‘I propose a toast,’ she says. ‘To Carrington’s!’ We lift our glasses in the air and chorus.
‘To Carrington’s.’
Tom is here now, Isabella and Vaughan too, followed by Nathan with little Holly holding his left hand and Ivy holding his right. They look so cute in navy polka-dot dresses. Christy is here too, looking far less LA and more proud mother and grandmother in a smart linen trouser suit with chiffon scarf. Ciaran arrives carrying Pussy in his arms – she’s wearing a tiny pinstripe suit complete with bowler hat. Dad and Nancy are right behind them with Dusty, her black fur coat all shiny; she gives Pussy a superior look of disdain as she saunters past her. I quickly glance at Sam in case we’re breaching a health and safety law.
‘It’s fine.’ She shrugs, unfazed. ‘Dogs are allowed in my brasserie!’ And we all laugh.
Ah, I feel so happy having them all here. Tom moves in close to me and lifts my hair to whisper into my ear.
‘I love you, Georgie Hart.’ And my stomach flips over and over, just like it did that very first time he kissed me, in the moonlight on the pier with the waves lapping gently below us, and the shoreline twinkling in the distance.
‘I love you too, Mr Carrington.’
I turn to the group and see that everyone has a drink now.
‘I propose another toast.’
They all stop talking and gather around me. Dusty nuzzles my hand and I stroke her velvety-soft ear. This glorious new store may signal the end of one part of my life – my time in Women’s Accessories selling luxury handbags before moving onto the personal shopping suite in the pretty seaside town of Mulberry-On-Sea – but this, right here and now, with my friends and my family, well, it’s also the start of something fresh and exciting.
‘To new beginnings!’ I lift my glass up high in the air.
And we all cheer.
‘To new beginnings!’
Q. Cupcakes at Carrington’s is famous for its Red Velvet Cupcake. If you could create a cupcake that sums up your life, what would it be and why?
A. Ooh, such a brilliant question, it would have to be a chocolate cupcake with a swirly whipped cream peak smothered in a trillion red heart sprinkles, because I’m such a romantic and love playing Cupid.
Q. We know that Georgie loves her handbags and red velvet cupcakes, what are a few of your favourite things?
A. Baking – I love everything about it, I find it cathartic and cosy and delicious and … I could go on and on about how wonderful it makes me feel. Nathan – he’s definitely my favourite man, and the memory of marrying him on that picturesque Italian hillside with the scent from the lemon grove in the warm breeze, is something I shall treasure forever.
Q. I am going to give you 4 names and I would like you to tell me what cakes springs to mind and why?
A. Georgie: Red Velvet cupcake, because I know it’s her favourite.
Eddie: Lemon curd Queen of Hearts Tart, because he’s wickedly acerbic with a heart of gold and very loyal … if he likes you!
Nathan: Triple-tiered Victoria sponge cake, because he’s solid and traditional.
Mrs Grace: A lavender cupcake, because she reminds me of my granny who always smelt of lavender.
Q. Who inspires you in life?
A. Mary Berry! I love her, no … I actually want to be her!
Q. You are a great friend to Georgie and always there with helpful advice. If you could give one bit of advice to live your life by, what would it be?
A. Be happy, smile, eat cake and have sex if you want to!
Q. What are you hoping the future holds for you, Georgie and Eddie?
A. Lots of love, laughter and happiness. Oh, and plenty of delicious creamy-peaked cupcakes with gold glitter sprinkles.
Thanks for the questions Kirsty, do pop in and see me some time - we can share a cupcake or three xxx
Q: You used to work at Carrington’s as Tom’s BA. What was the best thing about that job?
