Epilogue
As soon as the bank transfer had completed, Jack popped open the bubbly, accompanied by a joyful woof from Hilda.
I stared at the automated response which had already landed in my emails.
‘I can’t believe it’s actually done. The mooring fees are paid. The Oxford Bookship is safe. I’m staying here. For the next year at least.’
Jack clinked his glass against mine.
‘I would say you’ve got this mooring for as long as you want it, judging by the size of the order Matthias put in for his new hotel, plus the ever-growing waiting lists for your bookish events,’ he said. ‘You’re definitely the best bookseller around.’
‘You’re not doing too badly yourself, Mr “Oxford’s Hottest New Venue” as seen in The Times no less,’ I teased, sketching the speech marks in the air.
I’d framed the article and had it on display in the Oxford Bookship, ready to direct my customers next door, just as Jack did on the Jericho Wine Barge when people started browsing the new Blind Date with a Book trolley which he’d set up by the bar.
We moved to the well deck and settled down in a nest of blankets and cushions, Jack’s arm around my shoulders and mine around his waist, enjoying the peace of our surroundings as the sun gradually sank towards the horizon, bathing the boat in a golden glow.
‘If you had told me three months ago that we’d be sitting together like this, I’d have suspected you’d been drinking too much of your stock,’ I said quietly.
Jack chuckled softly. ‘Likewise. You terrified and enthralled me in equal measure. But as our Blind Date with a Book label said, “It’s a truth universally acknowledged that first impressions shouldn’t necessarily be trusted.”’
I turned to face him. ‘You remember my clue exactly,’ I said.
‘Of course,’ he said simply. He reached forward and picked up the book he’d been reading earlier, opening it to reveal what he’d been using as his bookmark.
‘That’s my original label,’ I said, touched beyond description that he’d kept it.
‘It helped me find my place at your side. It seems right to continue using it as I move on to each new chapter.’
I opened my book to reveal its matching bookmark.
I’d originally put it in the recycling after the first Blind Date with a Book event but fished it out when doing one of my regular searches for something to hold my place in my current read.
My reason for keeping it hadn’t been sentimental to start with, but now I wouldn’t part with it for the world.
‘I feel the same. I’m excited to see what our next chapter will bring,’ I said.
I snuggled closer to him and smiled as somewhere in the distance a duck quaked cheerfully, while the water of the canal continued lapping gently against the hull of the Oxford Bookship.