Unforgettable Embrace (31 page)

It was all very exciting. She couldn't believe she'd actually finally achieved her dream of owning her very own florist. She was officially the town florist. The thought of getting up in the morning to open her shop and start her day, filled her with pride and joy. She almost skipped to work, instead of dragging her feet as she had started to do in her final months of working at Sherrington. It was so liberating to be her own boss. There were a lot of responsibilities and worries, but everything she put into the business was hers. All the decisions were hers, she didn't have to consult or compromise with anyone else, and she got to be creative every day. She could mix and match flowers and colours to create something completely new and individual. She suddenly felt very proud of herself for all that she had achieved and lucky that her risks and dreams had finally come to fruition. She began to think about possibly opening another florist in another town and getting her business online.

Who knows, she thought to herself, this little shop of mine could be the beginning of an empire.

“
You're looking very pleased with yourself,” Liz said, interrupting her friend's pleasant little daydream.

“
I feel quite proud of myself actually,” Rachel said.

“
You should be proud,” Liz agreed, “you've done an amazing job with this little shop in a very short space of time.”

“
Thanks to a lot of help from you and Batt too,” Rachel said.

“
I couldn't have done it all without you two.”

“
Yeah, maybe, but this is your vision, we just worked to help you get it done,” Liz said.

“
It's been a hectic few months for all of us,” Rachel said.

“
It's about to get a whole lot more hectic,” Liz said, “it's only a few weeks to Jen's hen party and then a few weeks after that again we have the wedding. How are you doing with your side of the wedding planning?”

“
It's all under control,” Rachel said, “just finalising the details really. It's amazing how everything seems to come together at once, but everyone's been very helpful and professional so the wedding planning has been quite easy overall, dare I say it. I've probably gone and jinxed it and now something will go horrendously wrong.”

“
Not at all,” Liz said, “everything will be fine. I am so looking forward to the hen party and chilling out with my favourite girls. I keep dreaming of the spa and getting my hands on some Elemis products.”

“
We'll have a fabulous time, I'm sure,” Rachel agreed. “Holly can't wait for the trip. It's the first time she'll be leaving the children for more than a few hours. Will's booked the weekend off work, so it's great Holly will be able to completely relax without worrying if the children are being well looked after.”

“
I'd say she'll miss them anyway,” Liz said. “Course she will, they're such cute children. I love them to bits.”

“
Before I forget, I brought our bridesmaid dresses in the car for you to try on, just to make sure it's ok for size. I didn't think you'd have time to pop down to Cork for a dress fitting so I brought the dress to you.”

“
Thanks Liz, that was very thoughtful of you,” Rachel said. “Anyway, I better go and mingle.” “I'll pass around some more nibbles and top up everyone's champagne glasses,” Liz said, slipping into waitress mode.

Chapter 43

The hen weekend came around far quicker than Rachel would have liked. She was absolutely swamped with orders of flowers. She was responsible for arranging and supplying the flowers for eight weddings over the next two months. She'd had to hire a full-time shop assistant and a part-timer at the weekends. She was thrilled that her business had taken off so quickly, but it was very stressful trying to manage everything.

She hadn't seen Liz or Jen in nearly a month and had only seen Batt at the weekend. She'd gone for lunch every day with Trista, and that hour was the only real break she enjoyed all day, six days a week. Work started for her most mornings well before eight o' clock and didn't finish some evenings until well after eight o' clock at night. She was glad that her shop was less than a ten minute drive from her house, as she could barely see straight most evenings from tiredness.

Even when she wasn't physically at work she was constantly reading floristry books or researching flowers on the internet. There was so much to learn. These days she felt like she ate, breathed and dreamt about her business, so completely consumed was she by her shop, but she had never been happier and more content. It was so satisfying to bring her customers' ideas to life and very gratifying to see their faces when they admired her creations. She genuinely believed that her job was making a difference to people.

She knew being a florist wasn't on the same level as finding a cure for diseases or world peace, but it made her happy to know that her flowers were bringing beauty to people's lives. She loved chatting to her customers and always asked who was going to receive the flowers. She liked to add her own touch to the bouquets, for example if her flowers were a gift to a lover, she included a rose in the bouquet, even if it hadn't been specifically requested.

A young man had come into her shop during the week and had requested a special bouquet for his girlfriend. Rachel could tell that he was completely besotted by her, so she added a traditional red rose which obviously symbolised love and desire and a white lilac which symbolises the first dreams of love. She considered these additional flowers her personal touch or her signature.

She enjoyed discovering the meaning of flowers, and spent many happy hours avidly researching them on the internet. Some of the meanings of flowers surprised her. A daffodil can represent unrequited love. The simple dandelion, which Rachel thought was a weed, symbolises an oracle of time and love, faithfulness and happiness. There was even a flower called gloxinia which meant love at first sight.

Rachel's favourite flower had always been the lily, ever since her mother had given her a huge bouquet of lilies when she first moved out of home to live with Tony. The smell of lilies still reminded her of that time in her life and how young and innocent she felt. The white lily was her all-time favourite flower and it supposedly symbolises majesty and purity. She was surprised to discover that there is an orange lily, a day lily and a calla lily. The orange lily means wealth and pride as well as meaning hatred and disdain, but Rachel wondered why anyone would bother to give flowers to someone who they hated. The day lily represents coquetry and the calla lily symbolises majestic beauty.

