Lola's House (Lola Series) (9 page)

‘Wow, get you and your al fresco sex,’ she says, looking
impressed. ‘Me and Cal think we’re adventurous if we do it with the light on these days.’

I smile
.  ‘It can’t be that bad, you two are really into each other, everyone can see that.’

‘I know, but you know me, I like lot’s of sexual activity and variety and Cal’s just getting a bit lazy in that department.  And he still hasn’t asked me to marry him - I really don’t know what to do.’ She look
s really glum and that just isn’t like Chrissie.

‘Try calming down, he’ll ask you when he’s ready.  Stop trying to push him into it, he can probably sense your desperation.’ I pat her on the arm and she smile
s up at me.  ‘Why don’t you take him away for the weekend and you can unleash your full sexual prowess on him.’

She thinks on this for a minute. 
‘Maybe you’re right, if I could take him out of his usual environment for a day or two he might perk up a bit.  The hen weekend is a few weeks away, if I could arrange somewhere nice before then, and give him a treat to remember, it will keep him satisfied until after we come back from Brighton.  By then he would have missed me so much he’ll be begging me to marry him.  Thanks, Lola, good idea.’

Okay, so not
exactly what I meant but she always likes to put her own spin on things.  I know she can be forceful at times so I just hope she doesn’t go full on and scare the living daylights out of him.

Chapter Nine

The next morning I’ve just got out of the shower and wrapped a tow
el around me when I hear Ned’s truck reversing up the driveway, below my bedroom window.  I take a quick look out and see Ned and Kev pile out of the truck, together with a short balding man.  I breathe a sigh of relief, at least it looks as if I am going to get my electrics fixed some time soon.

I hurr
y up and roughly dry my hair and pull it back into a messy knot.  I put on a bit of make-up, finish it off with lipstick and a spritz of perfume.  I take a look in my wardrobe and run my hand across the garments hanging in a neat row.  I have got Muriel’s niece coming in to see me this morning so I want to look professional and chic at the same time.  My hand falls on a raspberry coloured silk shift dress I’ve had forever.  It clings in all the right places and just skims my knees.  I always feel confident when I wear it so I pull it out of the wardrobe ready to slip on.  Then I get out my black patent stilettos and a thin black patent belt to go over the dress.  As a comfort precaution I throw some black ballet pumps into my handbag in case my feet start to protest over the stilettos, at any point during the day.

Twenty minutes later I walk
into the kitchen and Robert is sitting at the table eating toast. He looks up as I enter the room and his eyes widen as he takes in my dress.  He gives a little whistle.  ‘You look nice, are you off to work dressed like that?’

I
feel a little rush of elation surge through my body under his approving gaze, which quickly turns into a self conscious blush, as I feel my face and neck heating up to match the colour of my dress, but I try hard to keep myself composed.  I place my bags on the table and rummage around inside to make myself look busy. ‘Yes, I’ve got a meeting with a new designer this morning.’

He nod
s his head in approval, still not taking his eyes off me.  ‘Wow, I didn’t realise you were such a hot shot in the fashion world.’

I want
to tell him I’m not, it’s all an act but my insides are now doing somersaults and my brain has started to scramble under his close scrutiny, so I do the best I can and feign confidence, spouting the first crap that comes into my head. 

‘Even vintage shops need a breath of fresh air now and again to keep the cu
stomers coming back.’  I snort with fake laughter as my eyes take in his jeans and tee-shirt.  ‘It’s not like I can slum round the house all day is it?’

There
is a slight flicker of change in his expression, from approval to something else entirely, which makes me feel uncomfortable.  He picks up his coffee cup and knocks back the contents in one gulp before slamming the mug down on the table and scraping back his chair across the quarry tiles.  As his door closes behind him I realise what a pompous cow I must have sounded like, but in my defence, I get embarrassed when I’m the centre of attention and rarely handle it well. 

As I
stand alone in the kitchen in my killer heels and the raspberry dress I suddenly feel bereft.  And the worst thing is, I don’t know why his approval matters so much to me.

I don’t feel like eating breakfast after that so I grab my bags and keys and let myself out of the front door.  As I turn around in the portico I nearly jump out of my skin as Ned is standing right behind me.  I had forgotten he was there.

‘Morning
, missus.  You know you’ve got a mole over there don’t you?’  He points to the front lawn and the little mounds of earth dotted across it.

