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Prologue
Paige looked around her bar, business was steady but not busy. The background music a soothing accompaniment to the Mancunian accents around her. The vibe of Barbarella was unique and welcoming. The eclectic mix of light fixtures scattered around the bar bright enough to light up an otherwise rainy afternoon. But her mind was quiet. Too quiet. A nice rush of students, or maybe a large group of day-drinking mums, would have been ideal. A distraction of any sort would be appreciated. Anything that would take her mind off the fact that today marked two weeks since she first noticed her mojo had completely disappeared. Two long weeks in which each passing day her mood darkened, as the fear increased, that this may not be a temporary problem.
The little insights she’d had about how her friends were, what drinks people wanted to order, hints and clues about how her day was going to pan out. Vanished. It was two weeks ago when the signage for the new bar down the road had gone up, and that was when she’d known for certain it was missing. She’d given herself some time, a few days at first, then a week, and she’d been jetlagged from visiting Mya in Vegas which could have played a role, but now at two weeks, Paige was finally forced to admit that her mojo had gone.
She didn’t even have her friends to distract her. Mya was still in Vegas with Smithy apparently looking at casino expansions or something. Polly was doing super-secret song writing work in LA but was due back soon, and Sophie had nipped down to London doing influencer stuff. She could mither Bailey and Marcus, but she knew she wouldn’t.
‘The new bar down the road looks cute,’ Belle said as she wiped down the tables nearest the bar.
Paige appreciated the break from her internal dwelling but this particular topic wasn’t going to help. While she didn’t know exactly when she’d lost her mojo, she did suspect it had been around the time the new bar owner had rocked up. ‘It’s called Lulu, and it’s going to be an Instagram type prosecco bar. We don’t need to worry.’
‘Oh, I’m not worried. She seems nice though.’
Paige didn’t want to ask who, didn’t want to give any more time to thinking about Melanie, but she didn’t get that choice.
‘Melanie, right? Sophie said she was lovely when she came in here when you were in Vegas.’
Belle’s expression was open, clearly looking for more information. ‘You must have seen her at the Neighbourhood Business group thing right? When they were pitching for the lease?’
Paige sighed, knowing when Belle wasn’t going to leave something alone. ‘Yeah, it’s Melanie and Louisa and they’ve got a really clear business concept. It’s why she, I mean they, got the lease.’
‘And . . . ?’
‘And what?’
‘She’s cute too, right?’
‘Belle?’
‘Yes, boss?’
‘Get back to work now, please.’
Belle grinned before spinning around to grab more glasses, and Paige tried to think about anything other than her mojo or Melanie. She looked at the rotas instead, always a sure-fire way to keep her brain occupied.
Chapter One
Three months later
Paige
The name displayed on her phone finally disappeared and a notification of a missed call flashed up in its place. Her phone immediately lit up again; this time from a caller she actually did want to talk to. Simultaneously, her phone pinged the reminder she was due at the Neighbourhood Business Alliance meeting in fifteen minutes. With a quick glance around the bar she noted everything seemed to be in order. And so, with a quick wave at her bar staff, Paige answered the call as she strode out of Barbarella, phone to her ear.
‘Book darling, how are you? Sorry if the line is terrible, we’re sailing, you see. So, I’m going to be . . . and then we’ll . . .’
‘Hang on, where are you?’ Paige nearly tripped as she concentrated more on what was being said than avoiding the puddles filling the pavement in front of her.
‘I’m on the—Hang on.’ The voice on the end of the phone abruptly stopped and Paige hated to admit that she had no idea what was going on. Again. Still.
She moved further into the street until she was out of the way of the other pedestrians frequenting the Northern Quarter with their hustling and bustling. Paige pulled the phone away from her ear. She was still connected, what was going on? The idea that ignorance is bliss was laughable, and with every day that passed she lost a little more of the belief that this was a temporary blip.
Paige pulled her phone back to her face. ‘Hello?’
There was a rustling sound, a muffled thank you and then . . . ‘Bloody Hell, Kevin. What the hell do you call this? I asked for a Tom Collins. This is all Tom and no Collins. Come on, Flower.’
‘Gran, you were saying . . .’ prompted Paige as her feet now began punishing the pavement, all too aware of how Connie, her gran, preferred her drinks.
‘Yes Book, I’m on my way to you. I should be disembarking and dockside, what day is it now, Tuesday? Right, I should be on the dock tomorrow. Then I’ve just got to make my way up there from Southampton, so unless I find the man of my dreams between there and Manchester, I should be with you in no time.’
