A Country Village Christmas by Suzanne Snow

Author:Suzanne Snow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo
Published: 2021-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

They had to make more espresso for the martini that came next. Olivia preferred it to the Old Fashioned and then Tom mixed a Black Russian, adding a measure of Cointreau for a festive twist, and she loved that. The lasagne had long since gone and even she had had to admit that it hadn’t been amazing.

Her phone was busier than normal with notifications, and she saw that a lot of them were from Twitter. She put her glasses on and clicked on the app, startled to see she had over fifty. Assuming it was a mistake, she began going through them and soon realised it wasn’t. ‘Oh, crap.’

‘What is it?’ He was clearing away the remains of their meal. ‘Everything okay?’

‘Yes. Sort of.’ She was flicking through some of the notifications. ‘Maybe you should see this.’

Tom came to stand beside her, looking over her shoulder. She liked having him there, his head close, arm brushing hers.

‘Twitter.’ Olivia lifted the phone to show him. ‘Or more specifically, Twitter and one of our customers this afternoon. He bought a few books and he’s tweeted and tagged the shop. Look.’

Tom was staring at her screen and she clicked on the customer’s profile. She soon saw that he was an author of some renown, with a distinguished playwriting career still flourishing and a knack for adapting the right television dramas. He had tweeted about his visit and included an image she had not noticed him taking, remarking that although the space was small, the choice of books was excellent.

The shop looked welcoming and festive, and some of his many followers had already retweeted it, resulting in the jump in interest and new followers. There were a few comments about her dad, some people remembering him from his days on the high street in town, and she sensed Tom stepping back.

‘I wasn’t expecting this,’ Olivia told him quietly. ‘I just logged back in this morning and reactivated Dad’s account before you and I spoke. He was still sending the odd tweet and hadn’t deleted it.’

Tom was leaning against the sink, hands pushed into his jeans pockets, brow creased in a frown.

‘It doesn’t mention you and I’m sorry to have raised the possibility, Tom.’ Olivia put the phone down. ‘I’ll reply to the author, then I’ll deactivate the account in the next day or so and let Dad know. After thirty days it won’t be recoverable and the shop will be closed soon anyway.’

‘What if you don’t? Deactivate the account?’

Tom’s question was a surprise. ‘Then interest in what we’re doing might keep growing and could bring more visitors. You know that.’ She eyed him warily. ‘Some of whom would probably recognise you and might put on social media that you’re here. Wonder why.’

‘I love how you’re saying “we” after precisely one afternoon in the shop.’

‘Hey, I’ve done my share of hours in the shop over the years, thanks very much. Way more than you.’

‘Back to being a bookseller again, I see.’ Tom’s eyes narrowed and she laughed.

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