Page 117 of Bea's Book Wagon
Bea could tell Tori thought she’d well and truly put her foot in it.
‘You’re absolutely right, my dear. Violet and I have history. It’s common knowledge, you may as well say as much,’ said Jean, matter-of-factly.
‘It’s all her doing,’ said Violet, pointing in Bea’s direction.
‘My doing? What on earth did I do?’ Bea muttered, confused.
‘It’s that book club of yours,’ said Violet. ‘Turns out Jean and I are both huge Kate Fisher fans.’
‘And that’s not all we’ve got in common,’ said Jean. ‘Is it?’
‘No, it isn’t. Baking, gardening, jigsaws – the list is endless,’ Violet explained.
‘We just had to get past our differences to see how similar we both are, and we have Book Club to thank for that,’ Jean nodded. ‘Same time next week, Violet?’
‘Absolutely,’ Violet agreed, putting away her purse as the two friends headed for the door.
‘Bye then, ladies, see you next week!’ Tori called after them.
‘Well, I didn’t see that coming, did you?’ said Bea, flopping down in the nearest chair.
‘No, absolutely not,’ Tori agreed. ‘Never in a million years would I have put those two together.’
‘Just shows you, doesn’t it?’ Bea continued. ‘If it hadn’t been for a shared love of books, they might never have resolved their differences and become friends.’
‘That’s very true! I’m glad they’re getting along, it’s just a shame they didn’t realize it years ago,’ said Tori, wiping down the counter. ‘Anyway, isn’t it next weekend that you’ll be away with Lochlan?’
‘Yeah, I can’t wait,’ said Bea, her pulse rising at the mention of his name.
‘That necklace he got for your birthday was stunning.’
‘I know—’
‘Oh, to be young and in love.’
‘Hang on, no one said anything about being in love yet,’ Bea insisted, wondering why that word bothered her so much.
‘Okay, okay, sorry,’ Tori laughed. ‘Just getting ahead of myself. I didn’t mean anything by it.’
‘Wait – did you hear that?’ Bea asked.
‘What?’
‘I’ve got an email,’ said Bea, thrusting her hands into her pockets to find her phone. ‘It’s from the bank,’ she whispered, holding the phone at arm’s length. ‘You look.’
‘You got it!’ squeaked Tori, opening the message and scanning the confirmation.
‘Oh. My. God,’ said Bea. ‘I’ve got the loan!’ the colour draining from her face.
‘Yes, you got the loan!’ Tori repeated, pulling Bea into a hug. ‘Congratulations! I’m so pleased for you!’
‘I can’t believe it,’ murmured Bea, before she burst into tears.
* * *
It took several days for the news to sink in that Bea’s Bookshop was going to become a reality. Once she had stopped crying, Bea had called Mr Pritchard, who was having the contracts drawn up and was going to meet her at the shop first thing on Saturday to sign the paperwork. She wouldn’t officially get the keys for another couple of weeks as the lease still belonged to Simon and Anya, and, although they had already left for Scotland, they had some remaining stock to clear out. But once the papers were signed, Bea could finally start making plans.
News about the new bookshop had spread throughout the village, and everywhere Bea went people stopped to tell her how much they were looking forward to opening day. Lochlan sent the biggest bunch of flowers she had ever seen with a card that read, I knew you could do it, Congrats! xx.
