year-old in the supermarket once. When I found him, I shouted at him, too. Then I cried.’
‘At least I didn’t cry,’ he replied wryly. But he’d felt like it.
‘Here you go.’ She handed him the prettily wrapped bouquet. ‘Good luck.’
Elijah suspected he was going to need more than luck, because he didn’t just care about Nora, he was totally and utterly in love with her.
In that split second when he’d seen her being dragged into the path of an oncoming car, his heart had almost stopped. He’d lunged forward, and time had splintered and slowed as fear swept through him. Every instinct had screamed at him that he needed to reach her, to throw himself between her and the hunk of metal bearing down on her, but he’d not been quick enough, as Biscuit’s momentum had thankfully pulled her clear and she’d stumbled onto the pavement.
His relief on seeing her safe, had turned to anger. How could she have been so stupid to let Biscuit drag her across the road like that! The thought of what could have happened made him feel sick. A world without Nora in it, was unthinkable.
He had no idea how he’d managed to fall for someone so quickly or so hard, but he had. He thought about her constantly. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind. But it had taken a near miss for him to realise he had to do something about it. Life was for living and for loving, and if it meant risking being rejected, that was a price he was prepared to pay. He’d tried to run away from his loneliness, but it hadn’t worked too well for him, had it? And now that he couldn’t run anymore and hidingaway in his house with only Biscuit for company wasn’t an option, he had to face facts: if he wanted Nora in his life (which he did, more than anything) he’d have to take matters into his own hands.
As Elijah made his way to Nora’s house using the bouquet as a foliage shield to hide his face, he had an awful feeling he was about to make the biggest fool of himself ever.
Dismayed, Nora watched Biscuit pacing around the house. He was doing it again, refusing to settle. It was as though he was searching for something, and as he did circuit after circuit, his ears and tail drooped even more and he began to whine.
Oh, god, was she going to have to take him back? She couldn’t bear the thought of him being so miserable. Then again, she was hardly a bundle of joy herself, so he was probably picking up on her frame of mind. Maybe she’d see what he was like tomorrow – give him some time.
