Page 19 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

‘Thankfully it’s much warmer up here,’ he added.

Hannah nodded. ‘Well, it is spring already.’

‘And I haven’t a single item in my calendar,’ he replied.

‘Well, you need time to recover before your next competition,’ she told him, glancing down at his broken foot encased in the protective boot.

But Alex shook his head. ‘No, I meant what I said in the kitchen. I truly am finished with competitions. Training. All of it.’

She could see the strain across his face as he spoke. He was always busy, she realised, thinking back over the years. Always on the go. Could he really tear himself away from all that success?

‘Well, you deserve some time off,’ she told him, thinking how rare it would be to see Alex relaxed and doing nothing. ‘Will you go on holiday to recuperate somewhere?’

He shrugged his shoulders. ‘Never really had a holiday, to be honest. If we went abroad, it was all about climate training or another competition. Now that that’s over…’ His voice trailed off as a frown crossed his face briefly before he looked at her once more. ‘Well, I’ve never had much time off before now, I’m sorry to confess. What about you? What holidays do you dream of?’

‘I’ve never had the money to travel.’ She looked out across the lake, sparkling under the sun. ‘Besides, if I’m honest, I’m happiest here.’

‘Well, that sounds like a plan. Especially as your brother has invited me to stay for as long as I want whilst I recuperate,’ he told her.

Hannah felt glad at the thought of seeing him every day. ‘That’s a brilliant idea,’ she told him. ‘There’s worse places to spend a staycation and we’d all love to have you here for a while longer.’

He looked pleased. ‘You wouldn’t get fed up with me?’ he asked, with a twinkle in his eye.

She shook her head. ‘Of course not,’ she replied.

And it was true. Alex was so easy to get along with. He never ruffled any feathers, just remained calm and steady.

‘Well, then how can I say no?’ he said, with a grin.

She laughed along with the joke, certain that he would only stay at Maple Tree Lodge for a short while before he got itchy feet to get out of there. Most people did. ‘Well, wherever you recuperate I really do think it’s a great idea for you to relax for a change.’

‘Well, I can’t take all the credit. It was your brother’s idea,’ replied Alex.

Hannah frowned when she thought back to Ben and Lily trying to persuade her to start her own business. ‘He has the occasional decent thought,’ she said, feeling irritated all of a sudden. ‘But most of them miss their target, to be honest.’

Alex studied her for a moment. ‘You’re talking about being manager of the Boathouse Café?’ he said.

She took a sharp breath. ‘You know about their crazy idea then?’ she asked, surprised.

He nodded. ‘But perhaps it’s not so crazy,’ he began.

She turned away from him to look back across the water. ‘Not you as well,’ she muttered.

‘You serve up cakes and pastries to the guests now,’ she heard him say. ‘What’s the difference?’

She turned back to look at him. ‘Because I’ll be seeing them face to face,’ she explained to him.

He looked confused. ‘You serve customers in the pub, don’t you?’ he asked.

‘Yes. But…’ Her voice trailed off and she huffed out a sigh.

‘But what?’ he asked gently.

She wondered whether she could tell him the truth and then decided of course she could. It was Alex and she trusted him implicitly. ‘But it’s not my food when I’m at the pub,’ she began. ‘So it doesn’t matter if it’s rubbish or not. I’m just a waitress. But this?’ She turned around to look back into the large room. ‘I’ll be setting myself up for everyone to complain when it all goes wrong.’

‘Hannah,’ said Alex gently. ‘I’ve tasted your cakes. Trust me, nobody’s going to complain.’

‘I just don’t think I’ll be very good at being a manager either,’ she told him, her lack of confidence bubbling to the surface. ‘Besides, with my dyslexia, can you imagine what state the paperwork will be in?’