Page 54 of The Cornish Cream Tea Bookshop
‘It is. And we don’t need a sequel anytime soon: Disaster with Sophia Forsythe-Hartley, swiftly followed by the third in the trilogy: Ollie Spencer Looks for a New Job.’ She slid her arms around his waist, relishing the feel of his solid torso, his strong arms wrapped around her, the soft fabric of his jumper. She inhaled his herby, smoky scent, and rested her cheek against his collarbone.
‘It won’t come to that,’ Max whispered into her ear.
Looking over his shoulder, Ollie could see that he’d placed their mythical shell carefully on the mantelpiece, next to where she’d slid the strip of Polaroids from the Christmas market into the mirror’s frame, anchoring the photos there so she could see them every day. It was that gesture, even more than his hug and his words of reassurance, that made her realise how much trouble she was in: she’d accidentally found a man who, despite all her plans to focus on herself and her job, was far too good to ignore.
Chapter Twenty-One
The quiz was on Friday night, the same day as Thea and Ollie’s Zoom call with Sophia Forsythe-Hartley and her editor. Ollie had turned up at work early, with a soft, mint-green throw that she knew would look beautiful draped over the sofa, and high hopes. This, she decided, was going to be a good day. The cooking class was a blip, and she was ready to get back on track.
‘So,’ Thea said, greeting her with a smile. ‘A bit of a Friday, huh?’
‘A huge Friday,’ Ollie replied, closing the door of the bookshop to block out a strong wind that had made the leaves dance on her walk in, and was, right this moment, whipping the water in the harbour into impatient white horses. ‘This is for you. Us.’ She held out her tote bag.
Thea took it and looked inside, her neat brows furrowing. ‘This is a bit different to Sea Brew sausage rolls.’ She took the throw out and unfurled it, her eyes brightening. ‘It’s so beautiful.’
‘It’s to make amends, to youandthe sofa.’
Thea folded the throw on the counter, then put it back into the bag. ‘You didn’t need to do that. Last Friday was a tough day, but if everything went absolutely perfectly all the time, I’d start to get suspicious that we were living in some kind of Matrix.’
Ollie laughed. ‘True. But it happened because I wasn’t properly prepared. I’m discovering that impetuousness and event planning don’t always go together.’
Thea pursed her lips. ‘Maybe not, but there’s a fine line between impetuousness and enthusiasm, and I definitely don’t want to lose your enthusiasm. Shall we go and see what this looks like?’
‘Sounds great.’ Ollie followed her up the stairs, glad that she’d started the day off well. She decided that things could only get better from here on in.
Max had been right: Thea had been over the moon about the very real possibility of Sophia Forsythe-Hartley holding her launch event at A New Chapter, as soon as she’d got over the shock. Ollie had been relieved, along with having a lingering, unfamiliar sensation of being able to be vulnerable in front of someone: she was surprised it had happened with Max so quickly.
Usually, she aimed for positive and bubbly, and kept her work-related insecurities on the inside: a problem was simply a challenge to be faced, nothing to dwell on or worry about. But the event with Marcus Belrose had shaken her, had made her realise how much she cared about succeeding here, in this town and with these people. Having Max there to reassure her, about that and about her communication with Sophia’s editor – to tell her Thea would be pleased– had meant more to her than, initially, she was prepared to admit even to herself.
‘Let’s have the table here, the chairs behind it,’ Thea said that afternoon, when they were getting ready for their Zoom meeting. ‘It would be good to show off the view, but if we do that we’ll be silhouettes. If they want a virtual tour, we can just pick the laptop up.’
‘We should include a tour, I think.’ Ollie made Thea and herself coffees using their new, slinky machine, then brought them over to the table.
‘This is a big thing, isn’t it?’ Thea said, as she added another hardback to the pile beneath the laptop. ‘It could make a real difference.’
‘Yes! But don’t forget that it’s a big,positivething. I messed up with the Marcus Belrose event, but this one … this one will be stellar.’
‘Stellar,’ Thea repeated, seeming to like the word, and when Arabella and Sophia appeared on the screen, sitting in a bright space with white bookshelves behind them, Ollie heard her whisper it under her breath.
Arabella was whip-thin, with a dark, glossy bob and wearing a smart purple shirt. Sophia was curvier, with dyed blonde hair and slightly too much blusher, but she had warm blue eyes and a friendly smile. A pair of glasses dangled on a chain around her neck, over a cream blouse.
Ollie made the introductions, then they got down to business.
Sophia had a jolly tone and laughed frequently, and her enthusiasm was clear. She was like an elegant Mrs Christmas, Ollie thought, feeling a thrum of excitement as she pictured her gracing A New Chapter during the festivities. Arabellawas kind but cautious, which was to be expected, and they spent a while talking about Sophia’s upcoming book,The Forgotten Shore, and the inspiration behind it. When the author brought up how mystical their part of Cornwall was, Ollie couldn’t help jumping on it.
‘There’s so much folklore around here.’
‘Yes, of course,’ Sophia said. ‘The place is chock-full of ancient stories. You can get lost, fall down endless rabbit holes. I don’t mean literally, of course – though that is very possible, too.’ She chuckled, and Thea and Ollie joined in.
Ollie leaned closer to the screen. ‘Have you heard of an auth—’
‘How would you go about promoting the event?’ Arabella asked, and Ollie sat back.
‘Let’s start with social media,’ she said smoothly, hiding her disappointment at being cut off. ‘And our newsletter. Then I can tell you about the Port Karadow Christmas pageant, and how we’re going to tie Sophia’s appearance in with that. There’s almost too much to go through,’ she added, laughing.
Sophia beamed, and looked at her editor. ‘Marvellous,’ she said.
Ollie tried not to be too smug.
