Page 13 of Love in the Air at The Cornish Bakery

‘Are they made by Swizzels?’ Nina frowned.

‘Yes! You’re right. I’m sure you are.’ Harry, Diane’s partner, pointed to the answer sheet.

‘Swizzels it is then.’ Wendy scribbled the answer down.

‘Aw, now the subject of Parma Violets has been brought up, I could really do with some.’ Daisy sipped her orange juice.

‘Ha-ha, they’ll be your new pregnancy craving!’ Diane grinned.

‘We’ll take a detour to the garage in Trestow on the way home if you still want some then.’ Laying his arm around Daisy’s shoulder, Ollie pulled her close and kissed her on top of the head.

‘See, when we have kids, I’ll be getting you everything you crave.’ Harry raised his eyebrows.

‘Stop it. Although to be fair, if you were promising a lifetime’s supply of those giant strawberry gummies, I might actually think about it.’ Diane laughed.

Chapter Eight

‘And the next questionis...’

Nina looked across to the bar as Gerald asked the next question. Rowan was standing beside him, serving a man at the bar. She smiled. The way his eyebrows knitted together while he poured a pint reminded her of the face he pulled when they used to play crazy golf together, or attempted to work out the instructions to build a flatpack wardrobe, or follow a particularly difficult recipe. That look had been one of the first things she’d fallen in love with him for.

‘You, okay?’

‘What? Yes, sorry, I was miles away.’ Nina blinked and focused on Wendy next to her.

‘Good. Is it as awkward as you thought it would be with Rowan over there?’

Glancing back across at him, she shook her head. Now the initial shock of seeing him again had worn off, she supposed it shouldn’t matter that he was here. She was at the bakery, and he was working here at the pub. Yes, their paths would naturally cross from time to time, but apart from that, there was no reason that his presence in the bay should affect her break down here. She could be civil with him. ‘It’s fine. Sorry about earlier, I think it was just the shock of seeing him again. It took me a long time to get over him, but that was a long time ago now and I’m not going to let anything get in the way of me enjoying my time here. He seems okay with it, so I should be too.’

‘That’s good.’ Wendy hugged her shoulders quickly.

‘Right, you lovely people, answer sheets to the bar, and then I have a special surprise for you.’ Gerald laughed as a loud gasp filtered around the pub.

‘Don’t keep us in suspense, Gerald.’ A man at the table in front of the bar called out.

‘Yes, come on, tell us, mate.’ Another man with a greying beard stood up from a table in the corner and called across the pub.

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