Melinda Hammond/Sarah Mallory Talks About A Florist's Mistake or Was It A Secret Admirer

Woman of mystery Melinda Hammond/Sarah Mallory talks about a special Valentine's Day...

Nothing can compare with the excitement of Valentine’s Day when that anonymous card lands on the doormat. Oooh, the thrill of having an unknown admirer! But when you have been together with the same partner for a long time (I won’t go into details, just saying that we are well into our third decade of married life) it can be difficult to maintain that romantic spark.

Then a couple of years ago, I had a very memorable Valentine’s Day.

I was at work in the office when I had a call from our receptionist to say that a bouquet had arrived for me. Sure enough, when I went into reception there was a beautiful bunch of long-stem red roses and gypsophila. It came with a standard Valentine’s Day card and message, no name of course, but it was not a surprise, since dh always sends me flowers for Valentine’s Day.

But then, an hour later, an identical bouquet arrived for me! Now, working for one of the largest employers in a small town I was always ordering flowers from our local florist, and I knew exactly where these bouquets had originated. I also know that our florist is, to put it politely, very artistic and prone to making errors. A few judicious enquiries soon confirmed my suspicion that I had been sent a duplicate bouquet in error (I will now confess that my “judicious enquiries” were made late in the day, when there was no chance that my friendly florist would ask me to send the flowers back!)

So I went home very happily, laden down with roses and was arranging them in every available vase when dh walked into the kitchen. Of course I explained that one bouquet had been sent to me by mistake, but I don’t think I was very convincing, because for the next few days dh kept giving me suspicious looks. He was also very attentive for the next few weeks, too!

Sometimes, it’s good to be a woman of mystery…..

When young widow Eveline Wylder comes face to face with her dashing captain husband - very much alive - she is shocked, overjoyed...and furious! So, whatever his explanation for his outrageous deception, she'll keep Nick firmly out of their marriage bed.

www.melindahammond.com

www.sarahmallory.com