Christmas at The Heartbreak Cafe (Lakeview Christmas Novel) (Lakeview Contemporary Romance Book 7) Read Online Free Page A

floor. She still had to pop by the house to pick up little Amelia and the nanny, and she also had to make it to Ella’s Cafe to pick up some of Colm’s special cupcakes. She had to hurry if she wanted to make a fashionably late entrance and avoid being outright rude.
    Luckily for her, Miriam and Amelia were already waiting for her in the porch. Miriam had a pained look on her face that Heidi shrugged off with a couple of insincere apologies and promises to let her know when she would be late in the future. Amelia, on the other hand, was as pleasant as ever. At only two years, she had a glow and a smile that never failed to put a smile on Heidi’s face. As expected, she was a natural at motherhood and she found it hard to believe that after all the related fuss of her sister Cara’s wedding, whereupon a heavily pregnant Heidi had to travel to St Lucia to watch her sister walk down the aisle, that she’d still managed to retain a level head and good spirits for the remainder of her pregnancy.
    Though in truth, she and her sister had a much better relationship these days, and while Heidi and her sister-in-law Kim still like to engage in an occasional war of words, they too had managed a truce of sorts, made easier by the fact Amelia and Kim’s son Jago, were the same age.
    With Miriam in the back of the car entertaining Amelia, Heidi was soon back on the road. As she parked directly onto double yellow lines directly outside Ella’s café (her husband owned the building so she was entitled), her phone began to ring.
    Looking at the caller ID, she sighed. It was her sister-in-law from the other side of the family, Gemma, Paul’s youngest sibling. She was what Heidi called a ‘Mummy Martyr.’ She spent her time at the club complaining about how hard it was to raise her twins and spent hours counting pennies and avoiding a much needed facial. It was so tiring to Heidi—so much so that she routinely ignored Gemma’s calls. Today would not be an exception.
    Heidi raced inside the café to meet Ella at the counter. Her Lucy Choi heels clinked loudly on the wooden floor enough that the noise caught the attention of the rest of the customers.
    “Hello Ella, do you have my order ready? I’m running 40 minutes late already.”
    “Of course I do. We never forget your orders.” Ella answered, a bit wounded.
    “Thank you soooo much!” Heidi flashed her ultra-bright white smile at the older woman and quickly handed her Paul’s platinum credit card.
    “Now that I have you, when you get a chance, with all the frost we’re getting lately, can you please ask Paul to salt the paths out front? I twisted my ankle the other day and am on crutches for the next month. I understand he’s busy but he really should get someone to do that if he can’t come to do it himself.” Ella was gently scolding Heidi, but Heidi was too busy checking her reflection in the display glass casing.
    “Oh, yeah. I will as soon as I see him,” she replied, absent-mindedly.
    ‘Um…sorry Heidi, but the card has been declined,’ Ella said then, looking apologetic, and she immediately jumped to attention.
    “What? But that’s impossible! I just used it this morning and — ” She rummaged in her wallet for some cash.
    “Not to worry, sure you can sort me out some other time….” Waving the incident away, Ella smiled and handed her back the card.
    “Are you sure? It’s just I don’t usually carry cash and — ”
    Flustered, Heidi felt her cheeks redden. This could not be happening. She hadn’t gone too crazy in the city this morning had she? Yes, she’d been stocking up on Christmas presents (to say nothing of her own wardrobe) but it was a platinum card for goodness sake, the limit must be sky high. If there even was a limit …
    Heidi couldn't understand it. “Thank you. I’ll pop back later when I’ve been to a cashpoint. Au revoir !” she called as she flipped her hair and strutted towards the door with the cupcake box in her free