Despite the fact that the Daisy and Miles story had very quickly clicked into place, Daisy had kept him at arm’s length from the twins. She might be in love, lust or whatever else you wanted to call it, but where the twins were concerned, she was ruthlessly, brutally, mama-bear protective. Though Miles had met Margot and Evie a few times here and there, to all intents and purposes, Daisy was keeping him separate from the girls. Where the twins were concerned, she had to be rock solid sure about everything and she was not in any way prepared to budge. Miles had not seemed to have a problem with any of that. He’d said, in actual fact, that he’d thought it was fair enough and a good idea. It had all worked quite swimmingly. So far, so good.
With the candle Annabelle had given her still flickering away beside her, Daisy tapped out a quick reply.
Daisy:Yes, they’re staying over tonight. Ballet tights, toothbrushes and cuddly bunnies all packed and ready for later. Why?
Miles:I was thinking I could pop over and bring dinner? Something easy. Nothing fancy. Just us and a takeaway? Up for it???
Was she up for it? Ha. Was she ever, my friend.
Daisy:Just us sounds lovely. You bring dinner, I’ll supply the bookshop ambience ;). And maybe some gin and defo good conversation. Lol xxx
Her phone buzzed again immediately.
Miles:Good conversation? That’s a big promise. I’m not after conversation… I’ll bring emergency backup wine in case you go quiet. x
Daisy:Haha. You should be so lucky. x
Miles:I consider myself a very lucky man.
You’re not the only one,Daisy thought.
Daisy:What are we having?
Miles:Thai???
Daisy:Yum.
Daisy popped an orange wine gum in her mouth as an image of all the times she’d sat alone in a rented property, not able to afford a takeaway anything arrived in her brain. How times had changed.
Miles:Thai, it is. I want to see if you’re still pretending you can use chopsticks. x
Daisy:Rude. I happen to be excellent with chopsticks now, thank you very much. I watched a video.
Miles:Impressive. I’ll expect a full demonstration. I’ll be there around seven.
Daisy:See you later. I’ll be the one faffing about lighting candles and fluffing cushions.
Miles:I’ll be the one carrying too many takeaway bags. I might bring ten bunches of flowers.
Daisy laughed at her phone at the mention of when Miles had turned up at her door with ten bunches of flowers as a peace offering when they’d first been going out. Rereading the message thread, she smiled and her heart flipped. For all her efforts to keep things measured and sensible and not let her feelings run away with themselves, it was hard not to feel a tad giddy about it all. The pair of them just got each other. Miles, so far, had never made things complicated, never pushed and was all around just calm, nice and balanced. He knew when to step in and when to leave her be and somehow, he managed to always turn up, text or call just when she needed a bit of lightness.
Daisy:Bring napkins and wine. x
Miles:Bossy, but noted.
Daisy:It’s called being organised. You’re lucky to have me. x
Miles:I am. See you at 7.
Daisy slipped her phone back in her pocket, smiled at the empty shop and glanced around. Fairy lights twinkled, the candle flickered and she had what would hopefully be a good dayand evening ahead. Right away, she was already looking forward to the evening. Just her and Miles and something easy. A perfect evening as far as she was concerned. These days, she didn’t want for much. As she moved behind the counter and picked up a little vase of garden flowers her mum had brought over, she then went about the bookshop faffing to her heart’s content. As she tidied, cleaned and pottered, she pondered and mused the shop, her girls, Miles and her very comfy little heart. Life really was rather good. Settled is what she’d been after for years and it had arrived. Was it going to stay the same?
3
Afew hours or so later, the day had got away with Daisy in a flurry of catching up with the bakery admin and sorting out a lost electric toothbrush from a client at one of Pete’s holiday cottages. By the time the afternoon had come around, Daisy had managed to get through most of her list and as she’d thought earlier that morning, the wind had picked up along the coast. In the shop, she’d been busy getting ready for the days when she would be open; the wingback chairs had been hoovered, a new shipment of comfort reads was out on the middle table, and the crime fiction shelves had been halfway rearranged. She’d wiped down the front counter, replied to a handful of social media messages, cleaned the payment dongle with antiseptic wipes and had even made a reel on some of her favourite new books. Talk about crack on and get a load of jobs done.
At a quarter to three, she’d turned off her laptop, turned the key and locked the shop. Then, with the twins’ overnight bag over her shoulder, she’d set off towards the school. Looking up at the sky, Daisy narrowed her eyes at the clouds. The afternoon had an in-between sort of feel to it, the earlier freshness in the air had shifted, and the wind had picked up enough to sendthe bunting along the seafront flapping like crazy. Clouds were thickening in places and Daisy was convinced that Pretty Beach would end up with a downpour and a storm by nighttime. Despite that, as she strolled along on her way to school, Pretty Beach was doing its usual thing of looking cheerful. Hanging baskets swayed above the doorways of shops, and someone had propped a gorgeous willow wreath on the top of the community noticeboard. It was all so very Pretty Beach and Daisy loved being back in the thick of it.
The playground was full of its usual end-of-day chaos when she arrived. Parents hovering in the not-quite-inside, not-quite-outside space alongside the gate. Toddlers, buggies and mums chatted and the whistle tried to make itself heard over a sea of children. Daisy chatted to a group of mums as she waited for each class to come out and then spotted the girls almost immediately as the door opened from the side. Margot was mid-sentence, arms waving as she relayed something to her sister. Evie was patiently listening, her cardigan over her summer dress half-buttoned and her plaits slightly fuzzy. Once they got to Daisy, she kissed them and smiled.
