‘Yes, I do. My mum was a seamstress and my gran before her – it’s in my blood. That’s why I’m here. Now the kids have flown the nest, I’ve decided to make more of my little business. Over the years I’ve had a steady stream of customers who I’ve made soft furnishings or altered clothes for, but now I have more time on my hands, I want to expand.’

  ‘So you’d be using the room to sew?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘That would be ideal, and it fits in with what the shop is all about. I always have customers asking for a good seamstress and you being right on hand would definitely give your business a boost too. Let’s walk and talk. I’ll show you the room and you can tell me what you think.’

  I followed her towards a door next to a carousel of bright shiny buttons in plastic tubes.

  She pushed open the door and stood back, waiting for me to enter.

  ‘First impressions?’ She smiled at me.

  My eyes flitted around the room. ‘I wasn’t expecting this,’ I gasped. ‘This place is like a TARDIS! It’s fantastic.’

  The room felt light and airy, with its white walls and the three large windows situated at the back that looked out over a small garden. There were a couple of spacious tables, each with a sewing machine on top, and to the right of those were shelves laden with different colours of folded materials.

  ‘You’d even have your own garden area too.’ Pippa nodded towards the space out back. ‘Do you think you could work in here?’

  ‘Do I think I could work in here? Of course! I absolutely love it,’ I said, feeling giddy. I could really picture myself working in this space.

  ‘So is that a yes – you might be interested?’

  ‘Absolutely!’ I exclaimed, not believing my luck.

  ‘Shall we talk rent then?’ Pippa said, perching on one of the tables.

  ‘Yes, please!’

  I was beaming from ear to ear, feeling alive, rejuvenated. Spotting that sign in the window was just meant to be.

  28

  The car horn beeped and I peeked out from behind the bedroom curtains to see Ann’s blue hatchback waiting outside.

  I quickly fished about under the bed and grappled with the handles of the small leather holdall I had hidden there.

  For the past three days I’d worked solidly on my dress. Pippa had given me the beautiful grey material at cost price and had very kindly thrown in the most gorgeous diamante buttons. She’d also found some faux fur on a roll at the back of her storeroom, which I’d used to make a matching shrug. The whole outfit looked amazing – and all for a bargain price.

  I’d stored my outfit safely in the holdall since this morning, alongside a little make-up and perfume, and I tiptoed down the stairs with it, feeling slightly panicky. When I reached the bottom, I took a deep breath and crossed my fingers.

  ‘Ann’s here, I’m off,’ I shouted through the open door of the living room.

  As usual Henry was sitting in his armchair, watching TV.

  ‘Where are you going?’ he asked without even glancing in my direction.

  My stomach churned nervously. ‘I told you. Ann and I are out with the girls from bingo tonight – for their Christmas do,’ I said, not proud of myself for lying.

  ‘Is that Ann outside? Why is she picking you up?’

  ‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘She offered to pick me up so I didn’t have to fork out for an extra taxi.’

  ‘Oh, OK,’ Henry said distractedly.

  I edged my way up the hallway and grabbed my coat from the closet.

  ‘Bye then. I’m not sure what time I’ll be home so don’t wait up,’ I called on my way out, feeling slightly guilty.

  There was no answer. The TV had his full attention again.

  I heaved a sigh of relief as I closed the door behind me and walked towards the car.

  ‘Hurry up, let’s get out of here,’ I muttered, throwing the bag onto the back seat and slamming the car door shut before climbing into the front seat.

  ‘Are you OK?’ Ann asked.

  ‘I’m fine; I just feel a bit nervous.’

  ‘Sign of a guilty conscience,’ Ann said as she put the car into gear.

  ‘I know. I feel like a naughty teenager escaping for the night. Let’s hope he doesn’t decide to follow us.’

  ‘Let’s not worry about Henry now. I’ve got a lovely bottle of Prosecco chilling in the fridge for us. Dave’s already left to erect the vicar’s shelves, so the coast is clear.’

  ‘I’m dying for a drink,’ I replied almost immediately.

  ‘That’s good because I’ve got news! I’m celebrating!’ Ann announced with a huge grin on her face.

