Christmas at The Heartbreak Cafe (Lakeview Christmas Novel) (Lakeview Contemporary Romance Book 7) by Melissa Hill
Authors: Melissa Hill
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her this much.”
“I am sure she will recover soon. Heidi is strong-willed but always manages to land on her feet. Don’t count her out.”
“Thanks, Miriam. Again, if you need anything…” his voiced trailed off as they moved from the downstairs living room into a different part of the house.
Reality again hit her like a ton of bricks. This was her new life. No nanny. No cleaner. No manicures. No trips to Dublin to high-end stores. Heidi made a mental list of everything she would need to get done immediately from cancelling her next hair appointment to rescheduling the Lakeview Mum’s Club meeting. She would also have to return the Christmas gifts she had purchased—the watch and ties for Paul and the endless amount of clothing and toys for Amelia. And all of her new clothes of course, including the beautiful Dolce & Gabbana dress she’d planned to wear at the café Christmas party.
The thought of Christmas without gifts or maybe even a home rattled her to the core. Being bankrupt was not how she had envisioned it. Luckily, Amelia would still be young enough to forget this Christmas. Years from now she wouldn’t remember the lack of a tree or the missing presents. She would forget about the un-RSVP’d parties.
Ella’s party came again to Heidi’s mind. Amidst all this new stress, she had forgotten about her lies to the other mothers about her hosting it and her meetings with Ella where she had discussed decorative choices and how everything would be staged. All of that seemed like a million years ago now.
But suddenly, it dawned on her: Paul had been talking about the rental properties being repossessed. One of those properties was the very building in which the café was leased. The thought racing through her mind, Heidi hurtled down the stairs and into her husband’s study. He sat at his imposing, wooden desk looking over his stacks of paperwork. As she entered, he barely looked up at her or acknowledged her presence. “Paul!" she cried breathlessly. "Are you closing down the café?”
“What? What are you talking about?” He studied her quizzically. She had never asked about his business in the past and rarely showed interest in the properties he picked up or the stocks he chose, other than to boast about them of course.
“The properties the bank want to take. Is one of them The Heartbreak Café?"
"The what ?" he asked, still wildly confused.
“You know, Ella’s place,” she clarified. “Is it part of the repossession order?"
Paul looked down at his paperwork and shuffled through a pile. At the bottom of the stack, he pulled out a cream coloured, official looking envelope and handed it to her.
“Yes, Heidi. The café building is being repossessed. I’m sorry.”
11
T he days after receiving the eviction notice were the hardest ever for Ella.
In the midst of attempting to plan the party with little help from a now absent Heidi, she also had to mourn the loss of her business privately. She could not bare to break the bad news to her staff, all of whom were depending on her to get them through the expensive Christmas period. She would have to keep the news to herself until she could find an appropriate moment to tell the others.
So Ella made a plan. While her staff discussed prepared the menus for the Christmas party and served their regular customers, Ella continued to plant the idea that she was nearing retirement. That way, she would feel less of a failure and more like this time was coming anyway. She had hoped the idea of retirement would be a softer blow than forceful closure. At least it was then in her power and not at the hands of some banker.
It started with an innocent lie to Colm as they started the baking of hundreds of snowman shaped shortbread cookies that would be offered at the party.
“I'll tell you one thing: I will not miss this, ” she commented.
“Miss what?” Colm didn’t even look up from his work.
“Ah, you know," she said, pointing towards the ovens.
“I am sure she will recover soon. Heidi is strong-willed but always manages to land on her feet. Don’t count her out.”
“Thanks, Miriam. Again, if you need anything…” his voiced trailed off as they moved from the downstairs living room into a different part of the house.
Reality again hit her like a ton of bricks. This was her new life. No nanny. No cleaner. No manicures. No trips to Dublin to high-end stores. Heidi made a mental list of everything she would need to get done immediately from cancelling her next hair appointment to rescheduling the Lakeview Mum’s Club meeting. She would also have to return the Christmas gifts she had purchased—the watch and ties for Paul and the endless amount of clothing and toys for Amelia. And all of her new clothes of course, including the beautiful Dolce & Gabbana dress she’d planned to wear at the café Christmas party.
The thought of Christmas without gifts or maybe even a home rattled her to the core. Being bankrupt was not how she had envisioned it. Luckily, Amelia would still be young enough to forget this Christmas. Years from now she wouldn’t remember the lack of a tree or the missing presents. She would forget about the un-RSVP’d parties.
Ella’s party came again to Heidi’s mind. Amidst all this new stress, she had forgotten about her lies to the other mothers about her hosting it and her meetings with Ella where she had discussed decorative choices and how everything would be staged. All of that seemed like a million years ago now.
But suddenly, it dawned on her: Paul had been talking about the rental properties being repossessed. One of those properties was the very building in which the café was leased. The thought racing through her mind, Heidi hurtled down the stairs and into her husband’s study. He sat at his imposing, wooden desk looking over his stacks of paperwork. As she entered, he barely looked up at her or acknowledged her presence. “Paul!" she cried breathlessly. "Are you closing down the café?”
“What? What are you talking about?” He studied her quizzically. She had never asked about his business in the past and rarely showed interest in the properties he picked up or the stocks he chose, other than to boast about them of course.
“The properties the bank want to take. Is one of them The Heartbreak Café?"
"The what ?" he asked, still wildly confused.
“You know, Ella’s place,” she clarified. “Is it part of the repossession order?"
Paul looked down at his paperwork and shuffled through a pile. At the bottom of the stack, he pulled out a cream coloured, official looking envelope and handed it to her.
“Yes, Heidi. The café building is being repossessed. I’m sorry.”
11
T he days after receiving the eviction notice were the hardest ever for Ella.
In the midst of attempting to plan the party with little help from a now absent Heidi, she also had to mourn the loss of her business privately. She could not bare to break the bad news to her staff, all of whom were depending on her to get them through the expensive Christmas period. She would have to keep the news to herself until she could find an appropriate moment to tell the others.
So Ella made a plan. While her staff discussed prepared the menus for the Christmas party and served their regular customers, Ella continued to plant the idea that she was nearing retirement. That way, she would feel less of a failure and more like this time was coming anyway. She had hoped the idea of retirement would be a softer blow than forceful closure. At least it was then in her power and not at the hands of some banker.
It started with an innocent lie to Colm as they started the baking of hundreds of snowman shaped shortbread cookies that would be offered at the party.
“I'll tell you one thing: I will not miss this, ” she commented.
“Miss what?” Colm didn’t even look up from his work.
“Ah, you know," she said, pointing towards the ovens.
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