Cressida McLaughlin - The Cornish Cream Tea Bus - Part Four – The Icing on the Cake

Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

The News Building

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain in ebook format in 2019 by HarperCollins Publishers

Copyright © Cressida McLaughlin 2019

Cover design © HarperColl‌insPublishers Ltd 2019.

Cover illustration © May Van Millingen

Cressida McLaughlin asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Ebook Edition © June 2019 ISBN: 9780008332174

Version: 2019-06-03

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Copyright Table of Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Part 4: The Icing on the Cake Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Keep Reading … Also by Cressida McLaughlin About the Author About the Publisher Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd The News Building 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain in ebook format in 2019 by HarperCollins Publishers Copyright © Cressida McLaughlin 2019 Cover design © HarperColl‌insPublishers Ltd 2019. Cover illustration © May Van Millingen Cressida McLaughlin asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins. Ebook Edition © June 2019 ISBN: 9780008332174 Version: 2019-06-03

Part 4: The Icing on the Cake Part 4 The Icing on the Cake

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Keep Reading …

Also by Cressida McLaughlin

About the Author

About the Publisher

‘Is the council deliberately designed like this, so you go round and round in circles and they somehow make money off all the interminable phone calls?’ Charlie Quilter resisted the urge to bash her mobile on the table. She’d been sitting in Juliette’s kitchen all morning, being pushed from one department to the next, trying to get her trading consent for The Cornish Cream Tea Bus reinstated. It was sitting forlornly on Porthgolow’s beach, a gleaming café from which, for the moment, she could not sell a single cup of tea.

‘I don’t think the council makes money from phone calls,’ Juliette said, replacing Charlie’s empty mug with a fresh cup of steaming coffee. ‘Besides, don’t you have free minutes as part of your plan?’

Charlie smiled her thanks and then rolled her eyes as the robotic voice said, for the millionth time, Please stay on the line; your call is important to us. ‘Is it, though?’ Charlie asked her phone. ‘Is it really?’

‘Tell me again what Daniel said.’ Juliette sat opposite her, cradling her mug.

Charlie sighed. ‘Why are men so bloody complicated?’

Juliette laughed, and Charlie joined in until there was a pause on the line, and she bit her lip, thinking that she might get to talk to an actual person this time. But no, it was just the tape looping. The electronic voice told her again how important she was.

‘So, Daniel,’ Charlie said, her stomach twisting when she thought of their recent encounter. ‘He told me that he didn’t shut down Gertie, despite Crystal Waters being named on the notice, then he kissed me and walked away.’

‘On the jetty, in the darkness. It sounds so romantic.’

‘Or overly dramatic, depending on how you look at it.’

‘And how do you look at it?’ Juliette asked. ‘You and Daniel have been so up and down since you got here, but I can tell you really like him. Though you’re being more cautious than you were when you met Stuart; understandably, because he turned out to be a total dickhead.’

‘And Daniel had dickhead form before I even met him.’

‘Hmmm.’ Juliette looked at the table. ‘Have you spoken to him at all since Saturday night? Any texts? Aubergine emojis?’

‘Nothing. I don’t know what to say. I mean, why was your business on there if you didn’t get my bus shut down, and what was that kiss about, and what fabric softener do you use because you smelt really great the other night doesn’t seem like a conversation you can have via text.’

‘So go and see him, then.’

Charlie let her head drop to the table, then lifted it up and rubbed her brow. ‘I will, but I can’t until I find out who was behind this. I will apologize to him if it’s all a big misunderstanding, but what if it isn’t? What if he’s making a fool of me? Again?’

‘Char, I don’t think he would be this cruel.’

‘I really hope you’re right.’ She didn’t know what she had with Daniel; she just knew that even the thought of him sent butterflies fluttering through her like she was some kind of hothouse. ‘As soon as I … oh, hello, is that the licensing department?’ she enquired as Electronic Ethel was replaced with a living, breathing human being.