Page 72 of The Sugar and Spice Bookshop Bakery

‘It’s not about forgetting him, Louise. It’s about distancing myself. Because I’ve noticed that whenever I ignore him for a bit, he starts to love me again. That’s why I changed my number. I locked my old phone in a drawer and bought a new one, and I didn’t put Theo’s number in it, so I couldn’t call him. And it worked. For a bit. He came round with flowers.’

‘That’s kind of… extreme.’ Louise can’t quite believe Maddie is going to these lengths for this man. He must be pretty special to have this power over her.

‘Not that extreme. I think I’m too needy, and that puts him off. So I’m going to focus on the bookshop bakery, and not contact him. Do that whole “treat ’em mean” thing.’

‘Treat ’em mean, keep ’em keen,’ Louise repeats slowly. ‘Maddie, I’m not sure—’

‘It’ll work. You should have seen how attentive he was when I was revising for my finals and really was too busy to return his calls.’

Arguing is futile. Louise had been hoping that things were over between Maddie and Theo, that her stepdaughter was beginning to see sense, but she couldn’t have been more wrong.

‘Oh, and I’ve invited Elizabeth round,’ Maddie says. ‘I thought she might like to check out what progress we’ve made, now the outbuildings are all nearly finished. The exterior parts anyway. Since she’s our main investor.’

‘Our only investor,’ Louise laughs. ‘And I’m sure she’ll have been monitoring progress from the window of her back bedroom, but yes, that’s thoughtful. It’ll be nice to give her a guided tour.’

‘And,’ Maddie says, ‘I’ll be bringing a clipboard, so we can all chip in ideas for the interiors, and I’ll make a list of things we still need to buy.’

*

Louise stands in the doorway of the Crime Scene, two steaming mugs of coffee in her hands.

He doesn’t notice her. He’s fixing a shelf, his tongue sticking out of his mouth slightly, like a child concentrating on a difficult task.

‘Never have I ever…’ she says.

He startles, dropping his screwdriver. ‘You made me jump! How long have you been standing there?’

‘Only a few seconds.’ She hands him the coffee.

‘Never have you ever…?’

‘Seen someone putting so much care and attention into a few bookshelves.’

‘Never have I ever put so much care and attention into a few bookshelves. I want them to be perfect for you.’

‘Your shelves are perfect.’

He takes a sip of his coffee. ‘As is your coffee. Best coffee outside Italy. Has anyone ever told you that?’

‘I think they might have. It does have a familiar ring to it.’

‘Your turn,’ he says. ‘Never have I ever…?’

She thinks for a moment.

Never have I ever eaten an entire Victoria sponge in one sitting.

Never have I ever kept a houseplant alive for over a month.

Never have I ever spent one night with someone and felt like this about them.

‘Never have I ever watched an episode of Love Island,’ she says.

He takes a sip of his coffee.

Her eyes widen. ‘You watch Love Island?’

He shrugs. ‘One episode. Just to see what all the fuss was about. Okay, my turn…’ He pauses. ‘Never have I ever put petrol into a diesel car. Or vice versa.’