  ‘Go on.’

  Her eyes were shining with delight. ‘I’ve got a new job! You are now looking at Mrs Ann “Headmistress” Sandeman!’

  ‘No way! That’s brilliant news, Ann! Congratulations! And very well deserved it is too.’ I leant across and squeezed her knee. I’d known for ages that Ann wanted a new challenge. She’d landed an interview a while back for a headmistress’s post in the next town, but her mum’s health had been deteriorating fast, and she’d decided the timing was all wrong and cancelled the interview. But now her mum was settled in the care home, she must have thought it was worth pursuing again.

  ‘But what’s even more exciting is that it’s at my school, so I don’t have to commute.’

  ‘Even better! Some things are just meant to be. What’s happened to Mr Perry?’

  ‘He’s retiring. Apparently he and his wife have had enough of the dismal weather here so they’re moving to Spain.’

  ‘Very nice.’

  ‘Obviously it’ll mean longer hours for me and more meetings, but I need this new challenge.’

  I nodded. Ann was brilliant at her job. She was one of those natural teachers that oozed warmth and charisma. The children loved her, and she was a real asset to the school.

  ‘When I got the phone call, I was so excited I jumped to my feet and squealed. I was with Mum at the time and she didn’t understand. She thought I was in some sort of pain and pulled the emergency cord at the side of her bed!’

  ‘Oh no!’

  ‘I wish she understood. I’ve been waiting for this moment for years, and she always said I would make a wonderful headmistress one day.’

  ‘And she was right. What do Dave and Leo think?’

  ‘Dave was over the moon! He acknowledged it might be difficult with me working longer hours, but he was very supportive. And as for Leo, well… I’ve not managed to speak to him yet. He’s gone incommunicado. I’ve dropped him a text though. He was going to get in touch this week to let me know when to expect him home.’

  ‘Maybe he’s on his way and wants to surprise you!’

  ‘Oooh yes, that’s a possibility. That would round off my week perfectly.’

  ‘I’ve got a little news too,’ I said, though I didn’t want to steal her thunder.

  ‘Go on!’

  ‘I’ve struck up a deal with Pippa, the lady who owns the sewing shop, and as from the new year, I’ll be renting the room at the back of shop.’

  ‘Lizzie, that’s fantastic! Why didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘I wanted to tell you in person.’

  ‘I’m so glad you went for it.’

  ‘Me too. And apparently there are always people popping into the shop asking for a seamstress, so now I will be on hand for them.’

  ‘Marvellous. How is the dress? Which I can’t wait to see, by the way.’

  ‘I’ve been working hard for the last few days and I have to say it does look amazing – very similar to the one that Marcus bought.’

  ‘I bet with your skills you can’t tell a difference. I’ve taken the other one back to the shop for you, by the way.’

  ‘Thank you. Did you see Marcus? How was he with you?’

  ‘He was absolutely fine; he understood why you couldn’t accept it. He did say that you’d look like a million dollars whatever you chose to wear this evening.’

  I smiled. I couldn’t wait to see him.

  We arrived at Ann’s house I followed her up the path. ‘Can you even believe there’s more snow forecast tonight? This is the worst winter we’ve had in a long time,’ I said, suddenly feeling the brunt of the evening chill.

  ‘Come on, let’s get inside and warm,’ she replied, pushing the front door open. We both stamped our feet on the mat outside before we stepped into the hallway.

  ‘It’s certainly nice and toasty in here,’ I said as the warm air hit us.

  ‘Ha, that’s because as soon as Dave goes out, I always turn up the heating. He’s a bugger; he’s constantly turning it down, so I always make the most of it when he’s not here.’

  ‘It must be a man thing,’ I muttered, slipping off my coat and hanging it over the banister. ‘Henry’s the same.’

  ‘First things first! I think we need a glass of Prosecco,’ Ann said as she flung her coat over the top of mine and headed towards the kitchen.

  ‘Now you’re talking,’ I said, following her.

  Ann pulled the bottle out of the fridge, popped the cork and poured us both a glass.

  ‘Cheers!’ I said. ‘Congratulations, my clever friend.’

