Page 47 of The Bookshop at the Cornish Cove

He really was a great help to me and we moved the furniture around so the workshops could take place in the back part of the shop. We wrapped the tables with three lots of paper, so we could just rip the top layer off and then be clean for the next one. I wanted a quick turnaround.

We really had no idea of how busy the shop would be. As well as the private invites, we’d also shared the event on social media, and the local school had put a note out to all of the parents. Mum, Dad, and Dan had all said that they’d come and help if needed. Mum knew how to work the till and I had printed some blank order forms so that if people wanted a book we didn’t have in, they could fill in their details and we would order it for them.

Dennie also came up with the idea of giving a free raffle ticket away, which would serve two purposes. One was to get people to hang around until the time the raffle was drawn – we thought we’d do one at lunchtime and one later in the afternoon – and the other was so we could get people’s email addresses to add to my mailing list. We’d had some of the local businesses giveus vouchers, including Gemma who’d been really helpful, giving everyone a twenty per cent off voucher at the bistro so they could go and get drinks from there. That way, we didn’t have to worry about refreshments and were just providing nice things like sweets and nibbles. If anyone wanted something substantial, they could go to hers.

Whilst I was titivating the shelves for the umpteenth time, ten minutes before the doors were due to open, Dennie called me into the kitchen.

‘Before the excitement of the day, I just wanted to say something.’

‘Oh, OK,’ I said, wondering what on earth he was behaving so formally for.

‘I just wanted to say how much I’ve enjoyed working with you over the last few weeks. I feel like we’ve been the perfect team, and while I’ve been teaching you how to make your business more profitable, you’ve taught me that there’s so much more to life than work. For that, Nancy, I’m so very grateful to you.’

He put both of his hands on my shoulders.

‘I’ve loved it too and thank you for all that you’ve done for me. I really had no idea and you’ve really changed the way I think. I have so many plans and ideas for the future. I’m ready to plan my future now instead of winging it and hoping that the universe deals with it all in the right way. Thankyou, Dennie.’

When he pulled me into his chest, my heart welled with pure unadulterated love. This man before me, despite my original feelings for him, now meant the absolute world to me.

‘I’m incredibly proudofyou and proud to know you,’ he said, ‘and I didn’t know your Aunty Theresa but I reckon, she’d be over the moon with you too. Her legacy is now in very safe hands and it should be a wonderful business for years to come.’

As I thought of how lovely it would be if Theresa were here today, a tear trickled down my cheek. Dennie reached up and wiped it away with his thumb.

I took a deep breath and couldn’t help but wonder what this was. I lived in Cornwall and Dennie lived in London. Our lives were so very different. Was this just a short-term romance while he was here or something much more? My brow furrowed while the main question circled my mind: where were we going?

‘This is not a day for tears,’ Dennie continued. ‘It’s a day for you and for your dream.’ It was almost as if he could read my mind when he then said, ‘Let’s not worry today about what comes next, I don’t have the answers but I do know that I love being with you, Nancy. You’ve made me happier than I’ve ever been and we’ll work it all out. All I can say is that we’ll sort it. I don’t know how, because your life is here. You live with your parents and I live hundreds of miles away, but somehow, we will make it work. We’ll have a repeat of last night and this time it will be slower and even more fabulous than that, and then we’re just going to keep on repeating it every time we get the chance. I can promise you that. But for right now, just enjoy your big day.’

He kissed me, soft and long, and I literally felt like I could swoon into his arms, lost forever. Maybe the future would work itself out. If ever there was a time that I wanted the universe to work something out for me, more than ever before, this was it.

‘Go be the badass bookshop owner that you are and have your best business day ever.’

He kissed me again. I would never stop wanting to kiss those luscious lips of his. Ever. The taste of them was forever tucked away in my memory bank.

‘You really think I’m a badass bookshop owner?’

‘Hell yeah!’ He put his hands on my backside and squeezed. ‘Now get your gorgeous arse out there and open your bookshop, Nancy. And let’s have a fabulous day.’

28

I took a deep breath and turned the sign on the door to ‘open’. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a line of people snaking up the street. Only a small snake of around fifteen people, but a snake nonetheless.

‘Welcome to Books In The Bay. Thank you so much for coming along today.’

The first person who introduced himself was Tim who said he was from the local paper and asked if it was OK if he took photos during the day and covered the story for not only the paper but also a local county magazine. It just so happened that Dennie was walking past the door at that time, so I grabbed him and asked him to keep an eye on Tim. I had a hunch that if we looked after him well, he might just look after us and write lots of gorgeously favourable things about the shop.

Next, were two lovely book bloggers that had seen the advert on the shop’s Facebook page and couldn’t wait to come down to Cornwall, saying they were making it into a long bookish weekend, going to go and visit some of the places they’d read about in a lot of books they’d read. They’d shared the event witha number of their followers who had also said that they’d be along sometime during the day.

Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I spun round to see James from the B&B.

‘Hey, James, thanks for coming along. I wouldn’t have thought that this was your cup of tea.’

‘Ah, if only I had the time. Lucy has sent me up to tell you that we have two rooms left just in case anyone asks about somewhere local to stay. This event hasn’t just been good for you, Nancy. We’ve had an influx of people booking in over the last few days and we’ve been rushed off our feet. Thank God for Meredith and Lydia who’ve been wonderful helping with Taran, so we could get ourselves sorted. We thought we’d be having a quiet lead-up to Christmas but that’s not been the case! And there’s a queue at the bistro too. Gemma is running around like a woman possessed, barking orders at the staff. The whole village is a hive of activity, Nancy. Well done you.’ He reached forward and gave me an awkward hug. ‘Right! Best get back before she thinks I’m skiving off.’

My heart was bursting with joy. To think that I’d created this, with Dennis’s help of course, was quite amazing. I knew the bookshop would be a lovely idea and my dream come true, but to know that everyone was enjoying it as much as me was remarkable.

Looking around, I saw a number of familiar faces. It was purely delightful that many of the locals had also come along to support me. I had a feeling, and rather hoped in fact, that they’d be staggering their visits throughout the day as the room was filling up quite quickly, but it warmed my heart to hear the oohs and ahs of all these book lovers who were finding my shop as wonderful as I did.

We were hosting an author panel at midday and I wanted to prepare myself for that too. As a former teacher, I wasn’tparticularly nervous about hosting it, but I did want to find some time to go over the questions so I wasn’t reading from a script.

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