To Jo Halladey, for dressing my nails so beautifully
Chapter One
Love was definitely in the air at Castle Court.
Sadie Smart made her way past the enormous oak tree that stood in the heart of the Court, presiding over the surrounding shops and restaurants like a king surveying his wintry domain. The early-February sun was just peeping over the third-floor rooftops – most of the Court was still cloaked in shadow – but Sadie didn’t need its rays to admire the softly lit window displays around her. Elin’s, the Swiss chocolate shop, had gone all out for romance, with glistening heart-shaped chocolates of all sizes nestled against rich purple satin. Patisserie Cherie had exquisitely formed swirling hearts painted onto the window, framing a mouth-watering display of sweet treats. Let’s Go Dutch had posters advertising their special Loved-Up pancake, featuring white chocolate and fresh raspberry coulis. Even the big yellow school bus that formed the front of the Bus Stop diner had turned into Love Central; their menu had been given a make-over and owners Andrew and Earl had draped kitsch red and pink fairy lights along the length of the bus, to complement the ones wrapped around the trunk and branches of the oak tree.
St Valentine would be delighted, Sadie reflected, as she sidestepped a frost-patterned flagstone. And who knew, maybe the atmosphere could work its magic over her own tangled love life.
She felt a frown crease her forehead but, as always, the sight of the Smart Cookies Biscuit Emporium window lifted her spirits. In keeping with the rest of Castle Court, her own display was wall-to-wall romance; the city of love itself in biscuit form. A gold-flecked gingerbread Eiffel Tower glowed at one end of the window, the Arc de Triomphe presided over a glittering Champs-Elysées in the centre and Notre Dame loomed on the right. Pastel-shaded poodles frolicked with arched black cats by the Seine, beneath delicately curved lamp posts and leafy green trees. Behind the window, the shelves were stocked with souvenir tins of the City of Love collection Sadie had designed; it had given her business partner, Cat, more than one sleepless night as she worked out how to shape the biscuits for Sadie to ice into Parisian perfection. But the hard work had paid off: with less than a week to go until Valentine’s Day, sales were picking up fast.
Sadie stood for a moment, bathed in the glow of her own handiwork, then slipped her key into the lock and went inside. As usual, the air was warm with the scent of vanilla and sugar. Cat was downstairs in the kitchen, baking up biscuits for the online orders that flooded in every day.
‘Morning,’ Sadie called, stopping to straighten one of the table displays before making for the stairs that led to the basement. ‘Everything under control?’
Cat looked up. Her long dark curls were swept back into a severe ponytail, making her look younger than her thirty-two years, and there was a touch of what looked like flour on her nose. ‘Hey. All okay here.’ She paused and shook her head. ‘Unless you count an especially tasteless order for a personalised Valentine’s Day cookie with the words “Lick this like you lick my—” ’
‘Another one?’ Sadie cut in hurriedly. ‘Honestly, what is wrong with people?’
‘Takes all sorts,’ Cat replied, shrugging. ‘But don’t worry, I sent a message saying we weren’t able to help on this occasion, so you’ll be spared any blushes.’ She sank her cookie cutter into the buttery pale dough on the worktop, leaving Sadie to wonder whether she was imagining the hint of unspoken criticism behind her best friend’s words. Cat had always been less prudish than her but surely she wasn’t implying they should fulfil orders for borderline obscene messages?
‘It’s not just to spare my blushes, though—’
‘Of course not,’ Cat said, without looking up. ‘That kind of thing doesn’t fit with the Smart Cookies brand, for a start. It doesn’t exactly scream classiness, does it?’
Sadie smiled in relief. ‘No, it doesn’t.’ She consulted the chalkboard on the wall. ‘Did you order the Prosecco for tonight’s icing party?’
Their first Christmas at Castle Court had been a wonderful but crazy whirl, made all the trickier by the fact that they were still settling into their new business venture. But January had been quieter, giving Sadie the opportunity to kick-start her plan of offering icing workshops and birthday parties. Take-up had been slow at first, but they were now starting to see the bookings roll in; today’s party was a hen do, due to start at six-thirty.
‘I did,’ Cat replied. ‘How did Daniel take the news that you’d be working late?’
