Peppermint Kiss (19 page)

We just enjoyed the whole thing so much. When it quietened down, and we'd very nearly sold out of products, we got to have a look round the other stalls, too. Of course, we were under strict instructions from Mum not to spend all the profit we'd made, but we took a few of the little cards for a handmade jewellery store and a candle shop to put on our reception desk and they took some of ours to put by their tills, and while we were there I swapped some bath bombs for a really cool pyramid candle.

We got back to Rainbow Beauty on a total high, dancing through the door whooping and cheering (until Liam noticed his van inching its way back down the road and Mum had to rush out to put the handbrake
on
this time). Over tea and leftover canapés in the sunshine out the front, we worked out that altogether we'd made £384 on the product sales. Grace said that more than covered our whole ingredients spend on the first batch, and there was still a bit of stock left on the shelves, too.

Between our bookings and Liam's, we were full for most of the week ahead and half the week after. Summer told us that her mum and dad had been in too, and bought two of the Carrot & Calendula Hand Balms Annie had inspired me to create. Summer said they'd been sorry not to see us all, but that Annie had booked in for a massage, so they'd get to meet her soon.

“And I'm treating my mum to something,” said Ben. “She deserves it with Gabe's teething trouble. I'm going to take the treatment list home so she can choose.”

“Wow, Ben, that's really nice of you, love,” said Mum. “And so good of you all to help out. A toast,” she announced, raising her mug, “to Liam, Summer, Ben, Marco and Emily. Thanks for everything. Really, you don't know how much your support means to us.”

“Cheers!” I said quickly, because it looked like she might burst into tears again.

“Cheers!” everyone cried, and we all clinked our mugs together.

The group started to break up soon after. Ben had to get home to help out with Gabe, and Summer had her usual Saturday night family meal to get back for. Mum was off to the local for a drink with Liam, and Saff was heading back into town with Emily. She did ask Grace and me along, which was really nice of her, but Grace said she was going to curl up in their room with her Extended Maths workbook and I said I'd stay down in Rainbow Beauty and get everything tidied up.

As everyone milled around, saying goodbyes and getting their stuff together, I found myself standing with Marco.

“Well, thanks for today,” I said.

He grinned. “You already thanked me. Twice.”

“Oh, okay. Well, I guess I'll say bye then.”

“Okay, well, bye then.”

Yikes! Massivo awkwardness alert! First we didn't know what to do and we just sort of hovered there in embarrassed silence. In the end he went in for a hug, but I thought he was doing the kissing-on-two-cheeks thing instead, so we ended up banging heads.

“Ow!” I cried.

“Oh, God, sorry,” he mumbled.

“No,
I'm
sorry. Are you okay?” I asked.

He smiled. “I've survived worse. Being viciously stabbed in the hand with a glass rod, for example.”

I grimaced. “Oh God, I'd forgotten about that. This isn't my violent streak coming out again, I promise.”

Violent streak?
What was I even
on
about? Then, just when I thought it couldn't get any more awkward, I found myself holding out my hand for him to shake. CRINGE! Where on earth had that come from? I'd done the same stupid thing that first time we met too.
No, Abbie,
I told myself sternly.
Don't think about that day.

Still, even if he did think I was a total dork, he just gave me an amused smile and shook it.

“Okay, bye, see ya,” I muttered, forcing myself to let go of his hand.

“Yeah, see ya.” And then he went striding along the pavement to catch up with Ben.

For a moment there I'd thought he was going to say something. I mean,
really
say something. You know, about me and him. And I realized then what I guess I'd known deep down all along.

That I wanted him to.

But it was too late now. I'd blown it.

I'd turned him down and he wasn't going to beg. His pride wouldn't stand for it. And I wasn't going to chase him any more. If he wasn't going to make a move then nor was I.

So I guess that really was IT.

I was still down in Rainbow Beauty a couple of hours later, pottering around, when I found the card. I was going through the post – no one had had time to open it with so much going on – and I saw it.
The Greens
it said, instead of one name. And inside there were two words, in Dad's scribbly handwriting:
Good luck
. And four kisses. I sighed and hugged it to my chest for a while, then I put it up on the reception desk. I didn't think anyone else would want to see it, but I wasn't going to hide it from them.

I gave the floor another sweep, then arranged the stock on the shelves and made a list of which ingredients we'd need to buy more of for the next batch. After that, I checked that the scrap of paper with Dad's number on was still tucked into the back of the appointments book. I didn't want to ring him, not right now, but it was good to know it was there. Then I washed up the smoothie glasses and canapé plates in the little kitchenette, and I was just drying them up when the CD player behind the reception desk came on.

I froze for a moment, listening. It was Judy Garland, singing “Somewhere over the Rainbow”.

Mum had got back from the pub half an hour before, so I assumed she'd popped down to see what I was up to and put it on.

“Hi, Mum,” I called, as I headed back into the shop. “I've just done a stocktake and—”

I stopped still. It wasn't Mum.

It was Marco.

“Erm, hi…again,” he mumbled.

