Winter Kisses at Roseford Café

Fay Keenan

Description

'Wonderfully festive' Jo Bartlett

Hollywood comes to Roseford, as Christmas wishes really do come true…

The sleepy Somerset village of Roseford is the temporary home for the cast and crew of the latest Christmas movie, and there’s excitement in the air. When Lucy Cameron, the owner of Roseford Café, is asked to fulfil a last-minute catering order on set, she can’t believe her luck.

Lucy’s erstwhile teenage crush, Finn Sanderson, is the star of the film, alongside his glamorous co-star, Montana de Santo, with whom he has been linked on and off the screen, and their sprinkle of stardust around the village is intoxicating.

With Christmas approaching and the snow starting to fall, Lucy’s path keeps crossing with Finn’s, and she starts to get to know the man behind the movie star. As her feelings grow, so too do Lucy’s reservations about even considering becoming involved with someone so well-known. And when Lucy finds herself at the centre of a social media storm, her fears seem to be justified.

Are happy-ever-afters just the preserve of Christmas movies, or could Lucy and Finn star in their very own festive love story…

Revel in the perfect country Christmas romance from Fay Keenan, just right for all fans of Julie Houston, Cathy Bramley and Holly Martin.

What authors and readers say about Fay Keenan’s novels:

'Fay Keenan's books are filled with warmth and humour. They are the perfect escape to beautiful countryside settings' Jessica Redland

'Wonderfully festive and will appeal to fans of feel-good romance everywhere. It’s got the charm of Notting Hill and the Christmassy magic of The Holiday all rolled into one.' Jo Bartlett

'A gorgeous rural romance full of warmth and charm.' Victoria Connelly

‘Guaranteed to put a spring in your step. Feel-good, frisky and great fun with a hearty dash of romance and intrigue.' Julie Houston

'Moving, funny, thoughtful and romantic. Bring on the next one!' Jenny Kane

‘From only a few pages in I knew I was set to love this story and I literally couldn't put it down until it was finished. A fantastic read and a lovely glimpse into the Somerset countryside. Best enjoyed with a large cup of tea or coffee and a stash of biscuits.’

‘I found New Beginnings At Roseford Hall a delight to read from start to finish and I absolutely loved it.'

'New Beginnings At Roseford Hall is superbly written, but then I have come to expect nothing less from Fay Keenan.'

'Fay has one of those easy-going writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. In fact reading one of her books feels more like a chat between friends rather than reading a book.’

Sujets

• Vie de famille
• Adolescence et Vie de Famille
• Genres
• New Adult
• Holidays
• World Literature
• Women
• Teenagers
• Inglaterra
• Película fotográfica
• Contemporary history
• Workplace
• Romantic Comedy
• Types of rural communities
• General officer
• Woman
• 21st Century
• The Women
• General
• Holiday
• Contemporary
• Romance
• England
• Somerset
• Christmas
• Bristol
• Fiction
• Film

Informations

• Publié par: Boldwood Books
• Date de parution: 13 octobre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781802805567
• Langue: English

Extrait

WINTER KISSES AT ROSEFORD CAFÉ



FAY KEENAN
For Cory.
CONTENTS



Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Epilogue


Acknowledgments

More from Fay Keenan

About the Author

About Boldwood Books
1

‘Mummy, Mummy!’ The shrill, excited voice of Lucy Cameron’s eight-year-old daughter, Megan, rang across the living room as she peered through the window that faced onto Roseford’s usually quiet main street.
‘Come on, darling,’ Lucy replied, frantically trying to tie her own hair back in a ponytail, pack Megan’s small school bag with her lunch and her reading book and scribble a shopping list. Megan got so easily distracted; even the sight of the chatty, combative group of sparrows who congregated regularly on the pavement outside the house was enough to put her off finding her shoes.
‘But come and see! There’s a massive lorry outside and it’s got Santa painted on it.’
Lucy hurried to the window. ‘They can’t just stop there!’ she said in exasperation. ‘How’s anyone supposed to get past?’ How am I going to get out of my parking space? she thought. Since the houses in Roseford, the beautiful historic village where Lucy lived, were all listed buildings, very few residents had the luxury of off-road parking. In addition, being able to park outside your own house was becoming more of a rare privilege since the British Heritage Fund had taken over Roseford Hall, a charming seventeenth-century manor house just off the main square.
Lucy glanced at her watch. If she was going to get Megan to school and then get back in time to open her café, she had to get a shift on. Since Roseford’s primary school had closed two years ago, Megan was at the one in the next village, and it was a good ten-minute drive away.
‘Come on, munchkin.’ Lucy assumed her best no-nonsense tone. ‘Get your coat from the hall. Your shoes should be there, too.’
‘They’re not, Mummy!’ Megan’s little voice came from the hallway.
Lucy sighed. Systems were her survival mechanism, and even a minute’s disruption when time was tight could derail things. ‘Check in the cupboard under the stairs,’ she said wearily, wondering, for a moment, if in a tiredness-infused flash of inattention she’d shoved them in there with the vacuum cleaner.
‘Found them!’ Megan said. She came scampering back through from the hall, and plonked herself down on the rug by the fireplace to do up the Velcro fastenings on her black patent school shoes. As she stuck one foot out in front of her while she fastened the other one, Lucy noticed there was a hole forming on the sole. Great. Megan went through shoes like no other child in her class. It looked like she’d need a trip to Taunton over the Christmas holidays for a new pair. Hopefully, the shoes would hold out for the last few weeks of the autumn term.
Just as they were zipping up their coats and heading out of the door, Lucy’s phone pinged with a message. Glancing down at the screen as she pulled the door closed, Lucy saw it was from her friend Serena.


