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

arm.
    “OK, let’s roll guys - Mum’s Club time!” She proclaimed as she belted herself in, checked her lipstick and backed out of the space, the incident with the credit card already forgotten.

5
    C ynthia Roland’s house was next door to her sister-in-law’s. Nestled in a modest estate, the house looked exactly like all the other boring others. Besides the amount of cars in the driveway and the sign on the front lawn, Heidi wouldn’t have even begun to know which house she was headed towards.
    As she parked the car, she noticed the women subtly staring at her from the window. This was exactly the entrance Heidi had wanted. She confidently strolled in carrying the cupcakes with Miriam and Amelia about ten feet behind.
    “Cynthia, darling. You look fabulous as always!” she crowed at the sight of the pale, meek woman answering the door.
    “Not as good as you, I’m afraid.” Her friend’s insincere smile did nothing to faze Heidi as she was greeted by a gaggle of women all ready and eager to make note of her presence.
    “Let me take that from you!”
    “Oh! Look at your jacket! Is it new?”
    “Who did your hair? It looks perfect.”
    “You shouldn’t have gone to the trouble of baking all these, Heidi! It’s too kind of you.”
    “How is Paul? I hear you bought another building in town recently.”
    “Your nails are the most perfect shade. I wish I was bold enough to wear that colour.”
    As the compliments rolled in, Heidi effortlessly swivelled back and forth to give each woman her answer and a polite peck on the cheek.
    All except Gemma. While the rest of the Mum’s Club had greeted her at the door, her sister-in-law had remained in her chair by the fireplace. She was staring daggers at Heidi, but her look significantly softened as she spotted Miriam and Amelia walking through the door.
    “Miriam, let me take Amelia from you. I never get enough time with her when I visit. And you must be exhausted from taking care of her all by yourself day in and day out.” Gemma proclaimed loudly so that each of the other mums would hear her. The women moved from Heidi and began to swoon loudly over Amelia. While Gemma’s barb should have ruffled Heidi, it only boosted up her self-importance that much more.
    After the cordial greetings and compliments were sufficiently dispensed, Heidi led the gang back into the living room. Taking her place at the front of the room, she watched as Amelia gingerly toddled towards the other children to play with the plethora of toys assembled.
    “So, what was your day like Heidi?” asked a woman she vaguely recognised but couldn’t be bothered to remember her name.
    “Oh… the usual. I went to Dublin to get my nails done at the BT Nail Bar and while there I dropped an absolute fortune on the second floor. Then I went to have my hair done at Hair Box, before picking up Paul’s suits from the dry cleaner, and I barely managed to get in a light workout before heading out earlier. It’s been such a busy day already!”
    “If only I could manage to get to the gym.” sighed another woman Heidi avoided.
    “It’s all about priorities, really. You can do it if you set your mind to it.” She smiled at her own encouragement.
    “You mean, you could set your mind to it if you had plenty of money and a live-in nanny, and a cleaner, don’t you?” The women giggled as Gemma snarked. “You have to admit that you have it lucky with Paul’s money paying for everything. You don’t have to lift a finger.”
    “I suppose, but he does work hard, and we have the same worries as everyone else. I just don’t talk about them non-stop.” Heidi felt a bit defensive at the insinuation that her life was easy.
    “Not all of us marry for money. Some of us do so for love.” Gemma’s comments came across as a slap in the face. While Heidi had known that her sister-in-law harboured resentment towards her, she had never heard her express it so openly or in such a public space before. She could