Sadie hesitated. She and Daniel were trying to mend their broken marriage, as much for the sake of their five-year-old daughter, Lissy, as for themselves. They still lived apart – Sadie in a small, two-bedroomed cottage and Daniel in the family home they’d once shared – and split the childcare between them. On the surface, Daniel had seemed fine with the idea of collecting Lissy from her after-school club and looking after her for the evening. But Sadie hated to rely on him; she couldn’t shake the worry that he would go back to how he used to be, liking the idea of parenthood but wanting little to do with the realities, and suddenly decide he had somewhere better to be. It hadn’t happened yet, she reminded herself; if anything, Daniel seemed to be enjoying his extra time with Lissy.
I’m probably overthinking things again, Sadie decided. ‘He was fine,’ she told Cat now. ‘I think he’s pleased at how well the business is doing.’
Cat glanced up, her expression unreadable. ‘Good. I’ve packed all the biscuits you’ll need into a basket – it’s in the cupboard. Twelve guests, right?’
‘That’s right,’ Sadie said. ‘The bride, her mother and mother-in-law-to-be, the bridesmaids – or the grown-up ones, at least – and a few friends. It should be fun.’
‘It should,’ Cat agreed. ‘You can tell me all about it tomorrow.’
Sadie stared at her. ‘Tomorrow? Aren’t you going to be here?’
Cat shook her head. ‘Change of plan – I’m going out for dinner with Seb. Don’t worry, you won’t be on your own. Adam has agreed to cover for me.’
‘Oh!’ Sadie exclaimed, before she could stop herself. ‘But—’ she trailed off, feeling her cheeks grow warm.
Her relationship with their temporary sales assistant, Adam, had been teetering on the brink of romance before Christmas but had stayed strictly professional since she’d decided to try again with Daniel. Cat had made no secret that she’d been in Adam’s corner, however, and Sadie wouldn’t be at all surprised to discover Cat was looking for ways to push the two of them together.
‘But what?’ Cat said, raising her eyebrows. ‘You can’t manage the party on your own and I think he’s going to prove very popular with our hens.’
And that was another problem, Sadie thought, although she’d never admit it to Cat. What if one of the guests took a tipsy shine to Adam? What if the attraction was mutual? Sadie would have to stand by and watch it happen, knowing there was nothing she could say.
‘I’m sure you’re right,’ she said, her tone carefully neutral. ‘I just wish you’d spoken to me first before making these arrangements. Clare might have been a better choice – she’s getting better and better at icing.’
Their other assistant, Clare, had proved she had a natural talent for the precise decoration that had become their hallmark and Sadie was more than happy to accept her help to keep on top of the shop’s orders. But Adam had a natural charm with their customers and Sadie knew his ready smile and dimples went a long way with the female visitors to Castle Court.
‘It’s Clare’s day off,’ Cat pointed out. ‘You’ll be taking care of all the icing, anyway. Adam will only be here as back-up.’
Sadie sighed. There wasn’t much she could do about it now.
&n
bsp; ‘Maybe you could take the long way home,’ Cat added in an innocent tone. ‘Avoid the traffic.’
Sadie gave her friend a hard look. Adam lived less than five minutes from the cottage Sadie shared with Lissy and she often gave him a lift home. But if she’d needed further proof that Cat was meddling, here it was. ‘It will be nine o’clock – there won’t be any traffic.’
Cat shook her head. ‘The trouble with you is that you have no imagination. How many times did Daniel lie to you when he was having his affair?’
‘Two things,’ Sadie said tightly. ‘One, I’m not having an affair, and two, I hate lying. And . . . and three . . .’ She swallowed hard against the indignant lump that had formed in her throat. ‘I have plenty of imagination, actually.’
Cat was unrepentant. ‘You work too hard, Sadie. When was the last time you took some time for yourself, let your hair down a bit?’ She held up a hand to stop Sadie from interrupting. ‘Listen, you like Adam. He likes you. You are friends. So, there’s no reason you can’t stop by a cosy little pub on your way home, to unwind after a busy day. As friends.’
