Mistletoe and Wine In Lily Vale Village: A merry, heart-warming and festive Christmas tale about family, love and starting again by Imogen Payne

Author:Imogen Payne [Payne, Imogen]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2020-12-17T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

On Sunday morning, I’m all flustered and stressed, doing my best to explain to Emma for the fifth time how to properly lay out the cafe floor. ‘So that one only needs two chairs, and that one in the corner needs four, and both of those have pink carnations in their vases. Pink. Now, the daisies -’

‘Chill out, Hol!’ Emma plants her hands on her hips. ‘Does it really matter what posies go in which vase? Besides, I’m pretty sure I can figure it out myself.’

‘Well, I don’t want you to just “figure it out”. I want you to do it properly,’ I insist, smoothing out the creases in the lace doily on table five. ‘Look, I know you think I’m daft, but this stuff is important to me. I - I like it to look like it used to. This is how Mum used to organise the tables.’

My gaze is drawn to the large glass window at the front of the tearoom, where I spy a tall, handsome man in a khaki parka and an overexcited English Springer Spaniel leaping at his side walking briskly down the street. He’s heading this way. Oh God, I don’t want George to come in, not when Emma will have about a million awkward and potentially embarrassing questions for him!

‘Right, so I think you’ve got this covered,’ I blurt out. ‘Good luck, Em. If you need anything, just give me a call. I’ll have my phone on loud and I’ll come back immediately -’

‘Hol!’ Emma shuts me up with a quick hug. I relax in her embrace just a little, allowing myself a second to breathe. ‘Don’t worry, this place isn’t going to fall down in an hour. Besides, you’ll be back before we even open up for customers, what could possibly go wrong?’

I really wish she hadn’t said that, because now I’m imagining every single thing that could go wrong, in great detail. I inhale and exhale once more and pull on my woolly hat. ‘Right. Well, I’m off then. Won’t be long!’

‘See you soon,’ Emma says, a cheeky little knowing tone dancing in her voice as she does.

I hurry out of the door, praying that Emma didn’t catch a glimpse of my visitor. He looks slightly startled as I barrel into him, taking him by the arm and directing him away from the Cosy Little Tearoom as casually as I can, all before speaking one word to him.

‘Manners cost nothing, you know,’ he jokes. ‘You could at least say “hello, nice to see you George”?’

I shrug. ‘No time. Come on, then.’ Its then I realise I’m still walking with my arm linked in his, and I disentangle myself jerkily, my cheeks beginning to burn.

George chuckles. ‘It’s great to see you too, Miss Potter.’ He cocks his head down to the puppy at my feet. ‘How’s Puddles doing? No more snacking on cakes or stepping on thorns?’

I shake my head with a giggle of my own. ‘Nope. He’s sticking to his kibble and meaty chunks from now on.

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