‘But what about The Neptune?’ I said suddenly. ‘You’ve sold it?’
‘You mean you don’t know who’s bought it?’ He smiled secretively.
I shook my head.
Gabe mimed zipping his lips. ‘He needs to tell his wife first. So the offer is still subject to marital approval. But I’m confident she’ll say yes. Anyway, we need more room. Noah’s bed is really tiny.’
‘And he wants a slide,’ I reminded him, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.
‘And that too.’ He slid his arms lower until his hands rested casually on my bottom. The way my pulse was racing was anything but casual. My hormones were zipping about like crazy inside me.
‘Although my bed is big enough.’ His eyes flashed wickedly. ‘For two.’
‘GO STANLEY!’ yelled Ken, cupping both hands to his mouth.
Across the green Stanley had lowered himself on to one knee and removed a small blue box from his coat pocket.
‘YES!’ Nonna yelled. ‘Grazie a Dio! I will marry you, Stanley Pigeon.’
Everyone began to clap and whistle: Stella Derry and the ladies from the WI; Lia and Doreen came out of the café and waved tea towels in Nonna’s honour; Lucas and Tyson appeared from the gift shop, arm in arm, Tyson passing Lucas a tissue for his misty eyes; even Biddy and the lady with the cocker spaniel stopped arguing about vet’s bills to join in. Nina ran across the green and thrust a posy of peonies into Nonna’s hand and then a huge cheer went up as Stanley wobbled to his feet and pressed a loving kiss on to the lips of his blushing fiancée.
‘Oh,’ I said, realizing who was missing. ‘Mum and Dad would have loved to have been here.’
‘I think your dad will be busy persuading your mum she needs a narrowboat.’
I gasped. ‘Dad? Good for him!’
Gabe pressed his cheek to mine and murmured in my ear.
‘There’s a bottle of chilled champagne in the car, and one hour until I have to fetch Noah from school. I think we should celebrate.’
No one noticed as Gabe and I slipped away, back to The Neptune and into Gabe’s bed, which as promised was indeed big enough. And in the tiny cabin with the blinds drawn against the sunny day as the boat bobbed gently against the riverbank we did celebrate. More than once.
Epilogue
Lucinda Miller’s gold Versace dress was so tight that she had to hop sideways up the steps from below deck of The Neptune.
I attempted a wolf-whistle and she giggled. Her sense of fun had helped us all through what had had the potential to be a very difficult day. And to think that if I had airbrushed her photo, like my boss had wanted me to do back in March, none of us would be standing here now.
How things had changed in a few short months; now I was happier than I’d ever thought possible.
The fabric of Lucinda’s dress was so dazzling in the sunshine that I was glad I’d got sunglasses on. Gabe helped her up the last step and then climbed off the boat to join me on the jetty.
‘Does my bum look big in this?’ said Lucinda, trying to look over her shoulder. ‘There’s no long mirror in Gabe’s bedroom.’
‘Huge,’ said Candy, winking at me, ‘I might actually need to change to a wide-angled lens.’
Lucinda stuck out her tongue. ‘Oh shut up and get on with it.’
‘I won’t forget today in a hurry,’ Gabe murmured in my ear, wrapping his arms round my waist, ‘a famous actress in designer gear being photographed by your ex in a dress on my boat.’
‘Dad’s boat,’ I corrected. ‘And I hope that’s not the only reason you’ll remember today?’
I turned within the circle of his arms and pressed a lingering kiss to his lips. A kiss that promised there’d be more where that came from.
‘No, of course not,’ he said with a grin, ‘it’s also the Barnaby Summer Fair today.’
I smacked him playfully.
Candy held up her iPhone and took the picture. ‘Damn, girl, you look hot.’
Gabe raised an eyebrow at me. He was doing his best to warm to Candy, but I knew he was struggling to forgive her for what had happened in the past. I loved that Gabe was so protective of me and every day I felt blessed that I’d finally allowed him into my heart.
Lucinda grabbed the phone off Candy to approve it. ‘It’s all right, I suppose. Right, let’s upload. How much do you reckon we’ll get for this on Depop?’
