Page 10 of The Bookshop at the Cornish Cove

‘Nancy, this business is haemorrhaging money left, right and centre and you’ve only been open a few months. At the rate you are spending and not earning, you’ll be shut down by Christmas. Is that what you want?’

‘Oh, you’re just being dramatic now. It’s not that bad surely?’

He turned his laptop round and started talking through the figures.

‘So now do you see the problem?’

‘Erm, yes I think I do.’

‘Praise the Lord. She gets it.’

‘Has anyone ever told you how annoying you are?’

‘Plenty. It’s water off a duck’s back. I’m here to do a job and that’s what I’m trying to do.’

‘I know you said you weren’t charging me for this consultancy work you’re doing, but if you were, how much would you charge?’

‘Way more than you can afford.’

‘Rude! Seriously though, how much do you charge for this type of work? And do you insult all the business owners the way you seem to be insulting me?’

‘Only the stupid ones.’

‘I wish I was paying you.’

‘Why’s that?’

‘Because I could sack you! That’s why.’

‘You need me, Nancy.’

My hands instinctively flew to my hips and I could feel my nostrils flaring.

‘There’s a difference between needing someone and wanting someone, you know.’

His eyes locked onto mine and he raised an eyebrow.

The bell over the door rang then and Mum appeared, saving us from a confrontation. I quickly gathered the papers together and slammed the lid shut on the laptop and looked at Dennis, willing him not to say anything in front of her. The last thing I wanted her to know was that I was making a hash of her best friend’s legacy. I didn’t think she’d ever forgive me if she knew.

‘Oh, it’s so lovely to see you two together. I was chatting to Vi earlier when I was doing the cleaning and she was saying that Dennis was spending a lot of time here with you, Nance.’

Dennis blushed and excused himself to go to the bathroom.

‘He’s quite a dish, isn’t he?’ Mum said after he’d gone into the bathroom.

‘Well, I suppose if you like that type of thing then I can see why people might look at him that way.’

‘Oh yes, if I was ten years younger I’d give him a run for his money.’

‘Twenty years, more like, and you meant if you weren’t happily married to my lovely dad?’

‘Of course, that’s what I meant.’

Mum’s tinkling laugh was a joy to hear. Mum and Dad had a wonderful marriage and they’d not long celebrated their thirtieth wedding anniversary. I couldn’t imagine being married to someone that long. That was longer than I’d even been alive. At twenty-seven, I hadn’t had many serious relationships in my life, prioritising my career ahead of everything, but also being a teacher wasn’t just working nine to three every day and having all the school holidays off. There was all the other stuff that went alongside it – the marking, the talking to parents, the counselling and social work side of being a teacher and that didn’t leave me an awful lot of time for a social life. Also, I idolised my father, and so far, I hadn’t managed to find anyone who lived up to my high expectations of the perfect man.

‘What’s he like?’ Mum asked, tilting her head towards the back of the shop where Dennis had just been.

‘Serious. Annoying. Dull. Money mad. Did I mention annoying? Shall I go on?’

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