Page 16 of Christmas at the Little Bookshop by the Sea

Florrie looked up at Ed who was standing next to her at the back of the room, behind the audience, clapping his hands with great gusto, a delighted smile on his face. He caught her eye and gave her a wink. There was no trace of the concern clouding his features the way it had after his father had rung. She told herself he could have been talking to Jack and the other men about anything in the kitchen – it didn’t have to be his father’s latest phone call, or Dodgy Dick, or the reason he kept disappearing into the attic.

Ed leant towards her. ‘That was fantastic! I’d say it counts as a happy Christmas memory. What do you reckon?’

She beamed a smile up at him, joy surging through her. ‘Oh, absolutely!’

He dipped his head and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, sending her heart into a frenzy.Oh my days!Despite what was going on in the background, she loved this man with an intensity that burnt fiercely inside her.

Florrie turned back to face the room, clapping hard along with the rest of the audience, a huge smile on her face.

TEN

As the last customer finally left the bookshop, Florrie locked the door and pulled the blind down, the spicy aroma of mulled wine they’d served with the nibbles lingering in the air. Her body was still buzzing with a high from Jack’s book reading.

‘I think that went okay. What d’you reckon?’ Jack asked in his usual understated way. He was looking happy and relaxed as he stood alongside the others by the counter, his now-familiar post-event-glow shimmering around him. No one would ever guess at his growing status as a national treasure and Florrie regularly found she had to pinch herself that she could actually consider him a friend.

She turned to him, eyes incredulous. ‘Okay? It went more than okay, Jack. It went amazingly well. And your reading… it was justspellbinding. You captured the atmosphere so perfectly. In fact, you could actually hear the audience holding its breath.’

‘Yousocould. It was fantastic, Jack,’ said Jasmine, oozing enthusiasm.

‘Aye, it was that.’ Nate nodded heartily. ‘I could’ve listened to you for hours. Think I’m going to invest in the audiobook so I can dive back into the story while I’m working.’

‘Ooh, good plan,’ Lark enthused.

‘Thank you so much for agreeing to do it for us, Jack,’ said Florrie. ‘We’re really grateful for all of your support for the bookshop.’

‘Yes, thank you, Jack,’ said Ed, beaming at him. ‘And I agree with everyone, the reading was amazing, I’d say it’s your best yet. I reckon the audience thought so, too, as we’ve sold every single copy of your book, and we’d bought loads in. We’ve had to take orders as well.’

‘Hey, no need for thanks. I enjoyed myself. There’s nowt like locking folk in a room so they have no choice but to listen to you while you prattle on.’ He gave a throaty chuckle. ‘And let’s not forget, I benefit from every book sale, so it’s me who should be thanking you and Florrie for having me here and flogging my books.’

‘They were hardly locked in, Jack,’ Alex said, chuckling. ‘They all looked perfectly happy to be here, which is hardly surprising.’

‘We had to turn folk away, didn’t we, Jean?’ said Paula.

‘We did.’ Jean nodded emphatically.

‘Aye, well.’ Jack looked momentarily bashful. ‘I reckon it must’ve been the promise of tasty scran and glass of mulled wine that tempted them.’

‘I don’t think so.’ Maggie giggled, rubbing the small of her back as she succumbed to a frown.

It was always a given that Jack’s author events would be sold out within minutes of being announced on the bookshop’s social media pages. The shop would be swooped on by customers, all clamouring to get their hands on a ticket – Florrie and Ed always made sure to hold some back for family and friends. ‘Aye, well, I suppose it gives folk summat to do of an evening when there’s nowt on the telly,’ Jack regularly said, in his self-deprecating way whenever he was told of the interest his appearances generated. Since his first event last year, he’d become a regular fixture at The Happy Hartes Bookshop, with his readings andbook signings, which he seemed more than content with. It was something Florrie and Ed would be eternally grateful for; his involvement had helped with their plans to give the bookshop a new lease of life.

‘I’m so proud of you, lovey.’ Jean dashed a tear away from her cheek, gazing affectionately at her son.

‘I’m not surprised, Jean. I can’t tell you how glad I am that I managed to get here to witness Jack’s reading. It was breathtaking.’ Stella smiled at her. ‘I’m itching to read the book for myself now.’ She patted her designer handbag where she’d slipped a copy.

‘The whole event’s been amazing,’ said Bear, in his deep voice. ‘From the window reveals to the atmosphere in the shop, to Jack’s reading. It’s been a totally brilliant evening.’

‘Itsohas,’ said Leah, beaming at the author.

‘And it ain’t over yet if I can tempt you lot to a drink at The Cellar. I warned Bill and Pim we might be popping in.’ Jack cast a hopeful look around the group of friends.

Florrie had been looking forward to spending the rest of the evening curled up on the sofa at home with Ed. She’d nipped out to the gift shop in her lunchbreak and picked up a little token which she’d been looking forward to presenting him with. But the temptation to continue the wonderful time she was having with her friends found her looking at him hopefully.

‘I’m game,’ he said, giving an easy shrug.

‘Me too.’ She smiled, thinking it didn’t make any difference what time she gave him the little gift; it was only a bit of fun after all.

‘How about you, missus?’ Bear glanced down at Maggie. ‘Are you up to it, or are you ready for home?’

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