Page 10 of The Sugar and Spice Bookshop Bakery

‘You said last night that your mum thinks you’re here to run the bakery?’ he says.

‘She does. She recently decided to retire, and then I arrive home. I think she’s put two and two together and got five.’

‘Awkward.’ He frowns. ‘So that’s not why you came home?’

‘No. I had to leave my job and I don’t know what to do with the rest of my life, so I’ve come home to think.’

‘And what would you like to do? Any ideas?’

Louise pauses. ‘Well, I was having this little fantasy when you walked in.’

He looks directly at her, one eyebrow raised.

‘Not that kind of fantasy,’ she laughs. ‘It was my childhood dream to have my own bookshop and I was picturing what it’d be like to run one here.’

‘A bookshop? That’s a beautiful fantasy. Why not go for it?’

‘Applethwaite is a small place. I’m not sure I could sell enough books to make a living.’

‘I guess everyone reads on Kindles now.’

‘They do,’ she says, ‘although physical books still outsell e-books. But most people buy them online.’

‘You sound like you know a lot about the industry.’

Louise shrugs. ‘Just a bit. I used to be an editor. Anyway, I can’t see my mum saying yes to a bookshop.’

‘It’s your life, not hers.’ The passion, forcefulness almost, with which Jack says this surprises her.

‘It’s her building.’

‘You can’t live your life to please a parent,’ he says more calmly.

Her eyes meet his.

‘I know,’ she says softly. ‘But the guilt…’

He nods. ‘Tell me about it.’

And for a moment, she has the feeling that they’re not really talking about her mother at all.

‘What do you do for a living?’ Louise says.

He looks downs at his hands. ‘I …’ he begins. Then stops. ‘I create buildings.’

‘In Italy?’

‘In London. I grew up in Italy. Went to university in London and then stayed. I have my own business there.’

‘So you’re just visiting Applethwaite?’

‘My father moved back here last year, and now he’s ill, so I’ve come to live here. For a little while at least.’

‘I’m sorry to hear about your dad. I hope it isn’t anything serious.’

Jack shrugs. ‘We don’t know yet. They said it was a heart attack, so I came rushing up, but now they’re calling it a “cardiac episode” and they’re doing tests. My life is on hold, at least for the time being. I’ve left my business in capable hands, so I can focus on him.’

‘My dad died of a heart attack. Just here one day. Gone the next. There wasn’t time for tests.’