Page 32 of The Secret Christmas Bookshop
Dexter took his time, picking each notebook up, examining it carefully before setting it back down and taking a photo. Sophie thought Lucy would likely go for the sparklier options, perhaps the ones she’d used foil on, and her thoughts skipped to her copy ofJane Eyre. She had got precisely nowhere with finding out who had given it to her.
‘This one’s great,’ Dexter said. It had a navy leather cover and an elastic closure, and suited him perfectly.
Sophie leaned over the counter. ‘I’m not sure it’s Lucy’s style,’ she said. ‘What about this one, with little books all over it?’ She placed her selection on top of his.
‘Fair point,’ he said, grinning at her, just as the shop door swung open and let in a blast of cool seaside air, followed by Harry.
Sophie stood up straight, though she didn’t quite know why.
‘Hey,’ Harry said. ‘Hi, Fiona. Dexter.’ He gave the other man a curt nod. He looked as if he had already run out of patience, and Sophie’s spirits sank.
‘Hi, Harry,’ Dexter said, oblivious to the atmosphere. ‘Come to buy some notebooks?’
Harry’s eyes roamed over Sophie’s display, and she realized she was holding her breath.
‘No,’ he said, after a beat. ‘Though I can see that they would make good Christmas presents. Did you make all of these?’
‘I did. I’d like to have a bigger selection, but I don’t have enough time or space to—’
‘We’ve come up with a solution for that,’ Fiona cut in. ‘Ye Olde Sweete Shoppe.’
‘Too many e’s,’ Dexter and Harry said in unison, and Sophie grinned.
‘This one,’ she said to Dexter, before either of them could ask preciselyhowthe old sweet shop was a solution. She tapped his hand where it rested on top of the notebook she’d suggested. ‘I’ve done it in three colour-ways, so she could give a different one to each of her friends.’
‘That sounds perfect.’ He smiled. ‘Thanks, Sophie. I knew I could count on you.’
She did a mock curtsey. ‘Always happy to help with people’s blank-page-related queries. Let me lay them all out, so you can take photos.’
Harry cleared his throat and gestured to the door. ‘I’ll come back later.’
‘Oh no,’ Sophie said. ‘Give me two minutes.’
Dexter snapped the photos, then put his phone away. ‘I’m done. I’ll check in with Lucy, let you know what she says. Good to see you Fiona, Harry. Thanks again, Sophie – I can tick this off my to-do list.’
‘I hope you’ve written it in a notebook,’ Sophie called after him, and he turned and grinned, then opened the door and stepped outside.
‘I’ve got a few things to catch you up on,’ Harry said, ‘if now’s a good time?’
‘Now is perfect,’ she told him. ‘I’ll get my coat.’
They walked down to the seafront, where the wind was blustering and the waves crunched rhythmically along the sand, like someone constantly trying to clear a frog from their throat.
‘What have you got to catch me up on since last night?’ Sophie asked. Harry was like a wall at her side, sheltering her from the worst of the icy gusts.
‘What do you think about having a Father Christmas grotto at the festival?’
Sophie stopped trying to work out whether a dark, bobbing shape in the waves was a seal, and turned to face him. Harry did the same, so they were both leaning on thepromenade wall, looking at each other, their hair being tangled by the wind.
‘The world’s grumpiest Santa,’ Sophie said.
Harry rolled his eyes. ‘I do have other settings.’
She grinned. ‘I’m just starting to discover that. You’re offering to do it, though? Not get old Mr Carsdale togged up in a red suit and beard? Or Ermin?’
‘I don’t know.’ His gaze drifted out to the horizon. ‘I haven’t thought beyond the fact that it was missing last year. I’m not sure if they had it before that, when it was …’
‘On the village green?’
