Page 9 of Love in the Air at The Cornish Bakery

Chapter Six

‘So, did I hear yousay that Rowan guy from the pub is your ex?’ Diane pulled an empty tray from beneath the counter.

‘Umm, yes.’ Nina rubbed her shin. She wasn’t used to standing all day.

‘Ooh, wow. He’s fit.’ Diane grinned. ‘Is he a recent ex?’

‘No. we split just over four years ago now.’

Nodding, Diane pulled out another empty tray, placing it on top of the first. ‘How long were you together?’

‘What is this? Twenty questions?’ Brooke laughed.

‘Sorry, I’m only curious.’ Diane grimaced. ‘You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.’

‘No, it’s cool. We were together eight years.’

‘Wow. Did you know he was going to be here before you came?’

Laughing, Nina leaned against the counter. ‘No, I had absolutely no idea.’

‘Wow, that’s some coincidence.’ Diane shifted the remaining trays, filling the gaps.

‘It sure is.’

‘I’m guessing you’ll be catching up tonight, then? At the pub quiz.’

‘What pub quiz?’ Nina folded her arms.

‘There’s a pub quiz every week, and we all go along. All of the people you met at the BBQ will be there. We’ve got a team and we’re actually not that bad.’ After serving the remaining customer of the lunchtime rush, Brooke closed the till.

‘We used to be terrible, but the more people volunteer here and decide to stay in the bay, the more our team grows and the better we get. Literally, we used to always lose, and Gerald the landlord would sometimes even give us a round of free drinks because he felt sorry for us. And that’s saying something, he’s usually very tight with money.’

Brooke laughed. ‘Maybe we should try and get all the questions wrong this week to get the free drinks.’

‘I’m not sure Gerald would stretch to free drinks now our team has as many members as it does.’ Grimacing, Diane grinned. ‘It pained him enough giving us free drinks when there were only a few of us!’

‘Ha-ha, I can imagine!’ Brooke straightened the baskets of rolls positioned on top of the counter.

‘Oh, look, here comes Elsie and Ian.’ After pointing out of the window, Diane cupped her hands around her mouth and called across the bakery. ‘Teresa, Molly, Wendy! Elsie and Ian are back from the scan.’

Nina watched as the door to the wedding planning office opened and Wendy and Molly rushed over to the bakery counter, shortly joined by Teresa, who had been tidying tables in the coffee and cake area. She smiled. Everyone seemed so close, like one big, happy family.

Silence filled the bakery as the front door opened and Elsie and Ian stepped inside.

‘Anyone would think you’d seen us coming.’ Elsie walked across to the counter, a huge smile plastered on her face.

‘Ha-ha, we don’t miss a thing. So, how did it go?’ Diane tapped the top of the counter.

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