‘Effie,’ Maddie sighed, ‘you look like you and if I’m not mistaken, that guy has seen you in a wetsuit? This is definitely several step ups from that.’
‘OK, OK.’ Effie stepped around Maddie, took in a deep breath and exhaled. She held her hand out; it was shaking. ‘I need to get a grip,’ she muttered to herself as she made her way out of the office, Maddie hot on her heels.
The short walk from the office to the shop had never felt longer. Her heart pounded and her went mouth dry, all her senses on high alert. She didn’t dare even imagine what Jake being back in Cornwall might mean.
Stepping into the shop, Effie’s heart almost skittered to a stop. Jake. Jake was there. She took him in, his sun-kissed skin and tousled hair which was pushed back from his face where an anxious, concerned expression ran across his features. Effie gaped at him in disbelief. Lola had been right. He’d come back. But why?
‘Jake?’ She blinked as if she was seeing things.
A dog barked and Effie’s attention was caught by the rabble of people filling up the tiny shop. It wasn’t just Jake, but Alf and Scruff, accompanied by Lola, Freya and Sue, who was half listening, half perusing the crime shelves.
‘What are you all doing here?’ she asked, bewildered.
‘Well, I wanted to come on my own,’ said Jake, shifting from foot to foot, ‘I didn’t really want an audience, but they all insisted. You know what it’s like, I don’t think Lola and Sue understand the word “no”.’
Effie laughed as the two women protested.
‘Scruff wouldn’t be left behind, didn’t want to miss out on all the excitement,’ Alf said, ‘so of course I had to come, keep my eye on him. You know what he’s like.’
Emotion bubbled up in the form of happy tears at seeing her friends crowded into the shop, but mostly it was the sight of Jake, his sleeves rolled up to reveal the tattoos on his strong golden arms, the earnest expression on his face that told her he really would have preferred to have come alone. Effie swallowed down all the feelings that were engulfing her, all the questions that were swirling like a storm. She steadied her breathing and focused just on Jake.
‘Why are you here?’ Somehow she kept her voice steady, emotionless.
Jake took a deep breath before exhaling; Effie was almost pleased to see him looking so nervous.
‘We really need to talk. Properly. I never got to tell you what was going on the night of the gallery. But, the long and the short of it is, I’ve decided to come back.’ He shrugged at the simplicity of it. ‘The Maldives might be nice but they aren’t a patch on Polcarrow.’
‘Glad to hear it, son,’ Alf interrupted.
Effie really wished she wasn’t having this conversation in public. She floundered around for something to say but she was uncomfortable with everyone listening in. She sensed Jake was too. He was right, there was a lot more to say than they could currently voice with an audience. She slipped a glance at Maddie, who was hanging on to every word like it was the juiciest bestseller. Lola, Alf and Freya were waiting for the next instalment. At least Sue was pretending to look at some books. Effie threw Jake a warning glance.
‘Effie, when I got back to Polcarrow and you weren’t there, I didn’t know what to do. Zach—’ Jake spat his name ‘—only told me you were gone. Wouldn’t give me any information. We had to work it all out together that you’d come back here.’
‘He’s ruined the shop,’ Sue butted in, ‘cancelled story time and repainted the door. The kids hate going in now.’
‘Actually, no one likes it anymore,’ Alf said sadly.
Effie stared between them all, trying to process what they were telling her.
‘You need to come back,’ Jake said, stepping forward and taking her hands.
Effie met his gaze, their bodies swayed closer together, but she pulled her hands away from his. Any possible reconciliations could come later. ‘I don’t know if I can. It is his family business,’ she reminded everyone, ‘he probably has more rights than I do.’
‘We’ll all support you turfing him out,’ Alf called, Scruff barking in agreement.
Effie glanced around at the assembled crowd, all watching as she decided what to do. Silently willing her to come and save their bookshop. Her bookshop. The natural desire to protest fought with the injustice of being kicked out of a shop she had so lovingly set up. The fact that the shop meant so much to the residents of Polcarrow lit a flame within her.
‘He probably won’t listen,’ Effie warned them as the door opened, the bell tinkling.
‘Listen to who? What’s going on?’
In unison they all turned towards the shop doorway to find Clive standing there, slightly sunburned and wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
‘Effie, what on earth are you doing here?’ he asked as his eyes fell on the rescue party. ‘What’s going on?’
Chapter Forty-Five
‘Clive! I should ask you the same. I thought you were on holiday for another week.’ Effie stepped around Jake and Maddie stood to attention behind the till.