  ‘Ditto!’ she said.

  We clinked our glasses together and beamed at each other. I took a sip of my Prosecco and felt myself relax, enjoying the sensation of the bubbles on my tongue.

  ‘How long have we got?’ I asked already topping up my glass.

  ‘About an hour. I’ll order us a taxi in a moment,’ Ann said, glancing up at the kitchen clock.

  I nodded. ‘That gives us plenty of time.’

  I got ready in Leo’s old bedroom. I smiled at the Lego cars and the well-loved teddy bear with the missing eye that perched on the shelves in his room. There was also an old CD player, football trophies from school and the entire collection of Famous Five books.

  I sat down in front of the mirror and combed my hair through. I was beginning to feel a little nervous. It wasn’t long now until I would be enjoying Marcus’s company, and even though I couldn’t wait to see him, I couldn’t stop thinking about Henry. He hadn’t even acknowledged me as I’d said goodbye or told me to enjoy myself. The blooming telly was more important to him.

  After applying my make-up, I curled my hair with the heated tongs that Ann had lent me then pinned it up on top of my head. The blonde curls cascaded down to hang loosely around my face.

  I smiled at my reflection. Tonight my skin looked radiant and my eyes sparkled. I had visions of myself at midnight, wrapped up in Marcus’s arms as the slow dances began. His arms would link around mine, resting in the small of my back as we moved around the dance floor. He would tilt my chin up and kiss me softly.

  With a warm fluttery feeling, I held my newly bought underwear against my body. On Ann’s advice I’d ditched the Bridget Jones pants, and I blushed at the elegant lingerie in my hands. I pulled off the labels and slid my stockings up over my newly shaved legs before stepping into my dress and slipping on the shrug. I had to look in the mirror twice to check it was actually me standing there. I looked and felt like a million dollars. The dress was perfect.

  ‘Are you nearly ready?’ Ann called from the other side of the door.

  Nodding at myself in the mirror, I swung it open to find Ann dressed in the tightest black leather trousers I had ever seen and a silver sparkly boob tube. She was sporting spider-like false lashes with a flick of dramatic black eyeliner, and her hair – pinned up with a diamante clip – fell in ringlets down her back.

  ‘Look at you, girlfriend!’ I eyed her approvingly.

  ‘Not bad, eh?’ Ann said and grinned, giving me a twirl. ‘I thought I’d go for the raunchy Olivia Newton-John look.’

  ‘You mean the stand-out-from-the-crowd look?’ I joked, moving out on to the landing.

  She whistled. ‘That dress is beautiful, Lizzie. You’ve done such a fantastic job! It looks even better than the store one.’

  ‘I’m rather pleased with it.’

  ‘So you should be.’

  I smiled up at Ann and noticed her face looked very flushed. ‘Are you OK?’

  ‘Yeah, why?’

  ‘You look extremely hot.’

  ‘I am extremely hot,’ she said and giggled, peering into the mirror at the top of the stairs.

  ‘Not in that way. Your cheeks are bright red.’

  ‘No blooming wonder. I’ve been wriggling about on the bedroom carpet for the best part of twenty minutes trying to pull these trousers up. I broke out into a right sweat,’ she said, lifting up her armpit and giving it a sniff. ‘I pray to God that I can keep my bladder under control tonight, otherwise I might end up spending my entire evening on the bathroom floor with my trousers stuck around my thighs.’

  ‘Only you, Ann!’

  My phone beeped with a text from Marcus. I read it out to Ann. ‘Are you at Ann’s?’

  ‘Why wouldn’t we be here?’

  I quickly typed back a yes.

  A couple of seconds later the phone beeped again.

  ‘Look out on to the drive,’ I read out.

  Ann gave me a puzzled look and we strode to the window at the front of the house, gasping when we drew back the curtains. Parked outside was a gleaming white limousine.

  The doorbell rang and we stared at each other for a moment before squealing in delight.

  ‘How would Marcus know your address?’ I asked.

  ‘He must have asked Will. He walked me home after the Christmas markets,’ she grinned. ‘Now that’s the way to travel!’

  ‘Most definitely!’