‘A mole?
No, how can you tell?’

‘Well you see those little piles of dirt, that’s where he pokes his head out of the ground to have a look around.  But he can’t see, so he has a good old sniff around him before he pokes his head back in again and
tunnels off somewhere else.’  Ned holds his hands up in front of his chest like limp paws and sniffs round to demonstrate typical mole behaviour.  He rubs the bristles on his chin and laughs to himself.  ‘You’ll never get rid of that bugger.’

I think about this for a second.  ‘He’s not hurting anyone is he, can’t we just leave him be?’

At this point Ned roars with laughter.  ‘Leave him be? Do you want a mole colony setting itself up under your lawn and then moving under your house?  Digging away and making tunnels everywhere, loosening the foundations until your house dips into the ground?’  He shakes his head and answers his own question.  ‘No you don’t.  I’ll give my brother-in-law a call.  He might be able to help you get rid of it.  He uses explosive mind, so it could get a bit messy.  You would probably be better off staying indoors if you don’t like the sight of blood.’

My eyes widen in horror.  ‘No, there’s no need for any kind of massacre, I’ll see if I can get him moved humanely.’

He shrugs his shoulders.  ‘Your choice missus, but it’s no bother.’

I’m starting to feel a bit queasy at the thought of explod
ing moles so I change the subject quickly.  ‘So, Ned, what are you doing today?’

He point
s over to the short balding man who is standing talking to Kev, both of them flicking dog-ends in my hedges.  ‘I’ve got my brother-in-law Barry here to crack on with your electrics.’

‘Well at least we are making some progress at last.  Do you know when it’ll be finished?’

He shakes his head and sighs.  ‘You don’t want to be rushing these things, missus.  Can’t have your plug holes going fizz and pop when you’re drying your hair in the morning can we?’

I look at him horrified and actually
imagine I can smell burning hair.  I run my hand over my head just to make sure I’m not on fire.  ‘Okay, well you need to keep me updated with progress, Ned.’  I start to walk away to the car and remember Robert.  ‘Oh, just so you know, I’ve got a guest staying for a while so can you try not to disturb him too much as he works from home.’

He raise
s his eyebrows and I swear he actually looks impressed that I’ve got a man in the house.  He taps his nose.  ‘You say no more, missus, we’ll look after him.’

As I dr
ive off I ponder on exactly what Ned will do to look after Robert.  I hope it is better thought out than his exploding mole idea.  I shake my head to get rid of that thought as quickly as possible and instead wonder just how many brothers-in-law Ned actually has.

When I get to the shop Muriel is already in and setting out cup cakes on a plate, carefully arranging each one.  My eyes automatically lock like a homing device onto the thick pink and white frosting and my stomach actually rumbles out loud.  ‘Oh yum, are they for us?’

I reach
out my hand and Muriel quickly taps it away laughing.  ‘You can have one later when the girls get here.’

I pout slightly and rub my offended hand. 
‘Girls?  I thought it would be just your niece?’

‘Katherine is bringing a couple of girls with her to model the samples
, so you can see them to full effect.’

My face
lights up and I clap my hands together excitedly.  ‘A fashion show and cupcakes?  I like this already.’

Muriel chuckles to herself and
lays the plate to one side.  She turns the kettle on then makes her way into the shop to open up.  As I watch her depart I take a quick look at the cupcakes, and my mouth salivates imagining the sweet thick frosting melting on my tongue.  I consider dipping my finger in the icing while she is out of sight, then remember the tap on the hand I got and think better of it. 

An hour later the shop door swings open and in walks Muriel’s niece dragging an enormous suitcase behind her.  She is quickly followed by two young tall skinny girls who I assume are the models.  She holds out her hand to me.  ‘Hi, I’m Katherine.’ 

‘Hi Katherine, pleased to meet you at last.’  I
shake her hand and take in her appearance.  She’s tall, with long straight blonde hair that swings from the back of her head in a high ponytail.  Her cheekbones are high and her eyes the palest blue I have ever seen.

She turn
s and waits for the two models to catch up.  ‘This is Cindy and Sadie.  They’ll be modelling a few of the pieces for you today.’

I smile at the girls who then
go off to the rails, flicking through the garments and pulling out each one after the other and holding them up against themselves. 

