Page 100 of The Village Inn of Secret Dream

The soft lighting continued with the fire, which was now permanently lit, as well as tea lights in jam jars on every table. In addition, wrapped around the oak beams overhead, she had placed some pine branches and holly, along with many strings of fairy lights. The whole ceiling seemed to now give off a magic glow and softened up the place.

Also softer were the new seat pads she had made, which helped make the chairs far more comfortable. In their pastel shades with matching napkins on the tables, it looked modern but welcoming. Soft, cosy, warm and inviting. And, hopefully, it made the place look just a little bit special. Or at least, Belle thought it did.

She even had confidence about the return of Aaron and Cassie. Aaron was doing a great job as the new commis chef and Cassie’s friend, Rachel, would be a great addition as waiting staff. They were far more excited and enthusiastic about Brad’s cooking than they ever had been about the dreaded Andre’s haute cuisine.

So, all in all, she was hopeful that the trial run that evening with Pete’s family and friends would be a success.

So why was she nervous? She glanced down at her blue wrap-around top. It wasn’t even dark navy. It was a beautiful turquoise which she had admired for ages in her pile of handmade clothing but had never had the courage to wear. But with the girls’ encouragement, and with everything else that had happened in the past few months, she had decided that enough was enough.

After all, maybe it was finally time to embrace change for herself. She had told Pete he needed to change, so wasn’t it right that she follow her own advice?

But that didn’t stop her nerves rattling as she waited for Pete’s reaction since he hadn’t seen her before she had changed for the evening.

So she held her breath as he came to stand next to her, looking at the restaurant.

‘Well,’ he said. ‘I have to admit defeat. You’ve got this exactly right.’

‘Thank you,’ she said.

He glanced down at her. ‘So are we all set?’ he asked.

‘I think so,’ she told him. ‘Everyone should be arriving in about ten minutes’ time.’

He nodded. ‘Excellent. I’ll go check on Brad.’

But just as he turned to head towards the kitchen, he stopped and looked back at her.

Belle took in a sharp intake of breath as he stared at her for a moment.

‘Have you done something different with your hair?’ he finally asked.

She touched her head where her long hair was tied back in a messy bun. ‘I don’t think so,’ she replied, still keeping her smile fixed on her face.

‘Well, something’s different,’ he said, before shrugging his shoulders and wandering away.

Belle let out her held breath with a long sigh. He hadn’t even noticed that she was in a new colour, she realised. All he knew was that she was looking different. Which left her wondering whether that was a good or bad thing.

The one thing she didn’t need to wonder about was the success of the restaurant. The small group of family and friends had nothing but praise about the new décor and the new menu.

‘This pie is tremendous,’ said Cathy, finishing off the gravy by pouring it over her mash.

‘You should try the steak,’ replied Josh. ‘It’s so tender. I’ve never had steak that good.’

‘And it’s all local too,’ said Pete, who had been hovering nervously nearby.

‘Excellent,’ said Josh, before giving his fiancée a tender slap with his fingers as she reached over to try one of his home-made chips. ‘Oi! Get your own.’

All in all, the future was looking up, thought Belle as she headed over to the bar to pick up some more drinks for the tables.

The inn had a few more customers as well, she realised. Now that the snow had thawed outside, people were anxious to get out and about once more.

‘We’ve had quite a few enquiries about booking a table for the restaurant,’ said Lucy, as Belle came to order the drinks that they needed.

Lucy and Tom were manning the bar for that evening, just in case there had been a problem. But it was almost as if Belle had nothing to do as Cassie and Rachel had everything under control.

‘That’s great,’ Belle told her.

Lucy looked at her. ‘What’s the matter?’ she asked softly. ‘Is everything going okay?’