At least they were both off the hook from any questions either way when Harvey, Daniel and Benjamin joined them. Etna excused herself and headed across the road.
Linc couldn’t fully focus on what Harvey was telling him about the muck-up in his day job with a homeowner who’d started his own loft conversion without finding a suitable professional to help because his gaze kept drifting across to Jade and Etna, who were talking away after Jade handed out more vouchers. About what, he had no idea. But he did clock Jade looking his way a couple of times, at least until she went back inside and Etna headed next door to the tea rooms. The line outside the bakery had hidden the window of Etna’s business but Linc could see people were inside, probably taking the weight off their feet after the grand opening, and knowing his auntie, she’d want to keep them all happy with pots of tea and a space to sit. They might be full up with freebies and more from the bakery but she’d probably talk to them for long enough that they’d order food in the tea rooms too. She had a magical way of keeping people there as long as she needed for business to turn over happily all year round.
Before Daniel headed back to the waffle shack he reminded the others, ‘Drinks at the pub tonight for Jade and Celeste – we’ll give them a proper toast.’
Apparently it had been Melissa’s idea. ‘Sounds good to me,’ said Linc, happy to be a part of it all. It was easy to forget he didn’t actually live in Heritage Cove. Yet.
Linc wondered if Jade would be as happy to see him later as he would be to see her. He was about to go on his way when he saw her emerge from the bakery to chase a customer carrying a hessian bag filled with at least three baguettes. From what he could make out, the man had paid but not waited to collect his change.
Linc intercepted her at the door as she got back to the bakery, breathless from the chase. ‘You did it.’
With a smile, she agreed, ‘It’s been a great day.’
‘But you’re exhausted,’ he added for her, noticing she had a few grains of sugar at the side of her mouth, a speck of flour on her temple. She looked as though today was running her ragged, but in a good way. ‘And it’s not over yet.’
‘It’s not. Still a few hours until closing but then I can collapse.’
He shook his head. ‘Oh no, your presence is required at the pub. Celebrations are in order. I thought you would’ve been told.’
‘Celeste mentioned something,’ she sighed. ‘I was hoping I could safely ignore it for an evening of solitude.’
He wouldn’t mind sharing that with her instead, but the pub would do. ‘Drinks are on everyone else, remember.’
She grinned. ‘You lot obviously don’t understand much about a bakery. We’ll be up before five o’clock tomorrow, all systems go, while the rest of you are enjoying your shut-eye.’
‘It is particularly quiet at Tumbleweed House.’
‘Hmm…so, it’s going well, living there?’
‘It’s a good temporary stopgap. And Harvey and Melissa are wonderful hosts, pretty relaxed. They were very generous to step in and rescue me from squashing into the flat with Dad and Auntie Etna. I’m trying to be a good house guest – even taken Winnie for a walk a couple of times. Mind you, Harvey mentioned something about helping with the elderberry harvest. Does that make sense to you?’
She recapped about Harvey’s family having once owned and run an elderberry business. ‘I think there’s half an acre or so still dedicated to elderberries but it’s not a business now, it’s just something Harvey and his mum like to keep going. Careful, or you’ll get roped in with the berry picking and you’ll have purple fingers for weeks.’
‘Thanks for the warning.’ He leaned against the whitewashed wall at the side of the bakery as Jade hovered near the front door. ‘Loved the cinnamon-and-raisin twist, by the way.’
‘I noticed your dad chose three of those. I’m glad.’
‘I feel honoured I tried the item that inspired the name.’ A moment hovered between them similar to those they’d shared before and he wanted to reach out to her but didn’t. ‘Business is really booming,’ he remarked instead, as excited chatter from a group nearby filled the air along with a summer breeze that was pleasant rather than cold. Pockets of people congregated on the pavements, others came and went from the bakery, and he didn’t want Jade to disappear off just yet because chatting with her was so easy.
‘I’ve already got two new cake-design meetings with customers lined up–one for a twenty-first birthday and another for a christening.’ It seemed she wasn’t ready to get going yet either.
‘That’s great.’
‘And I can’t wait to make my first cake in my new corner using the recipe holder.’
‘That was particularly genius,’ he agreed. ‘I heard Harvey got the idea after he spoke to Etna one day and she was moaning about having to weigh down the pages of a recipe book in her kitchen. He suggested she try a recipe holder and she said they weren’t much better when they weren’t at eye height.’
‘Talking of Etna, where’s she gone?’
‘Where do you think?’
She smiled as she realised. ‘So much for taking a break. Do you think she’ll ever do it – properly I mean, cut back on her hours?’
‘I think the last few days have been a start but she can’t extinguish the drive she has. She’ll no doubt be in her element right now. I expect she and Patricia will be serving tea – not much food for a while as people’s stomachs process their freebies – but they’ll be talking all about this place and keeping the customers’ attention until they can fit in that extra snack or slice of cake.’
Jade’s laughter appeared to help her let go of some of the tension of the day. ‘You’d think we’d be in competition but I often send people next door to take the weight off their feet after they’ve bought something in the bakery and, likewise, she often recommends us to her customers. She even lets some of them eat what they buy here in there.’
‘You three seem to have an understanding. Talking of business, was she prodding you earlier, asking more details? I saw you chatting,’ he said by way of explanation.
