Page 27 of The Pop-Up Cake Shop

‘Oh, yes. Out of his scruffy jeans, big boots and hard hat he’s surprisingly cute.’

‘No. I meant “really” as in why was he on the news?’

‘Well, he was talking about this housing project.’ She nodded over at the building site. ‘Apparently he’s building a development of twelve eco houses.’

‘Oh. Right. What exactly does that mean, then?’

‘Insulation is key, apparently, and they’re powered by renewable energy.’

I nodded. ‘Very worthy.’

‘You sound a bit scathing.’

‘No, I’m sure there are lots of advantages for the future of the planet. It’s just I was reading somewhere about the rebound effect that can kind of cancel out some of the benefits.’

‘The rebound effect?’

I nodded. ‘Human behaviour can interfere with the promised advantages of things like solar power. Apparently when people are warm in their houses, they’re more likely to just wear less clothing than turn down the heating. So they’re not always saving the levels of energy that would technically be possible.’

Ellie nodded. ‘Interesting. Maybe you should put that question to our TV celebrity builder over there.’ She grinned in the direction of the building site.

‘Er, I don’t think so.’ I grimaced. ‘I’d rather have no communication whatsoever with either himorthat club-wielding caveman side-kick of his.’

She chuckled. ‘Well, let’s hope they’ve brought their packed lunches to work, so they don’t end up prowling around the market with their clubs, hunting down fresh meat!’

I laughed at the idea of that, although the thought of running into either of them again made me feel oddly uneasy.

The number of market visitors milling around the twenty or thirty stalls was very promising, although our plot wasn’t the best situated. It was at the far end of a row of stalls, selling groceries, pet food and accessories, candles, antiques, and right next to us, a flower-seller. People were tending to wander all the way to the flowers, stand and admire them for a while, and then turn and walk away. I supposed it was because we didn’t have a stall with all the bakery goods laid out for them to see.Plus, neither Ellie nor I felt comfortable calling out to people and drawing their attention to our fabulous cakes.

After half an hour of slow business, however, things picked up a little.

I was chatting to a lovely woman about her recipe for ginger cake when a voice behind me said, ‘Er... could you move your van, please? You’re blocking the way.’

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The ginger cake woman thanked me and walked away.

Bewildered, I turned to find a towering, dark-haired hulk of a man grinning down at me.

What on earth . . .?

I was about to start explaining that this was our designated plot, when something about the thick, bushy eyebrows dislodged a memory.

Oh, hell, it’s him!

Bulldozer Man.

I didn’t even recognise him without his threatening scowl.

I frowned up at him. ‘Ha ha, very funny. But strangely enough, I’m really not that amused.’

He adopted a comical pleading expression. ‘You’re not going to forgive me, then?’

‘Not sure you deserve it, really,’ I snapped. ‘I almost missed my flight to New York because of your thuggish behaviour that day.’

‘You tell him!’ said someone else, and when I looked around, there was the other ‘comedian’ – the eco builder, standing with his arms folded. ‘I think an apology might be in order, don’t you, Ivan?’

Ivan?

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