The Cosy Little Cupcake Van: A deliciously feel-good romance

by Annette Hannah

  Auntie Edie nodded. ‘Yes, it was. He had the idea a little while ago.’

  ‘Thank you from the bottom of my heart for aiding and abetting him.’

  ‘He loves you so much darling.’

  ‘I know and I’ve never stopped loving him. But I feel sad that my mum never got to experience true love in her life.’

  ‘Oh she did, she told me so…’

  ‘Really?’ asked Camilla.

  ‘Yes really. It was when she had you.’

  Camilla’s eyes opened wide and she clasped her hands to her chest.

  At the airport Camilla held Edie for one last squeeze before she joined the new friends that she’d met, who were on the same flight back.

  ‘Thank you for being with me at two of the most important times of my life, saying the most painful but beautiful goodbye but also saying hello to someone special too.’ Her hand instinctively touched her stomach. ‘I love you.’

  Edie smiled an ‘I told you so’ smile. ‘I’m never wrong. Now you enjoy this next week without me and I’ll see you when I get back. I love you too.’

  Edie let go of Camilla and headed through the security gates where she soon began a conversation with her new friends.

  Camilla waited until she couldn’t see her anymore. She rifled through her bag for a tissue. She had a whole other week of total relaxation to look forward to, but she would miss having Auntie Edie around. They got on so well. Her lips curled into a smile as she remembered Edie flirting with the waiters and wrapping them around her little finger.

  She slung her bag back over her shoulder and looked around for the signs to see which direction she should go in and that’s when she saw him. Standing there leaning against a pillar; his eyes pleading, his mouth not daring to smile. Her heart froze in shock before jumping around as if it was on burning hot coals. Those brown eyes knew how to stare into her soul. She blinked a couple of times and looked away before looking back at him just to make sure he was really there and not just a figment of her imagination.

  It was definitely him. No one else had ever come close to making her heart race the way it was now. He was on the move, making his way through the hustle and bustle of the crowds and heading in her direction. Their eyes had locked and she was frightened to blink in case she lost the intensity of that look, a look that was affecting her deep within and setting her on fire. She had promised Edie she would talk to him when she got home and let him explain properly about what had happened.

  She knew they had a lot to talk about and even more so now with the news she had discovered on holiday. The thought of that sent a shock wave through her body. She was having this beautiful man’s baby. He had one more hurdle to get past before he could reach her as a large family reunion was taking place between them, the family members all hugging each other. Her phone buzzed in her hand, making her jump but she didn’t break eye contact with him and finally he was there, his solid body standing right in front of her, his strong arms held open waiting for her to fill them. His eyes were filled with pain, searching hers for forgiveness. Hers broke contact first but only to focus on his lips before she kissed him with an urgency she had never felt before.

  ‘I’m so sorry for everything,’ he murmured into her mouth. He pulled away from her holding her at arm’s length to look at her.

  ‘I know,’ she replied.

  ‘Can we start again, please. I promise I’ll never hurt you again. I should never have put anyone else before you. It was really last minute, the thing is… it wasn’t just for her birthday. I needed to say goodbye. She meant such a lot to me – just like Edie does. She was the lady I was telling you about, the one who saved my life. She later introduced me to my ex and well you know the rest.’

  She put her finger to his lips to stop him.

  ‘It took an old lady who happens to be a very good friend of mine to appreciate why you did what you did. She made me realise what a good guy you are and I don’t want to change that. You have such a huge heart and not many men are as thoughtful as you are. I really don’t want you to stop being who you are because that’s the man I fell in love with all those years ago and the man I never stopped loving.’

  ‘I love you so much,’ he replied as relief shone in his eyes.

  ‘But, how did you know where I was?’ she said as she stroked her hand in his hair, feeling the silkiness between her fingers. He pulled her to him again and felt a vibration in his pocket at the same time as Camilla received a text. They laughed and Camilla glanced at her phone to read it as Blake retrieved his and did the same.

  ‘Aloha lovebirds! Enjoy your Happy Ever After. Love Edie Xx’

  ‘Does that answer your question?’ Blake pressed his lips against hers and wound his arms protectively around her. She felt loved, safe and finally she felt proud of herself for her achievements. To top it off she was also deliriously happy. ‘Come on, let’s go. We have a lot of catching up to do and I don’t want to waste a single moment with you.’

  Camilla hugged her secret to herself. There would be plenty of time to tell him later over a romantic meal at a beachside table for two. She clasped her hand in his and as they walked out of the airport she looked up to the bluest sky and allowed her thoughts to catch on the faint Hawaiian breeze and carry a special message to the most important woman in her life.