The trouble was that one stop might lead to another, or at least to Sadie wanting there to be another, and before she knew it, things would get complicated. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if one of the hen-party guests and Adam hit it off – at least then Cat would give up trying to tempt her into something that could only end in disaster.
‘I’m perfectly capable of deciding who my friends are, thanks very much,’ she said, turning to the cupboard where she kept her icing supplies.
There was a small silence. ‘You’re allowed to be happy,’ Cat said. ‘If giving things another go with Daniel makes you miserable, then maybe it’s not the right thing to do.
‘I’m not miserable,’ Sadie snapped. ‘And even if I was, Lissy’s happiness matters more than mine.’
‘If you’re happy, Lissy is happy,’ Cat said firmly. ‘Don’t use her as an excuse because you’re afraid you’ll get your heart broken again.’
Sadie spun round. ‘If you like Adam so much, why don’t you go out with him? But for God’s sake, stop trying to live my life for me, okay?’
She regretted the words as soon as they were out but it was too late: Cat’s expression hardened. ‘Fine. Message received, loud and clear.’
‘Cat—’
‘No, you’re right,’ Cat said, pressing the cookie cutter into the dough with more pressure than it needed. ‘It’s none of my business, anyway.’
She lapsed into frosty silence. Sadie stared at her for a few seconds, then got on with mixing up her first batch of icing. Cat had overstepped the mark, she thought, as she beat the smooth white mixture harder than she normally did. It really was none of her business. But she did have a point; it had been a long time since Sadie had done anything that wasn’t related to the shop, Lissy or Daniel. And while going for a drink with Adam was clearly inappropriate, maybe it was time for Sadie to do something for herself. Because Cat had been spot on about something else too: deep down, Sadie knew she wasn’t happy.
*
Adam arrived while Cat was running some lunchtime errands, meaning Sadie was spared the embarrassment of a pointed look from her best friend. A flurry of customers meant that she and Adam barely had time for more than a hurried greeting before he pulled on an apron and slid behind the upstairs counter to man the till. And when Cat did return, she nodded hello to Adam and headed back downstairs without a word to Sadie.
By mid-afternoon, Adam’s curiosity was obvious.
‘Have you and Cat had an argument?’ he asked Sadie in a low voice.
She paused, then continued filling the gaps on the shelves left by the lunchtime shoppers. ‘No. Why?’
He shrugged. ‘It’s just I’ve never known you to go more than an hour or so without speaking and you haven’t exchanged a single word all afternoon.’
Sadie tried not to look guilty. ‘Oh. Well, we’re just busy.’
‘Really?’ Adam frowned. ‘But she hasn’t come up here, you haven’t gone down to the basement and you haven’t stopped frowning. It’s like the stairs are some kind of no-man’s-land between two unfriendly camps.’
She should have known he’d pick up on the chilly atmosphere, Sadie realised as she cringed a little inside. Now what was she supposed to do? She could hardly admit what the argument had been about – not when Adam had played such a prominent part in it. Now she’d have to do one of the things she’d objected to that morning – tell a lie. ‘Just a slight business disagreement,’ she said, making a special effort to relax her frown muscles. ‘We’ll get over it.’
‘I see,’ he said, nodding thoughtfully as he tapped at the screen of the till. A few minutes later, he cleared his throat. ‘I’m dying of thirst – fancy a cup of tea?’
Sadie smiled. ‘I’d love one.’
Adam threw her a regretful look. ‘The thing is, the till software has just crashed and I need to reboot it. So, would you mind making it?’
She couldn’t help laughing. The kettle was in the basement kitchen, which meant she’d have to talk to Cat. ‘Been a United Nations peace envoy for long?’ she called to Adam in a dry voice as she headed for the stairs.
‘For about ninety seconds,’ he replied, flashing her a grin. ‘Don’t hurry back.’
Cat was wiping down the work surfaces when Sadie reached the bottom step. She took a deep breath. ‘I’m making tea if you want a cup.’
For a moment, she thought Cat would refuse. But then she looked up and nodded. ‘Okay.’
Sadie set about making the tea, wondering how to break the awkward silence that had re-formed after Cat’s single-word answer. But as she reached for the fridge door, Cat placed a hand on her arm.
‘I’m sorry.’