The hen weekend was days away and Rachel was in a flurry of activity trying to organise last minute details. She would be away from her shop from Thursday afternoon and wouldn't return until the following Tuesday morning. She trusted her shop assistants completely, but she still felt nervous about leaving the shop for the first time. Trista had teased her saying that she treated her shop almost like a child, and that the place would be absolutely fine without her for a few days. She'd even offered to keep an eye on the shop for her and if there were any problems whatsoever, she promised to call Rachel. She was relieved at Trista's offer, but still couldn't stop worrying anyway.

Rachel had decided to take Wednesday afternoon off work so she could spend some quality time with Batt. She felt guilty that she had been neglecting him lately, so consumed with work was she. She was going to drive to Cork early the next morning to meet the girls and catch their afternoon flight to New Quay. Jen still didn't have a clue what they had planned for her, despite several attempts on her part to bribe the information from her friends.

Batt had insisted on taking her out for dinner and had banned all shop talk. He collected her outside her shop, ordered her on the back of his motorbike and sped off down the road with her. “Where are you taking me?” Rachel asked.

“
It's a surprise,” was all she could get out of him.

She was thrilled to be on the bike again. She felt like the wind was blowing away all her cobwebs, and helping to wipe away the stresses that came with having her own business. She lost herself in the beautiful scenery; the sweeping hills, the majestic mountains, the acres and acres of flat bog, the thick green forests reaching high up to the sky. It was so peaceful that she barely realised when the motorbike started to slow down.

They were stopped at the top of a hill, overlooking a still lake. The almost full moon was bright in the night sky. It was quite a frosty night, for the time of year, and the stars were twinkling in the darkness. Rachel heaved a sigh, feeling all her stresses s
lowly beginning to evaporate.

“
Is e
verything ok?” Batt asked, taking her helmet from her and holding her hand.

“
Everything is perfect, darling,” she said, kissing him on the cheek.

“
So what are we doing all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?”

“
It's a surprise,” he replied.

“
Ooh, I love surprises.”

“
Follow me.”

He lead her down a narrow path, which was surrounded on either side by tall trees. Rachel could see a few lights between their branches. Suddenly, they arrived into a clearing, and there, nestled between the trees was a very welcoming looking stone cottage. There were several cars parked outside and the faint sound of music came to greet them on the still night air.

They made their way towards the entrance and a bell rang as they stepped inside. A pleasant looking, rather plump woman, came bustling towar
ds them. She looked a little flustered.

“
Yes, my dears, welcome to The Oak Tree, how are you this evening?”

“
Very well, thank you,” Rachel answered.

“
We have reservations for dinner please,” Batt said.

“
What's the name, dear?” “Clayton.”

“
Oh, yes, right this way, a table by the fire, as requested.”

“
Batt, this is lovely,” Rachel whispered, as she picked up the wine menu.

“
This is a very exclusive place, you know. Trista told me it's soon to be a Michelin star restaurant, she knows the chef very well. Apparently, the waiting list is weeks long.”

“
Yes, I know,” Batt smiled at her indulgently, “I wanted to treat you, especially as you're leaving me for a few days and I'm going to miss you.”

“
I am sorry, Batt, I've been neglecting you lately, with the shop and Jen's wedding plans. We haven't been spending much quality time together.” She reached for his hand across the table. “I do wish you'd let me know we were coming here, though,” she said, “or at least told me to get dressed up. Everyone looks so glamorous.”

“
You look beautiful, whatever you're wearing,” Batt said. She blushed slightly at his compliment and turned her eyes back to the menu.

“
So how are the wedding plans coming along, anyway?” Batt asked, cutting into his steak. “Almost finished, thank goodness,” Rachel said. “I never realised how much time and thought and effort goes into planning a wedding. It's so expensive, too. Jen will have spent thousands on her big day by the time everything is done.”

“
Would you like to get married yourself?” he asked.

“
Why, are you asking?” Rachel laughed.

“
What if I was asking, what would you say?”

“
Oh, Batt, I don't know,” she stammered. “This is all too much too soon. Maybe, some day, but not anytime soon. I don't even know if I want to get married. Maybe when I meet the right person.”

“
When you meet the right person? Am I not the right person?”

“
Batt, I don't know. All I know now is that I love you very much, but I don't know if I want to marry you or anyone else.”

“
Well, I know I want to marry you someday. I'd marry you right here, right now, if you'd have me. You are the right person for me, I know that absolutely.”

“
Batt, please, you're misunderstanding me. I'm saying all the wrong things. This is going way too fast. Can we not just enjoy our dinner and forget all this marriage talk?” she asked him plaintively.

“
Fine,” he said, shortly, continuing to cut his steak into minuscule pieces.

They ate the rest of their meal in stony silence. Rachel's mind was racing. She was upset at having hurt Batt's feelings. She could see the hurt written all over his face and the fact that he barely made direct eye contact with her for the remainder of the evening told her how upset he felt.

He dropped her back at her house about two hours later. They'd scarcely said a word to each other all evening. Rachel had made several attempts to break the silence but her efforts had been met with one word answers.

“
Goodnight,” she said, kissing him on the cheek.

“
Goodnight,” he said, hardly looking at her.

“
Can we talk about this when I get back?” she asked.

“
What's to talk about?” he asked, looking at her coldly. “I think you've made yourself perfectly clear.”

“
Batt, let's not leave it like this,” she pleaded. “You've misunderstood me.”

“
Goodnight, Rachel, have a safe trip,” he cut her off, and turned his motorbike around, driving off at speed into the dark night.