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

do nothing but look down at her shoes. Which of course was no great hardship.
    “Did you girls hear about Ella’s big Christmas party? I remember those from when I was a little girl.” Cynthia interjected, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen after Heidi and Gemma’s sparring.
    “Really? A party? Here in Lakeview?” asked one of the other mothers whose baby was currently drooling contently in her arms.
    Heidi was intrigued. Any social occasion piqued her interest, especially if it gave her a chance to do a little good old fashioned showing off.
    “Yes. The village Christmas parties used to be great fun. Free food, free drinks, music, lots going on for the kids.The whole place would turn out.” Cynthia practically beamed at the memory.
    “Where on earth is Ella hosting it? She certainly cannot fit the entire village in that tiny café.”
    Heidi thought Gemma had an excellent point and it got her thinking.
    “I’m not sure actually. I remember they used to have people back to the house, but after her husband died, I doubt she would want to have anything there.”
    “I know where it’ll be.” Heidi interjected, deciding. “Our house. Ours is the only one big enough to hold the village anyway. We have already have our own marquee and I’m working with a party coordinator now about where to place everything, but I am thinking red and green linen with poinsettia centre pieces accented with mistletoe, of course…”
    The last bit was a bald-faced lie, but she was sure Ella Harris would only jump at the chance to save herself the bother of holding a messy gathering at the café.
    Gemma kept her eyes squarely on Heidi as she continued to ramble off her imagined plans for the café Christmas party. She suspected instantly that Heidi was lying, but she held her tongue.
    As the women chatted excitedly about the party, Heidi excused herself to the bathroom. As she snuck upstairs she quietly dialled Ella’s number.
    “This is Ella speaking.” Ella’s soft voice momentarily soothed Heidi. “Hello?”
    “Ella, this is Heidi. I just heard that you were throwing a Christmas party for the whole village to celebrate your thirtieth year in business! Is that true?” Heidi couldn’t come across as too eager.
    “Oh, hello Heidi.” Ella said in a significantly lower tone, her voice losing her friendly chirp. “That’s right, I am throwing a Christmas party on December 22nd. You, Paul, and Amelia are certainly invited.”
    “That’s great! Do you have a location in mind?” Heidi asked innocently.
    “Well naturally I was thinking the café and -”
    Heidi cut her off, ready to bite, “No, no, no. The café is way too small. I insist that your party be at our home. As your landlord, Paul would be only too delighted to allow you to do so for free. We will arrange the marquee, the tables, the heating, everything. Guests can use our bathrooms and your staff can set up in our kitchen. It will be more than enough room for the town.”
    The silence that followed was almost deafening. If Ella said no, she wouldn’t know what to do. “And naturally we’ll arrange to have someone in for the clean-up afterwards. Honestly, do you really want your café to be subjected to such upheaval, especially so close to Christmas?”
    “I suppose you have a point and it looks like there’ll be a lot of people…” Ella trailed off, Heidi’s words obviously hitting home. “Are you sure Paul is on board with this?”
    “Yes, we insist!” Heidi said as loudly as she could without potentially drawing attention to herself.
    “All right then. How about you pop back in soon, and we’ll discuss it.”
    “It’s a plan. Chat with you soon, Ella.”
    Heidi hung up her phone, tucked it back into her trouser pocket, and strolled confidently back into the living room. Her smile was as bold as ever as she practically burst in anticipation.
    Not only would she be hosting the most talked-about Lakeview party in years, she would be doing