Free When Only Cupcakes Will Do by Daisy James Page A

wings of a former celebrity chef.
    â€˜Well, that seems to be it then,’ mumbled Jess, getting up to clear away the detritus of their morning coffee.
    Then a light bulb burst into life in Lucie’s brain. ‘I know where I can get a quick few hundred pounds.’
    â€˜Where?’ asked Jess, her eyes clouding with suspicion.
    â€˜In fact, it’ll be poetic justice in a way. I still have the engagement ring I was planning on giving to Alex. I certainly don’t need it anymore. I’ll return it to Tiffany’s and spend the money on a second-hand runaround. Whatever Matt can come up with.’
    Jess collected Lucie into her arms, tears now spilling freely down her cheeks. ‘Great! This calls for a celebration!’ She grabbed a bottle of Prosecco rosé they had been saving for lunch on Easter Sunday from the fridge and popped the cork. ‘The only thing left to decide on now is a name for your new business venture.’
    â€˜What do you suggest?’
    â€˜What about Lucie’s Luscious Lickable Bakes?’ giggled Jess, scrunching up her face in pleasure as the bubbles of Prosecco slipped over her tongue and down her throat.
    â€˜Bradshaw’s Buns?’ suggested Lucie to get her own back.
    â€˜Cupcake Carousel?’
    â€˜I think it should be called the Travelling Cupcake Company,’ said Lucie, smiling at her beloved sister, grateful that she was going to be an integral part of her future, relieved that her brief flirtation with melancholy had been doused so quickly.
    For some reason, as she raised her glass to her lips to toast the birth of her new enterprise, a sharp-focus image of Ed floated across her vision. He looked like a nineteen-twenties matinee idol with those cute dimples bracketing his very kissable lips and his mahogany eyes crinkled as he nodded his approval of her plans. A flash of heat splashed through her chest. Ed Cartolli was just too handsome for his own good.
    â€˜The Travelling Cupcake Company it is. Let’s drink to its success!’ announced Jess, raising her glass and displaying the suspicion of dampness at the corners of her pale-blue eyes.

Chapter Nine
    Easter Sunday wore its best bonnet. At what seemed to Lucie like the crack of dawn, Lewis and Jack were out charging around the garden, scavenging for the chocolate eggs the bunny had left for them, after which they spent the rest of the morning cramming their treasure into their mouths whole. As she handed Lewis and Jack a giant chocolate bar each and received a sticky hug as thanks, she realised how fortunate she was to have such a loving family to smooth over the bumps in life’s uncharted voyage.
    It was the first time in weeks that she had discarded her duvet with a spring in her step. She showered, dressed and was ready to visit Matt to talk about vehicles by nine a.m. She’d had a brief conversation with him the previous day and he’d told her he would be at his garage from ten onwards if she wanted to pop over. She had smiled when he had casually asked if her sister would be coming with her.
    With the boys entertained with new colouring books and felt pens, they drove over to the other side of Richmond in her sister’s rust-blistered old Mini Cooper. Matt, predictably, was on his back under the chassis of the Rover V8 while strains of Ed Sheeran wafted out from an ancient grease-splattered radio.
    â€˜Hey, Matt. Remember my sister, Lucie?’
    â€˜Hi, Jess, great to see you. Yes, of course I remember little pig-tailed Lucie!’ Matt stood, wiped his oil-smeared hands on an old cloth and crushed her palm with his.
    Lucie smiled at the guy towering in front of her. He still wore his hair in a mop of unruly curls similar to hers, but his were dark auburn. He sported a trendy smattering of beard and clearly did not spend all his time under the bonnet of motor vehicles. His broad shoulders screamed of hours spent in the gym, or more accurately on the