“Oh.” Ellie’s face fell. “Hasn’t he come in again?”
“Has who come in?” Mallory asked, always wanting to know the latest gossip.
Olivia busied herself with arranging a few more shortbread on an already full tray. “No one and no,” she said brightly. “But hopefully the shop will be full in a few minutes!”
Thankfully Ellie took the hint and didn’t press—not that there was any information for her to ferret out. Olivia hadn’t seen Simon since the concert on Sunday, something she was doing her best not to find crushing. So she’d got her hopes up a little, thinking there might be a spark between them. It happened.
Clearly something was going on with the arty, elegant woman who had given him the full-on embrace at the church. They looked good together, both tall and dark and artistic-looking. She wished them well. Really.
Of course, he still could have come in and bought a cupcake each day as he’d said he would, but oh, well. The promotion seemed to be working—she’d sold all twelve on Monday and eleven on Tuesday, and most of those had been repeats of people who’d bought before and were hoping for a free cupcake at the end. Really, it was all good…or at least mostly good.
She might be disappointed that things with Simon had fizzled out before they’d even started, but so what? She still had a lot to look forward to in her life.
Olivia was spared from dwelling on it by the first rush of customers—the little shop was packed out as soon as Mallory flung open the doors, and Olivia was kept busy filling cups with mulled wine, replenishing trays, and manning the till. She’d kept the prices down to encourage custom—a pound for a cup of mulled wine and fifty pence per baked item, and she was pleased her strategy seemed to be working, as people eagerly scoffed her offerings and took the invitations from the table by the door.
She’d told herself not to keep an eye out for Simon, and yet some contrary part of her still waited—and hoped. He was, predictably, a no-show, but it helped that Ava and Jace, Alice and Henry, and Harriet and Richard all showed up, pitching in as needed, and buying plenty of pies and cakes.
“Whatever’s left, I’ll buy from you,” Harriet promised. “I’ve got some of Richard’s school colleagues coming over for a drinks do and I can’t be bothered to bake. Besides yours are much better than anything I could manage.”
“It’s a deal,” Olivia answered. “But I’m hoping there won’t be anything left over.”
A little before six o’clock everyone filed out of the shop for the lighting of the Christmas tree; Olivia had been planning on staying back but Ellie protested that she should come and close the shop for a few minutes, and then her mum insisted she’d stay.
“I can keep things going here for a little while,” she said firmly. “And I don’t fancy walking on those uneven cobbles in the dark. Go on, Olivia. Have some fun. I’ll enjoy being in charge for a little bit.”
“All right, then.” Olivia untied her apron and grabbed her coat, glad to see her mother looking a bit more lively. “Thanks, Mum.”
Outside people were heading in a steady stream towards the village green at the bottom of the high street. The air was full of excitement, children skipping ahead and parents laughing, everyone bundled up in bright coats and mittens, hats and scarves. The air felt crisp and cold, with a hint of the promised snow. As Olivia was pulled along with Ellie, Oliver, Abby, and Mallory, she found herself getting into the festive spirit of the thing.
She’d been so busy running around trying to make the shop look Christmassy and inviting that she hadn’t actually had much time to feel Christmassy herself. Now, digging her hands deep into the pockets of her coat as she traded cheerful quips with Mallory and Abby, a happy excitement burst in her heart like a sunbeam or a snowflake. It really was the season.
On the village green everyone assembled around the massive tree; with a very small pang of uneasy guilt, Olivia noted the food stall that was doing a fairly brisk business in the same sort of fare she was offering back at the shop, with all proceeds to benefit the village cricket club. All her proceeds were going directly into her pocket. Still, her shop was halfway down the high street, a good distance from the green, and she decided there were enough pedestrians for both of them.
“Are we ready to get this party started?” someone shouted, and someone official—the head teacher of the school, Mallory said—made a big show of turning on the switch. A second later the tree lit up with an electric rainbow of colours, and the fairy lights spangling the high street lit up as well, making it look like something out of a fairy tale.
“All it needs to do is snow and everything will be perfect,” Ellie said with a smile. She tilted her face to the sky, scanning for snowflakes. “It’s certainly cold enough.”
“Yes…” Olivia gazed around the crowded green, smiling at the sight of so many happy families, couples hand in hand…and she was happy, too. She might need a bit of forceful reminding of the fact, but it was still the truth. Her oh-so-brief fascination with Simon Blacklock had been nothing more than a blip.
And then she saw him. Her heart didn’t so much as tumble this time as freeze, suspended in her chest, as she watched him talking and laughing with someone she couldn’t see. The mystery woman from Sunday in the bright, jaunty coat?
Olivia tried to look away, but somehow she couldn’t. She watched as he a raked a long-fingered hand through his hair, nodding at whatever his conversational partner was saying. And then a little tousle-haired boy tackled his knees.
Olivia sucked in a hard
