‘Elle, I am absolutely delighted for you! You never cease to amaze me! I’m so proud of you!’ Irene gushed.
‘Thank you! I have to go now as I’m at work, but Irene…’
‘Yes, Elle,’ she said, catching her breath.
‘I love you.’
‘I love you too!’
ChapterForty-One
Walking into Bonnie’s to the sound of cheers and rapturous applause, Elle felt like a celebrity.
There were balloons in every corner of the room and congratulations banners pinned across the wall. News of her win had circulated quickly and tonight’s book club was packed to the rafters.
Mim herself had become something of a local celebrity following Elle’s win; the likes on her Facebook page had doubled and established authors were knocking down her door to come and do a talk at the book club. The local newspaper was also popping along tonight to photograph Mim and Elle with some of the other book club members. After all, if it hadn’t been for Mim telling the club about the competition in the first place, Elle never would have entered.
Eleni was standing in front of the counter. As soon as she saw Elle she hurried over.
‘Congratulations, Elle! Well done on your story, but how jealous am I that you get to meet the man himself on Saturday? You must be so excited!’
Elle was bursting with nervous excitement. Flynn Carter, a good friend of everyone in the community and owner of Starcross Manor, had given her a call on Monday evening to go over the details.
‘Elle! Congratulations! What an achievement! It’s always good to see one of our own shining through.’
That’s what Elle loved most about the community of Heartcross – everyone championed each other and were always there cheering and flag-waving each other on.
Flynn told her that the presentation would begin at around seven p.m. Elle and the two runners-up would each be presented with a plaque, then Sam Stone would give a small speech about why her entry had stood out for him from the rest of the entries, before reading a small extract and presenting her with a copy of the magazine that had published the story. Once the presentation was over they would enjoy champagne and a three-course meal cooked by world-famous Michelin-star chef Andrew Glossop.
Elle had barely slept on Monday night after discovering she’d won the competition. Something had been playing on her mind and around three a.m. she’d texted Noah to see if he was awake. To her surprise he immediately phoned her and they’d spoken in hushed whispers for hours.
Noah had been absolutely over the moon that she’d won and even more excited when she’d asked him to attend the presentation with her.
‘What’s worrying you?’ he’d asked. ‘Why can’t my budding superstar sleep?’
Elle had opened up her heart and explained the situation to him. He had understood exactly where she was coming from – she was worried about Jenny. She’d been delighted when Elle had invited her to the presentation, but now that Elle knew Sam Stone would be reading an extract from her story, she was worried about its effect on Jenny. The story was about Elle’s life – her unhappy childhood, and how she had felt abandoned – and it had been written with such raw emotion. Now understanding the full story, Elle didn’t want to hurt Jenny – she’d suffered enough.
‘You need to tell her and give her the choice to attend,’ Noah suggested. ‘You can’t let her walk into the room and listen to the extract without being prepared. That would be unfair.’
Noah was right, of course.
Elle plucked up the courage to ring Jenny the following morning. It was the first time she’d actually dialled her number and she was feeling very apprehensive about how she would react. As Elle shared the details of her competition entry, Jenny listened in silence.
‘Elle, I’m very proud of you and very grateful you’ve told me in advance, but I’m fine with it,’ she’d said. ‘What happened has made us the people we are today, and we can’t change the past. I’d still like to come, if that’s okay with you, but I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.’
Elle reassured Jenny that she wanted her there by her side.
Now the nerves were kicking in. Elle couldn’t believe she was going to meet Sam Stone. Noah had teased her when she told him how apprehensive she was about meeting him. She’d read every one of his books, but according to all the research she’d done, he was a recluse. There were no photos of him online and his private life was just that: private. He rarely made an appearance in public, and – Rona and Felicity had been right – he barely autographed anything, even his own books. Elle was truly honoured that he’d make the effort to present her with the award personally.
‘He’s just a normal bloke, you know,’ Noah had said. ‘He eats, drinks and goes to the bathroom just like the rest of us.’
* * *
Irene, Pippa and Elle were sitting in their usual seats in the teashop window and Rona dashed towards them clutching three plates of Victoria sponge.
‘Just for you, my dear, and on Saturday, you let Mr Stone know if he wants to sample any of my finest cakes free of charge, he can just pop over here anytime.’
Elle laughed. ‘I’ll be sure to let him know.’
