‘Aww, bless him.’
‘Louisa’s parents were lovely too, and I helped Theo choose some more books to take home.’
‘It must be difficult for them all at the moment with all the changes that are going on. David and Barbara must have had a shock when Louisa turned up back home with Theo.’
‘Ha, yes, Barbara mentioned that she’s permanently on the go, with interrupted sleep, but you do what’s best for your kids, don’t you?’
Immediately Elle thought of Irene and her biological mother. ‘Yes, you do.’
‘How did you feel when Aiden read out the list of authors this morning?’ Pippa was watching Elle closely.
‘What do you mean?’
Pippa’s eyes widened. ‘I knew you weren’t listening because you didn’t flinch at all. You should think about playing poker.’
‘Busted! I was—’
‘Distracted,’ interrupted Pippa. ‘I’m watching you.’
Elle rolled her eyes. ‘Who was on it?’
‘Who was on it? Who are you trying to kid? At home, you’ve taken to sitting in the front window so you can watch the hourly bus drive past just so you can glimpse his picture on the side. Come on, tell me I’m wrong.’
Elle smiled. Pippa didn’t miss a trick. She reached across to the bulletin that Aiden had left on the table. Pippa pointed to the relevant piece of information.
‘Right there. Noah Jones will be signing books inthistown during his tour.’
Pippa’s words washed over Elle in slow motion as her eyes fixed on the information. She knew her mouth had fallen wide open and hundreds of nervous butterflies erupted in her stomach.
‘He’s coming here?’ Elle said, her voice shaky.
Pippa grinned at her. ‘You might be seeing your Mr Jones sooner than you think.’
Pippa had been right, she’d been distracted this morning and missed this vital piece of information. Suddenly, she felt very nervous – but also a little excited.
‘He’s not my Mr Jones and just because he’s going to be in the same town as us doesn’t mean we’re going to bump into him, does it?’ she said.
‘It’s a pretty small town and we definitely will if we go to his book signing. After all, why wouldn’t we? Weareall about the books … we work in a library.’
‘We’ll both be working.’
‘No, we won’t.’
‘Why not?’ Elle asked.
‘It’s on a Saturday.’ Pippa stared at her, waiting for her to process the information.
‘Where at?’
‘Venue to be arranged.’
Elle couldn’t think straight. She felt flustered.
‘So? Shall we go?’
‘Let’s see a little nearer the time,’ Elle answered, trying to play the whole situation down. ‘I’ve got a lot going on at the minute.’ The words left her mouth before she could stop them.
‘Such as?’ Pippa stared her down.
