Page 91 of The Village of Lost and Found

‘Why the hell not?’ asked Belle.

‘What if he says no?’ said Lucy.

Belle made a face. ‘Seriously? That’s your excuse?’

‘Besides, I work with him,’ said Lucy. ‘It’s awkward. Anyway, ssh. I don’t want this getting out.’

Belle was still shaking her head when Molly came and sat down with them.

‘I’ve got some great shots,’ said Molly, looking at her phone. ‘That’s this afternoon’s work sorted out.’

‘Glad somebody’s busy,’ said Lucy, who was still blushing and hoping that everyone else thought it was the heat from the sun. ‘I’ve finished all the tidying up in the main office and Tom won’t let me start on his mess yet, so I’ve nothing left to do.’

‘It looks much better in there,’ said Molly. ‘Although you’ve thrown so much stuff away that it’s much emptier than it used to be.’

‘Perhaps you could use the time to redecorate,’ said Amber. ‘That’s the first thing Josh and I did when we’d cleared everything out.’

Lucy tapped her chin in thought. ‘You may be right. I mean, it could certainly do with a fresh coat of paint in there.’ She looked at Amber. ‘You’re good with this kind of thing. Do you think you could have a quick look in there before you head back to the shop?’

‘Of course,’ said Amber. ‘We can go now, if you want.’

‘I’m going to stay out here,’ said Belle, closing her eyes to the sun. ‘I’m solar-powered, you know.’

Once inside the office, Amber suggested that they paint the walls white, the same as in the shop. ‘It’s got the same coloured beams, after all,’ she said. ‘You could always add some art onto the walls at a later stage.’

‘It’s a shame it won’t look as pretty as the shop does,’ said Lucy.

‘Why don’t you give the outside a proper coat of paint as well,’ suggested Amber, walking back outside to look at the bay windows at the front. ‘You could have a couple of window boxes filled with flowers. And nothing beats a few strings of fairy lights around the windows.’

‘You’re right,’ said Lucy, suddenly filled with enthusiasm.

‘What’s all this?’ asked Tom, appearing alongside them, holding a scoop of mint chocolate ice cream in a tub.

‘We’re going to fix the place up a bit,’ Lucy told him.

Amber smiled at Tom before walking away to leave the two of them standing outside the office.

Tom raised his eyebrows in surprise. ‘I see. Am I included in that statement?’ But his blue eyes were twinkling as he offered her a spoonful of ice cream.

She licked her lips afterwards. ‘Yum,’ she said. ‘Thanks.’

‘You’re welcome,’ he replied.

At least a fresh coat of paint would make the place look a lot better, Lucy decided. And, of course, it would enable her to stay on at the newspaper for a little bit longer. Because having to leave would break her heart. And that didn’t just include the newspaper, she thought, as she watched Tom walk back into his office.

49

Painting in a heatwave was certainly a good workout, thought Lucy, wiping her brow.

It was late afternoon and with the heat of the day at its peak, she felt hot and sweaty. And yet she had to concede that the office was beginning to look much better.

It had taken a whole day to move most of the furniture and files into the centre of the room, allowing her to access the walls and ceiling. When she had started to paint, poor Molly had had to be moved around from table to table so she wasn’t dripped on, although being Molly, she didn’t complain.

Keith also didn’t appear to mind the paint, especially when he was adept at stealing the paintbrushes and causing havoc with them as he ran around the place.

Lucy stood at the bottom of the stepladder and stretched her back. The ceiling had almost broken her, but she was pleased that she had tackled that first. Now that two walls were painted it was certainly beginning to look brighter in there. And Amber had been right with her choice of white paint. Now that the cracked and mottled yellow paint had been covered up, the whole place looked fresher and more modern. She was feeling quite proud of herself and the hard work she had put in.

‘You’ve done really well,’ said Tom, coming to stand next to her.