The Love Island Bookshop by Kate Frost (ebook reader with internet browser .TXT) 📕

Aaron was easy to talk to, the same as Drew, but his good looks weren’t lost on her either, with his dark brooding eyes and an obvious sporty physique beneath his T-shirt and shorts. She realised she was staring at him quite a lot. She’d been on her own for too long; she was glad of the distraction of an easy-going man who didn’t really know her. It felt good to have left the heartache of the past eighteen months behind. She wanted to look to the future in a place that was full of optimism and joy.

Chapter Ten

Freya had settled into a false sense of security, enjoying her own company and working at the bookshop by herself. It had only been a couple of days, but she knew Zander would be coming back and she felt the pressure of needing to get things right for when he returned.

Meena’s email that morning did nothing to settle her nerves.

Morning, Freya. I hope you’re settling in well and your first couple of days in the bookshop have gone smoothly. I popped in to see it yesterday evening and you’ve done a tremendous job organising the books. Zander’s back and will meet you at the bookshop later. He’s also arranged for the photo shoot to happen this afternoon. Please choose what you wear carefully, ideally Loabi Fushi colours – white, sand-colour, blues. Pastel colours work well too and keep in mind the ethos of the island, sophisticated luxury. Any questions you can get hold of me in the office. Meena.

Freya’s wardrobe was limited to what she’d been able to fit in her suitcase, and she wasn’t really sure how she could look sophisticated in her summer clothes that mostly consisted of sleeveless tops, shorts and cropped trousers. She pulled out her white maxi skirt and a strapless dusky pink top that she’d only thrown in on the off chance she needed to dress up a little more in the evening.

Drew whistled when Freya entered the kitchen. ‘Look at you.’

Freya wrinkled her nose. ‘I’ve got to have my photo taken to go on the website.’

‘Zander’s back then?’

Freya frowned.

‘He kinda micromanages the photo shoots, so I assume if you’ve got yours today, he’s back. He likes a certain look to everything. He had a model flown in to pose in the spa – you pretty much can only see my hands or the back of my head in the shots, but the photos are epic. She was like a supermodel, though. Let’s just say, it helps if you’re photogenic, and trust me, you’re going to kill it today.’

Once again, Freya’s opinion of Zander was that he was all looks and no substance. Even with Drew’s compliment fresh in her mind she was worried. She scrutinised herself in the mirror in her room. She’d already caught a tan; her shoulders and face were sun kissed, her caramel brown hair had lighter highlights. She left it loose and falling in waves around her shoulders, a tousled natural beach look that she’d always craved but just didn’t work during humid summers in London or when it was cold and miserable in winter. The look suited her. She swept her fringe from her eyes and decided to add mascara and lip balm and she was done. She was too nervous to eat much breakfast, so she just had a slice of toast in the shared kitchen and said goodbye to Drew.

The staff village was at its busiest in the morning and then again around dinner time; it ebbed and flowed during the day, and there was always someone around. After her often lonely existence back home, part of her craved being surrounded by people, and having the chance to make friends like Drew and Aaron.

Freya was relieved that Zander wasn’t at the bookshop yet. She relaxed into the morning, choosing a selection of books to go on one of the tables and making a list of books that she thought might fill the gaps in the shelves – the bookshop was short on uplifting women’s fiction, the type of books and authors she had on her list at Bloom & Cole. Zander’s taste was wide reaching, but she wanted to balance out the fiction section, which was heavy on literary novels and crime thrillers. When she got a text from Meena that Zander and the photographer would be with her at half two, she returned to the staff village to grab a light lunch, clean her teeth and check she still looked presentable.

~

Freya was perched on a stool with her laptop by the open window in the bookshop when she spotted Zander strolling with a tall bronzed woman with long grey hair. She was dressed in white, clasping a camera. Zander was wearing sand-coloured trousers and a white linen shirt and looked effortlessly cool. They stopped in the shade of the curved palm on the beach and chatted. Freya wasn’t sure what to do – go down and meet them or wait for them to come up. Her fingers hovered over the laptop; she couldn’t concentrate.

The woman seemed to be doing most of the talking. She waved her arms towards the ocean and then turned and looked the other way in the direction of Sunset Beach. Zander nodded and they turned and started walking up the path beneath the trees. Freya closed the laptop and slid off the stool.

‘Hello,’ she said as they entered the bookshop.

‘You’ve made a real start.’ Zander smiled at Freya and ran his hand along the spines of the books on the shelf by the door. ‘This looks fabulous. And the smell. It has that new book smell. You can’t beat it.’

‘Apart from that fresh ocean air outside.’ The woman laughed. ‘If I didn’t know you better, Zander, I’d say you were a nutter preferring this.’

The woman was obviously at ease in his presence and knew him well. She evoked confidence and commanded attention. She was