Miracle on Regent Street by Ali Harris Read Free Book Online Page A

assistants give such a personal shopping
service these days.’
    I accepted her invitation and ever since then, on the first Thursday of the month, at approximately half-past ten, I’ve delivered her soap to her in Lily’s tearoom in the basement,
where, without fail, she’ll be sitting at ‘her’ table, sipping Earl Grey and delicately popping pieces of Victoria sponge into her mouth.
    My tummy rumbles. I’m looking forward to my monthly catch-up with Iris. I’ve just grabbed my rucksack and duffel coat and am making my way out when the stockroom door swings open and
Carly appears. I immediately pull my coat up to my chest.
    ‘Babe!’ she gasps, her face shining with excitement. She pauses, tilts her head and looks at me strangely. I self-consciously pull my coat closer around me. ‘I’m so glad
you’re here,’ she goes on. ‘You’ll never believe what just happened!’
    I try to look interested but am more concerned with ensuring that my coat is covering the top. I don’t want her to think I’m some style stalker. But she’s so caught up in her
own excitement that she doesn’t even notice.
    ‘I have just seen the hottest man EVER.’ She fans her face, panting a little as she leans against the door. ‘He’s out there,’ she hisses, and clutches her hands to
her heart. ‘We made eye contact – and I mean serious eye contact – on the stairs. I was coming down, he was going up, and I’ve just seen him down here in the beauty
department too. I mean,’ she laughs, ‘how obvious is that? He must have run back down to try and catch up with me! Honestly, babes, he’s so dreamy, you’ll die! He’s
got dark hair and really brooding, big eyes and he’s tall and he’s got these broad shoulders and, oh, he’s just GORGEOUS.’
    She turns round and presses her ear to the door, and whilst she has her back turned I quickly pull my coat on properly and do it up over the sequined top.
    ‘I wonder if he’s still out there?’ she says, her face still squashed to the door.
    ‘Why don’t you just go and have a look?’ I ask, glancing at my watch surreptitiously. I’ll be late for Iris if I’m not careful. ‘If he wants to ask you out
he’s not going to do it through a closed door.’
    ‘I know that .’ She turns round and rolls her eyes despairingly at me. ‘I’m playing hard to get. Honestly, hon, don’t you know anything about men?’
    I consider her question. The truth is I actually only know a lot about one man. Jamie. And he dumped me for being ‘too predictable’. So no, I’ve never mastered the
‘hard-to-get’ game.
    ‘So what are you going to do?’ I ask her, feigning interest but unable to stop thinking about my tea break. I’m desperate for caffeine, and even more desperate to get out of
this stifling stockroom.
    ‘I’m going to wait here until I know he’s gone. If he wants me that much, he’ll find me,’ Carly says confidently. ‘Put the kettle on, will you,
hon?’
    ‘Um, I was just about to go on my break, actually,’ I say timidly.
    ‘Oh.’ Her face falls for a moment, then immediately brightens. ‘Can’t you have your break here, with me? Then we can wait here together!’
    It’s tempting, but Iris is waiting for me and I don’t want to let her down.
    ‘Can we chat later?’ I say as I head for the door. ‘I’ve got to deliver this to someone.’ I wave the bar of soap. ‘You can stay in here if you want. Make
yourself a cup of tea and wait till he’s gone.’
    ‘OK.’ Carly looks down, disappointed. She smiles up again. ‘My new job is cool, don’t you think? I never expected to make assistant manager so soon!’
    ‘You must be really thrilled,’ I say, edging towards the door as a subtle hint.
    ‘I guess,’ she replies, wanders over to my ‘lounge and listen’ area and throws herself onto the sofa as if preparing to embark on a lengthy conversation. I stare at her
and then at the door. I really need to go.
    ‘Have you heard