The Windmill Café
‘I relished every moment of this story … definitely not one to be missed’ Emma, Shaz’s Book BlogThe complete collection of The Windmill Cafe stories.Seasons come and go, but the peppermint green sails of the Windmill Café will keep on turning.Escaping the bustle and heartbreak of her old life in the city, Rosie Barnes can’t believe that her dream of setting up a café has come true. Whether it’s her chilled homemade lemonade, sticky chocolate brownies or warming mince pies, Rosie’s café draws guests in from far and wide, and the folk of Willerby can enjoy it come rain or shine.But some mysterious events soon threaten the picturesque town she now calls home, and with the help of ruggedly handsome local Matt Wilson, she must find out what’s going on before the reputation of the town – and her beloved café – are ruined.From the scorching summer sun through to the crisp winter frosts, Rosie is in for a year she’ll never forget…
Читать The Windmill Café онлайн беплатно
HarperImpulse
an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2018
Copyright © Poppy Blake 2018
Cover illustrations © Shutterstock.com
Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018
Poppy Blake asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of 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 authorâs imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780008311025
Ebook Edition © September 2018 ISBN: 9780008285159
Version: 2018-07-12
Table of Contents
To Mum and Dad; I know you would be so proud to see my name on the cover of a novel
âHurry up, Rosie, they need you outside to cut the ribbon!â
âBut I thought our resident pop star had that honour?â
âIt seems Suki Richards is far too busy scattering her celebrity stardust,â giggled Mia. âDid you see the way Freddie was hanging on her every word? Yesterday he had no idea who she was, and now heâs acting like heâs her number one fan! Come on, someone needs to declare the very first Windmill Café garden party open or thereâll be a riot!â
âOkay, if youâre sure you donât want to do it. Youâve put in just as much work as I have â those Stilton and grape scones are to die for, not to mention the raspberry and prosecco cupcakes! Why donât we do it together?â
âAgreed! Oh, and by the way, youâd better have your best smile ready. When Dan Forrester from the Willerby Gazette heard Suki and her friends were staying in our luxury lodges, and that she had agreed to be guest of honour at the garden party, he jumped in his little MG and drove up here like Lewis Hamiltonâs older brother.â
Rosie hobbled in Miaâs wake across the sweeping lawn at the front of the Windmill Café. She wished she had stuck to her usual preference of putting practicality over sartorial elegance and worn her ballet flats instead of the ivory stilettos with four-inch heels that sunk into the ground with every step she took and made her look like a waddling duck.
âIâm loving the belted tea dress, Rosie. That apricot-and-cream floral pattern really complements your hair.â
âNothing complements my hair! Itâs the hirsute equivalent of jazz hands.â
âDonât say that. I know lots of people who would love to have your flowing Titian curls. Right. Ready to perform todayâs starring role?â Mia handed Rosie a pair of scissors and pointed to where Dan was lurking like a pugnacious paparazzo. âSmile for the camera!â
Rosie forced a smile onto her lips whilst simultaneously cursing the Windmill Caféâs owner, Graham Clarke, for skipping off to his villa in Barbados as soon as the date for the first annual Willerby garden party was announced. His abandonment meant that not only had she been left with organizing everything for the party, but sheâd also had to step into Grahamâs muddy Wellies to manage the holiday site in the adjacent field, and she had been battling her rising stress levels all day.
When Dan had eventually declared himself satisfied with his snapshots, Rosie picked up the microphone and tentatively tapped the end with her fingertips, producing a screech of bounce-back which caused every single guest to pause in their conversation and swivel round to stare at her and Mia. She ignored the pirouette of nerves that had appeared in her chest and cleared her throat.