So… have you seen them yet? Tell me EVERYTHING when you do!
Lucy, despite her school run stress, smiled. Serena was a huge fan of, as she put it, ‘cheesy happily-ever-after movies’, and had been incandescent with excitement when the story had broken online about Roseford’s new temporary residents. Lucy, despite her own history, and knowing that happily-ever-after wasn’t exactly the way most things in life went, wasn’t averse to a festive movie or three herself, and she and Serena had spent many happy evenings with Megan between them on the sofa watching the latest Hallmark Channel offerings on cold winter nights.
Lucy looked at the time and picked up the pace. She hated being late and was embarrassed at the thought of Megan having to go into her classroom after everyone else. Striding over to her car, she settled Megan into her car seat and then glanced out at the road. The lorry that Megan had spotted out of the window was still in situ, taking up most of the road.
Roseford boasted a picturesque village square, but unfortunately, with history came inconvenience. The road was narrow, barely wide enough to fit two modern cars through in places until it opened up into the square. There was no way she was going to be able to get out of her parking space and past the lorry.
Sighing in irritation, she walked round her car and out into the road, where the lorry had stopped. Heading towards its cab, she saw that the driver was on his phone. Pointedly, seeing him catch sight of her, she glanced at her watch. He gave a quick nod, finished his conversation and then wound down the window.
‘Can I help you?’ he asked.
Lucy gave a quick, encouraging smile. ‘Can you move the lorry, please? I’ve got to get my daughter to school, and I can’t get out of my parking space.’
‘Sorry, love,’ the driver responded. ‘I need to get clearance before I can go anywhere. Shouldn’t be long, though.’
‘Can’t you just pull forward a few feet?’ Lucy persisted. ‘I really do need to get my daughter to school.’
The driver looked in front of him, and it was then that Lucy realised that he was just one of a convoy of vans, lorries and other assorted vehicles who were forming a queue, snaking back from the turning to Roseford Hall and right past her house.
‘The gates are still locked,’ the driver continued. ‘Sorry, though. Wish I could help.’
‘Isn’t there someone you could call?’ Lucy’s patience was starting to wear even thinner. ‘I really do need to get out.’
‘I’ve just been on the phone,’ the driver said, his own tone exasperated. ‘They’re trying to locate the groundskeeper to get the gates open. I’m afraid I can’t really do any more than that, love. I’ve been on the road since four o’clock this morning, so I’m just as keen to get moving as you are.’
Trying not to bristle at the unasked-for ‘endearment’, Lucy forced another smile. ‘Fair enough.’ She turned away, and as she did so, the deep rumble of the engines of the lorries in front sent a smell of diesel through the air.
‘Looks like the gates are open,’ the driver called to Lucy’s retreating back. She raised a hand in acknowledgement, and then glanced at her watch. She had five minutes before the school gates closed and she’d have to send Megan in through the school’s reception. Knowing that it would probably take just as long for the convoy to move off the main road, she gave a sigh of resignation, opened her car door and got in.
‘Are we going now, Mummy?’ Megan asked.
‘Any minute now, sweetheart,’ Lucy replied, clenching her hands on the steering wheel. She’d never been that good at responding to circumstances beyond her control, and knowing that there was nothing else she could do but wait was little comfort.
Why did this bloody film crew have to descend on Roseford anyway? Until a couple of years ago, no one had heard of the place. There’d been a few big UK drama productions that had ‘borrowed’ the High Street for exterior shots over the years, but nothing like this. Those crews had been so small that they’d stayed in rooms above the local pub, the Treloar Arms, and, despite the inevitable set dressing and inconvenience, they’d tried their best not to disrupt the lives of the residents of the village.
This production, though, was something else entirely. It was guaranteed to turn everyone’s lives upside down. And having her life turned upside down was absolutely the last thing Lucy needed, having only just started to feel as though she was back in control.
Lucy breathed a sigh of relief, brought back out of her brooding, when she saw the lorry start to move. She slapped on her indicator and pulled out between that and the next truck behind it, and began the slow crawl round the bend and up the High Street towards the main road, and Megan’s school in the next village. If this first morning was anything to go by, having even more strangers in Roseford was going to be a real challenge.
2

‘So? Have you seen him yet?’
Serena’s voice cut into Lucy’s thoughts as she tried to focus on the mid-morning orders that were rapidly filling the tables in Roseford Café. Although Roseford Hall was closed to the public from November to January, plenty of people still liked to come to the village and wander around the historic square, and this, more often than not, was good news for the café. Lucy had bought the café and the adjoining house, with a little help from her mother, three years ago when Megan had started school. There was also a regular trickle of customers who came for the winter writers’ and artists’ retreats at Halstead House, at the other end of Roseford. Halstead House had opened its doors the year after Roseford Hall and so far had been busy all year, according to Stella Simpson, who co-ran the retreats with her partner, Chris Charlton. So, even though the winter months could be leaner than the summer, Lucy still made enough to keep the café afloat. The local book club took a table every month on a Saturday afternoon, and she had a good group of village regulars who liked to come in and exchange news and gossip over a slice of cake and a latte.
‘Who?’ Lucy asked, double-checking the trays of sandwiches, warming vegetable soup and drinks she’d put together. The café specialised in light meals, hearty soups and mouth-watering cakes, making it the perfect stop