Page 80 of New Beginnings on Railway Lane

But at least he would have Katy there for support if it didn’t, he reckoned. And he felt stronger that she would be there alongside him whatever happened.

42

Back upstairs, Katy sank down onto the bed feeling somewhat stunned. Her tactics to ambush Ryan into opening a pizza restaurant had worked!

So she was staying in Cranfield indefinitely? She had surprised herself by the ease with which she had agreed to Ryan’s request.

It wouldn’t matter if she was away from her flat in London for a while longer, would it? She wanted to stay here, help open the restaurant and watch Ryan succeed, she hoped.

She was pleased but also felt sorry for him, now that he had confessed as to what had happened in Rome. Confidence was something that she normally didn’t struggle with regarding her own work. Hopefully he could face his fears and begin cooking for a living once more. He was clearly very talented.

Just then, her phone lit up with a message from someone wanting to reserve a table at the restaurant for that Saturday night. She looked up at the mirror on the wardrobe door and allowed herself a smug smile. Although her expression did falter somewhat when she looked at what she was wearing – Ryan’s sweatshirt and a pair of soft pink pyjama bottoms! After all, it was hard to be smug in just her pyjamas.

She lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Did it matter that Ryan had seen her in her pyjamas? Hopefully not. Did it matter that she could still feel the pressure of his hand on her bottom?

She abruptly sat up. It was most definitely better to not even go down that train of thought, she told herself, no matter how fast her heart was beating.

Her phone lit up once more, this time with a message from Harriet.

The electricity’s back on! Coffee morning with the girls at the farmhouse in half an hour?

Katy quickly changed out of her pyjamas and grabbed some breakfast before heading outside to Flora’s farmhouse.

‘Good job we can use the kettle again,’ said Flora, as she poured them all a coffee.

‘Good job Grams has made her excellent muffins,’ said Libby, helping herself to the large pile of pastries in the middle of the kitchen table. ‘I missed breakfast.’

‘Looking forward to pizza for dinner though,’ said Harriet, with a grin.

Katy had told them of her news as soon as she had arrived.

‘I think it’s a great idea to run a restaurant in the station,’ said Flora smiling as she sat down.

‘I bet Ryan was mad though,’ added Libby, raising her eyebrows.

‘You could say that,’ said Katy with a grimace. ‘Apparently I have an attitude! Who knew?’

The three other women looked at her and grinned.

‘Shut up,’ she muttered, but she too was smiling. For some reason, she felt relaxed around these women. Perhaps it was because they were of a similar age, but she was beginning to get to know them and enjoy their company.

‘So when does the restaurant open?’ asked Harriet, surreptitiously feeding half her apple muffin to Paddington, who was lying next to her feet.

‘Friday night,’ said Katy. ‘And we’ve already had a couple of bookings come through so that’s exciting. I just need a bit of help with the décor again.’ She looked at Flora with a hopeful expression.

Flora smiled at her. ‘Of course. What were you thinking?’

‘I don’t know,’ Katy told her. ‘It needs to easily change from a coffee shop to a pizza restaurant each night. Just on Friday and Saturday night to start with. We’ll take it from there if it gets busier.’

Flora nodded thoughtfully. ‘I can make some pretty jam jars which are quite cute and rustic into which we can add some tea lights. And we can add some more fairy lights to make it more romantic.’

‘Sounds great,’ replied Katy.

‘What about the menu being written on a blackboard?’ suggested Flora. ‘Then you can easily take it down.’

‘That’s brilliant,’ said Katy.

‘It’s easy when you know how,’ muttered Flora, as ever modest.