Page 27 of The Cornish Cream Tea Bookshop
Wouldn’t miss it! You’re spending your evening working, then? What a surprise.
Ollie looked at her paper chains. She was working, sort of, but Max didn’t need to know that. She had picked the locations she would take her wannabe ghost hunters to on Monday night, and wasn’t remotely worried about being a temporary tour guide – especially knowing Max would be there, too. In fact, she felt giddy at the thought of spending another evening in his company, and it was this giddiness that – much later, after she’d calmed down considerably – she would blame for what she ended up typing next.
The glow sticks arrived, that’s all – it doesn’t mean I’m working. I’ve been on the Victoria’s Secret website, which is very muchnotwork! xo
As soon as she’d sent it, she closed her eyes in despair. She went to hit ‘delete for everyone’ but the ticks had already gone blue. ‘Fuckity fuck biscuits,’ she said to her dog. Henry stared balefully at her, as if he knew just how much of an idiot she’d been. Perhaps Max didn’t know what Victoria’sSecret was? Was that remotely plausible? She thought probably not, and anyway, he’d been looking up the ghostly battle earlier. If he was curious, he’d research it.
She couldn’t leave it like it was: her fingers flew across the screen.
Please ignore that last message! xo
What message? There are a hundred different things I could have replied to this, but I’ll quietly forget about it instead. Speak soon. Mx
Ollie sagged, relieved, against the sofa, even though the traitorous part of her brain couldn’t help wondering what some of his replies might have been.
Chapter Twelve
Halloween dawned full of soft, autumn sunshine. It was the nicest day they’d had for a while, the sea shimmering a rich, sapphire blue as Ollie walked into town, carrying her box of glow sticks. It wasn’t giving off the spooky vibes she needed for her event later, but at this time of year, any sunshine was welcome.
Inside A New Chapter, her Halloween table was piled beautifully with Laura Purcell and Michelle Paver novels, some real-life ghost stories and books of local hauntings. The sign above it readHaunting Readsand she’d draped it with fake cobwebs.
‘Hi Becky,’ she said, putting her box down. ‘Is there an update on the numbers signed up for tonight?’
Becky clicked through screens on the computer. ‘There are fifteen, now. Three up from yesterday.’
‘Amazing! Are you coming?’
‘No, I haven’t got a babysitter, so I’m doing trick-or-treating instead.’
Ollie sighed. ‘I used to love trick-or-treating when I was little, and back then I just had a plastic bowl and was only allowed to visit the three neighbours my parents had checked with in advance. It’s got so much bigger.’
‘It’s all Americanised,’ Becky said. ‘Not sure it’s that great, actually, promoting ghouls and villains to our kids.’
‘I suppose if they stick to children’s characters – the Worst Witch and Harry Potter – then it’s OK. It can get out of hand easily, though. My walk tonight will focus on Cornish history – local hauntings – and books.’
‘And glow sticks,’ Thea added, taking one out of the box. ‘I used to love these.’
‘I’ve got way too many for tonight, so you can fill your boots.’
Becky and Thea both snapped a stick, the crackle and burst of colour as they ignited incredibly satisfying.
‘Ollie,’ Thea said, waving her luminous green stick at her. ‘I know you’re getting ready for tonight, but have you had any more thoughts about our big Christmas event?’
Ollie pressed her lips together, trying to suppress a grin. ‘What about … Sophia Forsythe-Hartley?’
‘Seriously?’ Thea looked alarmed rather than delighted. ‘Mega famous thriller author with a hugely popular Cornwall-set series? She wouldn’t blink at a bookshop like ours, let alone come for an event here.’
‘That’s not true,’ Ollie protested.
Thea shook her head. ‘Her book tours include America, Scandinavia, Australia. In London she does Waterstones Piccadilly and Daunt Books, and occasionally she has events at places like the Festival Hall. She wouldn’t come here.’
‘We won’t know that until we ask her.’
‘We can make a pretty informed guess,’ Becky muttered.
‘Are you really confident we could get someone like that here?’ For the first time, Thea sounded concerned, as if she’d reached the limits of her belief in Ollie’s can-do attitude. It was understandable, because it was a world away from ghost walks and book clubs, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t try.
‘I know someone who knows her editor,’ Ollie said, tilting her chin up. ‘What harm can a phone call do?’
