Summer on the Little Cornish Isles by Phillipa Ashley

Author:Phillipa Ashley
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008253400
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2018-06-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

As soon as she woke on Saturday morning, Poppy began reflecting back on the events of the previous two days. The artists were set to arrive later for their rescheduled meetings but her thoughts were once again on that kiss.

‘Can we forget it?’ Jake had said afterwards.

She’d found that almost impossible to do. She’d kept replaying the delicious part in her mind and then cringing as she heard Jake’s horrified apology. What would have happened if they’d taken things further? Why had he kissed her at all, if he didn’t want things to move beyond friendship? And what happened next? He’d implied he was staying on at least until the launch, which implied afterwards as well. She’d always known he’d be gone one day, but his comment had given her hope – hope she should never even have allowed to creep into her mind.

Fortunately, she hadn’t been alone with Jake too much since the awkward moment. Kelly and a small army of helpers joined her, Jake and Fen to help dry out the studio, make the repairs and repaint the stained walls and damaged plinths. Once things were tidy again, he left once more, citing ‘work.’

She was also relieved she’d ordered in a few items of stock from mainland artists, which arrived safely by the freight boat. At least she had some items to display before they arrived. However, the launch was only one week away and if she didn’t persuade them to exhibit today, she’d have a half-empty shop. Word was getting round about the launch too. People were peering through the windows, ads and features had appeared in the island e-newsletters and it had been mentioned on the radio. There was no going back.

Due to the flood, she’d been up until one the previous evening, rearranging the few pieces she had. She’d also checked that the skylight was closed – not that Leo was likely to strike twice – and had finally fallen into bed, physically knackered but with a mind whirling like a Waltzer.

How could she be so nervous when she’d done way more scary things at work? Like launching a new green roof system to two hundred sceptical builders at a big exhibition … and the time she’d been roped in to demonstrate the suction power of a new shower drain by donning a wetsuit and shower cap at the company conference.

Meeting a few artists ought to be a doddle – even if one of them was Minty.

After nibbling at a piece of toast, she got dressed. She took a few deep breaths as she glanced in the mirror. Her unruly brown hair was pinned on top of her head in an updo and she’d changed into the stripy T-shirt dress she’d loved but Dan said made her look like a French onion seller. She teamed it with the purple suede pixie boots that reminded him of ‘a nineteen eighties throwback’, and almost considered taking a selfie and emailing it to the git.

She was surprised to find her pale cheeks tinged with pink and a few freckles dotting her nose.

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