A: Ooooh, good question, will you judge me if I say … the staff discount?!? It was very generous, and one can never have enough Tom Ford suits. The tailoring is exquisite. But I loved the job too, well, some of the time … Popping into Sam’s café, Cupcakes At Carrington’s, for a takeaway coffee and a cream horn, which I would take to my office to enjoy while I dealt with the post and thumbed through Tom’s diary – checking his appointments, making sure he was organised for the day. Then, I would pop down to the ground floor for a good gossip with Georgie, usually followed by a bit of admin in the afternoon. Ah, those were the days, the simple life. JOKE
Q: You’ve known Georgie for ages. How exactly did the two of you meet?
A: At the Lucky Voice karaoke bar – Georgie got up to sing Britney and I knew right away that we were twinsies!
Q: Describe your perfect date with your adorable boyfriend, Ciaran?
A: Most likely drinks at Soho House, New York, followed by a helicopter trip for dinner on a lantern-lit private beach on Cayman Brac.
Q: If you were a ‘dramality’ star, what is the first thing you’d change about yourself?
A: Darling, I’m already a star! Nothing to change here …
Q: If you could have one thing from Sam’s café, Cupcakes At Carrington’s, for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: A cream horn – every pun intended.
Thank you and a big kiss to you, sweet pea! xoxoxoxo
Q: What is your favourite ice cream flavour?
A: Definitely the special regatta one, mulberry and cinnamon crumble, it’s truly scrumptious, but then the bubble gum one is very mm-mmm too.
Q: What would your dream handbag be and can you describe it for us? Colour, brand, we want to know it all!
A: Ah, this is easy – it’s from the Georgie Bag range. I have the satchel in fluoro pink with a Benedict Cumberbatch picture engraved in gold on the inside.
Q: What is the best thing about working at Carrington’s?
A: Well, I love everything about it, but if I had to whittle it down to just a few things then it would be seeing my friends every day and being surrounded by beautiful handbags, fragrances and clothes in a place where nothing bad ever happens, or so it seems to me.
Q: You’re dating the DROP DEAD GORGEOUS Mr Carrington (we’re all very jealous!) – what would your dream date with him be?
A: Thank you, he is rather delish! And I’ll tell him you said so . I think my dream date will be our wedding, if we ever find the time to organise it. I hope to do that very soon.
Q: Have you always wanted to work at Carrington’s?
A: Yes, ever since I was a little girl visiting the Mulberry-On-Sea store with Mum, it’s a special place that holds lots of memories for me.
Q: You hang out with the FABULOUS Eddie who is the king of fashion … can you give us your best fashion tip?
A: Always check where your skirt is after using a public bathroom.
Q: If you were to recommend something from Sam’s Cafe that we should all try, what would it be?
A: Oh definitely my favourite cupcake, the red velvet with a swirly buttercream icing peak. Mm-mmmm.
Thanks for the wonderful questions Megan and I hope to see you instore very soon xxx
Acknowledgements
Dear Reader
This is the fourth story in the Carrington’s series and I really hope you enjoy it!
Firstly, a big, huge MASSIVE thank you to everyone who takes the time to chat to me via my website or on Twitter and Facebook; I couldn’t do it without you. You mean the world to me. You spur me on and make it all worthwhile. Thank you so much xxx
Special thanks to my fantastic agent, Tim Bates, for putting up with me and for continuing to tell me what’s normal. Many thanks also to my wonderful editor, Kate Bradley, for keeping me calm and making me laugh and for telling me I’m a drama queen, I wear it like a badge of honour. Many thanks to the amazing Harper team – Kimberley, Martha, Jaime and Liz – for their support, talent and expertise. And to Penny for perfect pruni
ng.
Thanks as always to Kimberley Chambers, Miranda Dickinson, Elizabeth Haynes and Sasha Wagstaff – your generosity and friendship is so very much appreciated.
Lisa Hilton and Caroline Smailes – thank you my dear friends for always being there and for propping me up when I needed it most during the writing of this book!
