Page 5 of Booked for Summer

‘Flo,’ she answered giddily when she saw who it was. ‘I’ve just got here and it’s amazing. No, what’s a better word than amazing, because amazing is what I say to a really good pizza.’

The husky laugh of her employer echoed back. ‘Have you found the key okay?’

‘Yes and I’m just about to go inside. God, I can’t believe I’ll be working here for three months. It’s like I’m dreaming– and if I am, please don’t wake me up.’ A beat of silence, followed by Flo clearing her throat, and then… nothing. ‘Hello, Flo, are you still there?’

‘Yes, sorry honey. It’s a bad line,’ Flo replied finally, ‘there is something we need to discuss, but I’ll do that in person when I see you. Meanwhile, I’ll give you a few days to settle in. Daisy, who you’re replacing, said she’ll pop in sometime today to give you a quick rundown before she flies home.’

‘Hiya!’ Jade looked round with a start, only to see a pretty brunette walking towards her, waving. One she recognised from a photo.

‘I think that’s Daisy now,’ she told Flo.

‘Fabulous. I’ll call you again soon. Enjoy!’

She barely had a chance to end the call before Daisy ran over and hugged her as if she was a long-lost friend, not a stranger who was taking over her job. ‘Welcome to Nantucket. I’m Daisy.’ She laughed. ‘Maybe I should have said that before I practically mauled you. It’s just I’m so happy to see a fellow book lover. You’re going to havethebest time here. I’m sad to be leaving, but I missed my family and friends, so I’m also mega excited to see them again.’ She laughed. ‘Well, for about five minutes until they start to annoy me!’

Jade was used to being the talkative one, but it was clear Daisy had her beaten. ‘I know what you mean. I’m going to miss my family, too.’ She thought of her parents, of their reaction to her coming out here.Are you sure you’re not biting off more than you can chew? Of her sister, Lauren, who was a registrar in emergency medicine and, if their parents’ reaction tothatwas anything to go by, could apparently walk on water, too. Not that she wasn’t in awe of everything Lauren had done. She just didn’t need it rammed down her throat all the time. ‘But right now, I’m glad of the break from them.’

‘Come on, then, let’s get you settled.’ Daisy grabbed Jade’s case and headed towards the rickety looking stairs at the back. ‘First, I’ll show you upstairs where you’ll be living, then we can go through the shop.’

By the time Daisy had finished the tour an hour later, Jade felt like she’d been dragged through a tornado. It wasn’t the flat, it took all of five minutes to show her the open-plan studio with a small bathroom and kitchenette. Nope, it was the bookstore and what she was expected to do that had left her dazed.

‘I think that’s everything,’ Daisy concluded, stepping away from the computer. ‘But don’t worry, the pace here is slow so you’ll have plenty of time to get used to things. Customers come in waves and they’re never in a rush. Most are on vacation and out for a browse, though I hear it gets crazy busy with tourists on the island in the summer so you might find it harder work than I did.’

Jade ran her eyes over the rows and rows of shelves lined with books of every shade and colour, set against the neutral walls and bleached wood floor. Then skipped to the deep blue sofa, and next to it a glass-topped coffee table made from pebbles and shells.

‘It looks like the perfect place for choosing a book.’ Perfect. The word bounced around her head. How was she supposed to make an impression, to leave a legacy, when the shop already looked so much better than anything she could have conjured up?

Daisy laughed. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll have loads of time to enjoy it. The shop’s opening hours are 9 a.m. till 5 p.m. but Flo always said to take an hour for lunch and if you have to go out during the day, to do a workshop or whatever, you can always pop theBack Latersign up. Oh, and it closes Sunday and Monday, so you get two full days off.’ She gave Jade a nudge. ‘Just make sure you keep the blog up to date so I can try and live vicariously through you while I’m back in the concrete jungle of New York.’

‘Will do.’ Nervous butterflies buzzed in her belly. She’d never written a blog, never run a workshop, never sold anything, unless food and drink counted from her stint as a waitress. Never even lived by herself, away from home. It was too late for doubts now, though. Somehow she’d managed to convince Flo she could do this. Now all she had to do was convince herself. ‘Any advice for what to do when I’m not working?’

‘Oh, you know, all the usual: chill on the beach, eat a lobster roll, take a boat trip to Martha’s Vineyard.’ Daisy winked. ‘Have a holiday fling.’

Jade thought of how her last two relationships had ended. ‘I think I’ll give that last one a miss. I’m off men for a while.’

‘Well, if you change your mind, Nantucket is renowned for being a playground for the rich and powerful. And you’ve got one right on your doorstep.’ She fanned herself. ‘The guy who owns the resort next door is seriously hot.’

Jade gaped at the slim, very attractive brunette, who she’d put at mid-thirties. ‘You’ve slept with him?’

‘Sadly, no, but I know someone, who knows someone, who has. Apparently, the woman came over on a short-term contract as a fitness instructor last year. She ended up having the hottest sex of her life one night with a guy she later found out was the resort owner. She’d wanted a repeat but was told by staff he’d already left the island so it never happened.’

‘Have you actually met him?’

Daisy let out a dreamy-sounding sigh. ‘Oh, yes. I fluttered my eyelashes in his direction a time or two, but he didn’t take the hint.’

Privately, Jade wondered if the hotness of the guy was purely down to the fact he was loaded.

Daisy’s phone bleeped. She glanced down at it and swore. ‘I have to go. I’m heading back by plane and my lift is here to take me to the airport.’ She gave Jade a final hug. ‘Enjoy Nantucket. And remember, I’m only a phone call away if you need anything.’

As she watched Daisy make her way along the waterfront, Jade felt a pang of sadness. It would have been good to spend longer with her. To have a friend out here. Someone who actually knew how to run a frigging bookstore. Her stomach lurched and she turned to face the sea, letting the breeze flutter across her face, the clean air filter up her nostrils.

One step at a time. For the next three months, this wasn’t just her work, it was her home. Surrounded by books, and with a beautiful island to explore, her adventure was about to begin.

* * *

Liam stood up from the desk and stretched out his legs. Fuck, he’d been sitting for too long. He wasn’t an office man, he was a guy who liked to be on the move,doingrather than reading. And doingalone, he added irritably as a knock on the door disturbed him mid-pace. A second later, his visitor burst in. Dressed in a white shirt decorated with pink flamingos, paired with pink pants, he was… eye-catching.

‘Most people knock, then wait to be asked in.’

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