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“Min, Min. Where are you off to, darling?”
Turning, Min saw Cressida dressed in a jaunty little jacket and hat, a big glitzy purse in her hand, which she was waving wildly to catch her attention. “Where are you going, darling?”
“Back to the Westerly, just to check everything’s going okay.”
“Oh, but darling, I had plans to take you shopping today.” Cressida stood pouting and puffing on the gravel driveway.
“Well, I won’t be there long.” Cressida looked so crestfallen that she added, “Maybe we could meet somewhere… afterwards.”
“Oh yes, let’s be girls who do lunch. Won’t that be jolly? Meet me at The Right Bite at 1 pm, and after lunch we can go look at some dress shops in The Hole In The Wall.” Cressida was all smiles now as she waved her off.
Min quickly got into the hover cab before there were any more interruptions.
“Where to, ma’am?” Vincent threw over his shoulder, putting the limo into a sharp upward thrust.
“The Westerly Bookshop please, Vincent. And it’s Min, remember.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
CHAPTER 18
Min sighed with relief as the limo hovered over the bookshop and then landed on the perimeter road.
As she walked up the path, the smell of spring flowers and cherry blossom met her nostrils.
It was a beautiful warm day and there were bees everywhere in the garden, and small birds drinking from the bird bath.
She wanted to walk into the shop and stay there, get busy behind her desk pricing books and chatting to customers.
What had she been thinking, getting involved in this crazy scheme?
Face it, she was so out of her depth she was at risk of drowning.
It didn’t help that when she walked inside, Bonnie looked at her a little strangely.
“Hi Min. I, er… wasn’t sure whether to contact you or not.”
“Is everything okay?” Min asked. A sudden horrible thought hit her. “Is Gingerbread okay?” Her heart stuttered. She always worried that one day he’d streak across the perimeter road and get hit by a car.
“Oh, Gingerbread’s fine. The shop’s fine.”
“Busy?”
Bonnie seemed to hesitate. “It has been busy. Not with sales, though.” From the way Bonnie’s snakes were squirming, she was clearly embarrassed.
Min took off her jacket and moved behind the desk. “Well, I guess more customers is good, though it’s a shame they weren’t buying.”
Bonnie hesitated. “The subject of conversation hasn’t been about books really. Folks have been asking about you and… er… this Ethan Blade guy.” Bonnie’s eyebrows waggled. “Either this was a very whirlwind affair, or Minerva Westwind, you’ve told me some whopping great porky pies about this internship.”
Min huffed a sigh. She’d been naïve to think that just because Bonnie didn’t like social media, the news wouldn’t reach her somehow. Of course, customers talked. “Do you want to put the kettle on, and we’ll sit down and have a chat?” Min said.
Bonnie nodded and trotted into the little back office.
Min felt strangely displaced, like she’d been away forever.
And while the shop looked much the same, she was irrevocably different.
But as she glanced around, she couldn’t help feeling comforted when she spotted Gingerbread, curled up on the lumpy old easy chair in the snug. She went over and stroked his ears, and he stretched and opened one eye, then closed it.
