‘I have a new-found respect for you getting up each day at this time.’ Tristan yawned as Lola locked up the cottage door.
She slipped her arm through his. ‘I’ve always been an early-riser, sunrise is one of the best parts of the day. It’s where the magic really happens,’ she said as they made their way over to the harbour wall, where a flicker of golden light was breaking through on the horizon, stretching like a blessing over the calm waves. Lola had the notion that everyone was exactly where they were meant to be. She snuggled into Tristan and gave silent thanks to Ruby for leading her to Polcarrow and into the arms of someone who truly loved and cared for her.
‘I love winter days like this,’ Tristan said, ‘where it’s cold and clear and if you get the sunlight at the right angle, you can sometimes believe it’s summer.’
Lola shivered. ‘Might be a bit nippy for that but I did see the forecast is for blue skies, which I think is much better than a white Christmas. Imagine how all that snow would ruin people’s travel plans?’
Tristan laughed. ‘That’s a very practical thought.’
‘Hmm. Well, I am looking forward to hosting Christmas and after all the work Freya and Angelo have put into Bayview it would be nice for her parents to actually get here. Anyway, has Freya said how my birthday plans are going?’ She raised her eyebrows at him and fixed him with a look she hoped would melt him into revealing what was going on.
‘They’re .?.?.’ Tristan stopped. ‘No, I’m sworn to secrecy.’ He kissed her as a distraction. ‘I’m not telling you anything other than you have nothing to worry about. Nothing,’ he reiterated as Lola’s face wavered.
Lola’s instinct was to press him – not being in control was strange for her – but as she watched him wrestle with keeping the plans under wraps, she knew she could trust him and Freya. ‘Come on, I better get baking. It’s school holidays, it’s sunny, I want to do all the fun things. Reindeer and snowman cupcakes, gingerbread fishermen. Do you think I could get away with culling the mince pies this early? Surely everyone has had their fill?’
Tristan winced. ‘Oh, I don’t know about that. There’s still three days of annual mince pie scoffing left for this year, some people might be trying to squeeze in as many as they can still. Like Alf.’
Lola laughed and pulled away from him to make her way to the café to unlock. ‘I guess you’re right. I wouldn’t want his, or Scruff’s, complaints. But I can’t wait to make all sorts of new things in the New Year. Proper comfort food bakes, none of this post-Christmas dieting. I even found a recipe for a sticky toffee cake . . .’
‘Well, if you need a taster, you only have to say,’ Tristan offered.
Lola kissed him. ‘I hope you’re not only after me for first dibs on my baking.’
‘Well, there have to be some advantages to dating the local café owner,’ he said, pulling her to him.
‘In that case, I better get on with some of that baking then,’ she said, giving him one last kiss. As they crossed the road towards the café they spotted someone attaching a ‘To Let’ sign above the door of the shop next door. ‘What’s happening?’ Lola asked the man.
He shrugged. ‘Owners have decided to rent it out. Obviously think it’s worth it now.’ He didn’t elaborate but went back to his work.
Lola tugged Tristan’s arm and they headed back towards the café. ‘I hope it’s not going to be a rival.’
‘No one would dare,’ Tristan reminded her as she unlocked the door. ‘Alf would chase them out of town for one.’
Lola laughed. ‘True. Come and keep me company, I promise not to sing along to the radio. Alf won’t be here for a while.’
Tristan made them both a cup of tea and some toast whilst Lola got stuck into that day’s baking. Lola adored the way he patiently sat on the kitchen stool watching what she was doing with awe. He asked questions as she went along about where she got her ideas from, about baking with Ruby, if there was anything he could do to help with Christmas dinner. The companionship between them was something Lola had never experienced before and she found she liked it a lot more than the hot and cold passion she’d experienced with Jared. Talking about their days, exchanging views on the solstice festival, taking in a little bit of calm before the Christmas rush, was exactly what Lola had been looking for without realising it. Freya had been right, friendship really was the best basis for a relationship.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
It was the twenty-third of December and Polcarrow was divided into two camps: those panicking that they still had last-minute Christmas bits and bobs to buy and those who had already cracked open the mulled wine having accepted that they had done everything they could. The whole of the village was in a flurry – wrapping last-minute gifts, catching up with friends over gingerbread lattes and snowman cupcakes, preparing for the crib service at the church or getting ready for relatives to descend. The morning had been bright which meant the café had been busy with people buying hot chocolates and pastries to consume on the beach while the kids ran off some of their pent-up holiday energy. Now with soft grey clouds rolling in over the bay, people had headed for home to get on with various Christmas chores.
‘Freya, stop it, you’re making me nervous!’ Lola exclaimed as she brought out a fresh batch of mince pies and some brownies. ‘Calm down, it’s only your parents.’ As the day had worn on, Freya had grown twitchier and twitchier about her family’s arrival. They were now due any moment.
Freya reached for one of the brownies before pulling her hand back. ‘Exactly! And they’re meeting Angelo for the first time.’
‘From what I’ve observed, Angelo is perfectly capable of being charming, I’m sure they’ll love him.’
‘But the bike and the tattoos—’
‘He sold the bike, remember, to help fund Bayview. As for the tattoos, well, unless you’re planning on whipping his jumper off, they don’t need to see them, do they?’ Lola pointed out. ‘Stop flapping, it will all be fine. They’ll see how much he looks after you and that will win them over. What time are they arriving?’
Freya glanced at the clock. It was five past three. She sucked in a breath. ‘If traffic is good then they should be arriving any time now.’
‘Right, I’ll leave you to it, I’ve got a few things to finish.’ Lola gave her a smile and a shoulder squeeze. ‘It will all be fine, trust me, I’m the local oracle,’ she said with a wink.
‘Angelo’s making dinner for us all later, he’s doing some lasagnes, you and Tristan are more than welcome to join us, unless, of course, you have other plans?’ Freya said with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
‘If you’re making those sort of insinuations about me and the local vicar, young lady, then I think it’s only right that we join you and prove that we’re perfectly capable of keeping our hands off each other for an evening. What time?’