All the tension Sadie hadn’t even realised she’d been carrying whooshed out of her as she turned around. ‘And I’m sorry too. I know you’re only trying to help.’
‘I’m just not very good at it,’ Cat said, with a wry smile. She spread her arms wide. ‘Shall we hug it out then?’
After a few moments, they separated. Anxious to avoid the subject that had caused them to fall out in the first place, Sadie racked her brain for a neutral topic of conversation. ‘So, where are you and Seb going tonight?’
‘A new restaurant down by the canal,’ Cat replied. ‘Seb’s heard good things about their cocktails and he wants to check it out.’
Sadie nodded, unsurprised. Seb ran his own wildly successful cocktail bar on Castle Court’s third floor and she knew he liked to keep a sharp eye on the competition around Chester. Not that he really had anything to worry about; Castle Court was one of the most coveted foodie locations in the city and Seb’s was always busy. But Sadie knew that he’d been a sought-after mixologist before settling in Chester and he hadn’t got to the top of his game by sitting back and relaxing.
‘How about you?’ she asked Cat, raising her eyebrows. ‘Are you going to have your professional chef’s hat on?’
Cat laughed. ‘Nope. I’m there strictly for the cocktails. Besides, Seb says the restaurant owner is mates with our friend Greg, and if that’s true, I wouldn’t be surprised if my food got a little extra something added to it on its way out of the kitchen.’
Greg Valois owned the French bistro that sat on the ground floor and he’d made no secret of his disdain for Cat and her previous career as head chef in a world-famous Parisian restaurant. He’d kept a low profile since accusing her of lying about the reason she’d left La Perle, but Seb kept his ear to the ground and reported back on any rumblings. If this new restaurant owner had any links to Greg, then Cat was right to be cautious, Sadie decided.
‘You might be pleasantly surprised,’ she said. ‘He might not be in Greg’s camp.’
Cat tipped her head. ‘Of course. But I think I’ll test the waters first, where I can see exactly what’s going into my drinks, and save the food for another time.’
Adam kept his face entirely straight w
hen Sadie re-emerged from the stairs, ten minutes later. ‘Thanks,’ he said as she handed him a steaming mug of tea. His hazel eyes crinkled at the edges. ‘Has goodwill been restored?’
‘It has,’ Sadie admitted with a grudging smile. ‘Thank you.’
He sipped at his drink. ‘Don’t thank me. Thank tea.’
She smiled. ‘But it was your idea.’
‘You’d have got there eventually,’ Adam said. ‘I just hurried the process along, for the good of the whole hive.’
Sadie stared at him. ‘Sorry?’
‘In a beehive, every bee works for the good of their community,’ Adam explained. ‘It’s in their interests to keep things running smoothly. The worker bees actually work themselves to death for the benefit of the many.’
Sadie felt the penny drop. She’d almost forgotten Adam was a keen beekeeper; he’d got the job at Smart Cookies after stopping by to drop off some honey for Cat to use in her biscuit recipes. But the winter months had been hard on his hives and he hadn’t wanted to deprive the bees of their winter food. It had been ages since he’d had any honey to sell to the businesses of Castle Court, which was probably why Sadie had taken a few seconds to understand his reference.
‘No need for the workers to go that far here,’ she said cheerfully. ‘Although I am grateful you’re staying on to help with the hen party tonight.’
Adam waved her gratitude away. ‘No problem. I couldn’t leave you on your own.’ He flexed his fingers. ‘Besides, I’ve been itching to have a go at this icing business. I could be an undiscovered genius.’
‘You could be,’ Sadie said, with an amused look. ‘I’ll teach you everything I know.’
His eyes were steady as he gazed at her. ‘I think I’d like that.’
And the image of a warm country pub popped unbidden into Sadie’s head.
Chapter Two
It was clear from the moment they walked through the door that the hen party was going to be a handful. Sadie had assumed that Smart Cookies would be the starting point of their evening, but judging from the gentle swaying of at least one of them, they’d spent some time celebrating already. There was a definite aroma of juniper berry on the breath of the thirty-something, expensively dressed blonde who seemed to be in charge.
Frosty Mornings at Castle Court Page 1