Greta smiled. ‘I’d like that, too.’
She walked with Nora toward the exit, sharing a hug before her ex-agent drifted away.
Jim stood by the front door waiting with Lottie. ‘Is Nora okay?’ he asked. ‘She seemed a bit rattled.’
‘She’s fine,’ Greta said. ‘I’ve resigned from her agency. So, if you ever want to chat business with her, the coast is clear.’
Jim cleared his throat. ‘There’s actually something I’ve been meaning to tell you,’ he said, fiddling with the neck of his shirt. ‘I turned down the hair contract.’
Greta’s mouth fell open. ‘You did? Why?’
He bent his head and circled his finger around a small thinning patch on his crown. ‘It looks like there’s no fighting nature. I’m not sure I’m the best advertisement for products that promise you a lion-like mane,’ he said wryly. ‘I don’t have any other jobs lined up, so it looks like you and I are both out of work, at least for a little while.’
‘It’s not like it hasn’t happened before,’ Greta quipped, noticing Jim didn’t sound too disheartened. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll get snapped up soon.’
They began to cross the school car park together and Lottie jogged over to join them.
‘I’m starving,’ she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. ‘Can we eat soon?’
‘Sure, let’s find somewhere nearby,’ Greta said. ‘Does Jayden want to join us?’
‘He’s already got plans.’ Lottie glanced over at her boyfriend, who was ruffling Benji’s head while fending off offers of treats from students and their parents. ‘I’ll invite him over for tea soon, if that’s okay? I might even try to make pancakes,’ she mused.
Greta tried to picture her daughter in pink plaid, brandishing a spatula, serving up piles of golden-brown pancakes. She’d experienced it in Mapleville, but it actually happening in the real world was a different matter. A loud laugh escaped her.
Lottie and Jim stopped walking to stare at her.
‘What’s funny?’ Lottie asked.
‘Oh, nothing.’ Greta waved it off. ‘What do you want to eat?’
‘I dunno.’ Lottie shrugged a shoulder. ‘Nothing fancy. Just a slice of nice cake or something.’
And that was more than enough for Greta.
Chapter 37
ON CHRISTMAS EVE,Greta headed out to do some lastminute shopping. Lottie was still at the penthouse, and would return to Greta’s after lunch on Christmas Day.
It would be the first Christmas morning the Perks hadn’t spent together as a family. Although Greta felt rather sad, the arrangements made sense. The penthouse felt too unfamiliar for them to gather together as a family, and her flat would be a squeeze.
While she missed having her daughter around, Greta had made the most of the time without her there. She’d cleaned Lottie’s room, wrapped presents, and added some festive cheer to the flat with twinkling fairy lights and a holly wreath on the front door. She’d even bought a new dog-shaped glass decoration for Lottie to hang on the tree.
She thought back to the last Christmas they’d spent in their old home, when they’d all sat around the dining table together. Greta’s mum had pulled crackers with Lottie, Jim carved the turkey, and they all wore colourful paper crowns.
This year would be very different. Instead of a turkey dinner with all the trimmings, Greta had stocked up on her and Lottie’s favourite buffet-style food—cheese, pasta salad, olives and a selection of nice breads. She’d bought a bottle of mulled wine in case Jim stayed for a glass when he dropped Lottie off. She hoped that he might.
Her arms were laden with shopping bags as she crossed the road near Brewtique. Light specks of snow drifted in the sky like small feathers. The pink neon coffee cup sign inside flickered as if it was running out of energy.
Greta’s talk had only been a few weeks ago, yet it seemed like a lifetime. A hot drink and something sweet and sticky to eat called to her, even though she still found the coffee shop rather stark.
Just as she was about to push the door open, she spotted a small handwritten card taped in the window.
ASSISTANT WANTED. URGENTLY!
Something about it stopped her in her tracks.
She might be an expert on the history of Maple Gold, and have sampled Iris’s unusual brews, but she didn’t have much experience of working in a coffee shop.