‘One hundred?’ I said with a shrug. ‘Two?’
Lucinda had a huge following on social media and it had almost doubled when the press announced she’d be starring in a new film with Tom Hiddleston next year. When I’d asked her if she’d come and model the clothes from Helena’s cupboard, she’d offered to sell them through her own page too.
‘What’s Depop?’ Gabe whispered.
‘It’s an app; imagine if Snapchat and eBay had a baby,’ I replied.
‘Oh right,’ said Gabe, looking none the wiser.
I peeled myself away from him and clambered back on to The Neptune.
‘We’re off,’ I said, kissing them both on the cheek. ‘Thank you for doing this. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.’
‘You’re kidding me!’ said Lucinda, turning round so Candy could unzip her. ‘We’ll raise loads of money for the hospice. My mum would be so proud of me. And then after I’ve officially opened the village summer fair thing I’ve got an interview lined up with a top reporter from the Derbyshire Bugle later on, so it’ll be great publicity for the charity and for me.’
‘The reporter – his name isn’t Robin, is it?’ I asked.
Lucinda nodded. ‘Yup. He said to ring him when we got to the swimwear shoot.’
‘Did he really?’ I said, suppressing a smile. That cheeky chap would go far, I reckoned.
She picked up her skirt and climbed clumsily back down the stairs to change into another outfit, leaving me with Candy.
‘And I think I owed you one hell of a favour,’ said Candy, taking my hands. ‘Thank you. For your forgiveness and for your understanding. You too, Gabe. It means a lot. I never expected … I don’t deserve …’ Her voice cracked and she shook her head.
‘You make a happier woman than you did a man,’ I said, pulling her into a hug. ‘Anyway, those eyelashes were wasted on a man.’
I hopped back on to the jetty, Gabe holding his hand out to steady me.
‘Right,’ I smiled at him, ‘I’m all yours.’
He stroked my cheek with his finger. ‘Is that a promise?’
‘Cross my heart,’ I said, grabbing his finger and making an ‘X’ on my T-shirt with it.
Paolo rang as we climbed into Gabe’s van (the plan had been to sell it, but it was useful for ferrying supplies between the Lemon Tree Café and the Lemon Tree Pizza Cabin, and also it was more Noah-proof than Gabe’s posh work car, so he’d kept it).
‘Ciao, Paolo, is everything OK, have they arrived?’
‘Hey, baby! I just pick up your parents from the airport, we are driving to Sorrento now. Wow, Luisa is one hot mamma. Wait, I put them on hands-free.’
‘Oh Paolo, you charmer,’ I heard Mum say with a titter.
‘Keep your eyes on the road, there’s a good chap, these bends are a death trap.’ Dad sounded petrified.
‘You’ll be safe with Paolo,’ I giggled. ‘How was the flight, Mum?’
‘Smooth as silk, but more importantly, how are you, how’s the day going so far?’
‘Nonna’s now completely moved in to Stanley’s. Angela is helping them set up their new king-size bed. Gabe and I are just leaving The Neptune and all of his stuff is out. And once Candy and Lucinda have finished taking the photos for the hospice, the boat will be ready for you to take it on its first outing.’
As expected, even though Stanley had been well enough to live on his own for weeks, Nonna never did come home again. She’d put her house on the market and yesterday the sale had been finalized and she’d handed over the keys. Mum and Dad had jumped on the first plane to Naples for a second honeymoon (th
e third would be on The Neptune, according to Dad) and Paolo had insisted that they stay at Bar Bufalo.
‘And what about you, darling?’ Mum said with a catch in her voice. ‘How are you?’
‘We,’ I reached across for Gabe’s hand, ‘are almost home.’
As soon as Gabe stopped the van outside Nonna’s cottage, Noah burst through the door, swiftly followed by a girl with brown wavy hair and dancing green eyes … It couldn’t be … It was …!
I leapt from the van and dived on my friend.
