How to Find Love in a Book Shop(55)

Actually, going into the book shop hadn’t been as daunting as he thought. Emilia had been really helpful, and hadn’t laughed at his desire to read to his son, or his admission that he’d never read a book. She’d been really sweet and hadn’t made him feel like an idiot at all. In fact, he was positively looking forward to reading it. Moomintrolls.

He didn’t want to think about the real reason for going in there. The fact that he was supposed to be charming the pants off Emilia Nightingale in order to get her to sell up. Although he thought it was going to be easy. She’d definitely flirted with him. It was impossible not to flirt with Jackson, unless you’d been officially pronounced dead. Even men flirted with him. Straight men. It never got him anywhere, though.

But he had to keep Ian Mendip happy. For the time being anyway. Else he’d be out of a job.

He knocked on the door. Finn answered and barrelled into him.

‘Dad! It’s not your day, is it?’

Jackson usually had Finn on a Sunday, but he didn’t see why he couldn’t see him every day if he wanted to.

Finn knelt down and started hugging Wolfie.

Mia appeared, looking wary.

He held up the book.

‘I thought I’d come and read to Finn.’

‘Read?’ She looked very dubious.

‘Yeah. It’s important. Reading to your kids.’

‘It is. Yes. You don’t have to tell me that.’

She watched him as he came in. He flopped down on the sofa. He remembered them going to choose it, from the big out-of-town retail park. Five years’ interest-free credit. That was another thing he was still paying off. So he might as well get some use out of it.

‘Come here, buddy.’ Finn was still small enough to sit on his lap. ‘I got this crazy book. Finn Family Moomintroll.’

Wolfie muscled his way in too. Jackson trapped him between his legs so he didn’t jump up on the sofa. He suspected Mia wouldn’t approve.

He cracked open the spine and began to read.

He was astonished to find that both he and Finn were soon under the spell of the Moomins and their funny little world. He read two chapters. Three.

‘Shall we stop there? Carry on tomorrow?’

‘No,’ said Finn. ‘I want to know what happens.’

Mia was standing in the doorway, watching them. She almost had a smile on her face. Almost. To Jackson’s surprise, she came over and sat on the sofa next to him. She reached out for the book and had a look at the cover.

‘Looks to me like the Moomins have BMI issues,’ she said.

Jackson looked at her. If anyone had BMI issues, it was Mia. She’d lost even more weight. There was nothing of her. But he didn’t mention it.

He pulled Finn closer in to him and carried on reading.



While she was cooking a sage and butternut squash risotto, Bea outlined the afternoon’s events to Bill, omitting the bit about taking back a stolen book, obviously. Just telling him she was going to do some plans for Nightingale Books.

Bill frowned. ‘What’s the point of that?’

‘I owe her a favour.’

‘What favour?’

Bea didn’t have a clue what to tell him. She could hardly tell him the truth. She wished she’d never started the conversation. She concentrated on pouring the stock onto the rice while she thought of a suitable reply.

‘Maud had a meltdown in her shop. She was really kind to her.’

‘That’s not like Maud.’

Bea felt awful, blaming her gorgeous daughter who rarely had tantrums.

‘She was a bit tired and hungry. Emilia gave her a biscuit.’

‘A set of plans in return for a biscuit?’

Bea frowned at him. ‘Look, I want to do it. OK? It’s nice to use my brain.’

She felt unsettled. It wasn’t like Bill to be so ungenerous.

Did he feel left out? She had read somewhere – not in Hearth, because in Hearth life wasn’t allowed to be anything less than perfect – that men could get jealous of new babies, and resent the attention their partners lavished on the newborns. But if anything, Bill was the one who lavished attention on Maud. He spoiled her far more than Bea did.

Maybe he was just tired.

‘Shall I see if I can get a babysitter for tomorrow?’ she asked. ‘We could try one of the new restaurants in Peasebrook? It would be nice to have a night out.’

Bill poked at something on his iPad. ‘Nah. Let’s stay in. I don’t want a hangover midweek.’

They could never go out for dinner without demolishing a bottle of wine each. For some reason they were never as profligate at home. Bea supposed it was because if they started drinking like that in their own kitchen they would be heading for rehab in a month.

Unless guests came, of course. Then the bottle count was shameless. But they hadn’t had so many people to stay lately.

Maybe Bill was lacking stimulating company. Guests were hard work but it was always fun, and now Maud wasn’t getting up quite so horrifically early, it would be easier.

‘Shall we ask the Morrisons down for the weekend?’ she asked. ‘Or Sue and Tony? We’ve been a bit unsociable lately.’

Bill gave a sigh. ‘It’s non-stop washing up and sheet changing.’

‘Not really. Everyone gives a hand.’ And he never did the laundry. It was Bea who stripped the beds, washed the linen and sprayed it with lavender water before ironing.