“Hi.” My stomach did its familiar flip. It just felt so good to be near him, so
right
. I tried to pull the washing-up gloves off really quickly and ended up with my hand stuck and the fingers stretching longer and longer. Then – YIKES – I actually
grunted
with the effort, then the glove pinged off and slapped me in the face. “OW!” I yelled.
All hail Abbie Green, queen of sophistication.

“Are you okay?” he asked. The way I was acting, he probably meant
in the head
.

I blushed, mumbled, “Yeah, fine,” and wrestled off the other glove. When I finally glanced back up at him, I saw that he looked really serious.

“I came back to say, I can't be friends with you,” he said.

My stomach flipped again, but not in a good way this time. “Why not?” I stuttered. “I thought we agreed—”

He grimaced. “Well, I've been thinking about it and it seems like a very bad idea. You'll always be telling me about your period exercises and stuff…” He gave me a nervous smile. “I think it's much better if we're
more
than friends.”

My heart started pounding. Was this really happening?

I raised my eyebrows. “Oh, you think so, do you?”

“Look,” he said, suddenly serious again. “I get what you said about having a lot on your plate right now, and it's fine if you do just want to be friends. Well, it's not, actually. I don't know if I could even be around you just as friends, but I'll try if that's what you want. But so there's no more confusion, I want you to know where I stand. I want to be with you. I want you to be my girlfriend. I'll be a good thing in your life. I won't make things harder for you, and if I do, ever, you know you can tell me. You can tell me anything. Please,
please
give me another chance, Abbie.”

OMG, so he actually
was
begging.

I looked at him for a moment, trying to weigh everything up in my mind – all that had happened, all that might happen, how good it could be, how badly wrong it could go, whether I was even ready to see anyone. I really didn't know what the answer was. But then my heart took over and I just said, “Yes.”

“What, really?” He looked startled.

I giggled. “Yes.”

“Phew! Thank God for that!” He smiled his beautiful, slow, knowing smile. “Dance with me,” he said, pulling me into his arms.

This time I let myself move in close to him and breathe in his cinnamon and musk swirl. That lightning crackle buzzed between us as I put my arms around his neck. Then I realized that dancing should probably involve moving your feet, but when I tried they seemed to be stuck to the ground, so I just kind of swayed from side to side.

And as Judy sang about bluebirds and lemon drops and making dreams come true, he kissed me. And I kissed him back, a perfect, lip balmy, Peppermint Kiss.

When he'd gone, I stood in the exact same spot for a while, replaying every word, look, touch…and that kiss, of course. I wanted it all to be there, safe in my memory, till I was so old I wore flapping nun-thickness tights out of
choice
.

Finally I locked up and headed upstairs. Mum and Grace were in the kitchen, and Saff came out of the bathroom in her dressing gown just as I walked in. When she saw the mile-wide grin on my face, she just squealed and started dancing about. “Ooooooh! He came back, didn't he?”

I nodded.

She let out an ear-splitting scream. “Yes, I knew it! I knew it!”

“Who, Liam? What for?” asked Grace, looking puzzled, and making us all burst out laughing.

“You don't understand anything, do you, Grace?” Saff teased.

But instead of being offended, Grace just grinned. “Only kidding. I know you mean Marco. I'm really happy for you, Abs.”

Saff gave her a smug look. “See? Life
can
be a fairy tale – if you believe it can.”

“Well, this, and everything else that's happened today, definitely calls for a celebration!” Mum announced. So she went and got the juicer from downstairs and whizzed up something special for us with pineapple, strawberries and blueberries in. Meanwhile, Grace got the CD player from my chill-out room and Saff disappeared to their room for a while and returned in a spangly minidress with a stack of CDs.

“I know the perfect song for us,” she said, putting on “Higher” by The Saturdays.

Mum handed out the smoothies. “To Rainbow Beauty,” she said, raising her glass.

“To Rainbow Beauty,” we chanted, clinking our drinks together.

And then, “To Abbie,” she added, “who kept us together and lifted us higher.”

“To Abbie,” echoed Saff and Grace, clinking glasses with me again.

Then, “Speech!” Grace cried.

I smiled, but shook my head. I didn't think there was anything I wanted to say. But then I realized there was, which was lucky, because my sisters had set up a chorus of “Speech, speech, speech, speech, speech!”

“Alright!” I shouted, over the music and their din. “Okay, well, Mum, it was that night you talked about selling your ring that it really hit me. I felt like we'd lost not just our house, but our
home
. But I was wrong about that. Because I know now that home is wherever you all are. I'm so proud of us. We've been through a hard time, but we've picked ourselves up and made sure something good's come out of it. We've made our dream of opening Rainbow Beauty come true.”

“And you've found your dream boy!” Saff cut in. They all whooped and cheered, making me blush the colour of Mum's special celebration smoothie.

I grinned. “And best of all,” I added, “this is just the beginning.”

“Abbie, love, have you got the things we need for Mrs. Smith?” said Mum. “It's a full body massage and facial.”

