Page 1 of Love in the Air at The Cornish Bakery

Chapter One

Stepping out of thetaxi, Nina rummaged in her pocket and passed the money to the driver. ‘Thanks.’

‘No problem.’

As the taxi rumbled across the cobles, Nina looked up at the building in front of her—The Cornish Bay Bakery. It was bigger than she’d envisioned. Double-fronted and they made wedding cakes. Flinging her rucksack over her shoulder, she stepped forward, peering into the window and reading the text beneath shiny photographs of happy couples—it was a wedding planning business, too. Definitely not what she’d been expecting. Still, it looked nice.

Taking a deep breath, Nina knocked on the door. She’d known it would be closed at this time. She was just hoping someone would be in. Cupping her hands around her eyes, she peered through the window; she couldn’t see anyone. Stepping back, she looked up. It looked as though there was a flat above the bakery. She’d just have to knock louder, try to get their attention.

She shifted her rucksack higher on her shoulder. The flat looked as closed up as the bakery itself; she couldn’t see any lights on or windows open. Still, it would be worth a try knocking again.

Nope. Nothing. Elsie, the bakery owner, must be out. Shoving her hands in her pockets, Nina looked up and down the cobbled street. It was her own fault. She wasn’t supposed to be coming until tomorrow morning, but when Steph, a friend of her brother’s, had offered her a lift to Trestow, she’d jumped at the chance to save a few pounds on the train ticket. She rolled her eyes. That had been a mistake. What she hadn’t known was that for some reason there had been no buses from Trestow to Penworth Bay this late, so what she’d saved on a train ticket, she’d spent on a taxi fare.

She glanced across at the ocean. Would she get a sea view window in the flat above the bakery? She hoped so. It had been so long since she’d come to the beach. Too long.

What should she do? Sit on the beach and wait until Elsie, or someone, came back? Or find somewhere to sit? She looked up and down the street. The café next door to the bakery was closed, but there was a building at the far end of the bay. She squinted. She couldn’t make out what it was, but it looked as though there was a car park. It might be a pub or a restaurant or something. If so, there was a good chance it would be open.

Taking another look at the bakery, she began walking across the cobbles towards the building.

As she got closer, she sighed. There were no lights on there, either. Was everywhere in the bay closed today? She could hear something, though. Voices. Walking across to the low wall, she peered down at the beach below. Someone was having a good time; people were lounged across the sand beneath her, relaxing on picnic rugs or chatting in clusters. It even looked as though there was a BBQ set up. She smiled.

Sinking to the top step, Nina pulled her rucksack onto her lap. Where had she put that envelope? After checking the many zipped pockets inside, she pulled the well-read and well-worn envelope out and smoothed it over her knees.

She ran the pad of her forefinger over her gran’s name, Nancy Archer. Judging by the condition of the paper, her gran must have read the letter a million times. The softened corners and the way the ink had begun to bleed into the folds were telltale signs her gran had perused the words time and time again.

Looking up, Nina focused on the lighthouse at the end of the beach. He could be in there now. Her gran had only received the letter a couple of weeks ago, so he must still live there. Would he want to see her, Nina, though? It was her gran who he had sent the letter to, not her. Still, she had a message to give him, a promise from her gran to fulfil and after everything her gran had done for her, passing on one message was the least she could do, even one this important.

‘Hi, is everything okay? I’m afraid the restaurant is closed tonight.’

Jerking her head towards the voice, she watched as a man and a woman came up the steps towards her. ‘Oh, hi. Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude.’ The woman glanced across in the direction of the BBQ. How hadn’t she noticed them coming? She shook her head; she must have been too engrossed in re-reading the letter. ‘I was just biding some time.’

‘It’s okay, you’re not intruding.’ The man held out his hand. ‘I’ve not seen you about here before. I’m Simon Groves and this is Jessie Bentley.’ He nodded towards the woman next to him.

‘Hi, Nina Wheat. I’ve only just arrived. I’ve come down to work at the bakery over there...’ She nodded behind her. ‘But no one’s in, so I thought I’d have a wander around. I’m a day early, so they’re not expecting me yet.’

‘Oh, you’re the new volunteer?’ Jessie grinned. ‘I’ve literally just finished volunteering there. Elsie, who owns the bakery, is down here.’ Jessie nodded in the direction of the group on the beach. ‘Come on down and we can introduce you.’

Nina glanced towards the group. She couldn’t go down there. They looked as though they were celebrating something; it wasn’t her place to interrupt. ‘Oh no, don’t worry. I’ll be okay. I’ll just wait until she heads back.’

‘Elsie would never forgive us if we left you up here waiting.’ Simon chuckled and held out his hand for her.

‘Well, I...’ Nina sighed. She supposed she’d have to meet them at some point. Slipping the envelope back into her rucksack, she took Simon’s hand and let him help her up.

‘I know there’re a lot of people here, but they’re all part of Elsie’s bakery family and so you’d likely be meeting them, anyway.’ Jessie grinned as she led the way across the sand. ‘We’ll go and say hi to Elsie first.’

Gripping the strap of her rucksack, Nina swallowed. She’d never been great at socialising, especially with people she didn’t know. ‘Okay.’

‘Here she is.’ Jessie paused beside a woman filling a mug from a slow cooker sitting on a table on the sand. ‘Elsie.’

Turning, Elsie smiled. ‘Are you all right there, Jessie, love?’

‘We’ve just run into Nina, here. She’s the new volunteer.’

‘Oh, evening, Nina. How are you?’ Placing her mug on the table, Elsie pulled Nina in for a quick hug.

‘I’m really sorry to just drop by like this. I was supposed to be coming tomorrow but...’ Nina clasped her hands in front of her.

‘Don’t worry about that.’ Elsie waved her apology away. ‘It’s lovely to have you here. A day early or not. Now, let’s get you one of Daisy’s hot chocolates before we introduce you to everyone.’

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