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‘No, there’s only the usual eight fanatical food lovers booked on the course, but Tim said he’d persuaded Claudia to ask for help this year. He’s worried about her. Ever since her riding accident she’s been complaining about being tired all the time and Tim thinks she needs to build her strength back up after having her leg immobilised in a plaster cast for six weeks and then undertaking several gruelling sessions of physiotherapy.’
‘And, of course, because of the fantastic job you did at the Paradise Cookery School, Claudia thought of you straight away!’
‘Maybe. Anyway, he wants her to take it easy for a while – it’s the perfect time over the Christmas holidays – and he plans on taking her over to the Caribbean in the new year for a blast of sunshine. He actually wanted Claudia to cancel theFestive Feastcourse, but she refused because she didn’t want to let the students down.’
‘Claudia’s an amazing woman,’ sighed Pippa, shoving a handful of home-made toffee-and-pecan popcorn into her mouth and selecting a lock of hair to twist around her fingers. ‘I’ve got all her cookery books. Hey, if I give you a couple, do you think you could ask her to sign them for me?’
‘Sure,’ Millie laughed, draining her glass and running the tip of her tongue along her lower lip to savour every last drop. ‘You know, I’m really looking forward to meeting Claudia face-to-face, but I don’t mind admitting that I’m also a little bit nervous. I mean, co-presenting a course with the doyenne of desserts! What if I mess up? What if…’ Millie’s eyes widened as she tucked an escaped curl behind her ear. ‘What if I smash a priceless vase or drop a bottle of vintage Krug? You know what I’m like, Pippa. Mishap Millie is what Zach calls me, and he’s spot on!’
‘And we’ve been working on those issues since you got back from the Caribbean and you’re doing great,’ Pippa assured Millie loyally, handing her the bowl of popcorn that complimented the chocolate vodka perfectly.
‘Not great! Remember yesterday when I dribbled a generous helping of crème Anglaise on the sleeve of that customer’s brand-new Paul Smith sweater? It was only Étienne’s swift intervention with an offer of afternoon-tea-for-two on the house that stopped him from sending over his dry-cleaning bill.’
Pippa laughed as she leaned forward to refill their glasses.
‘Look, Millie, you are an awesome chef. Your culinary creations will speak louder than your haphazard methods. Just use the week to learn everything you can from Claudia and when you get back you’ll walk into that coveted presenting job.’
‘Maybe.’ Millie paused as something else occurred to her. ‘You know, Tim said something else that worried me.’
‘What did he say?’
‘That one of the reasons Claudia didn’t want to cancel theFestive Feastcourse this year was because it was going to be the last one.’
‘So that’s weird. Why would Claudia want to stop running the courses?’
‘I asked Tim that very question. He said it was complicated and that Claudia would explain everything when I got there, but that she’s devastated. It could be one of the reasons why she’s been feeling under the weather recently and has agreed to get additional help this year.’
‘Well, maybe you could offer your services every year from now on? Did I tell you how envious I am? Are my cheeks turning fifty shades of green? Oh, I bet Berryford is so romantic at this time of year – everything twinkling with fairy lights, the aroma of cinnamon and cloves floating through the crisp winter air, and the whole scene set to the soundtrack of White Christmas. Id-dyl-lic. Wouldn’t it be amazing if it actuallydoessnow?’
‘No way! You know how much I hate the snow.’
‘Oh, but it would be the icing on the Christmas cake. A cute Cotswolds village wrapped in a soft blanket of white. A chance to sit around a blazing log fire, hugging cups of warm mulled wine, sharing bodily warmth with the local heartthrob and kissing underneath the mistletoe. Hey, Millie, maybe you should carry an emergency spring of mistletoe in your back pocket so you can whip it out when Zach’s least expecting it. How can he refuse? It’s tradition. Isn’t that what Christmas is all about? Tradition?’ asked Pippa, her dark eyes sparkling as she wallowed in her own personal version of Yuletide heaven.
Millie had to agree. Apart from the higher than average risk of snow, she adored everything about Christmas. It was the perfect excuse to fill every nook and cranny with as much festive paraphernalia as possible; tinsel, baubles, snow globes, bunting, fairy lights – her flat was stuffed to the rafters with so many decorations it looked like a hyperactive elf’s grotto – and she loved it! Who would choose the stark, clean lines of Scandinavian minimalism when you could hang a hand-embroidered snowman above the fireplace and house a whole herd of flashing reindeers on the front lawn?
Yes, she was a complete Christmas fanatic, always had been, and so was her sister Jen, much to their mother’s disgust. Monique had embraced her French heritage and insisted on dressing her converted barn in a tiny village just outside Antibes with a simple fir tree and nothing else, preferring to splash her cash on all the foodie treats associated with the season – cinnamon palmiers, bûche de Noël, andaspectacular caramel croquembouche centrepiece – rather than the decorations and excessive gift-giving Millie and Jen loved so much. Millie knew she was going toloveher week’s sojourn at Stonelea Manor whipping up a long list of traditional recipes for a bunch of busy professionals.
‘I wish you were coming to Berryford, Pippa. I’m not sure what Tim meant about it being the last course, but Stonelea Manor is their home, so perhaps Claudia just wants to move the school to different premises, or to concentrate all her efforts on getting the Caribbean branch properly established. I know she has plans to reinvigorate the cocoa plantation so she can make her own chocolate and offer tours of the estate to the students. That’s bound to take up a lot of her time and energy.’
‘All the more reason for you to offer your services in the Cotswolds. And you know what the best thing about that is?’
‘What?’
‘You’ll get to spend some real quality time with the most handsome estate manager this side of the Atlantic! It’ll be the ideal opportunity to find out if the spark you both felt in the Caribbean paradise has transferred to the “paradise” of the English countryside. If so, then you could be on to something magical.’
Despite their busy lives in different parts of the country – hers in London, Zach’s in the Cotswolds now that he’d returned from St Lucia – they had stayed in touch via email and the occasional text. She was excited about seeing him again, or she had been until earlier that afternoon when she’d read Zach’s response to the news of her imminent arrival; a concise text stating that they had “a lot to talk about” when she got to Berryford – and she had no idea what that meant. Could she have misread the signals? Just in case she had, she intended to play down the fizz of anticipation bubbling through her veins.
‘I’m not sure things would work between me and Zach. Wearevery different.’
‘Haven’t you heard of the expression “opposites attract”? And have you forgotten that cocktail-infused confession you made last Saturday night about how alive you felt whenever you were in Zach’s company? But, in the event that nothing happens between the two of you – there’s always the Mistletoe Ball on Christmas Eve for you to look forward to.’
Millie noticed a glint of mischief in Pippa’s eyes, a sure sign for her to be on her guard.
‘And?’
‘What do you mean?’ said Pippa, all innocence.
‘Pippa, I know you’re cooking something up.’
