Christmas at the Comfort Food Cafe
‘Full of quirky characters, friendship and humour, you will devour this engaging and heartwarming novel in one sitting’ – Sunday ExpressBecca Fletcher has always hated Christmas but she has her reasons for being Little Miss Grinch. Now, though, she can’t avoid her version of ho-ho-hell – because she’s travelling to the Comfort Food Cafe to spend the festive season with her sister Laura and her family. She’s expecting mulled wine, 24-hour Christmas movie marathons and all kinds of very merry torture.Little does Becca know that the Comfort Food Cafe is like no other place on earth. Perched on a snow-covered hill, it’s a place full of friendship where broken hearts can heal, new love can blossom and where Becca’s Christmas miracle really could happen – if only she can let it…What readers are saying about Christmas at the Comfort Food Cafe:‘Like a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows – warm, melting your heart and cheering’ On My Bookshelf‘A treat to read at anytime of the year, but even more perfect with Christmas approaching’ Books and Me‘Full of friendship and village community spirit, beautiful scenery, romance and fun’ Bookworms and Shutterbugs
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Christmas at the Comfort Food Café
DEBBIE JOHNSON
A division of HarperCollinsPublishers
HarperImpulse an imprint of
HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2016
Copyright © Debbie Johnson 2016
Cover images © Shutterstock.com
Cover layout design by HarperCollinsPublishers
Cover design by Alex Allden
Debbie Johnson asserts the moral right to
be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for 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.
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and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
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Ebook Edition © September 2016 ISBN: 9780008205881
Version 2018-02-15
‘Full of quirky characters, friendship and humour, you will devour this engaging and heartwarming novel in one sitting’
Sunday Express
‘A lovely, emotion-filled, giggle-inducing story’
Milly Johnson
‘Everything I hoped it would be and more’
Becca’s Books
‘My new favourite author’
Holly Martin
‘Fans of Paige Toon will enjoy this beautiful story’
Erin’s Choice
‘Funny, raunchy, and heartwarming…Buy it. Read it. Tell your friends about it’
Hello Chick Lit
‘I’ve got nothing but love for this amazing novel and its author’
Spoonful of Happy Endings
‘I laughed, screamed in frustration and felt the truly happy feeling that you get when you turn the final page of a great story…Bridget Jones eat your heart out’
Lisa Talks About
‘A beautifully addictive read’
Reviewed the Book
Table of Contents
Part 1: Christmas Past: the Fletcher household, Manchester
For those of you who have already read (and hopefully enjoyed!) Summer at the Comfort Food Café, the majority of the characters in this latest book will be familiar to you. Old friends, even. For those of you who haven’t, don’t worry – this one will still make sense. At least, that’s the plan! While summer at our beautiful beachside café in Dorset focused on the story of Laura and her children, Nate and Lizzie, and was told from Laura’s perspective, this story is told by her sister, Becca. We only met Becca via phone in the first instalment, but she was always one of my favourite characters – I hope you enjoy meeting her in person, and seeing the Comfort Food Café through her very different eyes. Becca’s not always as easy to love as Laura – but she’s always fun!
December 25, 1987
Fizzy, the Twinkle-Eyed My Little Pony, is a rare and beautiful creature. She has a turquoise body and pink eyes and a silky-soft flowing mane. Fresh out of the box that morning, straight from Santa, she should be galloping across the matching My Little Pony duvet cover that is spread over Laura’s single bed.
She should be neighing and singing and giggling with her friends, Applejack and Lily and Starflower the Rainbow Pony.
Sadly, that isn’t happening. Partly because Applejack and Lily and Starflower are floating around in the toilet, with soggy loo paper clogged up around their manes, and partly because Fizzy – and her twinkly eyes – is currently being used as a weapon of mass destruction.
Laura’s little sister, Becca, is four. Laura, being a much more mature six years old, always tries to be patient, because that’s what her mum says she needs to be. And every time she’s patient, she gets an extra sticker on her star chart, and once it’s full, she will get a new Care Bear. Maybe the one with the rainbow hearts; she hasn’t decided yet.
Becca has a star chart too, but hers is empty. Mum says it should be in ‘negative numbers’, whatever that means.
Sometimes, Laura thinks, Becca is just… mean. And loud. And not very nice. Sometimes she makes it impossible to be patient. Like now, for example.
Now, she’s holding Fizzy in her chubby fist, and she’s trying to hit Laura in the face with her, hooves first. Fizzy might be rare and beautiful and have a silky-soft mane, but nothing else about her is soft. She’s made of plastic, and she really hurts when she’s poked in your eye.
