Page 30 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

‘Told you so,’ said Dotty, with a wink.

Ben was frowning as he looked at Alex, struggling to pick up his crutches. ‘If this is going to be a more permanent fixture, I think we’d better add a couple of seats though.’

‘Agreed,’ she said, also looking with concern at Alex.

‘Don’t worry on my account,’ said Alex. ‘I’m hoping to get better day by day, not worse, I hope.’

‘I was thinking more of Grandma, to be honest,’ said Ben with a grin. ‘She might want a gin and tonic in a deck chair afterwards.’

‘Sounds marvellous,’ Dotty told her grandson, her eyes gleaming.

As Alex joined in with their laughter, he looked back across the water once more. It really would be the perfect therapy whilst his foot healed, he thought, and decided there and then to make it a daily routine.

16

‘When you invited us for the weekend, this wasn’t quite what I had in mind,’ said Ella with a sigh.

Hannah handed over a paintbrush. ‘I know,’ she told her. ‘But we’ve got to get these last walls painted before opening.’

Hannah was pleased that they were all together at long last. It had been a busy few weeks and it was great that Beth and Ella had come to stay at Maple Tree Lodge.

‘And as you were here anyway for Grandma’s birthday party tonight, I figured we could utilise the time,’ carried on Hannah.

‘She does love a party,’ conceded Ella. ‘And one of Frankie’s cocktails will go down very nicely after you’re making us work when it’s a Saturday.’

‘It’s so exciting,’ said Beth, tying back her long dark hair into a headscarf. ‘I can’t believe you’re going to have your very own café soon.’

Hannah glanced around at the many deliveries that had already arrived, including a few bottles of beer and wine, as well as water and cordials.

Hannah grimaced. ‘It’s not mine,’ she said quickly. ‘It’s part of the hotel.’

Lily frowned at her. ‘Except it’s all your responsibility,’ she told her. ‘We’ve got enough on our plates.’

Hannah’s insides clenched in fear. ‘But still, if it all goes wrong then the hotel won’t be affected,’ she carried on.

‘Why would it go wrong?’ asked Ella, putting on a shower cap over her blonde hair which was tied up in a bun.

Everyone else paused to look at her with raised eyebrows.

‘What?’ said Ella, with a shrug. ‘I’ve just had these highlights done and I don’t want to get paint in them.’

Hannah watched as Ella tucked a loose strand of perfectly straight hair into her shower cap. Her make-up was immaculate and discreet as usual, even with a slick of lip gloss on she looked gorgeous.

‘Very glamorous,’ murmured Lily. ‘Is that going on your blog?’

‘Not on your life,’ replied Ella. ‘My blog is all about high-end expectations and looking your best.’ She glanced down at the paintbrush she held in her beautifully manicured hands. ‘No offence but DIY doesn’t come close.’

Ella was always dressed conservatively. That morning, even to paint the café walls, she was dressed in a crisp white T-shirt and black jeans. Around her neck was the simple silver star pendant that Beth had given each of them.

Ella had started a blog which was slowly but surely drawing in more followers each week. It was just like Ella herself. Cool and fashionable with a hint of humour. Despite her fixation on looking perfect all the time, thankfully her friends knew that Ella was also huge hearted and would do anything for them.

However, Beth was frowning. ‘Shouldn’t your blog’s message be about what’s on the inside?’ she said. ‘Isn’t that even more important? Why can’t you tell your followers about that?’

‘Of course being bright and kind is important as well,’ Ella told her. ‘But you like to look good, don’t you? Well, present time excluded.’

Whilst Hannah and Lily were dressed in old shorts and T-shirts that they didn’t mind getting splattered with paint, Beth still retained the vintage style that she always wore.

Beth often scoured the charity shops in search of retro fashion and that day’s style was no exception. She wore a pair of extremely short cut-off denim dungarees which showed off a fabulous pair of legs. Underneath, she wore a Breton-striped T-shirt and on her feet a pair of Dr Martens boots. Somehow, as usual, she managed to pull it off with her own unique style.