Page 96 of New Beginnings on Railway Lane

Ryan had decided to hold his first Italian artisan restaurant on Saturday night and had been reluctantly persuaded by Katy to add a heart-shaped dessert in keeping with the celebrations.

When he had rolled his eyes at her suggestion, she had shaken her head. ‘We’re fully booked,’ she’d told him. ‘The trouble is that you’ve got no romance in you.’

He’d swiftly drawn her into his arms and given her a passionate kiss which had left both of them breathless.

‘What were you saying?’ he’d murmured against her lips.

‘Well, maybe a little romance,’ she’d told him, reaching out to kiss him once more.

He smiled to himself in memory. It was love, that much he knew by now. But it was fruitless because he knew that she was still leaving.

His life in Cranfield was so entwined with hers that he couldn’t even think about how he was going to carry on without her.

The businesses that she had helped him to build would carry on, but he knew that his heart would leave with her.

52

Late on Friday afternoon, Katy was pacing up and down on the platform when Harriet saw her.

‘You okay?’ asked Harriet, closing the front door to the lavender spa and walking up with Paddington.

‘The travel blog lady was stuck in traffic and is running late,’ said Katy, continuing to pace. ‘I’m just really really nervous. What if she hates it? What if the friend she’s bringing with her hates it? What if something goes wrong? What if—’

‘Okay,’ said Harriet, taking her firmly by the shoulders. ‘You need to breathe.’ She looked over as Ryan headed out of the ticket office entrance. ‘Sort her out, would you?’ Harriet said to him. ‘She’s in a right state.’

‘It’s just so important that it works,’ said Katy, biting her lip.

Ryan drew her into his arms and Harriet gave them a knowing smile before she disappeared into the darkening late afternoon with Paddington. Katy and Ryan’s relationship was an open secret in Cranfield, despite nobody owning up to knowing all about it.

‘Of course it will work,’ he told her, giving her a hug. ‘Why wouldn’t it? The place looks great.’

‘I know, but there’s so much riding on it,’ said Katy, drooping at the pressure.

'First of all, we have a steady income from the coffee shop, the pizzas and the restaurant. None of which we had in September, if you remember,’ he reminded her.

But Katy knew that the accommodation would bring in the bulk of the money needed to keep the station from being repossessed.

‘We’ll be okay,’ Ryan told her.

Katy nodded her head, willing herself to be more positive.

They both turned their heads as they saw car lights draw nearer until stopping at the front entrance to the station.

‘No going back now,’ she told him, drawing herself up straight.

She desperately needed to know that the station would be saved. She fixed a smile on her face and headed over with a warm welcome for the two women.

To her relief, all of her fears and nerves soon disappeared when she saw the blogger’s reaction.

‘This is wonderful,’ she told Katy, picking up one of the old timetable books that had been artistically placed on the coffee table inside the carriage. ‘It feels luxurious but authentic, if you know what I mean.’

‘I do,’ replied Katy. ‘And have you seen the view?’

From the elevated position on the tracks, the window gave a panoramic view of the countryside beyond, which was bathed in bright winter sunlight.

Once the blogger was settled into her accommodation, Katy headed back to the coffee shop.

‘And?’ asked Ryan almost immediately when she went into the room.