Page 28 of The Cornish Cream Tea Bookshop
‘No harm,’ Thea said. ‘But don’t mention this to anyone else, please. Nobody beyond our inner circle, OK? Not until it’s more than a pie in the sky idea. I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, or have anyone laugh at us.’
‘Nobody will laugh at us,’ Ollie replied. ‘But I won’t say a word, not to another soul. I know you say it’s pie in the sky, but wewantto aim for the stars, don’t we?’
Thea leaned on the countertop. ‘Did you know that I’ve wanted to run a bookshop since I was ten?’
Ollie took a glow stick out of the box, cracked it, and was satisfied when it shone a bright, almost eye-aching blue. ‘I knew it was a dream of yours, but I didn’t realise you’d had it that long. You must be so proud of what you’ve achieved.’
‘I am,’ Thea said. ‘Really. I love this place already, and I’m so happy to have you, and Becky, here. But my ambition stopped at running a successful, loved bookshop by the sea, with customers who trusted my stock and my recommendations, and kept coming back. It’s a busy job, there’s so much to do behind the scenes as well as day to day, which is why I wantedyou, someone with differentexperience, who could help us reach readers and the community in different ways.’
‘That’s what I’m doing,’ Ollie said.
Thea smiled. ‘You are. Already, you’re doing so much. I love your ideas, and I love your energy, but I’m not aiming for the stars. I’m aiming for Port Karadow, Cornwall, with some online customers further afield. I want us to hold popular events, and I want us to be ambitious, but I am not after stretching ourselves – me or you or Becky – too far or too hard. I don’t want to promise anything I can’t deliver. Do you get it?’
‘Of course I do,’ Ollie said. She got it, but that didn’t mean she agreed with it. Why not aim further than you thought possible, just to see where you landed? But Thea was her boss, someone who had turned her passion into a reality. She had fulfilled an incredible dream, so it made sense for Ollie to listen to her, learn from her. She could not fuck this up.
‘Come to me with any ideas,’ Thea said, ‘but please always speak to me before you act on them. This town is way too good at spreading rumours.’
Ollie smiled. ‘I’d noticed.’
‘I don’t want anyone to think we’re too big for our boots. We need to grow into them first.’
‘I guess I’m not known for my caution,’ Ollie said.
‘And I’m not known for my risk-taking – launching this place aside, but that was still mostly calculated. Let’s meet somewhere in the middle.’
‘Middle sounds good. For now, anyway.’ She grinned, Thea laughed and Becky – though Ollie only just caught it – rolledher eyes. She would have to convince both of them that she wasn’t being too ambitious, that she was only doing what Thea had asked her to do. Sophia Forsythe-Hartley was not too big for this bookshop. ‘Does anyone want a cake from Sea Brew?’ she asked. ‘I’m thinking of doing a run.’
‘Dylan told me that Max is coming on the ghost walk,’ Becky said.
‘That’s right,’ Ollie replied.
‘He wanted to go, but I can’t bring Billy and Meg along: it’s too late for them, which is why I’m trying to tempt them with trick-or-treating instead.’
‘Does Dylan know Max well?’
Becky shrugged. ‘Max helps out with the school football team when he can. Dylan worships him.’
Something twisted in Ollie’s gut. Of course Max helped out with the football team at the local school: he was genuine and kind, and he used to be a personal trainer. Did that mean his kindness towards her was just that? He’d tried to be friendly to a newcomer, and she’d taken it too far? She thought of their recent message exchange, and squeezed her eyes closed.
‘Is he coming as a customer, or a helper?’ Thea asked.
‘He’s bought a ticket,’ Ollie said. ‘Why?’
Thea shrugged. ‘His main goal in life seems to be helping people out, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he wanted to help you, too.’
‘He seems really lovely,’ Ollie said, unable to resist the opportunity to talk about him.
‘He’s so charming,’ Thea added, shaking her head. ‘Like Becky says, he helps out with the football team, heorganised this barbecue cook-off in the summer with Marcus Belrose, the chef who runs the Happy Shack. He’s fully invested in the town, and so sweet with it. I find it entirely unfathomable that he’s single.’
Ollie rearranged the pile of bookmarks on the counter. ‘Maybe he had a bad break-up? Or – what if he’s like a small-town celebrity? He’ssocharming and hot, he runs a popular business in the heart of Port Karadow, he has women constantly throwing themselves at him and he’s just exhausted by the whole thing.’
Nobody spoke for a moment, and Ollie looked up.
‘Beats me.’ Becky shrugged. ‘I chat to him, sure, but mostly about how Dylan’s getting on. We’ve not really gone there with each other’s hopes and dreams.’
Ollie was surprised how relieved she felt at Becky’s ambivalence. Then she realised Thea was giving her a curious look. ‘What?’
‘Socharming and hot?’ Thea repeated.
