A Winter Wedding at Primrose Hall (Primrose Woods #6)

Chapter 8

8

Sophie had been looking out for Tom all morning, her eyes on the double doors to the stables as people came in and out. The traders were setting up their units for what promised to be an especially busy Sunday, as people’s attentions turned towards Christmas and gift buying. She always felt a delicious sense of anticipation as she unpacked her jewellery and placed the pieces on her display stands.

After all the nights and weekends she’d spent alone in her makeshift studio at the back of her house perfecting her craft, working on items that would never see the light of day because of imperfections, or designs that simply didn’t work out, she felt a huge sense of accomplishment seeing her finished products all together. Selling her wares including silver necklaces, bangles, earrings and bracelets at the stables made all those hours working long into the evenings worthwhile. She’d recently set up an online store as well and had sold a handful of items, which she was hoping would only increase as she widened her range of goods on offer. As much as that was incredibly satisfying, nothing could beat the feeling of meeting her buyers face to face at the stables, some of whom were now repeat customers. It was interesting to hear which of her items they particularly liked and who they intended them for, their mum, or a friend, or a much-loved aunt. It stirred her creativity and helped her to decide which items to add to the new collections.

Another huge source of inspiration was the beautiful surroundings of Primrose Woods. She only needed to look out of the windows at the stables to drink in the breathtaking scenery: the redwoods, the oak and monkey puzzle trees standing tall in the distance and the lush green lawns and meadows surrounding the hall and stables. On every visit Sophie would spot something new, a different bush that had come into bloom, or pretty wildflowers shooting up in a palette of colours. Now, the colours had turned into burnished bronzes and golds, the woods covered in a carpet of crunchy leaves.

‘Hey, how are you?’ Sophie turned at the sound of Tom’s distinctive voice, something lifting inside of her as she snagged eyes on him. He was tall and broad, and with his chestnut hair that curled on his collar and brown sparkling eyes, undeniably handsome. Ordinarily, away from the busy comings and goings in the stables, she would have stepped in for a hug and a kiss, but Sophie was aware that Tom was preoccupied with the preparations for the day’s events, and besides, she suddenly felt self-conscious in his presence.

‘Good,’ she said, pressing on a smile. ‘Well, if I’m being honest, I’m pretty nervous, but I’m sure it will be fine.’ She grimaced, hearing the note of hysteria to her own voice.

‘You’ll be fine.’ Tom graced her with that warm grin of his and then wrapped her in the hug that she had so badly needed, breathing out a huge sigh of relief in the comfort of his arms. If only she could stay there all afternoon. It wasn’t that she was embarrassed by the show of affection, the other traders knew that she and Tom were in a romantic relationship, but she didn’t want to distract Tom any more than was entirely necessary. He had enough on his plate today and she couldn’t help wondering how he might be feeling knowing that he would soon be saying goodbye to this role at the stables. Ever since he’d told her about his new job, she’d been playing it over in her mind, wondering how it would impact upon their relationship. She wasn’t naive enough to think that it wouldn’t change things. It was bound to. Tom would be putting all his energies into his new job, would meet new people and might decide he was ready to make those permanent changes to his life that he’d spoken about. With or without her, she didn’t yet know. She reluctantly extracted herself from his embrace.

‘I really hope so,’ she said with a helpless shrug. ‘I hope I don’t get asked any technical questions.’

‘Listen, people will be attending the workshop because they’re interested in your jewellery and want to learn more about your work processes. Once you get started and relax into it, the time will just fly by.’

This had been one of the new ideas that Tom had instigated at the stables, running a workshop to showcase the skills and talents of the different craftspeople. At first, Sophie had been reluctant to take part, not certain that anyone would be interested in her particular way of working. Everything she’d learned about jewellery making had been self-taught from online videos and books and a great deal of trial and error. She knew only a few of the technical terms and processes, but Tom had reassured her that it was precisely that that people would be interested in learning about.

She simply had to pretend that she was at home in her small studio working on a hammered silver bangle while giving a running commentary at the same time as she transformed the piece into the finished product. It was a step out of her comfort zone, but then wasn’t that what she had been determined to do from the start of the year? She’d spent far too long in a relationship and job that had made her miserable and she’d wanted to make up for lost time. Being part of the Primrose Stables family had been a huge help in building her confidence and making new friends. She’d enjoyed the camaraderie amongst her fellow traders, providing her with a sense of belonging, and knowing she would be seeing Tom there added an extra frisson to the day. It wouldn’t be the same without him, that was for sure.

