Page 34 of The Cotswold Christmas Bookshop

‘I suppose I must be. My cards are all up on the mantlepiece and I’ve got a tub of chocolates in. Not that I make a lot of Christmas these days. My Ruby loved it and would always make it special, but now it’s just a day like any other day. It comes and it goes.’

‘I hope you won’t be spending it on your own,’ asked Isla, concerned.

‘No, sadly not,’ he said with a look of devilment in his eye. ‘I’ve been roped in to going to the church hall with a couple of my neighbours. They’re putting on a turkey lunch for us oldies, which is very kind of them. I will go and pass on my good wishes for the season and then retire home. Anyway, how are you, sweetheart? You look to be in good spirits.’

‘Yes, aren’t I always?’ Isla said with a smile. The truth was she hadn’t stopped smiling since her date with Guy, and she had been replaying their conversation over in her head, grateful that they had been relaxed enough with each other to be able to share personal, intimate details about their lives. Especially as she remembered their late-night kiss, and the way it had made her feel, which had only left Isla wanting more. Guy had promised to be in touch to arrange a dog walk and she was doing her utmost not to startle every time the front door of the bookshop opened, in expectation that it was him. ‘How did you get on with those mince pies?’

‘Oh, they were absolutely delicious. I finished those off in a couple of days.’

‘Good, because I have another box here if you’d like them.’

‘Most definitely,’ said Henry, his face lighting up.

It was another busy day, but that was just how Isla liked it. She was always surprised when she took a glance at her watch, thinking it was mid-morning, only to find that the hours had flown by and it was way past lunchtime. In a quiet moment, Isla pulled her phone out of her bag to check her messages, not specifically to see if Guy had called her, even though that would obviously have been a bonus. No, he was much more likely to brighten her day by popping his head around the front door of the shop, greeting her with that wide smile of his that sent all her senses on to high alert. Perhaps it was just as well that she would be returning to London after Christmas because she could tell how easily it would be to fall for the charms of Guy.

Quickly scrolling through her phone, she discovered some messages waiting for her. None of them were from Guy. One was from her mum asking if she could pop into the supermarket and pick up a packet of puff pastry. Another two were from Cherry, her flatmate, explaining that the leak in the roof had been sorted, and another complaining that she was missing Isla, and asking when exactly she’d be returning to the flat. Isla felt a pang of guilt. Normally, she shared everything with Cherry, usually when they met in the kitchen of an evening after work, but Isla had cut and run as soon as she’d received the news about her job, firing off only the vaguest text message to her flatmates, saying that she was heading home for a few days. She definitely owed Cherry a voice note, telling her about everything that had been going on, and resolved that she would do it later today.

The final message was much more intriguing. Laura Wang. What was she doing popping up after all these years? At one time, they’d been really close. Laura had been her boss, several years ago, before Laura had left the company to join one of their competitors. Initially, they’d kept in touch, but they hadn’t spoken in ages. Isla heard about her progress through LinkedIn and the trade press, but she could think of no reason why she might be contacting her now, unless it was a standard Christmas greeting. Intrigued, Isla tapped on the message.

Hi darling, just heard the news. Must have come as a hell of a shock. Although from what I hear, it’s only the first of several of their divisions closing. Honestly, I think they’ve done you a massive favour in letting you go.

Isla took a breather to serve a customer, tucking her phone beneath the counter. It was nice of Laura to get in touch with her commiserations, but it only reminded Isla of all the sadness and frustration that she’d been trying so hard to forget. The news would be common knowledge by now and she hated the idea that people would be talking about her, knowing that her imprint had failed.

She managed to plaster on a smile. ‘Thanks so much,’ she said, handing over a wrapped book to the customer. ‘Have a lovely Christmas.’

Her smile faded as she picked up her phone to read the rest of Laura’s message.

Can we schedule a call? Any time today or tomorrow morning? Let me know what works for you. L x

Isla read the message for a second time, slightly taken aback by Laura’s insistent tone. What was the hurry? How quickly Isla had got out of the habit of being at the mercy of her jam-packed diary with back-to-back meetings, the stress of finding time in her calendar to fit in another call, her ever-growing job list, and the constant niggling feeling that she could never quite catch up with herself.

Now, her gaze travelled around her, taking comfort from the multitude of book spines on the old wooden bookshelves, breathing in the aroma of their scent, and smiling as her eyes alighted on Heathcliff fast asleep on the hearth. Life moved at a very different pace here. There was a peacefulness and calm that radiated from the walls. Not that her days in the bookshop weren’t without their own challenges, but it was a totally different kind of pressure, one that she found stimulating and rewarding.

Isla looked at her phone accusingly, trying to read between the lines of Laura’s message. She had to admit to a slight annoyance that Laura had even popped into her phone, and by consequence into the bookshop, disrupting Isla’s stress-free day. What could she possibly want to talk about? Was she genuinely concerned about Isla’s welfare, or did she want the finer details on what had gone on at the publishers? Maybe Laura was hoping to learn some confidential information that might be helpful to one of their main competitors or perhaps Laura just wanted to have a good old gossip. Whatever the reason for the call, Isla would prefer to get it over with sooner rather than later, so that it didn’t hang over her. Then she could get on with much more important things, like re-cataloguing some of the antiquarian books and compiling a list of book club read suggestions. So many customers had asked for one and while she was always happy to reel a few titles off the top of her head, she had decided it would be helpful to have something that they could hand out, and hopefully find useful going into next year, when Isla wouldn’t be around to offer her advice.

* * *

‘None of us could believe the news when we heard,’ said Laura, her transatlantic twang breezing down the line. ‘What are they thinking? It doesn’t seem to make any sense. To invest that kind of time and money in setting up the imprint, only to not give you a fair crack of the whip to get it established, seems short-sighted at the least.’

‘Thanks, Laura. My thoughts exactly. The CEO talked about difficult decisions, consolidation and restructuring, but honestly, it was a bit of a kick in the teeth, especially as I didn’t see it coming.’

Isla had kicked herself too for not anticipating that something like that might happen. Perhaps it had proved that she wasn’t cut out for leading an imprint, that she didn’t have the necessary business acumen to head up a new division. It was one thing to be a good and successful editor, which she undeniably was, but it took a different set of skills to make the imprint successful and profitable.

‘Why would you? No one would have expected them to call time when they did. There are rumours that they’re in talks with a couple of the big boys, with a view to selling out.’

‘Really?’ Isla had no idea what had been going on behind the scenes so appreciated getting a different perspective from Laura. Her reassuring words and support went a small way to making her feel better. Maybe there had been other factors in play that contributed to the decision to disband the department. She inhaled a sigh as it occurred to her that she didn’t really care now. It had happened. It was in the past. And it was time to move on.

‘So, what’s next for you?’

Isla gave a wry smile at the directness of Laura’s question, remembering her forthright manner.

‘No firm plans as yet. I’m taking some time out until after Christmas to consider my next moves.’

‘Good,’ said Laura, ‘because that’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. We have the ideal opportunity for you at Bookish Books.’

‘You do?’ Of all the things Isla could have been expecting to hear from Laura, it hadn’t been this.

‘Yes, heading up our romance division. You would be Georgia’s replacement. She’s starting up her own literary agency.’