Page 57 of The Winter Bride

The phone was newly installed and Nancy loved it.

‘All right, but just make sure you lock the door after me. I shan’t be late back,’ Annie promised.

Nancy giggled. ‘Will yer just stop frettin’ an’ go an’ enjoy yourself?’

They heard Simon’s car pull up and Nancy followed Annie downstairs and through the shop.

‘I have a key so if you get tired you needn’t wait up for me,’ Annie told her as she opened the shop door. She watched as Nancy locked it behind her before allowing Simon to help her into the car, and Nancy waved until it pulled out of sight.

‘She seems happy,’ Simon commented.

Annie smiled. ‘I think it might have something to do with the young delivery boy that brought the roses you sent me. He’s been a regular visitor to the shop ever since, and I get the feeling they’re quite taken with each other.’

‘Well, she’s bound to have some admirers. She’s a very pretty young girl,’ he observed.

‘Yes, she is,’ Annie agreed. Simon could have no way of knowing that Nancy looked nothing at all like the waif she’d taken from the workhouse.

Simon grinned as he glanced towards her. ‘And may I say how stunning you look this evening. I shall be the envy of every man we meet.’

Annie blushed and smiled. It had been a long time since she had had a night to herself and she found she was enjoying it.

Simon took her to a small restaurant where they ate a delicious three-course meal. Simon chose a steak, which he said was cooked to perfection, while Annie had sea bass that melted in her mouth. When they’d finished, he drove her to a small club where they sipped champagne and danced the night away. Eventually, however, Annie glanced at the clock and told him, ‘It’s almost midnight, Simon. I should be getting home to Adam and Nancy if you don’t mind.’

‘Of course,’ he answered good-naturedly. ‘We don’t want my car to turn into a pumpkin do we?’

When they drew up outside the shop, he turned off the engine and smiled at her.

‘Thank you so much for a wonderful evening,’ she told him.

‘It should be me thanking you for agreeing to come.’ He slid his arm across the back of her seat. ‘I’m glad you enjoyed it and hope we’ll be able to do it again.’ He leant over and planted a gentle kiss on her lips.

‘Thank you again,’ she said hastily as she opened the car door. ‘But I should be getting in.’ It felt strange to be kissing someone else and she felt guilty as she thought of Monty.

Simon hurried around to her side of the car and helped her out then stood and watched until she was safely inside before driving away.

She was surprised when she got upstairs to find Nancy in her dressing gown waiting for her with a smile on her face.

‘So how was it? Did yer ’ave a good time?’

‘I had a very good time,’ Annie answered as she peeled off her gloves and stifled a yawn. ‘But you really didn’t have to wait up for me. Has everything been all right?’

Nancy giggled. ‘Everythin’s been hunky-dory an’ I just wanted to see yer were home safe. He’s nice, ain’t he – Simon, I mean?’

‘Yes, he’s very nice but don’t get reading anything into it,’ Annie warned. ‘I’m not looking for a new husband just yet. In fact, I doubt I ever will be.’

‘We’ll see,’ Nancy answered with a roguish grin, and she disappeared off into the bedroom leaving Annie to shake her head.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

‘When are we going to visit Peggy and Levi again?’ Nancy asked one day in early August. The last few months had passed in a blur and because the shop was now doing so well Annie hadn’t had time to visit. Thankfully, since the dreadful break-in there had been no more incidents. Annie still saw someone watching the shopfront after dark from time to time, but as they never tried to approach, she’d decided to ignore it. After all, as Marie had quite rightly pointed out, there were lots of homeless people in London and they could just be sheltering there.

A few weeks before, she’d been able to afford to employ a full-time member of staff to help in the shop. Mrs Birkitt was a war widow in her early thirties who had a kindly way with the customers. Tall and slim with dark hair that she wore in a neat chignon, she was very attractive and was turning out to be worth her weight in gold. Annie was confident she could be trusted to look after the shop on her own for a short time.

So far Annie’s search for another place to live had proved fruitless. Everywhere she’d looked had been unsuitable for one reason or another. Either they were too run down, or too expensive, but truthfully now that all was quiet, she hadn’t widened the search.

Annie looked over at Nancy and felt a pang of guilt. It had been too long since she had last taken them all back to Nuneaton. The only day off she had was a Sunday, which she always tried to spend with Adam while Nancy went off with Jamie Malkin, her young man. He was a likeable young chap and Nancy seemed to be quite smitten with him.

Annie herself now went out with Simon about one evening a week, and although he would have liked to see more of her, she always made excuses not to. She was fond of him but that was as far as it went and she couldn’t see a time when it might be any different.