Page 66 of Bea's Book Wagon
‘Me too,’ said Arthur, ‘It sounds like a lovely way to spend an evening. Good food, good wine, a good book and even better company.’
‘Hmmmmm… the book wagon isn’t big enough to hold it inside,’ said Bea, pausing thoughtfully. ‘I could ask people to bring their own seating, and it could be al fresco, on camping chairs or picnic blankets?’
‘Brilliant!’ said Jess.
‘I’ll probably need a permit or something, and maybe a booze licence to sell the wine, but I could talk to the parish council and ask?’ said Bea.
‘I guess the weather might be a problem, too. If it rains, you’re screwed. And what would you do during the colder months?’ said Jess.
‘True,’ said Bea, frowning. ‘Maybe I could move it to the village hall if the weather’s bad? I’ll make some enquiries, but I reckon it could work.’
‘I’ve got faith in you, my dear. If you can turn a horsebox into a bookshop in just a few weeks, I’m certain you can host a book club worthy of the Bard himself,’ said Arthur. ‘You just need to put your mind to it. Now where do I sign up?’
‘Steady on, Arthur, I’ll need to do some research first,’ Bea laughed.
‘Time is of the essence, my dear, otherwise I may be forced to join the ladies at Books & Prosecco, and I fear that could be more than I can bear,’ said Arthur.
‘Don’t worry, Arthur,’ giggled Jess. ‘Once she puts her mind to something, she sees it through. Isn’t that right, Bea?’
‘Absolutely,’ said Bea. ‘I’ll have Bea’s Book Club up and running as soon as possible,’ she said, patting his hand gently.
She just had to hope that Nathan and Phoebe would be happy to supply their produce at cost prices, otherwise the cheese and wine book club would be missing two out of its three vital components.
* * *
Bea had planned a quiet night in on the sofa, stuffing her face with chocolate. Archie was at football and she intended to make the most of having the television to herself by re-watching Bridgerton. She’d barely made it ten minutes into the first episode, when there was a knock on the front door.
Eurgh, she groaned. Who could that be?
She wasn’t expecting anyone.
She scooped her hair back into a loose bun and padded towards the front door, opening it to see Lochlan holding a bunch of bright red roses.
‘Oh, hello’ she said, conscious of the fact she was wearing a pair of old sweatpants and no make-up.
‘These are for you,’ he said, handing her the bouquet, ‘I wanted to apologize in person for not making it to the fête. I know how important it was to you, and I should have been there.’
‘There’s no need,’ she said, ‘you’ve already explained. But the flowers are beautiful, thank you. Come in, I was just about to open a bottle of wine.’
‘I can’t stay too long, though, I’ve got an early meeting to prep for,’ he said, stepping inside.
‘No worries. Red?’ she asked, putting the flowers in the sink and taking a corkscrew from the drawer.
‘Yes, please.’
‘Can you grab us some glasses?’ she asked, pointing towards the cabinet above the microwave. ‘Sorry, I wasn’t expecting company,’ she said, collecting empty chocolate wrappers off the sofa as they went through to the lounge.
‘Ah, you’re a Bridgerton fan,’ he said, nodding towards the TV.
‘Yeah. Have you seen it?’
‘It’s not really my thing,’ he said, holding out the glasses for her to fill.
‘No, I guess not,’ she said, her heart sinking a little.
‘Are you sure I’m not interrupting?’ he said, taking a sip of wine. ‘Maybe I should just go if you want to watch this?’
‘No, it’s fine, honestly.’