‘VERITY BLOOM!’ I gasped, looking from her to Gabe. ‘When you said babysitter, I didn’t realize …’
‘It was my brilliant idea,’ Verity beamed. ‘I thought you and Gabe might like some time, you know, on your own.’ She jerked her head towards the cottage.
‘There’s a trapdoor in my bedroom!’ cried Noah, punching his arms in the air.
‘Noah’s bed arrived while you were out so I asked the men to assemble it directly over the trapdoor,’ said Verity pointedly.
‘And how’s the slide, dude?’ Gabe pretended to pick Noah up by his ears and kissed him on his forehead.
‘The slide is the best thing in the world,’ said Noah, eyes shining. He put a hand to his mouth. ‘Auntie Verity’s bottom got stuck down it, but she said not to say anything.’
Verity rolled her eyes. ‘And on that note … Come on, we’ve got a summer fair to go to. We’ll see you two later.’ She winked. ‘As late as you like.’
Noah slipped his hand into Verity’s and the two of them set off towards the village green where Stella Derry was directing proceedings with her usual aplomb ready for a noon kick-off. Suddenly Noah broke free from Verity’s grasp, darted back towards the cottage and threw himself at me.
‘Hello again,’ I laughed, kissing his adorable little face.
‘I’ve changed my mind,’ he whispered loudly in my ear. ‘The slide on my bed isn’t the best thing in the world. You are.’
Gabe and I exchanged gooey smiles.
‘Oh Noah Green,’ I said, biting back tears, ‘carry on saying things like that and I’ll end up spoiling you rotten.’
His eyes popped open wide. ‘Can I have one of Churchill’s puppies?’
I looked at Gabe questioningly, he lifted a shoulder as if to say, Why not?
I nodded at Noah. ‘Go and tell Biddy, she’ll be thrilled.’
He ran back to join Verity and I turned to Gabe.
‘So this is it.’ I looked up at the man who had reawakened my soul. ‘Our first home together.’
I gasped as Gabe scooped me up into his arms and kissed me with a passion that sent my heart soaring.
‘Are you carrying me over the threshold?’ I said when we came up for air.
‘I am and yes, I know we’re not married,’ he murmured, gazing at me with such intensity that there was no mistaking his love for me. ‘Yet.’
And then without taking his eyes from mine he took the first step to our new life. The door was open and we went through it. Together.
The Thank Yous
As ever I couldn’t write at all without a tremendous team cheering me on and keeping me motivated along the way. So a big thank you to the Transworld posse: Aimée Longos, Becky Hunter, Janine Giovanni and Nicola Wright. And especially to the fabulous Francesca Best, my editor, who is tasked with coaxing me to the finish line – no mean feat! Thank you to the wonderful Hannah Ferguson, my agent, and her colleague Joanna Swainson, who together have looked after me so well during a trying year.
Thank you to the Literary Hooters, I love you all and really couldn’t manage without you. Thank you for listening and bolstering and mostly, all the hooting.
The Lemon Tree Café features an Italian lady of mature years and as I’m not an Italian speaker, I’d like to thank those who helped me with Nonna’s Italian sayings: Isabel Tartaruga, Gennaro from the Iberostar Torviscas Playa hotel in Tenerife (although his suggestions turned out to be too explicit!) and Francesca Best.
Thank you to Tony for all your help with the astronomical details. Thank you to Kath, my stepmum, who shared her story with me. Thanks to my brother for once sewing his curtains to his duvet cover and thank you to my friend and former colleague, Nina Whitby, who kept me entertained during many a boring meeting. Thank you to Carey Shelton for your help with my technical café questions and, of course, the recipe for Ginger Whoops! A special thank you to Ella Thompson; whatever floats your goat, Ella!
I made two research trips for this book, both of which helped enormously: The Wee House On The Hill, a tiny cottage in Wirksworth, became not only my haven at the start of writing this book, but also the inspiration for Rosie’s cottage in Barnaby, so thank you to Sarah and Mal, its owners. Thanks also to the wonderful staff of Il Roseto, bed and breakfast in Sorrento, who looked after me when I went to research the Italian thread of Rosie’s story.
