What on earth must he have thought? Oh goodness. I told him I loved looking at his eyes too. What an idiot.
It had been lovely though. Delicious and lovely and as Lottie fussed with her seedlings and drank her tea she thought about the bit at the end. The kiss. The kiss where the warm golden light from Connor had filtered through into every single molecule of her body. Was it possible for your body to shimmer and twinkle? If so, it had definitely, absolutely, happened to her at the bottom of her garden not long before midnight.
Lottie remembered stroking the asparagus and winced again. She’d made a bit of a fool of herself in front of a man who trained elite police divers and apparently did secret work for the government for a living. She had told him that she stroked and spoke to vegetables for a living.
Dunking a Rich Tea into her tea Lottie thought to herself that actually, she wasn’t going to worry about what Connor thought of her. Yes, she’d probably blown it. But firstly, who even was she to think it was nothing to him other than a bit of kiss at the end of a weird night? Secondly, the last time she had tried to simply start a relationship it had not been a pleasant experience for anyone involved so what was the point? And thirdly, if Connor had felt any slight feeling of attraction to her before the house warming party, he probably wouldn’t be feeling the same way now.
So why worry about it anyway?
Chapter 27
Lottie walked down Strawberry Hill and along through the Old Town until she got to the beach. She needed to clear her head. All she could think about was what had happened the night before with Connor. She stepped down onto the sand and strolled along the shoreline, looking up at the cliffs and lighthouse in the distance. Taking in big breaths of fresh sea air and listening to the rhythmic crashing of the waves in and out, her mind started to decompress. It was definitely true what they said, Pretty Beach air was special. It did something to the mind. Something to calm and soothe and put everything straight.
She walked all the way along, watched a few boats in the distance, passed a whole pack of ramblers on their way to the lighthouse and watched as a couple of young surfers ran along barefoot into the water. A lovely family with two toddlers and a baby sat tucked up against a breaker with buckets and spades a radio playing from a little speaker behind them.
Continuing past the big houses backing onto the beach with their own private boathouses and boats bobbing about in the water Lottie looked up at a flagpole proudly flying Pretty Beach’s very own flag and smiled. The place so proud of itself it had made up its own flag.
Lottie walked in and out of the dunes and as the sun warmed the back of her neck, she rolled up the sleeves on her shirt and put on her sunglasses. A fluffy brown and white dog wagged his tail and came to say hello as she thought about the venues for further Secret Evenings. She’d been hoping that inspiration would hit on her walk.
Emerging from the dunes and strolling down the road, she stood back and looked at all the shops on the laneway. All decorated in pretty pastels - pink, white, pale green, and lemon yellow shops spilled out onto the wide tree-lined pavements, everything topped with the famous Pretty Beach bunting criss-crossing from one side of the street to the other and fluttering in the wind.
Lottie sat on the wall and people-watched the comings and goings of the laneway and the Boat House way down at the end setting everything off nicely. She looked all the way down the right side of the laneway and smiled as she saw Holly’s large black Porsche pull up outside the front of the bakery and Xian get out of the back.
She observed the girls from White Cottage Flowers hauling pots of flowers out to the vintage ladders at the front and Juliette’s friend Daisy walked along with arms full of potted herbs deep in conversation with Syd Sprinton who Lottie knew from Pretty Beach Gardening Club.
Lottie jumped off the wall and made her way down the lane, stopped at the bakery, and chatted to Holly who was now spraying each little pane of glass of the bakery window with soapy water, wiping them down with a glass squeegee and buffing them with a cloth.
‘What have you been up to, then?’ Holly asked, putting down the spray and looking at Lottie.
‘I’ve been on a lovely long walk on the beach and all through the dunes. I needed some fresh sea air and a bit of time to think. Hoping to be struck with inspiration for the second Secret Evenings venue. We need to get the next location locked in.’ Lottie didn’t inform Holly of the other thing that had been consuming her mind. The kiss with Connor at the gate.
