Page 57 of The Happy Hour
‘Our new supplier,’ Wendy announced, arms outstretched towards Jess as she came out of the storeroom.
‘Really? You made these?’
‘Yup,’ Jess admitted. ‘Profits from every sale are going to help Enzo, one of the stallholders here whose wife is unwell.’
‘Even more reason for me not to resist.’ Margaret grinned, then went back to examining each print, letting out little bursts of laughter as she flicked through them.
Wendy and Jess exchanged a hopeful look. If Margaret bought one, it would be the first shop sale Jess had ever had, the first time she’d broken beyond the bounds of Etsy. It didn’t matter that she was giving the profits to Enzo –and she wouldn’t want to do anything else right now –if she exchanged money with a customer who had deliberately chosen one of her designs, wanted it inside their home or office or caravan, then she would feel triumphant, as if she could accomplish anything.
‘Oh now, I really like this one.’ Margaret held it up, and Jess’s heart thumped. It was Ash’s first quote:Flying isn’t as hard asit looks, just make sure a part of you staystethered to the ground.‘It really resonates, right?’
‘I think so,’ Jess said.
‘Sort of like,reach for thestars, but also don’t get ahead of yourself. Obviously yours is worded better, which is why it’s on a poster.’
‘A friend of mine came up with it,’ Jess admitted, as Margaret handed it to her and she wrapped it in tissue paper. She was aiming for nonchalance, but wasn’t sure she had managed it.
‘Lovely to see you,’ Margaret said, once the sale had gone through.
‘Come back again soon,’ Wendy replied.
‘I’m sure I will!’
When she’d gone, Jess squealed and flung her arms round her boss, breaking all her own rules about respecting personal space.
‘I’m so proud of you, Jessica Peacock,’ Wendy said.
‘I’m proud of me too. One sale down, only about thirty more to go.’ They swapped grins.
‘Want a celebratory muffin, seeing as we didn’t get a chance earlier?’
‘Always,’ Jess said.
Once she was alone, she picked up her phone, but there was still no video from Lola.
She realised that her life felt very different now to how it had done a month ago. It was busier, brighter, more full of people, and it made her think of one of her earliest quotes, one that would never make its way into No Vase Like Home:Being alone doesn’t always mean you’relonely.She still stood by that – she still valued time by herself –but she did wonder if, before the separate parts of her world had started to converge, she had been a bit lonely, too.
Her phone beeped and she glanced at the screen, the smile coming easily to her lips.
Know where else in Greenwich is haunted besides the tunnel? There’s a whole load of spooky history. Some of this stuff is fascinating.??x
Jess rolled her eyes and tried to think of a reply to Ash’s message. She was still smiling when Wendy returned with two bacon and spinach muffins in one of Kirsty’s red gift boxes, their tantalising smell filling the shop. As she thanked her boss and bit into the fluffy, gooey centre, she wondered how wise it was to rely on Ash for her daily dose of happiness when, around a month ago, she had tried very hard to rely on nobody but herself.
Chapter Twenty
Ash turned up at the shop on Sunday wearing jeans with rips in the knees and a grey T-shirt darkened by rain. The damp cotton clung to him, giving Jess a tantalising glimpse of a body that was lean but strong: collarbones and biceps and defined shoulders she wanted to feel beneath her palms. He looked ready for his starring role – hot guy doing battle with a house full of mess – and a delicious shiver ran down her spine.
‘I have no idea if Felicity likes coffee, or if she’ll be offended that I’ve brought drinks,’ he said.
Jess had come to look forward to his beverage-related greetings. ‘And yet here you are with your cardboard cup carrier.’
‘I couldn’t turn up empty-handed. How are you?’ His grey eyes were bright with anticipation, no sign of the dread Jess had felt all morning at the thought of going back to Felicity’s house.
‘I’m OK,’ she said. ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’
He glanced at Wendy.
‘Don’t worry, I know,’ she said from behind the counter, where she was flicking through a homeware magazine.