Of course, writing wouldn’t be any fun without my amazing readers. Thank you for buying my books, thank you for the reviews, the tweets and Facebook messages and thank you for the lovely emails too. Please keep them coming!
Finally, to Marian Keyes, my favourite author. I was struggling with the first draft of this book and Marian came to the Nottingham Playhouse theatre to do a Q&A session. ‘Sometimes,’ said Marian wisely, ‘you have to go back to go forwards.’ Those words became my mantra. It was exactly the right advice at the right time and more than that, her message became the theme of The Lemon Tree Café. Thank you, Marian, meeting you was the highlight of my year.
Irresistible recipes inspired by The Lemon Tree Café
St Clement’s Cake
Almond Croissants
Honey Cake
Ginger Whoops
Blueberry crumble cake
Almond biscuits
Rachael Lucas’s Cranberry Biscotti
Lemon Shortbread Biscuits
Tiramisù
Limoncello Meringue Ice Cream
Triple Chocolate Cookies
‘Healthy’ Flapjacks
St Clement’s Cake
‘Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St Clement’s …’
This cake works brilliantly as a cake or as a pudding and looks so impressive that you get loads of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’. And to top it off, it’s really easy to make. If you want to make it gluten free, check the details of your baking powder before adding.
You will need . . .
380g of fruit made up of 1 lemon and roughly 3 or 4 clementine oranges
7 medium eggs
225g golden caster sugar
250g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
Remove any remnants of stalk from the fruit, place in a saucepan, cover with cold water and boil for two hours. Drain and discard the water. Cut fruit into quarters and remove the pips. Then put the lot into a food processor and blitz until really smooth (I often do this the day before making the rest of it).
Grease a 9-inch springform cake tin really well and preheat the oven to 190°C (fan 170°C), gas mark 5.
Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl, add the sugar, almonds and baking powder and mix until everything is incorporated. Then add in the orangey puree and stir thoroughly.
Tip the mixture into the tin and bake in the oven until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. It will take roughly an hour, depending on your oven.
Enjoy warm or cold with a dollop of crème fraiche and a small glass of dessert wine.
Almond Croissants
My husband really loves these. The ones covered in flaked almonds and filled with frangipane. But delivering them fresh and warm to the breakfast table is a step too far living where we live. However, I devised a cunning plan and these work wonderfully well for a special breakfast (like over a bank holiday weekend or birthday).
You will need . . .
A can of Jus Rol Bake-it-Fresh croissants
120g softened unsalted butter
150g caster sugar
200g ground almonds
> 2 eggs
1 beaten egg for making egg wash
A handful of flaked almonds
Icing sugar for sprinkling
Cream the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer until pale and fluffy.
Add the ground almonds and eggs and blend well. (There should be enough mixture to fill the croissants and spread some on the top after they have baked.)
Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C), gas mark 6.
Open the can of dough and unroll and separate the triangles as per the instructions. Spread some of the frangipane mixture over the entire triangle. Roll up from the wide end to the pointed end of the triangle, tucking the pointed end underneath and place on a baking sheet.
Repeat with all six, brush lightly with egg wash and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until golden but not too brown and remove from the oven.
Take the remaining frangipane, spread a small amount over each one and top with a sprinkle of flaked almonds. Pop them back in the oven for 2 minutes. Remove and dust with icing sugar.
Enjoy with coffee in your favourite mug!
Honey Cake
My family are big fans of honey – on toast, on breakfast cereal and even on ice cream. So this recipe is especially popular in this house. Perfect with a cup of coffee or add a drizzle of cream to jazz it up for pudding.
You will need . . .
100g margarine or butter (softened)
2 tbsp golden caster sugar
4 tbsp clear honey
2 eggs, beaten
175g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon, ground
1 tbsp water
Preheat the oven to 190°C (fan 170°C), gas mark 5 and grease a 20cm (8-inch) cake tin – I use a square silicone one for this recipe.
Then simply add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and beat until thoroughly mixed.
Transfer the batter to the cake tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and the top springs back up when you press it.
The Lemon Tree Café Page 41
