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

trunk of a palm watching them. Drew’s earlier comment about Zander liking to micromanage everything drifted across her mind. Would he be like that with the bookshop? Would she have to pass everything by him and not be able to make decisions of her own? Her brief worry dispersed when Annie called out to her.

The sun glittered on the horizon and the ocean lapped at her feet. It felt like she was living in a dream as she held on to her long floaty skirt and twirled around in the sand. She knew it would be a moment captured on film, a snapshot of a carefree life, a moment when she didn’t have any worries, when her heart didn’t ache, when regret, disappointment and loss were far in the past.

‘You’re a natural,’ Zander said, joining them on the beach.

Annie scrolled through the photos and gave a quick nod. ‘I think we’re done. There are some good shots.’ She looked at Freya. ‘You’ve made it a breeze.’

It had been a surprisingly enjoyable afternoon and the time had flown. The sun was already dipping low in the sky, the beginning of dusk descending. The last few shots had been to a backdrop of a pink horizon.

‘How’s the blog coming on, Freya?’ Zander asked as Annie picked up her bag and slung her camera around her neck.

‘Yes, nearly done.’

‘We’ll get the bookshop page live on the website by the end of the week and then you can publish your blog too. We’ll choose a couple of the photos so you can add them to the post. If you can email me the blog by the end of tomorrow, I’ll read it before we go live on Friday. We need to talk about opening the bookshop, ordering books and all the logistics. I presume you’ll be here all day tomorrow?’

‘Of course.’

‘I’ll meet you here at two after Annie’s gone and we’ll go through everything.’

Annie shook Freya’s hand. ‘Lovely meeting you. I’m sure the bookshop will be a huge success.’

‘And thanks for a great afternoon, Freya,’ Zander said. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

He left her with a smile and walked back along the beach with Annie. Freya watched them, wondering where they were going. Perhaps to Zander’s private villa? She walked up the beach, collecting the laptop from the bookshop on the way. How special it must feel to be a guest on the island, like Annie.

Chapter Eleven

The photos blew her away. It was probably the combination of everything: the jaw-dropping setting and the vivid colours of the ocean against the bright white of her skirt which showcased her lightly-tanned skin. Freya hardly recognised herself. She looked happy. Really happy, and that wasn’t a feeling she could honestly say she’d had much of recently. It cemented her thought that her decision to leave London was the right one.

She felt uncomfortable though, sitting on a stool in front of the bookshop window looking through the images with Zander. He’d already narrowed down the photos with Annie to the best dozen for the website and Freya’s blog.

His fingers hovered over his laptop. He had neat fingernails, lightly tanned skin and a ring on the index finger of his right hand with a ‘W’ engraved on it. She wondered what it stood for.

‘You really are photogenic.’

The compliment made her blush but squirm too; it was another nod to the idea that she’d got the job partly because of the way she looked. Back in the UK, she’d spent her days engrossed in manuscripts, refining the words and helping to shape the story. The focus was never on her. She was the behind-the-scenes person; the author was always the star. And suddenly she’d been flung into the limelight with the love island bookshop. She was the face behind one of the most coveted jobs in the world where seemingly looks were just as important as anything else.

‘If you’re happy with those for the blog, then write it up.’ He clicked off the folder of images and closed his laptop. ‘I’ll get the guys to update the website and put the bookshop page live, then you can publish it.’

It felt strange knowing that soon her face would be out there, showcased on the resort website for all to see. It was a responsibility to write a personal blog, her take on the island, the bookshop, the books and the guests. But that’s what Zander wanted, and from the little she knew about him and had gleaned from other people, what Zander wanted, he got.

‘The other thing we need to talk about,’ Zander said, snapping her back to the present. ‘Is the official opening of the bookshop. The date’s set, and invites will be going out to the guests who’ll be staying here at the time. I would have liaised with you about who to get to officially open the bookshop, but Mia Jacobsen was one of the authors I had on my radar before we even started the bookseller application process, and as you worked at Bloom & Cole, I figured you’d be more than happy to go with her. Her flights are booked and accommodation sorted, but can you please liaise with her about the evening itself – what you want to do, how many guests, food and drink. I’ll set up a meeting for you with our head chef and the manager of the Sand Bar about that. Finger food will be best. And if you need waiters, talk to Meena. She has all the travel details too. I’ll introduce you, but then you’re running the evening and will do the introduction for Mia. You good with that?’

‘Yes, absolutely,’ Freya said with as much conviction as the knot of nerves in her stomach would allow. He was so controlling about some aspects and yet he was seemingly giving her free rein over the launch party for the bookshop. It was a lot of pressure and responsibility and she couldn’t let him, or herself, down.

~

Zander left and the bookshop became