Page 85 of The Mended Hearts Bookshop

“As though I could forget,” said Pen, hurriedly jumping out of bed and pulling on some clothes for the short trip next door.

One of the problems with dating a baker, Ash thought as she listened to Pen go down the bookshop stairs, was that they had to get up so early.

Mind you, that did mean that Ash got a precious hour or so in bed alone, listening to the gulls outside the window and stretching out to take up the whole bed.

Ten months since she’d bought the bookshop, eight months since she’d officially moved to Tetherington, and it was almost home. Almost, but not quite.

Ash rolled over and closed her eyes, trying to go back to sleep again and failing.

For the past few months she and Pen had been living in two flats and there were definite inconveniences. Like leaving a toothbrush in one bathroom when she was in another. But there were also some advantages. Like still having her own space.

But all that was about to change.

Ash gave a sigh and opened her eyes. She was awake. She might as well get up and feed Fabio. Once she started thinking about the future, she had a tendency to spiral which meant there was no hope of getting back to sleep again.

“ABSOLUTELY NO FRUIT cake.” George crossed his arms.

“I’m taking that as a hard no,” said Pen, crossing out an item on her list. “Alright, chocolate?”

George’s face twisted in thought. “I don’t know, is that too… common? Expected?”

“It’s a favorite for a reason,” said Pen. “My only issue with it is that a chocolate cake is moister and lighter than a fruit cake, so tier building can be more difficult. But if you and Billy are sticking to three tiers, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“And definitely fancy?” asked George.

Pen grinned. “Bows, flowers, silver balls, the whole nine yards. Do you honestly think that I’d make you a wedding cake without all the frills?”

“No,” said George, grinning back. “And thank Pen, we really appreciate it. We’re on such a budget, I don’t know what we’d do if everyone wasn’t helping us out.” He sighed. “We just need to deal with the flowers now.”

Pen beamed at him. “I can do that,” she said. “I mean, it’s just advanced cake decorating really, I’d be delighted to help.”

For a single second George looked relieved, then he sagged again. “No.”

“No?”

“No,” he said more firmly. “You’ve got enough to do with the cake and you’re not stretching yourself too thin. We’ve had this conversation, Pen. You can’t—”

“—feed people from an empty pantry,” Pen finished, with the air of someone who had heard the phrase entirely too often.

“It’ll be fine,” George said. “Something will work out. Now, on to more interesting things. The renovations. Tell me everything.”

The sun was shining outside and it hurt Pen’s eyes to look out of the window. But she didn’t want to look George in the eye. He’d see her doubt in her face and that was the last thingshe needed. Not that she had doubts about finally living together with Ash, it was just…

“Pen, what’s going on?” George asked.

“Nothing,” sighed Pen.

“Liar.”

She blew out a breath. “It’s really nothing. I’m probably being silly.”

“Why don’t you let me decide that?” asked George kindly, stroking her arm.

She shrugged. “It’s just… I don’t really know anything about the renovations. Ash doesn’t talk about it and, well, I’m a bit worried that she might have changed her mind.”

It had seemed like such a good idea, and at the beginning, Ash had been thrilled. They’d knock through the upper walls joining the two flats together and they’d add in a door between the bookshop and bakery so that customers could go between the two. It wasn’t even that much work, not once they’d thought about it.

Then things had gotten complicated. With her debts, Pen couldn’t get any kind of loan. So Ash had declared that she was taking over and would pay for the flats at least, and ever since then she’d been… secretive.

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