I shake my head. ‘We dated for a few years and then split up as the arguments between us were huge. It was all my fault. I dated him for the wrong reason. Lucas came after a drunken one-night stand six years ago. Pete and I tried once again to make it work but I ended up telling him I didn’t love him.’
‘I can see why this place must be hard for you, Alice.’
‘Really?’
‘I know we agreed not to talk about this, but you were the one who ended…’
I can feel the old agitation at him creeping over me. ‘Noah, we had an agreement.’
Customers enter the shop behind us. I get the urge to shout at Noah but I must bite my tongue. Turning around, I greet them with a forced smile and welcome them to The Little Love Café.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
It’s mid-morning. My head is awash with worries about what I have done to Frankie’s business. The Rocco Reid drama has not calmed down on social media. It’s ablaze with emotional fans saying that his ex-girlfriend is now devastated and has hit the studio with a new record producer.
This morning, two couples had arguments. One resulted in the man walking out leaving the woman he was with in floods of tears. Noah cast me a worried look as I consoled the girlfriend and tried my hardest not to share my own views on love and relationships. Once they’d gone, Noah pointed out that the woman had tagged us into an emotional Facebook post about her horrible break-up argument with her boyfriend, who was now her ex –the curse of Heartbreak Café strikes again.It had garnered a lot of likes.
I stand by the counter while Noah makes the coffees for table three. ‘I never had to worry about things like the atmosphere or public relations in The Starfish Tea Shop.’
Noah smiles. ‘You probably had other things to worry about. I can’t believe that place lasted as long as it did.’
‘Probably because Ronald was delusional and more interested in his love life. I need to turn this place around, Noah.’ I turn around and survey the café. ‘I got us into this mess, so I need to fix it.’ I decide to do some cleaning. ‘I’m going to do a quick check and clean of the café’s toilets as I need to distract myself.’
As I emerge from the final cubicle, I spot a woman washing her hands. Her mass of blonde curly hair is piled on top of her head, two giant golden hoops hang from her ears and her slender arms are covered in an array of colourful and striking tattoos. She turns off the tap and puts her hands under the blowers. Smiling at me in the mirror she squirts on some of Frankie’s Little Love Café moisturising cream. ‘We need more places like this.’
‘Really?’
She nods. ‘I spend a lot of time reading all the little heart-warming stories behind the photos on Facebook. When my daughter was born, she had a lot of medical problems with her heart.’ The woman holds my attention. ‘Sorry, am I keeping you from your work?’
‘No, please carry on.’
‘We were in and out of hospital. It was a tough time. Things broke down between my boyfriend and I, so we split up. I’d got pregnant on our third date, so we were not really used to being in a couple. There was a lot of stress. Our baby daughter didn’t need two bickering parents by her bedside.’ She stands and fiddles with a runaway strand of hair. ‘When I wasn’t at the hospital doing my shift with our daughter I used to log on to X and Facebook. It sounds mad but The Little Love Cafégave me hope.’
‘Hope – what do you mean?’
‘I kept reading the café’s social media accounts and hoping things would turn out okay. We decided to give our relationship another go last month and are here to celebrate. Tomorrow is our little girl’s first birthday and she’s doing well.’
‘That’s great to hear.’
She turns to me. ‘I’ve seen the stuff about Heartbreak Café on Instagram.’
My shoulders sink. ‘It’s all my fault.’
‘Oh,’ says the woman, looking concerned. ‘Why is it all your fault?’
‘I lost control of my emotions. You see, I am nursing a broken heart and all my negativity around the concept of love has spilled into this place. I should never have asked my friend, Frankie, if I could manage it.’
The woman reaches out and rubs my arm. ‘The Rocco Reid drama wasn’t your fault. I never thought that was a real relationship. It was a publicity stunt.’
I cast her a knowing smile.
She continues. ‘Some say that this is just a gimmicky romance-themed café but it’s much more than that. It gives people hope. Everyone who comes here has a story to tell about love and how it got them through dark times in their lives or reunited two lost souls. Maybe you need to share more customer stories?’
‘Do you think so?’
She nods. ‘Put more love out into the world and you’ll get more back.’
Her words are still on my mind after lunch. Placing down the tray in front of two women sat in the pink booth nearest the flower wall, I can’t help but notice their beaming faces. ‘Here are your Cute Cappuccinos.’
