Page 28 of The Cotswold Christmas Bookshop

Isla appreciated the lie-in the following morning. She wasn’t due in the shop until lunchtime as she would be working until nine o’clock again this evening to cover the late-night shopping, which she was looking forward to. After they’d returned from the restaurant last night, Jake and Isla had opened a bottle of wine and continued catching up, lolling on separate sides of the L-shaped sofa once their parents had gone to bed, chatting and giggling, with Isla shooshing Jake when their laughter threatened to wake the entire household.

This morning, she had enjoyed a long, leisurely breakfast with her mum and dad, chatting over their plans for Christmas, what would be on the Christmas table for lunch, which board games they intended to play and which last pieces of shopping they would need to pick up. Jake, obviously leaning into his student habits, was still in bed and would probably stay there until well after Isla had left for work, but knowing he was there, upstairs in his bedroom, gave Isla a warming sense of comfort. She was lifted by his presence and chatting with him last night had made her realise that her situation wasn’t nearly as bad as she had made it out to be. She should look on it as an opportunity. A chance to reassess her life and pinpoint which parts were working and which parts she needed to change. She was certainly feeling much more positive after her heart-to-heart with Jake even if she still wasn’t relishing the idea of telling her parents.

‘Good morning, how are you today?’ Miriam greeted Isla with a sunny expression when she entered Finch’s later that day.

‘Very well, thank you,’ she said, shrugging off her coat, before going across to the fire and rubbing her hands together in front of it. ‘Morning, Heathcliff,’ she said to the cat, who was curled up tightly beside the hearth. ‘You have definitely got the best idea. What a clever boy you are.’

She liked to think that her relationship with Heathcliff had developed to the point where they held a healthy mutual respect for each other, even if the cat wasn’t particularly affectionate towards her as he was to some other people.

‘Well, it looks as though you had a good day yesterday, judging by the sales,’ Miriam said. ‘It’s been some years since we’ve seen the shop so busy.’

‘Honestly, we didn’t stop all day. Not that I’m complaining. It’s lovely to see the place filled with customers.’

‘You’ve breathed some new life into the place, that’s for sure. Jon is delighted with how well the shop has been performing.’

Isla beamed, hoping that she might have swayed Jonathan’s opinion on the future of the business.

‘Have you made any decisions yet about what you intend to do?’ It seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask.

‘Not really,’ Miriam admitted as she made room for Isla to join her behind the counter. ‘I think Jon feels conflicted. His heart his telling him that he should find a way to keep the bookshop running, but his head is saying that it’s time to turn the page on this final chapter and look forward to a long and fulfilling retirement. To be honest with you, Isla, I think it’s time for us to walk away.’ Miriam’s gaze travelled around her. ‘Jon has given his whole life to Finch’s. Now, after everything he’s been through over recent months, he should be taking it easy and enjoying the time we do have left together. There’s so much we want to do and so many places we want to visit. Really, I’ve seen the change in him since you’ve been back on the scene, lovely. It’s given him the chance to take a step back from the stress and responsibility of running this place, knowing that it’s in very safe hands.’

Isla nodded. She’d been more than happy to help out and could easily understand both sides of the argument presented by Miriam, but she still felt desperately sad that the bookshop might close permanently.

Miriam went on. ‘I don’t want to put any undue pressure on him to walk away. I realise it is so much more than a business decision, it’s part of his family heritage, so he has to be absolutely certain that he’s doing the right thing, despite what I might think is best for him, for us. I don’t want him to have any regrets. Whatever he decides upon, I will, of course, back him entirely in that decision. In fact, Guy Madley was in this morning asking if there were any updates. I’ve told him that we are going to think further on it over Christmas and we will let him know in the new year. By the way, he was asking after you, and when you would next be in.’

‘Really?’ Isla said, as though it was of little consequence to her when in fact, just hearing his name mentioned ignited all her senses. She still didn’t know if Guy’s regular appearances at the shop were because he was genuinely interested in her or if his interest was more professional, or perhaps it was a mix of both.

After Miriam had left, Isla had a few hours working alone, until Penny would arrive later to help with the late-night opening. Although they had little in common, Isla had discovered that they slotted alongside each other easily, working in tandem to take it in turns to man the tills or to work on the shop floor, presenting a united front to the customers. She looked forward to catching up with Penny and the latest episode in her domestic adventures as she prepared for a busy Christmas with her relatives.

As one customer left the building having bought six books, one for each member of their family, another customer came through the door, and Isla’s face lit up to see Guy Madley approach the counter. Had she conjured him up simply by thinking about him? If she’d been wondering if the impact his presence had on her was a figment of her imagination, then his appearance today only confirmed that her body really did act involuntarily to his proximity. And that had definitely got a lot worse since discovering that he was single. She felt a heat rush around her veins, the flutter of palpitations in her chest and her hands growing clammy at her sides. She tidied her hair down on both sides of her face.

Often, he would be dressed casually, still smart but relaxed, but today, he was looking very stylish, wearing a two-piece navy suit, a pristine white shirt opened at the neck and an expensive wool coat over the top. He looked utterly lovely.

‘Hi,’ she said, beaming. ‘No coffee today then?’

‘Sorry?’ he said, his brow furrowing. There was something about the way he held himself, the absence of his usual beguiling smile and an apprehension in his eyes that suggested he wasn’t in as playful mood as usual. Was he on his way to an important business meeting or had he made a special trip here specifically to see her? And if so, why was he looking so miserable about it?

‘Oh,’ he said, his features relaxing for a moment. ‘You mean, one of our special coffees? I thought you weren’t so keen on that idea?’

She gave an apologetic shrug. It was a natural assumption to make on his part after her lukewarm reception to his offer last time.

‘You must have caught me on a bad day,’ she said.

‘Ah right, I see. Well, I will bear that in mind for future reference.’ She was very relieved to see that the charming glint in his eye had returned. ‘What about you? Have you kept your side of the bargain? Do you have any more of those delicious cakes hidden behind your counter?’

‘No, I’m afraid not,’ she admitted, holding up her empty palms. ‘They all got eaten.’

‘Hardly surprising,’ he said with a tilt of his head, ‘but disappointing nonetheless. This coffee and cake thing of ours, it’s not working terribly well at the moment, is it?’

‘No,’ she laughed. ‘I suppose not. We’ll have to try much harder.’

Guy glanced at his expensive watch with the bright-blue dial and oyster bracelet, as though he had somewhere else he needed to be.

‘Look,’ he said, a guarded look returning to his expression. ‘There was something I wanted to mention. The conversation we had about my girlfriend, partner, wife, or lack thereof…’

‘Yes…’ she said tentatively. Had he only just remembered that he had a partner waiting for him at home, or had he lied, and now he was here to confess?

‘Well, when we were having that conversation, I should have asked if you had a boyfriend, partner or husband because I realised, I don’t actually know?’