‘Katherine, you’re here.’  Muriel appear
s from the back of the shop and immediately wraps her niece in a big hug.  ‘So you’ve met Lola.  Let’s get cracking then shall we?’

‘Oh yes, I can’t wait to see what you have for us.’
  I’m actually bursting with excitement to see what Katherine has hiding in the massive case.  I lead them down the shop towards the stock room.  ‘We’ve made a bit of space in here so you can get changed.’

I c
ome back and get myself settled next to Muriel while we wait for the first items to come out.  A few minutes later Katherine appears leading the models behind her. 

‘Cindy is modelling a nineteen forties inspired black penci
l skirt.  We use modern fabrics, cut with an authentic pattern on the bias so the skirt hugs the figure and skims just below knee length.  As you can see we also add our own finishing touches.’

Cindy turn
s around to show off the skirt and I spot the row of embroidered red roses running down the back seam and nod my head in approval.  She has topped it off with the cutest little figure hugging red lace blouse with dainty puff sleeves and a ditsy little collar.  The outfit is finished off with a wide black patent belt.

‘And here’s Sa
die wearing a fitted skirt suit in a modern tweed fabric.  Each piece can be worn as separates or as you see them today.’  Samantha takes the jacket off to reveal a silky little sleeveless pink top, slashed at the neck and accentuating her curves as it hugs her body.  Worn with sky high stilettos she looks every inch the Hollywood movie star.

While the girls
go to get changed, Katherine produces swing dresses in jewel colours and silk fabrics and my favourite pencil dresses in lace, silk and jersey.  They are made to hug the figure and show off the curves and I love all of them.  I grab Muriel excitedly and she gives my leg a little squeeze in return.

Then the models
are ready to come out again.  ‘The next items you’ll see have been made by my partner, Mark.’  She flourishes her hand towards the stock room where the girls were emerging.  Cindy comes out first, with legs that go on forever and my eyes light up at the most beautiful scarlet corset I have ever seen.  The fabric is boned to take in every curve and edged with a deep thick black lace at the bust and the legs.  Dita Von Teese eat your heart out.  My heart gives a little flutter and I know I just have to have it.  I can just imagine James’ face when he sees me dressed in that bad boy. 

I beckon
Cindy over so I can feel the lace.  ‘This fabric is exquisite, you say your partner made them?’

‘Yes, Mark, he
’s studied corsetry for years, he just loves dressing women in gorgeous underwear.’

‘And he does it so well,’ I sa
y, as I rub my hand over the edge of the corset.

Then Sa
die comes out wearing a midnight blue velvet corset in a similar style, beaded at the bust.  My mouth hangs open.  ‘Muriel, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.’

Muriel
holds onto my hand.  ‘I knew you’d love them.’

Finally Cindy and Sa
die come out wearing wrap dresses in jewel colours made in a silky fabric which flows over their bodies and clings in all the right places.  I nudge Muriel.  ‘They will fly out of the shop, I love them.’

As the girls disappear
to get changed Muriel goes off to make tea and coffee.  Katherine and I get down to business and I order pencil skirts, blouses, little tops, dresses, oh lot’s and lot’s of dresses and as many corsets as they can make.  We agree the items will be showcased in the shop and I’ll make a healthy percentage on each sale, which I’m very happy with.

Katherine then produce
s a lace sheath dress in midnight blue and a wrap dress in black silk with a tiny little rose pattern dotted across it.  ‘These I made up for you to try out for yourself, so you could get a feel for our garments first hand.’

‘Oh wow, they’re beautiful,’ I sa
y, and run my hand over the fabrics.  ‘You’re a genius, how did you know I’d love these?’

‘Aunty Muriel tol
d me the sort of thing you like to wear and of course your sizes.’

‘Good old Aunty Muriel.  Thank you, I can’t wait to try them on.’  I h
old the dresses against myself and admire them in the mirror trying to work out which one to wear first.

By the time Katherine and the girls leave I am bursting with ideas and optimism.  Muriel and I devour the last two cup cakes while we stand in the shop arranging where we are going to put everything. 

‘So when do we get the first stock?’
she says.

‘We agreed on two weeks for the wrap dresses and pencils skirts.  Katherine thinks she should have some of the blouses mad
e up by then too.’  I rearrange some of the bags on the shelves now that I have just sold the Kelly bag to Katherine.  ‘We just need to get the website up and running and we are laughing, Muriel.’