‘How about the church hall?’ Holly suggested.
‘I’ve been to have a look. Roy from the council showed me around. It could work. I just think that for the moment it needs to be a bit more special. That’s the whole premise of it. The hall is a bit regular if you know what I mean.’
‘How are you getting on with the outbuildings down the back of your place?’
‘Not bad, but they won’t be ready in time for the next function.’
Holly stood in front of the bakery window, her hands on her hips.
‘You’re welcome to use the bookshop if you like.’
Lottie looked along the line of shops to the tiny, little pale-cream bookshop with a lemon-yellow and white striped awning tucked in beside Pretty Beach Fish and Chips.
‘Oh, yes! Goodness, Holly, the bookshop would be just perfect.’
‘It didn’t even cross my mind before,’ Holly replied nodding.
‘What about Phoebe, though?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’d have to ask her too, wouldn’t I?’
‘Not at all. She’s my manager. I’m in charge.’
‘Blow me down. I didn’t know that and all the times I’ve been in there too. I thought she owned some of it. She’s worked for you that long?’ Lottie asked.
‘Oh, yes. I know a good worker when I see one, Lottie. I keep her sweet.’
‘Not just a pretty face, our Holly, are you?’
‘So they say...’ Holly replied chuckling.
‘I really didn’t realise you owned all of the bookshop too. You’ve never said.’
Holly lowered her voice. ‘It’s not just the bookshop I own. I like to keep it quiet. Much better for my business for people to think I’m little old Holly in the bakers who only knows how to bake bread.’
Lottie looked at Holly and shook her head. ‘I’ve a lot to learn from you, Holly. You’re a master.’
‘I give free lessons. Hold on, I’ll get the keys to the back rooms. Have you got time to stroll down and have a look? I’ll give you the keys and see you down there in a bit,’ Holly asked, putting down the squeegee and checking the time on her phone.
‘I certainly have, Holly. A Secret Evening in Pretty Beach Books would be right up my street.’
‘Yes. That sounds lovely. A dinner in there - my gosh, it would be fabulous.’
Chapter 28
Lottie walked around to the back of the laneway with the key to Pretty Beach Books. This bookshop idea could be one amazing Secret Evenings location.
Lottie had been in the bookshop many times but never really around the back very often. Unless you worked in one of the shops and wanted access via the back entrances, there wasn’t much to see and nowhere really to go behind the laneway. The view at the back wasn’t anywhere near as impressive as all the pastel-coloured shops fronting the laneway.
She looked up at the navy and white liveried van of White Cottage Flowers parked a few doors down, and as she approached the fence saw a little sign on the back gate announcing Pretty Beach Books in yellow lettering on an old piece of driftwood tacked to the gate.
A row of clinker rowing boats were lined up on the wall opposite the gates, oars with the names of their owners were strapped to the side of a fence, and an old discarded mast poked out from in between two of the boats.
Lottie pulled the old chain from the top of the gate, undid the rusty padlock, put the big key labelled ‘PBB back gate’ in the lock, turned it to the left, and the lock clicked open.
Gingerly pushing the back gate open, Lottie peered in. Holly said no one really went out the back that often and that it was a bit neglected. She wasn’t wrong. It was quite the contrast to the beautifully styled shop at the front.
On the left of the old, brick wall courtyard, a discarded stand-up paddleboard leant up against a small, old shed. A long weatherworn table with turned legs butted up to the wall on the other side under a lean-to roof and an abandoned timber bookcase sat on its side by the fence. An old white beach cruiser bike sat tucked underneath the gables of the shop and a gathering of pale yellow pots sat in the corner by the door.
Holly was right; it was rather forlorn and rejected and nothing like the front of the shop. Lottie knew how beautiful the front of the shop was but by the appearance of the backyard, although not a mess, it wasn’t quite a priority to keep it looking good.
