Page 27 of The Sugar and Spice Bookshop Bakery

‘I left my job. I thought you knew. Didn’t you speak to them?’

Maddie shrugs. ‘Like I said, they were a bit cryptic. They didn’t say you’d left.’

‘Oh.’ Louise wonders who Maddie had spoken to and what her former colleagues were saying about her behind her back. What rumours were circulating around the office? Did anyone miss her? Or was her name mud for disappearing, and landing them all with an extra workload?

‘So why did you leave?’

‘Time for a fresh start and all that,’ Louise says. She is not about to reveal the whole Sheila Penhaligon story to her stepdaughter. For one thing, she doesn’t want Graham finding out. He’d enjoy the saga of his ex-wife screwing up so spectacularly. She’s never met anyone with so strong a sense of schadenfreude.

‘So the bakery’s going to be a bookshop?’

‘I hope so. Although Mum would have preferred B to be for bakery. She’s given me her blessing, but deep down, she really wanted me to take over, continue the family tradition.’

‘You’d be great at that. You’re so good at baking.’

‘Thank you, and I do love baking, it’s just…’ Louise sighs. ‘Well, you know. I’ve never seen myself running the bakery, but I’ve always wanted to run a bookshop. Anyway, that’s for me and Mum to work out. Shall I show you the spare room? It’s yours for as long as you want.’

She hopes she isn’t going to regret this. The whole point of coming to Applethwaite was to take a step back, to give herself the time to recuperate. But life seems to have become more complicated since she arrived, what with a potential new business on the horizon, the growing attraction she feels for Jack, and now an unemployed stepdaughter with boyfriend problems.

Ten

The bakery door opens and no fewer than five people traipse in.

Seriously?

Louise is sitting at the table in the window, staring at the screensaver on her laptop. She’s come downstairs for a bit of peace and quiet to gather her thoughts, away from Maddie who sings Taylor Swift songs constantly to herself. She shakes her head, irritated that she hadn’t checked that the door was locked.

‘You open?’ a man asks hesitantly, probably catching her expression.

‘Er…’

How to explain that no, she is not open, has never been open, but the residents of Applethwaite don’t seem to have ever realised that, and just treat the place as if it were still a bakery.

‘Three teas and two lattes,’ says the woman behind him.

‘And five pieces of your delicious ginger cake, please, Lou,’ comes another voice. ‘We were so excited when we heard you were back and the bakery was open again.’

Only it isn’t, Louise thinks, but she doesn’t say so.

Their faces seem vaguely familiar, but Louise can’t recall who these people are. They clearly know her though as they’re using her childhood nickname.

She stands up, and, with a sigh, goes over to the coffee machine. It’s a blessing that it’s still in working order.

Although…

Is it a blessing?

If the coffee machine wasn’t working, perhaps the locals would get it into their heads that this isn’t a bakery anymore.

When she’s served them, Louise returns to her table and stares at the laptop again, although it’s in sleep mode now and the screen has turned itself off.

‘Here you are!’

Louise looks up, expecting to see more customers, but it’s Maddie. She’s staring at the seven people who are tucking into their ginger cake.

‘Who are they?’ Maddie mouths.

‘Customers,’ Louise whispers. Well, kind of. Strictly speaking, they aren’t customers because the bakery isn’t officially open, but people keep coming in anyway and demanding coffee and cake.’