Terry wandered over to the bookcase and picked up the Florida holiday brochures he had ordered. Scarlet had always wanted to go to America. Florida had sun, sea, sand and theme parks, which were perfect for her. They were dated from two years ago but Terry hadn’t had the heart to get rid of them or to follow up on the brochures himself. He had offered Scarlet the tickets for what should have been their honeymoon to Egypt but she had refused. Not wanting to go alone, Terry had cancelled the holiday.
Terry was sure Scarlet had forgotten him by now. He, on the other hand, still had Scarlet’s picture adorning his desk at home. The Christmas food market would arrive soon with home-made gingerbread and Turkish delight. Scarlet loved the world food market, but this year, just like last year, he wouldn’t be going. Terry couldn’t face it alone.
They had been to several Christmas markets around England and in Europe. He had lost count of the hours they had walked around the markets, tasting the different foods and drinks – happier times.
Terry still ached to hold her. Inside and out she was the most beautiful person he knew and had ever had the privilege to behold. Putting her picture down, he wandered upstairs, grabbing the files he had left there. ‘Dream Makers; party planners extraordinaire’. He had no idea how they had gained such an exclusive contract.
He had checked Mr Clarke out. He couldn’t believe how much this man had done for good causes. Even his old university had a building named after him. Something to do with helping to save that particular one from falling down.
How hadn’t he heard of him before? The green-eyed monster of jealousy reared its ugly head. This Mr Clarke was a handsome man. Would his princess fall for his charms? The money side would never intrigue her – neither twin was materialistic – but he hated to think that he would lose her to him.
Cressida had worked so hard to build up Dream Makers and make it the place to go to if you wanted an exclusive party planned. Cressida would be able to take Dream Makers to another level, but to really make it she would have to add wedding planning back to the list.
For now though, Terry had too much on at work to be worrying about what she did or didn’t do. Anything to keep his mind off this Mr Clarke, who would be making come-to-bed eyes at his girl. She’s not your girl any more, Terry. Get that into your head.
The building Cres had leased then later bought to house Dream Makers was situated in the centre of Brighton, and got so much footfall that the shop sold more than enough for them to expand into the shop next door. The public had welcomed handmade party invitations and other unusual items, so that it was difficult to keep up with demand.
Even with the list of crafters they had on their books they never had enough stock.
The wedding side of the business vanished when Scarlet left. Cressida didn’t think she could cope with pushy mothers or those brides who turned into bridezillas. Yet Scarlet could. She understood that a bride’s day should be the best day of her entire life.
Terry had picked up all the major bills for the first six months, so Cressida could buy party props until she had got the business up and running properly. It wasn’t until the hugely successful manga party for the mayor’s daughter that they became the go-to party planners for the south of England.
They had appeared in several local papers, and as word slowly got around they found that they were booked for months in advance. Yet they would always try to accommodate people who wanted their services.
The contract Mr Clarke had given them had him confused. Why hire someone all the way from Brighton to go to York? It was practically the other side of the country. How would Scarlet manage to get from London to York and back in time for her shift at the theatre? Unless of course she had taken a break from the theatre. Hmm, that’s the only way she could have done it.
Terry sighed. He wasn’t to know what Scarlet did any more. Sipping the last dregs of his cold coffee before grabbing his keys, briefcase and driving to his office, the unusual request was still playing on his mind. Walking in to his office, he paced the floor. Something wasn’t right. A loud tapping brought him back to the present.
His secretary popped her head around his office door. “Excuse me, Mr Moore. You have a call.”
“Thanks, Margaret. Can you put it through please?”
“Hello.”
“Terry, it’s Debbie. I have someone here who wants to see Cressida.”
“Where the hell is Cressida? Are you on your own?” he asked rather snappishly.
“Yes! Cressida has just popped out. She got a call regarding a party so she’s doing a house call.”
“Hang on, we don’t go to people’s houses until they have been into the shop and booked a party.”
“I don’t know…” Debbie replied.
“Okay, I will be round as soon as I can.” Cressida never left the shop unless it was an emergency. Strange, he thought.
“Mrs Ledger said she is happy to wait for you.” Debbie lowered her voice to a virtual whisper. “Hurry though. She won’t talk to anyone else.”
Terry showed up at Dream Makers within a few minutes of Debbie’s phone call. Tracy was busy at work on the stocktaking. He knew they were running out of several party essentials such as plates, balloons and the like. The two girls were a godsend really. When everyone else was out organising things they held the fort in the shop. A bit more training and they would be great organisers themselves.