  Mum, it breaks my heart to think that you will never get to meet your precious grandchild because I know that you would have been the best nan that he or she could ever have wished for. I consider myself so lucky to have had you as my mum and I know that if I could be half as good as you then this little one will be just fine. Life without you here is hard and I’ll never stop missing you, but with you watching over us and this man by my side, I think I’m going to be okay. I’m looking forward to making future memories that I can look back on and be proud of, just like the ones I have of you. I love you forever and always.

  Blake turned to look at her, his eyes filled with love.

  ‘Oh, you have something in your hair.’ He gently untangled it and handed her the fluffiest white feather she had ever seen. She put it in her bag for safekeeping and blew a kiss up to heaven.

  Acknowledgements

  This book was written straight from my heart. After the sudden loss of my beautiful Mum, I came across this quote by Jamie Anderson, ‘grief is just love with nowhere to go’, which I thought was lovely and so apt. When I confided in fabulous author and friend Milly Johnson about my loss, she encouraged me to channel my feelings and pour them onto the page. So, thank you Milly for that advice and for your support on my writing journey.

  The Cosy Little Cupcake van is based on friendship and love and the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters. It also focuses heavily on the precious relationship between aunties and nieces. My Auntie Margie is a very special person in my life and as I’ve grown up, our relationship has grown with love into a wonderful friendship. The cheeky parts of Auntie Edie’s character are inspired by a combination of her and my Great Auntie Edie who is sadly no longer with us but who was always the life and soul of the party. Great Auntie Edie also had a parrot whose name was Ringo, I remember him squawking when I was younger and he inspired the ‘Liver Birds’ Bella and Bertie in the book.

  Thank you to my gorgeous niece Camilla Kutschker whose name I borrowed for my leading lady, I love you and Darcy so much and wish you lived nearer and that you had a real cupcake van.

  I would like to thank my early readers who are also my fabulous friends, Margaret Morris, Kay Davies, Sandra Woods, Katie Nash, Barbara Stone, Carolyn Mead, Jennifer Edwards and Lynda Good, your feedback was invaluable so thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  Thanks also to my wonderful book blogger and author friends for all their love and support and friendship. Special thanks to Kim Nash, Linda Hill, Debbie Johnston, Anne Williams, Vicki Bowles, Dawn Crooks, Claire Knight, Lynne Shelby, Lara Marsh, Julie Boon, Kirsty Clifton and Karen Cocking for all their hard work on my cover reveals and blog tours.<
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  Thank you to my lovely London Chapter friends the Muses, for all your amazing support and for keeping me sane with rose wine.

  Thank you so much to the hard-working team at Orion Dash, I couldn’t have asked for more beautiful covers for my books and Victoria, Olivia and Rhea have all been wonderful to work with.

  A huge thank you to my beautiful family Johnna, Jake, Damon and Lydia (my fab little editor at the other end of the dining table.) I love you all and Toby the dog who always wants cuddles when I’m trying to write.

  I would also like to thank each and every one of you for reading my books and reviewing them. I hope you enjoy The Cosy Little Cupcake Van but just a word of warning, you may want to get some baking ingredients in first.

  If you would like to know more about me or my books, please visit annettehannah.com

  Twitter: @AnnetteHannah

  Facebook: @AnnetteHannahAuthor

  Instagram: @Annette.hannah

  About the Author

  Annette Hannah is a Liver Bird who relocated to leafy Hertfordshire in the 80’s and now lives near a river with her husband, two of their three grown up children and a crazy black cocker spaniel. She writes Romantic comedies in settings inspired by the beautiful countryside around her and always with a nod to her hometown.

  She worked in Marketing for many years as a qualified Marketeer which she loved as it tapped into her creative side.

  As an avid reader, she began to review the books she read, became a book blogger and eventually plucked up the courage to fulfil her life-long dream of writing a book.

  For four years she was a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s new writers’ scheme, during which time she wrote a book a year. After signing a two book deal with Orion Dash in 2020 she graduated to full member of the organisation and is also their Press Officer.

  She loves long walks along the river, travelling to far flung places and spending time with her friends and family.

  You can follow her on

  twitter @annettehannah

  www.sincerelybookangels.blogspot.com

  www.annettehannah.com

  Copyright

  AN ORION EBOOK

  First published in Great Britain in 2021 by Dash Digital,

  An imprint of Orion Fiction

  Ebook first published in 2021 by Dash Digital

  Copyright © Annette Hannah 2021

  The right of Annette Hannah to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the

  Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor to be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book

  is available from the British Library.

  eISBN: 978 1 3987 0088 8

  The Orion Publishing Group Ltd

  Carmelite House

  50 Victoria Embankment

  London, EC4Y 0DZ

  An Hachette UK company

  www.orionbooks.co.uk