After giving herself a stern talking to, she walked to the front of the room, took a few deep breaths and plastered on a smile, taking her place behind the workbench. Tom stood at the back of the room and gave her a reassuring wink as she began the session, before he slipped out to see to his other duties. He’d been right, and as soon as Sophie started working, explaining to the small gathered audience what she was doing, holding their attention as she went through her processes, all her earlier worries were forgotten and she relaxed into the demonstration, quickly realising that everyone was genuinely interested in what she had to say. The time passed faster than she could have anticipated and there were plenty of questions from people wanting to know how she got started, which items she liked to work on the most and which were her best sellers. The workshop was an interactive experience all the way through and she felt a huge sense of relief and accomplishment when she got to the end, and almost a sense of disappointment that it was over.

Afterwards, when she returned to her unit in the stables, she was thrilled to discover that the interest in her session had translated into lots more visitors to her stall, where she handed out her business cards. The session definitely gave a boost to her sales that day as she sold more items than she was expecting to, including some bangles similar to the one she’d made in the workshop, along with some necklaces and earrings.

After the rush had died down, Tom came across and whispered in her ear.

‘See, I told you you’d smash it! Well done!’

He laid a light hand on her waist and she couldn’t help a flush of pride seep around her body. Mostly, she was pleased with herself, that she’d managed to overcome her fear of public speaking and do something that she would never have even contemplated a year ago. She didn’t need anyone’s validation, but there was no denying that Tom’s support and encouragement made her feel ten foot tall.

‘Hey, Tom. What a great turnout today. This was such a good idea of yours. I’m not sure why we didn’t do it sooner.’

Tom and Sophie’s moment was interrupted by the arrival of Pia, who had a big grin on her face.

‘Yep. I hoped it would be popular and it’s great to be proved right.’ He narrowed his eyes and gave a devilish smile, which from anyone else might have been misconstrued as arrogance, but Tom had an inherent charisma that drew people towards him.

‘Honestly, Tom, I’m not sure what we’ll do without you when…’ Pia stopped herself, a hand flying to her mouth as she gave an apologetic shrug to Tom.

‘It’s fine,’ he reassured her. ‘Sophie knows, although I’ve not yet mentioned anything to the other traders,’ he said, lowering his voice.

‘Thank goodness,’ said Pia. ‘Me and my big mouth, eh? It’s good news though about Tom’s new job, isn’t it?’

‘Yes,’ Sophie agreed as enthusiastically as she could muster. She could never admit that she thought it was the worst possible news. The other traders were bound to be disappointed too when they learned that Tom would be leaving, although not as much as her, she suspected.

‘I hope I haven’t left you with a headache. Jackson seemed a bit put out when I told him. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of candidates to fill the role?’ Tom offered hopefully.

Pia gave a wry smile.

‘Oh, don’t worry about him.’ She waved a hand dismissively. ‘We’re just sorry to see you go, that’s all. After Christmas we can look around to find your replacement, although that will be no easy task. I’ve told Jackson that I’m more than happy to step in again, but he’s keen that we keep Sundays free for the both of us. I can see his point. Living and working together is great but it can be all-consuming, so it makes sense to create some boundaries. Especially as a married couple!’

Sophie smiled at Pia’s enthusiasm and positivity. It was what she remembered from the first time she met Pia, when she turned up for her first session at the stables, full of trepidation and doubt. It was only Pia’s warm and friendly welcome that had encouraged her to stay.

‘I’ll certainly miss being part of the team,’ Tom added, ‘but look, I’m not disappearing off the scene entirely.’ He glanced from Pia to Sophie. ‘I can always cover the occasional weekend if you need me to.’

Sophie saw her Sundays at the stables as sacred, and if it were up to her, she wouldn’t want them to change in any way, but Tom’s decision to move on only served to remind her that the lovely bubble she’d existed in these last few months could be so easily burst. She should have anticipated it. After all, she’d known that Tom had been job hunting, but she’d been under the misapprehension that those special times at the stables were as important to Tom as they had been to her. Clearly she’d been wrong.

‘Well, that’s good to know,’ said Pia, chuckling. ‘You’re one of the Moody clan now, so you can’t entirely escape us even if you wanted to.’

And while that might possibly be true as far as his family was concerned, Sophie realised, as his new girlfriend, she had no such guarantees.