Page 68 of Bea's Book Wagon
‘I can’t believe it! K. L. Fletcher visited my bookshop, and I didn’t even know it,’ said Bea.
‘Well, no one knows what she looks like, do they?’ said Jess. ‘That’s kind of her thing, isn’t it? She’s not on social media and doesn’t do interviews or public events.’
‘Oh. My. God. There was a woman,’ said Bea, the cogs in her brain whirring. ‘She was wearing dark glasses and didn’t take them off, not even when she came inside. She asked if she could take some photos… what was her name…’ she said, shaking her head, willing herself to remember. ‘Katerina! Yes, that was it!’
‘That’s got to be her. The K must stand for Katerina. God, Bea, I can’t believe you were stood right next to her, that’s mad!’ said Jess. ‘She’s mega famous.’
‘I know! I’ve read all her books!’ said Bea.
‘You surprise me,’ Jess laughed.
‘Listen, Jess, I’m going to have to go, Lochlan’s here…’ said Bea.
‘Ah, I see,’ said Jess.
Bea could hear the disapproval in Jess’s tone.
‘I’ll give you a call tomorrow though, okay?’ Bea promised.
‘If you’re working tomorrow, I can pop into the Cosy Cat,’ said Jess.
‘Great, I’ll see you then. I start at 1pm,’ said Bea, hanging up.
‘I bet you’re glad you took that call,’ said Lochlan, smiling at her.
‘I still can’t believe it,’ said Bea, breathlessly, ‘K. L. Fletcher in my shop!’
‘It’s fantastic, Bea. You can’t buy publicity like that and, believe me, I’ve tried.’
‘Maybe she’ll come back? Although she did buy loads of books, so maybe not…’
‘Perhaps she lives near here and will become a regular customer?’
‘No, she said she was just here on holiday, trying to write her next book.’
‘You know, I heard Jennifer Lawrence has already been signed for the lead role in the film…’
‘No way!’
‘And Timothée Chalamet too…’
‘How do you know all this?’
‘Oh, I’ve just got good contacts,’ said Lochlan, uncrossing his legs. ‘I had dinner with Cate Blanchett the other night and she’s got all the inside goss,’ he teased, his eyes sparkling mischievously.
CHAPTER 18
Bea felt like she was walking on air. She was flying high from the success of her opening day, and her diary was filling up with bookings for the rest of the summer. Her social media presence had grown since K. L. Fletcher’s newsletter had dropped, and she was thinking of launching her online store early for people who couldn’t visit the book wagon in person, with monthly subscription boxes and gift vouchers too. It would be a lot of work, but she needed to plan for a revenue stream that lasted all year, not just over the summer months.
Things between her and Lochlan were going well, too, although he was going to be in London for a couple of weeks for work, but they planned to spend some time together once he was back. And, anyway, didn’t absence make the heart grow fonder?
Bea spent the morning before her shift at the Cosy Cat browsing Rye’s flea markets and charity shops hoping to find some bookish gems, and she wasn’t disappointed. She picked up a beautiful selection of clothbound classics, including Little Women and Emma, an early edition of Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot, which she earmarked for Tori, and a box set of vintage Roald Dahl’s.
Her visit to the primary school was in a couple of weeks and she needed to stock more books to appeal to the children and ignite their joy of reading. She’d also bumped into Phoebe, giving Bea the perfect opportunity to tell her about her idea for the new cheese and wine book club. To her relief, Phoebe agreed to supply the wine with a hefty discount off the RRP, so now all she needed to do was ask Nathan about the cheese and speak to the council about permissions and licences.
When Bea arrived at the Cosy Cat for her shift, Tori was bubbling with excitement.
‘What’s going on?’ asked Bea, ‘you look like you’ve won the lottery.’
