Page 42 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

As always, he was being kind. But her flight mode kicked in and suddenly she couldn’t face him and the reality of what she had done. How everything had changed between them.

‘Well, I’m going to have an early night,’ she said quickly, going to walk past him.

But Alex stepped across to block the doorway so she couldn’t get past.

‘You OK?’ she heard him ask in a soft tone.

Hannah gulped. She couldn’t meet his eyes. All she could think of was the memory of her leaping into his arms to kiss him the previous night. So instead she gazed down at their feet.

‘I’m so sorry about last night,’ she muttered. ‘I hope I didn’t upset you.’

‘Of course not. Don’t worry about it,’ she heard him say. ‘It was just Frankie’s cocktails, as usual.’

Hannah found herself thinking that she wasn’t entirely sure that it was.

Still staring at her trainers, she jumped when she suddenly felt him take her chin with his fingers and drag her face up to look into his.

He smiled at her. ‘Maybe you just needed to let go some of your tension about opening the café,’ he said.

‘Maybe.’ She couldn’t stop her face from blushing but as she finally forced herself to look into his eyes, she saw nothing but sympathy. Or was there something else there, she found herself wondering.

‘Well, anytime you feel that stress again, you can totally use me, if you like,’ he carried on.

Was he flirting with her? Surely not. But for some reason, she found her breath catching in her chest as he let go of her chin to reach out to stroke a stray wisp of hair away from her face.

For a second they stared at each other. She so wanted to trust him. But Sean’s text the previous evening still burned in her brain. Relationships were bad, she had trained herself to think. No matter how lovely Alex was.

‘Don’t worry,’ Hannah found herself saying in an overly bright voice. ‘I’m sure I won’t get that stressed again so I’ll leave you alone from now on, I promise.’

Alex’s hand immediately dropped from holding her face.

‘Especially if I don’t indulge in one of Frankie’s cocktails again,’ she added, fixing a wide smile on her face.

‘Of course,’ he replied. ‘They are pretty lethal, aren’t they?’

But his smile didn’t reach as far as his eyes, she noted. She hoped she wasn’t upsetting him. Surely he didn’t want to take things further than just friends?

At the sound of the door opening and Walter walking into the kitchen, Alex abruptly turned away, telling Hannah that he was taking Tiny out for a walk.

Still standing in the same position, Hannah puffed out a sigh, realising she’d been holding her breath whilst he had been so close to her. Since when did she have that kind of reaction to being around Alex?

She had told him that she would never do anything like that again to embarrass him. The kiss had ruined everything between them, she felt. Because, despite her telling him otherwise, all she wanted to do in that moment was kiss him again.

And yet she knew that could never happen. It was for the best, after all.

22

A few days later, Alex watched as Ben and Dodgy Del manoeuvred a mattress up the staircase to the apartment in the boathouse.

Having watched them carry up a few pieces of furniture, he felt completely hopeless and hated the feeling. All of his life he had been blessed with good health and an athletic body. But suddenly he was at a loss. He couldn’t do everything that he wanted and he felt the frustration growing inside of him.

Even walking Tiny was challenging because although he was down to only one crutch now, he still had to be careful when moving around so he didn’t further injure his foot.

The only time he felt like his old self was when he swam in the lake, a daily occurrence now that he had gotten used to it. He certainly enjoyed the feeling of being in the water and the weightlessness meant that he could briefly forget about his broken foot as well. He even found himself encouraging Tiny to join him, although he seemed a little reluctant to go any deeper than his paws.

And yet he couldn’t deny that he was enjoying having a dog. Tiny gave him the emotional support he needed when his foot ached and he felt helpless. Even that morning after breakfast, when he could feel himself getting frustrated and agitated as he sat in the lounge, suddenly Tiny was there next to him. With one bound of his ever-lengthening legs, he had leapt onto the sofa and snuggled into Alex. When the puppy’s breathing steadied as he drifted into his morning nap, Alex couldn’t help but feel calmer as he watched the rise and fall of the dog’s black furry stomach.

The rest of the time, apart from the obedience training of Tiny, there wasn’t much else for him to do at Maple Tree Lodge. Everyone else was busy with the hotel and keeping the guests happy.