Daisy James - There’s Something About Cornwall

A knight in a shining camper van!

Life is far from picture perfect for food photographer Emilie Roberts. Not only has her ex-boyfriend cheated on her, he’s also stolen her dream assignment to beautiful Venice! Instead, Emilie is heading to the Cornish coast…

Emilie doesn’t think it can get any worse – until disaster strikes on the very first day! And there’s only one man to rescue this damsel in distress: extremely hunky surfing instructor Matt Ashby.

Racing from shoot to shoot in a bright orange vintage camper van, Matt isn’t the conventional knight in shining armour – but can he make all of Emilie’s fairy-tale dreams come true?

A delightfully heart-warming romance to sweep readers off their feet! Perfect for fans of Mandy Baggot, Christie Barlow and Holly Martin.

Available from Daisy James

The Runaway Bridesmaid

If the Dress Fits

When Only Cupcakes Will Do

There’s Something

About Cornwall

Daisy James

DAISY JAMES

is a Yorkshire girl transplanted to the north-east of England. She loves writing stories with strong heroines and swift-flowing plotlines. She has written four novels, The Runaway Bridesmaid , If the Dress Fits , When Only Cupcakes Will Do and There’s Something about Cornwall – all contemporary romances with a dash of humour. When not scribbling away in her peppermint-and-green summerhouse (garden shed), she spends her time sifting flour and sprinkling sugar and edible glitter. She loves gossiping with friends over a glass of something pink and fizzy or indulging in a spot of afternoon tea – china plates and teacups are a must!

Daisy would love to hear from readers via her Facebook page or you can follow her on Twitter @daisyjamesbooks.

To my oldest friends Gillian Mowbray and Elaine Curtis

for their love and support whatever the weather.

A huge thank you to Tarquin Leadbetter of Southwestern Distillery at Higher Trevibban Farm, Wadebridge, Cornwall, for his assistance with my research into Cornish pastis.

Contents

Cover

Blurb

Book List

Title Page

Author Bio

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Epilogue

Endpages

Copyright

Chapter One

‘No, Alice, I’m sorry but I can’t do it.’

‘You do know that Lucinda Carlton-Rose is one of the hottest TV chefs and cookery book writers out there at the minute, don’t you? It’s an all-expenses-paid trip to Cornwall. What’s not to like? And it would be a fabulous opportunity to add to your portfolio for when you go freelance. You can’t turn it down! You have to do it!’

‘Alice…’

‘Please, Emilie. You are literally my last hope!’

‘Why doesn’t that surprise me?’

‘Okay, Lucinda may be a bit of a pain to work with…’

‘“A bit of a pain to work with?” You really are a mistress of understatement. She has a reputation a rabid Rottweiler would be proud of! She’s mauled better food photographers than me in her time, Al. She’s a gold medal holder in obsessive perfectionism. I’d be like one of her lavender-infused blancmanges the whole time. And you know what happens when I’m nervous – my hands tremble and I drop stuff! My camera would be shaking so much you’d think I was shooting on a trampoline.’

Emilie shook her head slowly, her eyes focused on the view of the London skyline from her office window as twilight washed the rooftops with a splash of salmon and indigo. She flicked her long copper waves over her shoulder and refocused her attention on the phone call.

‘You do remember what Lucinda was like when Suzie worked with her on the Lucinda Loves…Seafood book, don’t you? Suzie still swears that if she hadn’t been able to escape to that silent yoga retreat in Andalucía she would have been looking at her sanity in the rear-view mirror. She’s adamant she’ll never work with Lucinda – or on any food preparation shoot – ever again. What was the alternative title Suzie gave her TV show? You know – the one she kept on ticker-tape repeat for the whole week she was with Lucinda?’

‘ The Devil Wears an Apron .’ Alice giggled, despite her desperation to persuade Emilie to step into Suzie’s stilettos. ‘But this gig is different. It’s not a studio assignment. Admit it, all your college friends would trample over your dead body for a chance to work on a Lucinda Loves… location shoot. They’d be on the train to Penzance before you could say cappuccino cupcake.’

‘Sorry, I can’t do it. I just can’t. Not after what’s just happened with Brad. I don’t think my shaky self-belief could stand another vicious pounding.’

‘Brad is a cheating moron! I really don’t know what you saw in the guy, Em.’

‘Well, perhaps it was his smouldering good looks, the buttocks of steel in those D&G jeans…’ she began in an effort to divert Alice from her mission, but it was to no avail. She heard her friend inhale a deep breath and she shifted uncomfortably in her desk chair. She knew what was coming.

‘That’s not the point. He knew how desperate you were to land that shoot in Venice, and how much research you put into your pitch. Italian food is your specialism, too. It was a really despicable thing for him to do, going straight to Dexter and pulling rank. Anyway, isn’t he supposed to be Dexter Carvill’s intrepid travel photographer, not a food photographer? And how many times has he trashed your area of expertise? Amazing how his opinion suddenly changes when a trip to Italy is on the agenda.’

‘Alice…’

‘I know he’d usually sell his granny if he thought there was an overseas assignment in it, but this time I just know he did it to get back at you for finishing with him.’

‘Can we talk about Brad later?’ Emilie murmured, not up to one of Alice’s monologues on Brad’s selfishness.

‘Right, that settles it! You have to help me out on this Lucinda Loves… shoot. The money’s great and it’s a full two-week assignment travelling from north to south Cornwall and all points in between. And as an added bonus you can stop off to visit your parents in St Ives. I know it’s not exactly Italy, but it’ll be a blast. Did you have a look at the promo stuff I sent over to you?’

Emilie sifted through the paperwork on her cluttered desk, dislodging mounds of glossy photography brochures, a battalion of stale coffee cups and crisp packets, even a half-eaten tuna sandwich that had been lurking under a newspaper since yesterday. She’d never been the most Poirotesque of people but clutter and chaos just seemed to creep up on her without warning and she’d grown used to it – in fact, it had become an inexplicable comfort. She twisted her upper lip as she reached under a discarded pizza box to extricate the Lucinda Loves… schedule.

She ran her eyes down the detailed itinerary that had been sent to the agency by Lucinda’s management and hammed up her best BBC presenter’s accent. ‘“Join Lucinda Carlton-Rose, one of Britain’s best loved TV chefs, for a culinary road trip par excellence through the picturesque county of Cornwall, taking in the most delicious of local dishes and sampling a whole host of recipes handed down from generation to generation.”’