Page 68 of Whispers at The Bookshop Pretty Beach
‘Nope. It was an unusual way for us to meet. I mean, most normal people meet in the pub.’
Daisy grimaced. ‘Or on a dating app.’
Miles shook his head. ‘Don’t even go there.’
‘I’ve heard it’s very grim.’
Miles suddenly looked very serious. ‘All joking aside. I want to be part of this. I want to be part of your life and the twins' lives. I really love their mum a lot.’
Daisy swallowed. ‘Even though it's complicated?’
‘Especially because it's complicated. The best things usually are, although really, I think this is all quite simple.’
‘Let's take it one day at a time and see what happens.’
‘I can work with that.’
39
Daisy had been staring at the same page of her stock spreadsheet for the better part of twenty minutes when she finally admitted defeat and closed her laptop with a snap. The numbers weren't making sense because her brain was elsewhere, spinning through increasingly dramatic scenarios involving corporate takeovers and For Lease signs taped to her beloved bookshop window. She'd tried distracting herself by reorganising the children's section, updating her social media posts and even giving the coffee machine a thorough and very much not needed clean. However, nothing had worked. The GayesBooks situation sat, or more like zoomed, around her head and refused to go away.
The twins were at Annabelle's for the afternoon, Miles had taken his mum to the supermarket and the bookshop was experiencing a very quiet lull that usually made Daisy feel peaceful. Today, though, the silence just gave her anxiety more room to expand and multiply. She needed to talk to someone who understood the book world and the GayesBooks threat. Lotta sprang to mind immediately and Daisy fired off a quick message asking Lotta if she fancied a cup of tea and a chat and not really expecting Lotta to reply.
The response had been immediate and enthusiastic. Twenty minutes later, Daisy had locked up the shop and was walking through Pretty Beach towards Lotta's house with a newly arrived book tucked under her arm and her mind still churning with worst-case scenarios about what was going to happen to her little business.
Once she turned the corner to see Lotta’s house, Daisy exhaled at one of the loveliest houses in Pretty Beach. Everything about it was divine and very Lotta; slightly ramshackle, with climbing roses engulfing the front door and window boxes overflowing with herbs. A wooden sign by the gate read 'Pretty Beach to the Breakers' in faded paint and the front garden was a jumble of late-season colour. One of the blue and yellow posters Chloe had designed was in the sitting room window and Lotta had also stuck one on the front fence.
Lotta opened the door before Daisy had even knocked, as if she'd been watching from the window. In a vintage-style soft green tea dress with a cardigan over the top and with a Kindle in one hand and a book in the other, Lotta very much looked the real-life embodiment of the bookish woman seen on her socials.
'Daise! Perfect timing. I've just put the kettle on and there's lemon drizzle cake that's practically demanding to be eaten.' Lotta ushered her through a hallway lined with overflowing bookshelves and into a sitting room that made Daisy's heart do a little skip of envy.
The room was everything Daisy aspired to but had never quite achieved in her own spaces. Books and more books were literally everywhere, but in a curated rather than chaotic way. They filled floor-to-ceiling shelves, sat in neat stacks on every available surface, and even served as impromptu side tables for teacups and reading glasses. A wood-burning stove crackled and the walls where there weren’t bookshelves were covered with framed photographs of authors, bookshops, and literary events.Fairy lights were strung around the picture rail, a desk with an old banker’s light nestled on the top had chairs tucked under it and everything felt wonderfully cosy and soft.
Lotta beamed and gestured to a velvet chair for Daisy to sit down. ‘It’s so nice to see you. I didn’t get a chance to chat with you at the town meeting. There were so many people there. Here we go.’
Daisy swooned at the gloriousness of the room. 'This is so gorgeous. Wow, you make me look like an amateur.’ Daisy sank into the velvet armchair and immediately felt some of the tension leave her shoulders.
'Twenty years of accumulating book-related paraphernalia will do that to a place. I'll warn you now, once you start collecting signed first editions, there's no going back. It becomes an addiction. Right, tea and cake coming up.'
Daisy looked around at the shelves more closely and realised that many of the books did indeed have a tell-tale look of special editions and collector's items. She spotted several spines she recognised from her own research into valuable books, including what looked like a signed copy of a novel that had won a major literary prize the year before.
Lotta reappeared with a tray that looked as if it had been styled for a country living magazine. 'I should probably confess that I've been looking for an excuse to get my teapot out. I usually use whatever mug happens to be clean and dunk in a teabag.'
'I know that feeling. Though in my case, it's usually because the twins have declared a state of emergency over something and I'm negotiating.'
Lotta poured tea and smiled. 'How are the girls settling into the bookshop life? It must be quite a change for them, living above the shop.'
'They love it. They've got this whole routine where they come down after school and do their homework in the children's corner, then help me tidy up before closing on the days I’m open. Evie's become obsessed with arranging the picture books by colour, and Margot likes to write little notes about the books she's read and leave them as recommendations for other children.'
'That's adorable. Future book influencers in the making.'
Daisy accepted a very generous slice of lemon drizzle cake. 'I suppose that's part of what's worrying me about this whole GayesBooks situation. We've finally found our place, you know? The girls are settled, I'm building something I'm proud of, and now there's this threat that could take it all away. I’ll still be able to live there, obviously and I’m in a better place than I was before. It just feels very precarious at the moment.'
Lotta settled into the sofa opposite Daisy. 'I've been following the situation on the Facebook group and I have to say, I'm impressed by how the community has rallied. The response here has been very organised and determined. That town meeting was next level. The next thing is the demonstration. Pete has started talking about banners.'
Daisy shook her head. 'But do you think it'll be enough? I mean, we're talking about a company with professional marketing teams and unlimited resources. What can a few flyers and a petition really do against that?'
Lotta sipped her tea thoughtfully. 'More than you might think, sometimes. I've been in the book world long enough to see how these battles play out, and community resistance can be surprisingly effective. The key is understanding what these companies are actually after.'