“I know. Just sorting it,” I replied.

I hurried over to one of our treatment rooms, a pot of Blueberry Burst Fresh Face Mask in one hand (my very own secret recipe), and a bottle of Uplifting Rose and Geranium Oil in the other. I folded some towels neatly on the couch and arranged the products on top of them. Then I lit the oil burner to fill the air with the scents of jasmine and ylang ylang and put on some relaxing music, ready for our first client who was due any minute.

Looking around, I could still hardly believe we'd made all this happen. Every single bit of Rainbow Beauty was absolutely gorgeous. I loved the squishy purple velvet sofas and old gold-painted reception desk, with its vase of pink roses. The marble smoothie bar with its retro stools was so cool, and the chiller counter looked delicious, with little tubs of face mask arranged amongst the fresh blueberries, mangoes, passion fruits, pears, lemons and strawberries. I loved the glass shelves with all our natural, handmade products displayed on them too, like magic potions, waiting for you to pick the perfect one to cheer you up, or calm you down, or make you feel like you could take on the world – and make it your own.

We had quite a few bookings. I guessed lots of people wanted to get themselves looking their best before going on holiday. The bell over the door jangled as Mrs. Smith came in. Mum smoothed down her pink uniform and welcomed her, smiling warmly.

My sisters were on hand too – Grace took her jacket while Saff asked if she'd like one of our fresh juices or smoothies. She chose an immune-boosting green one from the menu (it included spinach and stinging nettles, but tasted really yummy – yes, honestly!). I made it for her then Mum led her into the gorgeous oasis of the treatment room.

An hour later she emerged walking on air, and saying how much she'd enjoyed it. She ended up staying for a manicure with Saff and when that was finished, she bought a bag of Lavender Bath Bombs and a pot of Carrot & Calendula Hand Balm to take home. I smiled as I put them into one of our cute recycled bags that we'd decorated ourselves with little rainbow stamps. Grace worked out her bill and she paid by cheque (we weren't set up for card payments by then) and then Saff helped her into her jacket.

We all said a cheerful goodbye and once she'd gone we looked at each other and…

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!” we shrieked, so loud I'm surprised the glass shelves didn't shatter.

“She loved it, didn't she?” cried Grace.

“She went with the nail colour I suggested and said it looked really good,” beamed Saff.

“She bought the last one of my hand balms too,” I cried. “Summer's mum was right when she said they'd sell like hot cakes. I'll have to make a new batch.”

“OMG, this is amazing!” squealed Saff. “I still can't believe we're really running this place!”

Then we got into a huddle and started leaping up and down, going whoo-hoo!

Mum raised her eyebrows. “We've been open a week now,” she said. “Are you going to be like this after every single booking?” She was beaming too, though, and she let us pull her into our bouncy, dance-y hug.

We were still jumping around reception when the bell above the door jangled and Summer walked in, wearing a yellow-checked sundress and flip-flops. I'd missed her over the last few days. We'd only met a couple of months ago when I'd started at school down here, but already we were giggling our way through lessons together, and hanging out on the field with Marco and Ben at lunchtimes.

“Hi!” she said brightly.

“Hiya,” I said, giving her a big hug.

Mum, Grace and Saff all said hi too and Mum asked how the camping had been. “Oh, you know, field, tent, torrential rain, the usual,” said Summer cheerily. “You all look really happy. Is business booming, then?”

“Not too bad actually,” said Mum. “We had lots of bookings right after our launch at the town fayre, but we do need to get some more in the diary for the next fortnight, especially during the week.”

“Mum, seeing as that was your last client, do you think maybe Summer and I could have a treatment?”

“Go on then, you deserve it,” said Mum.

“Thanks, Kim,” said Summer.

“Not that you need a beauty treatment,” I grumbled, as we went over to the chiller counter to pick out a fresh face mask each. Summer had peachy perfect skin, beautiful long eyelashes and thick glossy dark curls. She never bothered with make-up and only ever wore a slick of my orange-flavour lip balm on her pouty lips.

“Yeah, right, like you're not the Blonde Bombshell Babe of Year 9,” she cried. “Well, Year 10 when we go back in September! The one who changed Marco from a super-player to Boyfriend Material.”

I couldn't help grinning at that. The Marco bit, I mean. From the moment we met on my first day at school here in Totnes, when he pulled me out of the rain, there was this spark between us. And last Saturday, after the grand opening of Rainbow Beauty, I'd finally got to kiss him. But as for the rest of what she said…yeah right! At best I'm okay looking, if I wear loads of eye make-up. Otherwise, with my pale skin and lashes, and almost white-blonde hair, it honestly looks like I don't have a head. I told Summer that and she rolled her eyes. “Oh, Abs, don't start on with the headless thing again!” she groaned.

“I'm just saying, I need a bit more help than you in the beauty department,” I insisted. “Especially as Marco's back tomorrow…”

Is romance in the air for Abbie…

or are there storm clouds up ahead?

To find out what happens next, read

ISBN 9781409540557
ePub ISBN 9781409564560