Rosie could picture the posy as though it were nestled on the table in front of her. She had loved the photographs that Annika had emailed to her the week after her ‘second honeymoon’ in the Maldives. She had even printed a couple off and framed them, much to Harry’s disapproval.
‘But the best thing was, Annika loved the flowers so much she wrote a special feature on fresh new ideas for bridal flowers and asked me to design three additional bouquets to showcase in her article. I was over the moon! That article increased our business four-fold and as a result we started to get commissions from minor celebrities.’
Rosie paused, unsure whether she could go on. Recalling that painful time was making it difficult to breathe normally and her heart hammered a concerto of distress against her ribcage. Of all the friends she had made in Willerby, only Mia knew about Harry’s infidelity, minus the details about how she found out – it was just too embarrassing. She saw that Matt was listening to every word she said, his expression serious, and she suddenly wanted to get the whole terrible episode out in the open. Maybe if she gave her demons wings, they would fly!
‘I never forget things – it’s one of my, erm… well, my personality quirks. I was on my way to meet a harpist at one of the West End theatres to discuss ideas for her bridesmaids’ bouquets when she called and asked me to take a few flower samples to show her. I doubled-back to the shop to collect the beautiful white calla lilies that we’d just had delivered that morning and… well, imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon Harry getting more than a little acquainted with one of our brides underneath the chrysanthemums. Talk about saying it with flowers! The two of them were practically screaming it!’
Rosie dashed away a solitary tear in irritation. That sharply focused image had been imprinted on the insides of her eyelids for far too long. What had happened was in the past and she had moved on.
‘Rosie, I’m so sorry.’ Matt reached out to squeeze her hand and an intense burst of his citrusy aftershave made the corners of her lips curl upwards despite her sadness.
‘Thanks,’ she muttered, grateful to see the genuine empathy in his eyes
‘You probably won’t believe this, but I know exactly how you feel.’
‘Really?’ She attempted a weak smile. ‘Did your ex-girlfriend cause the cancellation of a two-hundred-thousand-pound wedding? Because that’s what happened. Heidi was due to say “I do” to a Greek shipping lawyer the following week. She had called into our shop to finalize the guests’ buttonholes and apparently couldn’t resist sampling everything that was on offer. Surprisingly, they’re still together, although Heidi refuses to work alongside Harry in the shop. It was four months ago and whilst I no longer have feelings for Harry, I’m still working on my forgiveness skills.’
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