A Pocketful of Dreams

Chapter Seven

Annie glanced hastily around the shop. Two women were standing at the far end by the silk flowers, but if she moved to the left, they wouldn't be able to see her. She made her move, picked up her ham salad sandwich from the shelf underneath the counter, and took a bite. She chewed quickly as her eyes darted from the customers to the doorway. To be caught by a customer with food in her mouth would be the most embarrassing thing.

Some days she was lucky if she got to eat anything by closing time. It was one of the downsides of working for herself. She had nobody to man the shop if she needed to pop out and do errands, or if she was really unwell. The idea of part-time help – especially on Saturdays – had crossed her mind more than once, but she knew she wouldn't be able to pay a good enough salary; A Pocketful of Dreams was doing well, but not well enough to cover another employee. Her best friend Megan was always making it clear that she would help out for free – or in exchange for tea and cake – but Annie had never taken her up on the offer. It just seemed like too big an imposition.

She was about to take another bite of her lunch when Dan walked in. Annie shoved the sandwich back under the counter and surreptitiously wiped her mouth to get rid of any stray crumbs.

He smiled at her, so handsome in his sharp navy suit and winter coat. 'Good afternoon, Miss.'

The butterflies that had fluttered in her stomach when he'd kissed her goodbye at the weekend returned with a vengeance. 'Hi.'

'Can you tell me why you have tomato on your counter?'

Annie dropped her gaze as Dan laughed and pointed towards the wooden surface. There it was. A fat chunk of tomato had fallen out of her sandwich and landed slap-bang in the middle of the counter.

'Oops! That's part of my lunch.' She took a tissue from the box by the till and cleaned up the mess. 'Thank God you saw that before a customer did.'

'Well, I didn't think you were in the fresh grocery business.'

Annie laughed and tossed the wad of tissue into the bin. 'So how is everything going?' She exhaled shakily, wondering when she'd started to resent her own counter for standing between herself and her customers.

Dan leaned forward as if to take the weight off his feet. 'Well, this morning's meeting with Bruno went quite well. I think he might finally sign the contract this week.'

'That's great! I can't wait to find out who my new neighbours will be.' Annie smiled.

Was it her imagination, or did Dan's positive expression falter a little?

At that point the two customers called out their thanks to her, and then left the shop.

'They're not buying anything?' Dan arched an eyebrow. 'How can that be? I don't understand how somebody can come in here and leave empty-handed.'

Annie blushed at his compliment. 'Oh, it happens – and typically on the weeks when I really need it not to.'

'I'm sorry. Are profits not great at the moment?' he asked quietly.

She frowned, then replied slowly: 'No, they're OK. I just meant that when I'm hoping for a good trading day, it always goes the other way. You know – sod's law.'

Annie tucked her hair behind her ear with an uneasy hand. She'd learned the hard way not to mix business with pleasure, and had vowed to keep all company matters to herself ever since. She was about to change the subject to the Halloween party when Dan spoke again.

'Out of interest, how long was it until you broke even after opening? Did you have any competitors back then?'

Annie's breath grew quick and shallow and her heart started to thud uncomfortably in her chest. A horrible, clammy chill prickled around her hairline, and all of a sudden, she wanted Dan to leave.

'Annie, are you okay?' He leaned forward.

His gaze was caring and gentle, but Annie's vision was swimming and he had started to look a lot like someone she'd rather not remember.

'I... It's really not your place to— Could you please just leave?' she stuttered.

'You need to sit down.' Dan started to come around the counter.

'No! Please – just go.'

He stopped, his brows furrowed in concern. 'Okay,' he said quietly. 'Promise you'll call me when you feel better?'

Annie didn't respond out loud. Instead, she just nodded tightly so that he'd go. With her hands gripping the edge of the counter, she watched him move toward the door.

'I'll speak to you soon. Take care, Annie.' Dan's face was full of concern, and he even looked slightly hurt.

Another emotion – shame – threw itself into the mix. Annie looked down as she tried to take a deep breath. You do not need to feel ashamed about this, she told herself. When she looked up, Dan gave her one last worried look, then he turned and walked away.

Annie propped her elbows on the counter and dropped her head into her hands. She massaged her temples and tried to think calming thoughts. She hadn't meant to be rude, but what he'd said really scared her. What did her finances have to do with him? Why had he asked such personal questions about her business?

It was just too similar to what had gone before. She dragged her fingers through her hair and gripped the back of her neck. As she looked out across the shop floor, she caught sight of her Halloween display and groaned.

There was no way she could go to his family party now. She wasn't even sure if she should see Dan at all any more, now that he'd scared her like this.

But the thought of never seeing him again pained her more deeply than she thought it would. 

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