Page 24 of Love in the Air at The Cornish Bakery

‘I will. And thank you, but no, I’ll wait until the end of the month.’

‘You’ll do no such thing, Wendy, love.’ Elsie shook her head. ‘I wish you’d begin to accept a bit of help. I’d do it for any of you. Stop being so proud.’

Wendy scrunched her nose up. ‘Okay, thank you.’

‘Good. The sooner you lot learn that we look after each other and it’s okay to lean on others sometimes, the better.’ Elsie kissed the top of Wendy’s head. ‘Right, I’m off to get those rolls out of the oven and see how Teresa’s getting on.’

‘So, Nina, how was the balloon ride?’ Diane looked across at her.

Nodding, Nina grinned. ‘It was good. Really good.’

‘And that smile, that’s nothing to do with the fact that Rowan, our resident bartender, walked you home yesterday evening?’ Diane raised her eyebrows, a grin dancing on her lips.

Rolling her eyes, Nina laughed. It was no good. She couldn’t keep a straight face in front of them all. ‘Maybe.’

‘Ooh, what’s this?’ Molly leaned forward in her chair. ‘Is there something going on between you and Rowan? I thought you were exes?’

‘We were. We are.’ Nina pulled off the end of her croissant and popped it into her mouth. ‘We may have shared a little kiss.’

‘Nina! So, you’re back together now, then?’ Diane’s eyes widened.

‘Yes, no. I don’t know.’

‘What do you mean you don’t know? You either are or you aren’t.’ Diane leaned her elbows on the table.

Nina shrugged. ‘We didn’t discuss it. We spoke about what had happened in the past. Why we’d broken up and that, but we didn’t talk about where things went from now.’

‘I’m guessing you want to get back together with him?’ With her croissant finished, Diane took a log sip from her mug.

Shifting on her chair, Nina shrugged. She knew the answer. Of course she did, but without knowing how he felt, she felt awkward answering. After drinking hot chocolate and sharing a kiss, he’d walked her home just as everyone had been leaving the bakery. From then on, she’d lost track of time; they’d sat at the table by the window and spoken for hours. They had slipped back into the ease and comfort of their past; the conversation had flowed, and they’d laughed, cried, and chatted until the glow from the streetlamps outside had been the only light source, the moon hidden behind dark clouds.

‘That’s a yes then.’ Diane grinned at her.

‘I’m not sure what’s going on with us. We ended up talking for hours and it felt like it used to.’ Nina shrugged.

‘Aw, it does sound as though there’s definitely something still there then.’ Wendy smiled. ‘Why don’t you talk to him? Find out where you stand?’

‘I will. I guess I’m just not sure I want to know the answer.’ Looking down at her coffee mug, Nina stirred in a spoonful of sugar, hoping the combination of a sugar rush and caffeine would wake her up a bit.

‘It doesn’t sound as though you’ve got anything to worry about. Besides, he’s probably wondering the exact same thing.’ Brooke patted her on the forearm.

‘Maybe.’

Taking her coat off, Diane stretched her arms above her head. ‘I suppose we’d better tidy this up and open the door. I can see a couple of customers out there waiting already.’

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