“Good morning,” he said pleasantly. “I thought you were off for Christmas already?”
“No, I’m off on Friday to my parents. There’s a few family do’s that my mum wants me to go to and then we will fly to Northern Ireland until after Christmas.”
Before he could say anything else Debbie called him, a slight panic in her voice.
“Terry, I need your help now, please.”
He returned to the front of the shop and walked over to the table where she was seated with a client.
“Mrs Ledger has a bit of an issue regarding her booking.”
Terry looked at her and smiled.
“Hi, I’m Terry Moore. I was the one who did the security arrangements for the staff for your daughter’s wedding.” They shook hands. “Everything is under control, I can assure you. Please accept my apologies for Cressida not being here to greet you.” Terry gave her his most heart-stopping smile.
“I had to come to Brighton for a function, so thought I would call in whilst I was here. I just want my daughter’s day to run as smoothly as possible.”
Terry could understand Mrs Ledger’s concern; Cressida could put her mind at ease more so than he was doing at the minute. Just as he was wishing she would come back the lady in question walked through the door.
“Sorry I have taken so long,” she apologised to everyone. “Mrs Ledger, is everything all right?”
“I was in Brighton for a business function and just needed to check everything is in place for the wedding.”
“Please be assured the room will look like something out of a fantasy world. Your daughter will be a happy bride, at least where the decor is concerned.” Cressida was obviously trying her best to put the client at ease.
“Oh, thank you. I hope that you don’t think I’m a pushy mother or anything. Just…”
“Not at all. We’ve got blue and silver baubles as you wanted.”
Mrs Ledger dug around in her purse. She took out her keys and handed them to Cressida. “Here, these are the keys. I’m not sure if my housekeeper and butler will be there. I have asked one of them to let you in but they are both with their families. It’s only in the village but if I give you the keys they won’t need to leave their families. It is Christmas and everyone needs a break.”
Terry watched as Cressida put the keys in her pocket, ready to listen to the list of do’s and don’ts.
Mrs Ledger continued. “Feel free to stay the night. We won’t be up until Sunday so if you’d like to stay and look around the area you are more than welcome to use the country house.”
“Thanks, for the offer,” Cressida replied. “There’s no need to worry – the room will only take a few hours to be decorated.” Even though Terry thought she would probably love to see how the other half lived.
“Would you care to come, Mr Moore? You could advise my people yourself. Maybe much easier than having them ignore a file!”
“That would be a perfect idea, thank you. It also guarantees things go off without a hitch.” Terry smiled. He knew all about winters up at Dartmoor as his parents had lived there for years. Why couldn’t it be Scarlet with him? The thought of having Scarlet alone appealed to him very much. Maybe if he had her alone instead of her sister then perhaps he could get her to listen to him.
Maybe when hell froze over, he thought.
Mrs Ledger gave her leave, hurrying out of the shop. A butler and housekeeper – she must be one of their richest clients to date, excluding the mysterious Mr Clarke.
Most things needed for the decorations would come from their own stores, but Mrs Ledger did want a few of her daughter’s old dolls and doll’s house as part of the wedding decor. They would buy a Christmas tree. They would need to source a really nice one – a princess pine perhaps or even a Norwegian pine. It would be Cressida and him going now, since the others would be needed for other events.
“The only other thing we have on at the moment is the Jane Austen-themed birthday party. You two are capable of doing that, aren’t you, Debbie?”
He thought it would be a good idea to leave before noon to be able to get up there, do the work, and get back in a day.
Terry checked the long-term weather forecast. There was snow predicted for that weekend so being prepared to stay, as Mrs Ledger had suggested, might not be such a bad idea. Country roads could be treacherous and the four inches predicted could so easily be much more on the higher ground.
Terry hightailed it to Moore Security, instead of going home.
***
When they closed the shop for the night, Scarlet phoned Karen.
“Kaz, you busy?”
There was a small silence on the other end and a male giggled with her. “Are you with someone? I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Scarlet said apologetically.
“Its only Tom.”
“Oh, you’re at the theatre? Listen, I need your help. I have this big job to do in Dartmoor but Terry is going to be there with me.”
“Listen, Scarlet,” said Karen. “I love you but you two need to sort out your issues.”
Scarlet played with the hem of her coat. “What issues?”
“The slight issue that you still love him for a start.”