Lottie took her glasses out of her bag, perched them on the top of her head while she looked for the key to the back door, and hoped that the inside was better.
As she opened the back door she was presented with a small narrow galley kitchen with an old Belfast sink, rows of open shelving, a tiny immaculate bathroom, an adequate-sized back room, and adjacent storeroom. Both of the rooms were lined with bookshelves and antique shop display units topping a pale stained timber floor with stacks of boxes and stock piled up on many of the surfaces.
Lottie continued to peer around, taking it all in. It was brimming with potential but needing some TLC. It was definitely hopeful as a location. Each shelf was lined at the back with pastel floral wallpaper, a huge old vintage pendant light hung right in the centre of the room and an old-fashioned dresser painted a vintage white held stacks of what looked like boxed up candles and fragrance sticks. A tiny, narrow set of steep stairs led off in the far corner, and two small French-paned bow windows let in light from the courtyard outside.
Mostly, it was a stock area storing bits and bobs from the shop and various things from the bakery. The front of the bookshop which Lottie had been in many times specialised in old books about the coast, cookery books, the history of fishing in Pretty Beach, coastal walks and the surrounding areas. Cleverly interspersed with that were beautifully curated gifts, candles, and a small artisan range of homewares. But the two small back rooms were filled with tables, chairs, stock and retail paraphernalia and it was difficult to ascertain what it would look like with less stuff and as a place to hold one of the Secret Evenings events.
Lottie looked around at the shiplap walls, lovely old timber floor with the wide planks and beautiful old cubby holes to the left. It certainly had potential as a secret location with a bit of work.
As Lottie opened the door to the actual shop she could hear Holly coming through the gate at the back. Lottie walked back through the storerooms and opened the back door.
‘As I mentioned, it needs some tidying up, but overall I reckon it could work. Depends how many tables you want. Have you been into the front shop yet? I’ve just had it all decorated,’ Holly asked.
‘No, I was just about to.’
‘Follow me,’ Holly commanded and flicked her hand forward.
Lottie followed in behind Holly thinking how strange it felt to be entering Pretty Beach Books from the back instead of the front. The cosy room lined from floor to ceiling in whitewashed bookshelves held piles and piles of beautifully stacked books. On the far wall, cookery books from all over the world ran from left to right and exquisite coffee table books all about the coast were displayed at eye level.
Stacks of books were piled up neatly on a large, whitewashed farmhouse table in the middle and huge tin dolly planters held branches of cotton and dried pink flowers. Interspersed in between the books little white candles handmade in Pretty Beach and tied with pale-yellow velvet ribbon were neatly stacked and piles of hand-milled soap filled the air with gorgeous scent.
From a couple of vintage ladders suspended from the ceiling, enormous bunches of lavender from Pretty Lavender Farm and dried pink roses trailed down over the table from overhead.
Lottie looked out the tiny little panes of the bow window at the striped pale yellow awning to the beautiful old vintage bench outside.
‘It’s gorgeous, Holly. Absolutely gorgeous.’
‘Thank you. I spent a lot of time thinking about it all. There are just enough gift bits to keep it going through the quiet months and then in tourist season we make a killing with the books and all the lovely little things from Pretty Beach.’
‘I’m not sure if it would be a good idea to hold the actual suppers in here, though. People might not be able to keep their hands to themselves, if you see what I mean.’
Holly pointed up to the vintage pendants lights suspended from the old pressed tin ceiling.‘I’ve got top security cameras in there. Funnily enough, I got the name of the security company from Connor at the diving centre.’
‘Right. I would hate for that to happen, though.’
‘Yeah. We don’t have too much of a problem with it, but I guess it would be too tempting for some people.’
‘Hmmm. It’s utterly gorgeous, though.’
‘Maybe it would be better out the back. Just a bit of work to get it cleared out and some tables in. I’ve been meaning to do it for months to be quite honest. There’s just always something more important to get to and I want to go through it all myself properly rather than getting one of my girls to do it.’
