Page 9 of Winter Wishes at Pennycress Inn

Laura laughed. ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh, but talk about a meet-cute!’

‘A what?’ Scarlett frowned as she tucked her sketchbook into her bag. Now she had it, she was excited to get back to the camper and fill out the details of the Christmas tree with the photo she’d taken.

‘A meet-cute. Come on, you must know what that means?’ Laura’s eyes shone with mischief.

Scrunching up her nose, Scarlett had the distinct feeling she didn’t want to know what it meant.

‘You need to come to the book club that meets here.’ Laura twisted on the bench so she was facing her. ‘You actually should come. The next meeting is tomorrow. Will you?’

‘I don’t know. I’ve got a lot of prep to do before the craft fair I’m booked in for at the weekend.’ Scarlett shook her head. She had no intention of joining Laura for her book club meet-up. She’d never been that great in group environments, always preferring to keep herself to herself, so why would she voluntarily join a group of people she didn’t know, who she most likely had absolutely nothing in common with, particularly when she hadn’t even read the book they would be discussing? ‘So what’s this meet-cute then?’

‘It’s when a woman’ – Laura pointed towards her before pointing in the direction of the hallway – ‘meets a man and they fall in love. It’s called a meet-cute because they both think the other one is cute.’

Raising her eyebrows, Scarlett opened her mouth to speak before Laura quickly continued.

‘No, that’s not right because it’s still called a meet-cute when the characters hate each other at first.’ She shook her head. ‘But anyway, that’s what a meet-cute is.’

‘You think I’m going to fall in love with Rowan?’ Scarlett couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

Laura shrugged. ‘Why not? You’re single. He’s single too, as far as I know, and you’ve met.’

‘Umm, I think there needs to be more to it than that.’ Scarlett shook her head and laughed. ‘Like mutual attraction, perhaps, and the desire to be in a relationship with each other?’

Laura shrugged and grinned at her. ‘Oh, I think there was enough attraction on his part, anyway. Did you see the way he looked at you?’

‘He only looked at me because he was giving me back my sketchbook. And I can assure you there’s no attraction between us. Mutual or otherwise.’ Scarlett picked up her mug again, bringing it to her lips. She hadn’t even thought of Rowan in that light when she’d seen him this morning at the green, or just now. Yes, she’d noticed his eyes were kind and his short, cropped haircut suited him, but… nope, nothing else. Why would she? There was no chance she’d be putting herself in the position to be lied to again. Ever.

‘You just keep telling yourself that.’ Laura giggled as she turned to watch Jackson walk back through the kitchen door. ‘All okay?’

‘Yep, he just said to let him know what we thought after we’d tried the coffees, no pressure to order anything.’ Jackson picked up the mug of hot chocolate Laura had filled for him. ‘Right, shall we get on with putting up the decs then?’

‘Absolutely! The sooner we get them up, the longer we get to enjoy them before we leave for Venice.’ Laura downed her hot chocolate before standing up.

6

‘Right, I think I’m all packed up.’ Looking up from the large plastic box brimming with Christmas cards, prints she’d had made from her original illustrations, and mugs and other merchandise such as tote bags and bookmarks she’d got her artwork printed on, Scarlett looked towards Thelma, who was sitting on the rug.

It was hard to believe she’d been in Meadowfield a week already. Between spending time sketching the village and the surrounding countryside and visiting Laura and Jackson, she and Thelma had slipped into an easy routine. In the mornings, she’d spent an hour or two wandering the streets of Meadowfield and sketching the local environment as inspiration took her before coming back to the camper and adding details to her illustrations from photographs she’d taken whilst Thelma enjoyed some cage-free time and roamed the camper. In the evenings, Scarlett would walk to Pennycress to spend some time with Laura and Jackson and enjoy having dinner cooked for her by Jackson, or by Laura if Jackson was working at the village pub.

‘Right, Thelma, let’s get you back into your old cage as I need to get to this craft fair.’ Bending, she scooped the small guinea pig into her arms and kissed her on the top of her furry head before popping her back into the cage on the passenger seat. That’s one thing she could be grateful to Tyler for – Thelma. Life in the camper would be a whole lot lonelier if she hadn’t rescued her. It had been a whole lot lonelier when she’d moved in here after her and Tyler’s flat was put on the market.

After securing the door to the cage, Scarlett slipped behind the wheel and pulled out of the lay-by. She was excited to get to this one. This would be the first craft fair she’d been to in a few weeks and the first down here in the Cotswolds, and with it only being three weeks now until Christmas, it was bound to be a good one. She just hoped she had enough to sell. The last thing she wanted was to run out of stock and to miss out on sales.

She tapped the steering wheel as she took the exit signposted Stratford-upon-Avon at the roundabout. ‘Do you think I’ve got enough, Thelma? I’ve got at least fifty individual Christmas cards, plus the few I’ve boxed up, tote bags – both Christmas ones and ones with other designs on, in case people are buying for gifts – those new mugs and coasters I had printed. Oh, I hope I do.’

The bedding in the corner of Thelma’s cage rustled.

‘Umm, I hope you’re right, little one.’ She changed gears as the car in front of her sped up. ‘I’ve got a good feeling about this one. It’s close to Christmas, but not close enough so that people will have done all their present shopping. I…’

Scarlett paused as the cheerful ringtone of her mobile filled the camper. Leaning over, she tapped the screen to answer. ‘Hello?’

‘Hi, Scarlett, it’s just me, Laura. I just wondered if you were coming over for dinner tonight, as I know you’ve got that craft fair so didn’t know what time you’d be finished.’

‘Oh, umm, sorry, I completely forgot to let you know. It should be a busy one, so I probably won’t be back in time.’

‘Shall I pop something aside so you can heat it up later?’

Scarlett glanced at the little clock on the dashboard. The craft fair was a late one and started at two. It closed at five, but after she’d packed up and driven back to the lay-by, it would be gone seven. ‘No, don’t worry about me tonight, thanks. I’ll pick something up at the fair.’