Page 21 of Cupcakes and Kisses in Micklewick Bay

‘Bye, Max.’

Jasmine had watched in disbelief as he’d slipped his hand into his grandad’s and headed down the path, her heart ready to burst with sadness.

They were almost at the gate when Max had stopped and turned, pulling his shoulders back and fixing her with a determined gaze. ‘When I grow up, I’m gonna be a millionaire with a really fast car and I’m gonna drive back to Micklewick Bay and marry you, Jingilby!’

‘Don’t be so daft, Max.’ Jasmine had felt her cheeks burn crimson as a round of ‘Ahhs’ had gone up, followed by a ripple of laughter and a teasing whistle from Jonathan. But she hadn’t been able to stop herself from smiling through her embarrassment.

‘Ey up, flower, how’s that for a proposal?’ Her dad had chuckled, giving her a nudge.

‘Aye, well, there’s nowt like having a bit of ambition, lad.’ Jimmy Grainger had smiled down fondly at his grandson before throwing Jasmine an amused wink.

She’d switched her gaze back to Max. The smile he’d mustered was enough to trigger his dimples, along with the faintest hint of a twinkle in his tear-stained eyes.

She’d smiled back at him before he’d turned and walked away.

It was to be the last Jasmine would see of Max Grainger for over two decades and now, she couldn’t help but wonder what sort of path his life had followed. And what had brought him back to Micklewick Bay.

ELEVEN

Tuesday morning found Jasmine fizzing with nervous energy thanks to her upcoming meeting with Lady Caro. Once she’d dropped Zak and Chloe off at school, she hurried back home where she rushed round, loading a pile of clothes into the machine ready to set away on her return. The client who’d ordered the cruise ship birthday cake had been and gone – another satisfied customer, who’d declared Jasmine’s design stunning.

Keeping busy had kept her mind occupied rather than sitting around allowing her anxiety to bloom while she waited until it was time to get ready for her appointment at Danskelfe Castle.

Uncertain of what to wear to meet a member of the aristocracy – and with a wardrobe that was distinctly casual – Jasmine opted for her newest pair of green cargos, teaming them with a white shirt. She eschewed her favourite Converse for a pair of chunky brown leather sandals on the grounds that her faithful plimsols were now on the shabby side. She gave her eyelashes a quick sweep of mascara followed by a smudge of green eyeliner on her lower lids. After running her fingers through her hair – that was, for once, free of all traces of edible glitter and the stickiness of icing sugar! – all that was left to dowas scoop up the folder of photos she’d gathered together of her cake commissions so she’d have something to show Lady Caro, and she was good to go.

Once in the car, she threw the folder onto the passenger seat beside her then dropped her bag into the footwell, a background thrum of nervous anticipation running through her. She pushed the key into the ignition and turned. A reluctant ‘pfft’ followed. Jasmine’s heart lurched. She repeated her actions a further three times before the old banger spluttered indignantly to life and proceeded to kangaroo hop to the end of the road.

She’d almost reached the junction by the Micklewick Majestic Hotel when the car juddered dramatically before grinding to an abrupt halt and thrusting her forward.

‘No! Don’t do this to me. Not today, of all days!’ Jasmine tried the ignition several times, but the car refused to come back to life.

She put her head in her hands as panic rushed through her. She wasn’t going to be able to get to Danskelfe; she’d have to cancel her meeting with Lady Caro after all. She groaned and flopped back in her seat just as the noisy beeping of a car horn sounded behind her, making her jump and reminding her she was in the middle of the road. ‘I haven’t stopped here on purpose!’ she said, throwing her hands up frustratedly as the driver swerved round her.

Gathering her thoughts, she drew in a slow breath. ‘Just calm your jets, Jasmine. Don’t give up so easy. You need to think straight, there’s bound to be a solution,’ she said out loud. Her mind started running through any other options of getting to Danskelfe. She ruled out a lift from her mum straight away since she was covering her shift with Spick ‘n’ Sparkle, and her dad was out of the equation since he was working a shift on the buses. Gnawing on her bottom lip, the next idea to come up was the possibility of catching a train to Danskelfe; Jasmine knewthere was a stop at the nearby village of Lytell Stangdale but she wasn’t so sure there was one at Danskelfe itself. Getting the train timetable up on her phone revealed that even if there had been a stop at Danskelfe, the station was miles away from the castle. And besides, the next one in that direction wasn’t until early afternoon and would involve a change at Middleton-le-Moors. As for taking the bus there, that would involve a lengthy journey with numerous changes ‘Ugh! That’s no good, it’d be tomorrow by the time I got there!’

She massaged her temples where she could feel a headache brewing, at a loss for what to do next.

Just as she was considering calling Lady Caro to rearrange their meeting, a succession of beeps from a car horn pulled her out of her thoughts. ‘Jeez!’ She glanced in her rear-view mirror, her eyes locking with local wide-boy, Dick Swales – or Dodgy Dick as he was known in town – smirking at her from his fancy four-wheel drive. ‘All right, all right! I’m not sitting here for the fun of it, you know!’ She turned the key in the ignition again, but was met with nothing. Just as she expected, the car behind beeped again. ‘Argh!’ Jasmine opened her door and climbed out just as Dodgy Dick manoeuvred his vehicle around hers, before driving off, Wendy, his bouffant-haired wife, treating her to a mocking smile.

Jasmine couldn’t dislike the slippery businessman and his wife any more if she tried. They’d been pestering Florrie and Ed to sell the bookshop to them with the intention of converting it into a hair salon and beautician’s. It hadn’t gone down well when their offer had been refused and a campaign of intimidation had followed until Dick and Wendy finally got the message, which had taken some considerable time. Since then, all friends of the bookshop owners’ were treated with the same disdain by Dodgy Dick and his wife. Not that Jasmine could give two hoots.

With the shiny four-wheel drive disappearing around the corner, she turned her attention back to her predicament. She needed to find a solution, and fast.

‘Morning, Jazz, you okay?’ Florrie’s voice interrupted her musings.

Jasmine turned to see her friend standing alongside Ed who had their black Labrador, Gerty, on the end of a lead.

‘Hiya, Jasmine. Looked like you were miles away just then.’ Ed grinned at her, brushing his dark, floppy fringe off his face.

‘Oh, yeah, hi.’ Jasmine gave a small smile. ‘My car’s finally given up on me.’ Gerty nudged her knee and she bent to ruffle the Labrador’s ears. ‘Now then, lass.’

‘But aren’t you supposed to be heading over to Danskelfe for a meeting with Lady Caro later this morning?’ asked Florrie, looking slightly alarmed.

‘I am.’ Jasmine rubbed her brow with her fingertips. ‘I was just trying to work out how I could get there but neither the bus nor the train’ll get to that part of the moors on time. I’ll have to cancel.’ The thought made her heart slump.

‘What?’ said Ed.

‘No way should you cancel, Jazz! You’ve been looking forward to this meeting,’ said Florrie.

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