A big thank you to Janine Quinn and Lisa Maguire for New York, Tim Smyth for Andorra, Liz Banner for Isabella’s Italian, Louise Micu and Ann Faithfull for telling me about Winifred at Hanningtons and Naldo Morelli for all things ice cream, especially the truly scrumptious Morelli bubble gum flavour ice cream which I can highly recommend, it’s very mm-mmm, as Georgie would say.
Jadzia Kopiel, for helping me to keep on keeping on – you’re the wisest woman I know. My lovely, supportive father-in-law, Dr Brown, for helping with the medical details and for sharing the memories of his family’s department store, Brown’s in Newtonards. I hope I’ve captured a whiff of the memory. Yeeman To, for being a fantastic sales assistant and telling me all about it; your generosity is very much appreciated and any exaggerations or fabrications are totally down to me.
QT, for patiently waiting until I had finished this book before we could go to the cinema to see Frozen! You mean the whole world to me, sweetheart, you’re the bravest, brightest, funniest little girl who makes all the right choices (well, most of the time ) and I love you with all my heart xoxoxo. Oh gawd, I’m going to cry, YET AGAIN. My lovely husband Paul, aka Cheeks, for holding the fort and never complaining – you are still my happy-ever-after.
And to my readers, book bloggers and dear friends online, you are all magnificent. I love chatting to you and feel honoured to be a part of your lives; it’s truly awesome how the world is a far smaller place now that we have social media. So come join the party. I love seeing pictures of your handbags, kittens, puppies, Christmas trees, copies of my books, cupcakes (well, all of the cake, to be honest), chatting about Revenge, Corrie, EastEnders, The Good Wife and all of the films and TV shows that we love. I feel honoured when you get in touch to share personal things with me – to tell me how the Carrington’s series has helped you through a difficult time in your life, or how you found the courage to come out after reading about Ciaran and Eddie; your own experience of bullying from hearing Georgie’s story – your time in care as a child, too; or how you got that dream job, or that you just want to know what ‘blimey’ means. So find me on Twitter @alexbrownbooks, Facebook.com/alexandrabrownauthor or at www.alexandrabrown.co.uk and I promise to reply as quickly as I can.
Now, please sit back, relax and enjoy Ice Creams at Carrington’s. I wrote this one for you!
Luck and love
Alex xxx
Heartbroken after being jilted at the altar, Sybil has been saved from despair by her knitting obsession and now her home is filled to bursting with tea cosies, bobble hats, and jumpers. But after discovering that she may have perpetrated the cock-up of the century at work, Sybil decides to make a hasty exit and, just weeks before Christmas, runs away to the picturesque village of Tindledale.
There, Sybil discovers Hettie’s House of Haberdashery, an emporium dedicated to the world of knitting and needle craft. But Hettie, the outspoken octogenarian owner, is struggling and now the shop is due for closure. So when Hettie decides that Sybil’s wonderfully wacky Christmas jumpers are just the thing to add a bit of excitement to her window display, something miraculous starts to happen …
Click here to buy now
About the Author
Alexandra Brown began her writing career as the City Girl columnist for The London Paper which she wrote for two years before giving it up to concentrate on writing novels. She is now the author of the Carrington’s books – set in a department store in the pretty seaside town of Mulberry-On-Sea, she has written three books and a short story following the life, loves and laughs of sales assistant, Georgie Hart.
The Great Christmas Knit Off is Alexandra’s fourth book and is first in a new series set in the fictional village of Tindledale, following the lives of all the characters that live there.
Alex lives in a real village near the south coast of England, with her husband, daughter and a very shiny black Labrador. For more about Alex, please visit her website – www.alexandrabrown.co.uk or chat to her on www.facebook.com/alexandrabrownauthor and Twitter @alexbrownbooks
Also by Alexandra Brown
Cupcakes at Carrington’s
Christmas at Carrington’s
Ice Creams at Carrington’s
The Great Christmas Knit Off
E-only short story
Me and Mr Carrington
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
http://www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East – 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada
http://www.harpercollins.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
http://www.harpercollins.com
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