Seren’s cheeks turned pink. “I don’t really like group things...” she explained.
“Fair enough,” said Carrie. “They’re a bit of a rowdy bunch. Especially when they’re discussing spicy scenes,” she added, making Seren laugh.
“Is there anything you need my help with before I get started on my stuff?” asked Seren.
“I don’t think so. You did a brilliant job explaining everything, and I’ve had Auntie Mary’s notes to help me. Michael left a box of books for you in the office, by the way.”
“Oh, you’ve met Michael then?” Seren said, raising an eyebrow.
“I have.” Carrie tidied a pile of bookmarks on the counter. “His daughter, Layla, is going to be working here on Saturdays.”
“Lovely! She’s such a nice girl. Your aunt really likes her.”
“I think she’ll do well. I’ll work alongside her this Saturday, for the morning at least while she finds her feet.”
Seren took a sip of her drink. “This is good, thanks. So, I usually head into the office first thing and work through the online orders. I’ll also check out some auctions I know your aunt’s interested in. Mary usually gives me a shout if she needs a hand out front. Is that OK?”
“That’s great. Mary’s very lucky to have you.”
“I love working here,” said Seren. “Mary’s a fantastic boss and the shop is beautiful.”
“It is. There are some gorgeous editions, and the paintings all around are wonderful.”
“I’m glad you like them,” Seren said shyly. “I did them.”
“Really? These paintings?” Carrie swept her arm around the shop to encompass all the gorgeous artwork that she found herself repeatedly admiring. “You’resotalented.”
“Thank you. I studied art at college and consider myself a painter, but it doesn’t pay all the bills so working here supplements it. I started off here ten years ago, when I was about Layla’s age and my family moved here. I also think I might go slightly crazy stuck at home painting all day. It does me good to get out and interact with people.”
“If you have to work somewhere, I’d say this shop is a pretty good choice.”
“Exactly,” said Seren with a little smile. “And your aunt’s been so supportive of me.”
“To be honest, I’ve been wondering how on earth the bookshop has survived. I’m impressed by how busy it is, but the rent and rates will be high, and she must have spent a fortune renovating the shop and the flat.”
“We have a lot of online orders which carry us through the quiet times. Your aunt’s well known in antiquarian book circles. And she’s a very savvy business woman. After your uncle passed away, she realised she was going to have to specialise if she was going to survive with the growth of online book sales, andshe knew what prolific readers romance lovers are. Plus, she’s a total romantic at heart. She not only rebranded the shop but set up the website where readers can buy direct and we ship worldwide.”
“Wow,” said Carrie. “I had no idea. I mean the shop is so lovely... part of me thought it was a sort of vanity project.”
Seren laughed. “Have you ever googled this place?”
“No, I haven’t. It didn’t have a website when I worked here for the summer, and I didn’t realise how many changes Auntie Mary had made, to be honest. She just said she’d changed the shop’s name and now specialised in romance books.”
“Give it a go sometime.”
Seren went into the office and Carrie checked Poppy was happy; she was making a fuss of Tabitha and drawing.
Carrie returned behind the counter and opened up the laptop. She typed the shop’s name into Google and hundreds of results came up. YouTube videos of people coming from as far as Australia, the US and Japan to visit her aunt’s shop, blogs of people recording their visits, lists of the best bookshops with her aunt’s bookshop included. It seemed there was an especially large influx of people before and after the many literary festivals the county had to offer.
Carrie clicked on the shop’s website. It was really nicely done with what looked like professional photos of the inside and the outside of the shop. She smiled as she spotted Tabitha in one of them. She moved on to the section labelledcollectable and rare...Did people really spend that much on a book? She clicked on some of the photos. There was no doubt that these were very beautiful editions, but...wow. And it seemed her aunt sold rather a lot of these books.
She still thought it would be worth her coming up with something for the people of the town in particular to come to, an evening event maybe... She knew how much Auntie Maryvalued the community and being a part of it, and it would be a fun way to spend more time with some of the women from last night as well as encouraging people into the shop who maybe hadn’t been in before.
* * *
The morning passed quickly. Poppy was so excited to be going on a boat trip with her holiday club that Carrie ended up leaving early with her to drop her off, taking a long, rather convoluted route during which she was regaled with tales of how wonderful Layla was and requests to see her again soon.
When Carrie returned to the shop, she rearranged a display on one of the tables and sold a whole pile of books to a group of tourists while trying to avoid being in any of the photos they were very sweetly taking.