‘I could clear it out for you and you could go through it,’ Lottie said, touching one of the beautiful candles.
‘Okay. That would work for me too. What do you think, then?’ Holly asked.
‘I think that I am extremely grateful, Holly. It’s perfect.’
‘I think it is too.’
‘A secret supper surrounded by beautiful books and lovely little things,’ Lottie remarked.
‘Sounds absolutely delightful to me. Where can I book?’
Chapter 29
Lottie got out of the bath, dried herself and was putting on her jeans, mulling over Secret Evenings and the thing that had happened with Connor, and decided that she would not persist in going over and over it in her head. She was too busy to worry about what Connor thought and where it was going to go.
She would simply park it and leave it where it was - a kiss at the end of the garden with a very nice man. Simple. She had little to no space in her brain to worry about men. She had enough with the boys and Dimitri. With Secret Evenings and keeping her house at the forefront of her mind, she didn’t need another thing to contemplate.
Plus, after the way she had behaved, a little on the odd side, she presumed that she would most likely not see him for dust. And she wouldn’t blame him. Peering through undergrowth and stroking asparagus heads wasn’t what one normally did when trying to impress.
As Lottie pottered around getting dressed she opened up the checklist in her head for the first function for Secret Evenings. There was a small window to get everything ready between Sallie’s guests leaving on the Saturday morning, the cottage being cleaned, and her and Dimitri setting up the tables and decor. It didn’t leave any time for anything to go wrong. Everything had to be watertight. The food had to be organised and prepared to within an inch of its life and she had to try and preempt anything that might turn up to throw a spanner in the works. And if there was one thing Lottie was an expert at, it was anticipating things that might go wrong.
Lottie’s phone started to ring over on her dressing table. She picked it up and seeing a video call from Juliette, she propped it up against the mirror and pressed the button. Juliette was sitting on her balcony with a coffee in her pyjamas her hair on top of her head in a pink scrunchie.
‘Hey, lovely. How are you?’ Juliette asked into the camera with a funny look on her face.
‘I’m very good, actually. Very good indeed,’ Lottie replied.
‘Yes. I’ve heard you are!’ Juliette said, smiling down the phone.
‘No idea what you are talking about,’ Lottie said giggl
ing.
‘Blimey, Lottie! Where did that come from? I literally can’t believe it! I mean how long has it been since you’ve even entertained speaking to a man? A long, long time...’
Lottie started giggling. ‘Years, blimmin’ years, Jools.’
‘I know. I said the same to Luke. Okay, I want all the juicy details. Everything. Tell me it all.’
‘Not sure what you mean?’ Lottie laughed back in response.
‘Well, according to the Pretty Beach grapevine, you and a very tall, very nice man only had eyes for each other and spent the rest of the evening talking once I’d gone home.’
‘The Pretty Beach grapevine is, as always, correct,’ Lottie nodded.
‘Ooh!’
Lottie giggled down the phone.
But you don’t know the end bit and no one is going to know that yet. I’m keeping this to myself for a while...
‘So, come on. What did you talk about?’
‘I don’t even know. Anything and everything. It just seemed comfy with him, you know?’
‘Excellent. I haven’t heard you talk about anyone in what, five years? Remember that school dance we went to? You wouldn’t even speak to that single dad who was interested.’
‘Dear me, don’t remind me of that night. You’re right. There hasn’t been anyone. Not after the one who wanted me to commit. I got my fingers well and truly burnt then.’
‘Hmm. So what else happened with Connor after I went home? There must be more.’
‘Oh, I don’t know, I can’t even believe I am saying this but I had lots of cocktails. Then I lost my earring under the table and crawled around on the floor and came back up with blood on my knees. I think he must think I’m a bit strange.’
‘Woah, you must have been buzzing. You never drink much at all! How funny.’
Secret Evenings in Pretty Beach Page 10
