This hadn’t crossed Effie’s mind. ‘It’s probably only like this because its opening day and the entire village has turned up,’ she said.
Jake’s jaw clenched. He opened his mouth but thought better of whatever he was going to say and closed it again. ‘Do you want one?’
‘Yes please.’ Effie watched as he found a third mug and dropped teabags into them before filling them with boiling water.
‘What is it, Jake?’
Jake took a long time giving the teabags a stir. ‘I don’t think it’s my place to say, but your boss, he’s really taking the piss. Sending you here to paint the shop, completely flaking out when his star guest couldn’t arrive. I didn’t mind going to collect her, Christie is fascinating and interesting company, she was telling me all about where she gets her ideas from, but Clive should’ve gone to collect her.’ He squeezed the teabags, tossed them into the bin and retrieved the milk from the fridge. ‘She’s the star attraction and he was just going to leave here there.’
Effie’s instinct was to defend Clive but instead she sank into herself. ‘I know,’ she admitted, ‘but let’s not discuss this today. There’s some superhero-obsessed kids out there and Sue is about to combust with excitement at meeting her favourite author. I do this for the readers, not for Clive.’ She snuck a glance behind her just to check he wasn’t listening. Instead, he was behind the till, merrily serving some customers. ‘He inherited the business,’ she explained, ‘I’m not sure books are in his blood though. You have a sit down and I’ll take this through to Christie.’
Picking up one of the mugs, Effie made her way back into the shop where Christie was already holding court, her audience listening in awe as she regaled them with a story about a very precarious trip she’d taken to Tintagel in a gale in the name of research.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Effie flicked the shop sign to ‘closed’ and sank back against the door, happy but exhausted after an eventful but successful opening day. Closing her eyes, she took a few calming breaths before reopening them to survey the shop.
All that was left on the refreshment table were a few crumbs of book-shaped biscuits, a pile of glasses that would need to be sorted, and a lone hot cross bun. Glancing around the shop, her heart swelled with happiness to see so many vacant spaces on the shelves where customers had purchased the books that had taken their fancy. They looked like gaps in a wide, but happy smile.
Clive had seemed pleased with how well the opening had gone and had managed not to notice the unimpressed glances Jake had been casting his way. Christie Kernow had been a huge success, happily chattering away long past her allotted time and Sue had practically skipped out of the shop clutching her autographed novels. Clive had been right; Polcarrow was the perfect place to open the next branch of his shop. Effie was confident that today wouldn’t just be a one-off in terms of business.
She’d just finished cashing up the till when a tap at the shop door caught her attention. Glancing up, her heart skipped a beat when she saw Jake peering through the window. He’d offered to drive Christie to her hotel along the coast in St Ives, where she was meeting another author friend. Hurrying around the counter, Effie unlocked the door and threw it open. The sight of his rugged good looks coupled with the fact that he’d managed to save the day, made Effie throw her arms around him.
‘Oh my God, Jake! We did it!’ she squealed as he swung her around.
‘No, you did it, Effie, you did.’ He beamed as he set her back down, his hands on her shoulders, anchoring her.
Grinning, Effie’s eyes met his, their faces only inches apart. Electricity buzzed between them, a current running from their eyes to their lips, down their fingertips. An urge to kiss him surged through Effie, making her face flushed in response. It felt so good to be in his arms, like she was being held strongly against whatever life could throw at her.
Flustered and not knowing what to do about the very obvious attraction that was growing between them, Effie loosened her grip on his shoulders and took the slightest step back, just enough for Jake to release her.
‘Effie, you were amazing!’
A blush crept over her cheeks at this praise but before she could bat it away, Jake continued.
‘I was so impressed. I mean, I knew you’d be great, but I was worried when I remembered you felt anxious around new people, so I didn’t know if this would be too much.’
His concern touched her. ‘Thanks, Jake, I’m always OK when I’m in shop mode, with the books, it’s like I can be a different version of myself. Like my true self.’
Jake frowned. ‘There’s nothing wrong with any version of you. I hope Clive knows what he’s got in you. Honestly, all of this wouldn’t exist without you. Where is he?’
Effie shrugged as if it was nothing. ‘He’s gone home. Family dinner for his mother-in-law.’
Deciding not to push the matter, Jake asked, ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Honestly? No idea! It’s been so full on. Tired but happy, it went far better than I expected, I mean, look at all those empty shelves!’ She signalled to where the local fiction area had been cleared. ‘I don’t think we have a single copy of anything by Christie left! I thought Clive was a bit mad opening a shop here, but now I think it was one of his better ideas.’
Jake’s brow furrowed. ‘Shame he’s not so good at the actual working in a shop. You can’t run this all by yourself, Effie.’
‘I know,’ she sighed. ‘We have to see how the next few weeks goes. If he’s seen how busy it is today I’ll at least have some leverage to take on a part-timer. But I don’t want to think about that now. I had a really good day, I made this happen, me! I want to tidy up and go and celebrate.’ Effie did a little excited jump for joy.
A smile spread across Jake’s face. ‘I’m glad to see you’re taking the credit you deserve. He glanced around at the mess. ‘Right, have you got some bin bags? The quicker we clean up, the quicker we can have that celebratory drink.’
Effie darted into the kitchen and came back with a roll of bin bags. ‘The glasses are made of some recyclable or compostable plastic, so they can go in the recycling bin,’ she explained as she handed him a rubbish bag. ‘Jake, it wasn’t just me, you’ve done your fair share. Painting, collecting Christie, you didn’t have to do any of that.’
‘Thanks, but I wanted to, it’s the least anyone would’ve done.’ Again, he brushed off her gratitude. ‘I didn’t see Clive offering to go and pick her up. She was fantastic. Fascinating to talk to. You couldn’t have an opening without your star attraction.’
‘That’s true. Shame I was too busy serving customers to listen to her,’ Effie sighed as she started to clear the table. ‘Thank you, Jake, let me at least buy you a pint tonight,’ she said, laying a hand on his arm.
