‘You’re not wrong there. Indeed, it has. Holly has been beside herself with it,’ Libby replied chuckling.
‘She’s a nightmare...’ Juliette trailed off giggling.
‘Rightio. Now, we didn't really have a space this afternoon, but there was no way I was saying no to seeing you up here. I’ve squeezed you in over there by the dresser,’ Libby said and lowering her voice continued, ‘And there is Locals Only jam out the back for you. Don’t publicise it though or I’ll be shot. I’ve told a lot of people we’re out of it when there was one pot left,’ Libby said with a chuckle.
Luke came strolling back into the cafe and Libby nudged Juliette, ‘Blimey! I can see why you moved him in pretty darn quick. Phew. That is one delightful sight right there in front of me. No wonder Holly was so excited - she did tell me he was divine. I make her right. So very right.’
‘You’re hilarious Libby! And you’re correct - he’s gorgeous. I can’t believe how lucky I am.’
‘Who’s lucky?’ Luke asked as he walked up to Juliette and Libby catching the end of the conversation.
‘Me! I’m so very lucky to have you, Luke,’ Juliette giggled. ‘This is Libby - lavender crazy Libby. And she may just have saved some of her Locals Only jam for us to have with our scones.’
‘Lovely to meet you, Libby,’ Luke said smiling and offered his hand out to Libby.
Libby beamed, basking in the delight of all that was Luke, shook his hand, and whispered to Juliette, ‘You need to keep this one Jools! Get a ring on his finger then lock him up and don’t let him out. Ever. He’s absolutely divine.’
Juliette laughed as she pointed out their table to Luke and they walked over. Maybe Libby has a point, maybe a ring on the finger might actually be rather nice, she thought as she pulled out the chair and sat down opposite Luke.
Chapter 5
A week or so later, Juliette sat at the little desk in the corner of the surgery in Pretty Beach and finished off the last of her paperwork. She couldn’t believe she’d at last caught up with her admin. Juliette checked the time on her phone. She had her lunch break to check up on her little online shop, A Christmas Sparkle’s orders, then the whole afternoon back-to-back with antenatal appointments, and then straight to school to pick up Maggie, then to horse riding. Sometimes she felt like her life was one long conveyor belt of work, school, extra-curricular activities, housework, rinse and repeat.
Juliette walked out of the consultation room to the staff room, made herself a cup of tea, took her little pink lunchbox with pasta salad out of the fridge, and walked back into her room. She logged into the website for A Christmas Sparkle and clicked on the sales and orders page. Strange, there were an unusually high number of orders for the time of year. She clicked on the traffic button to see if that would give her any answers. Nothing. She couldn’t work out what it was.
She pulled up Instagram on her phone and saw it straight away. A big Christmas influencer in the USA had tagged her Sparkle Up Your Christmas collection - her collection of very expensive, very exclusive vintage Christmas decorations she’d been collecting for years. Some of them even dated back to when her obsession with all things Christmas had started in her teens. In those days, she’d obsessively searched charity shops and jumble sales for any old Christmas things, but it was really when the internet opened up the world that her real collection had started to come together.
Juliette looked at the Instagram post and the comments below. The post showcased one of the pictures she’d taken in the Orangery way back and also showed one of her special Christmas Advent parcels. Unbeknownst to Juliette, she’d sent one of her parcels to the influencer back in December, and now here the person was, months later, sharing pictures of the parcel in the vintage Christmas space and hashtagging the life out of it.
It was amazing the amount of sales one single post on Instagram had generated. More importantly, it was the type of sale she loved getting. All the sales were for expensive one-off finds that she prided herself on; products that she hoped carried her brand and prompted the customer to purchase more.
It was really good news for A Christmas Sparkle, and the more it continued to do well, the more she hoped she’d be able to cut a few shifts at work. All she had to do now was actually collate, pack, and send everything. Her phone pinged in her pocket with a text from Luke.
Hey, how are you getting on?
Good. I’ve finally caught up. Just A Christmas Sparkle to go now and then I’ll be set. What about you?
Good. I’ve been to see it.
?????
The boat.
OMG, I totally forgot about that. You really are serious about this!
I did tell you that last night.
I thought you were joking!!!! How was it then?
Perfect, and going for a song. Bloke who's selling it has had it thirty years and his wife’s told him it’s time to let it go. It’s not a deceased estate at all. I got that mixed up with another one. He’ll throw in the lot with it.
But what state is it in? It looked a bit of a mess in the photos.
Put it this way it’s not pink and there aren’t any polka dots... yet.
Chapter 6
Juliette got up from her chair next to Maggie at the table in the corner of Maisy’s cafe and kissed Holly on the cheek. The cafe was packed to the rafters with both locals and tourists alike, and Maggie and Juliette had popped in to meet Holly for a cup of tea.
‘Hello Maggie.
