The Cornish Cream Tea Bus. Cressida McLaughlin

they’ll be smitten.’

      ‘I can almost believe that,’ Daniel said. ‘Still, Porthgolow can be a tough crowd—’

      ‘Says the man who just told me my bus belongs in a fun fair.’

      ‘I’m prepared to defer my judgement.’

      ‘How very gracious of you.’

      Daniel laughed. ‘Fancy a tour of the hotel? I could show you the spa facilities, the restaurant. We have a five-course à la carte menu.’

      ‘Sometimes people just want a bit of stodgy, sugary cake.’

      ‘And sometimes,’ he said, stepping closer, ‘they want something more extravagant. Sometimes they want the best.’

      ‘I am the best.’ Charlie lifted her chin in defiance, and immediately felt stupid. What was this? A pre-boxing-match showdown? She waited for Daniel’s pithy reply but it didn’t come. He looked at her coolly and then turned away.

      ‘I need to get on,’ he called as he walked. ‘Is there anything else I can do for you?’

      ‘Uhm, not at the moment. Thanks.’ She followed him back through the beautiful gardens and into the foyer, where he promptly said goodbye and disappeared through a door behind the reception desk.

      Charlie said goodbye to Lauren and went to find Marmite. As she made her way down the hill, a snoozing puppy in her arms, all in all she felt relieved with the way her visit had gone.

      It was understandable that Daniel was sceptical about the charms of The Cornish Cream Tea Bus; it wasn’t anything like his slice of cliff-top luxury. But he hadn’t turned her away. He’d said her photos were good and he’d followed her on Instagram; he hadn’t discounted coming to the launch on Saturday.

      As she reached the bottom of the hill, eager to see how Juliette had got on, she wondered why Daniel’s approval mattered to her so much. Did she want to show Juliette that he wasn’t as evil as she thought he was, or was it simply that he had been against her bus from the start, and she wanted to prove him wrong? All she knew was that standing close to the edge of the cliff, at the same time as standing close to Daniel, had done nothing for her levels of composure.