  ‘We love you Marcus!’ we chorused at the tops of our voices as we grabbed our bags and raced towards the front door.

  29

  Climbing into the limousine was a task in itself. The chauffeur did the gentlemanly thing and held the door open for us both.

  ‘Good evening, ladies. Mr Bowman is waiting for you both at the venue,’ he said politely. As the manager, Marcus needed to arrive early so he could welcome the guests.

  Ann giggled before launching herself into the back of the car and plonking herself straight down onto the leather seat.

  ‘Look at this car – it’s bigger than my living room,’ she said, opening up every cubbyhole and peering inside. ‘It’s even got a TV and a fridge.’

  The driver raised his eyebrows at me and smiled at Ann’s enthusiasm.

  ‘You can’t take her anywhere,’ I whispered to him before tucking my handbag under my arm.

  Clinging on to the back of my dress, I tried my very best to look ladylike as I climbed into the car, wobbling on the silver sparkly heels that belonged to Ann.

  I settled down on the leather seat next to Ann, my stomach already fluttering with nerves as the limousine set off up the street. Never in my life had I travelled in such style. I felt like a movie star as I watched the bright lights of the city whizz past us.

  ‘Earth to Lizzie.’ Ann handed me a crystal glass of sparkling bubbles. ‘What are you thinking about?’

  ‘Life in general. One minute I’m sneaking out of home and the next I’m sitting in the back of a posh car, dressed up to the nines and looking forward to a night out with Marcus.’

  ‘Take a sip of your champers and stop thinking! Let’s make the most of this evening. Just think of it as a party, a night out. Nothing more, nothing less.’

  I nodded and flicked the glass in my hand. ‘Oh gosh, even the glass is real crystal.’

  ‘Marcus doesn’t appear to skimp on anything. It’s also proper champagne, not any of that imitation stuff,’ Ann said, beaming.

  When the car halted at some traffic lights, Ann nudged me. We stared out of the blacked-out windows on to the street and giggled at a group of teenagers who were huddled on the pavement, pointing at the limousine.

  ‘They probably think we’re Harry Styles,’ I said, chuckling.

  ‘More like hoping! Do you think you’d get sick of it if you travelled like this all the time?’

  ‘Not in a million years!’

  ‘Do you remember that place?’ I said, smiling and pointing out the window to a now-derelict building.

  ‘Smithfields,’ Ann answered, grinning.

  ‘We had some fantastic times in there. Well, you did,’ I said, rolling my eyes at her.

  Ann grinned. ‘Those were the days! But when I think about it now, I could cringe.’

  ‘You and me both. We used to sneak into the club with fake IDs just because you were obsessed with the DJ. You hovered for hours at the side of his decks, fluttering those innocent eyelashes at him.’

  ‘You mean not so innocent!’

  ‘Really? I liked to give you the benefit of the doubt,’ I said, smiling. ‘My mother aged ten years every time we went clubbing.’

  Ann threw her head back and laughed.

  ‘I was convinced we’d get in free if he was my boyfriend. We’d have saved a small fortune. There was a method to my madness.’

  ‘You had no taste in men whatsoever until you hooked up with Dave,’ I said.

  ‘Dave was normal.’

  ‘What was that DJ’s name? I can’t remember. He used to think he was the bee’s knees, with all those girls flocking around him.’

  ‘He was called Steve, if I remember rightly. I saw him recently.’

  ‘What? You’re joking. Where?’

  ‘He works on the cheese counter in the indoor market. I did a double take when I saw him,’ she said, and we laughed.

  ‘Are you looking forward to seeing Marcus tonight?’ she asked.

  I smiled. ‘Oh course, but the only thing that worries me is the more I think about him, the less I’m beginning to tolerate Henry.’

  ‘Really?’ Ann looked concerned. ‘So what are you going to do then?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ I shrugged. ‘What can I do? I love my daughters, I love my house…’

  ‘But you don’t love Henry?’

  ‘Is it as simple as that, Ann? Not everything is black and white. But we haven’t had a sexual relationship for a long time. I’d even begun to accept that.’

  ‘Men have needs, Lizzie. Do you think he’s getting it elsewhere?’