Читать книгу Love and Lies at The Village Christmas Shop: A laugh out loud romantic comedy perfect for Christmas 2018 - Portia MacIntosh, Portia MacIntosh - Страница 12

After a long day of few customers and lots on my mind, it’s a relief when I finally walk towards the shop door, to turn the open sign to closed. As I approach the door, I see Seb walk up the pathway, and seeing his face instantly perks me up. It’s been a tough day, but seeing a friendly face – even a new one – is suddenly making all the difference. For the first time today, I smile.

‘Hello,’ I say brightly.

‘Hey,’ he replies.

‘You said you would be back,’ I say.

He smiles. ‘I did.’

‘And that you wanted to talk,’ I remind him.

‘I do.’

‘Well, come in, I’ll make us a couple of coffees. I made some fruit mince tarts, topped with meringue. You can try one, tell me if they’re any good.’

‘That would be great,’ he says, loosening up a little.

It surprises me that someone so cool, with so much confidence, could be so awkward after one little peck.

I show him into the kitchen and place a coffee and a tart down in front of him.

‘Wow, you made these? They look amazing,’ he says.

‘I was a chef in a past life,’ I admit.

‘I’m happy to see you’re still dabbling,’ he says, taking a bite. ‘Wow, they’re incredible.’

‘Thanks,’ I reply, with a weak smile.

‘How are things?’ he asks.

‘Not ideal,’ I tell him honestly. ‘I spoke to my landlord today.’

I pause for a second, unsure whether or not someone who is pretty much a stranger is the right person to tell this to. And not only is he someone that I don’t know very well, but he’s also someone I don’t want to scare away by banging on about my problems.

‘Do you want to talk about it?’ he asks.

‘No, it’s fine,’ I reply.

‘You’re taking this better than I thought. It’s a huge relief,’ he says, picking up a second tart.

I stare at him blankly.

‘I was worried about telling you,’ he clarifies.

‘Telling me what?’

‘That I’m buying the shop,’ he says.

I don’t know what I do with my face, but my reaction is all Seb needs to realise that I didn’t know he was buying the shop.

‘Wait, I thought you knew? I thought your landlord had spoken to you?’ he asks, suddenly looking even more worried than when he arrived earlier.

I shake my head.

‘Oh, Ivy, I’m so sorry,’ he says. ‘This wasn’t how I wanted you to find out. I thought Mr Andrews would have said.’

‘He just told me that someone was buying the place, not who or why.’

‘Oh…well, me,’ he replies, cringing at his own delivery. ‘My plan is to knock the place down and build holiday homes.’

‘So do that someplace else,’ I say angrily, the idea of the shop being knocked down suddenly seeming so much worse than someone else simply buying the place.

‘This place is perfect,’ he tells me. ‘It’s the only spot I can find that is big enough, which already has planning permission. There’s huge demand for holiday homes in Marram Bay – you can’t keep up with the increasing number of tourists. And, well, speaking from a strictly business point of view, there’s not much demand for a Christmas shop that’s open 12 months of the year.’

I place my hand on my chest. Ouch.

‘I just mean from a business point of view,’ he says. ‘There are other things you—’

‘Seb, just stop,’ I say. ‘We don’t need to talk about it.’

‘Ivy—’

‘I’ve told Mr Andrews that I’ll be here to help, if you need anything,’ I remind him. ‘For now I think it might be best if you leave.’

‘OK, sure,’ he replies.

Seb opens his mouth, as though he’s about to say something. His words are on the tip of his tongue before he obviously thinks better of saying them. Well, what can he say? He gives me a half-smile before heading for the door, like I asked him to.

I can tell that he feels bad about the way I’ve found out but, again, what good does pity do me?

I am angry and I’m upset, but I’m not going to show it. Instead, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I can buy this place first. He might have money and charm, but I have roots here. I believe that Mr Andrews will sell to me over Seb if I can make the money first. I just need to figure out how on earth I can do that…