Page 44 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

Ben rolled his eyes. ‘Yes, that was our intention all along, Del. Now, about those paddleboards?’

Del gave him a quick smile. ‘On their way. Any day now. Is that the time? I’ve got to pick someone up.’

And with that, he disappeared quickly down the stairs.

Ben sighed before looking at Alex. ‘Do you think you’ll manage up here OK?’

‘Absolutely,’ said Alex, nodding. ‘It’s the nicest flat I’ve ever lived in.’

It was true. The feel of the place matched the warmth and cosiness of the hotel.

At the sound of the patter of paws, they all turned around to find Tiny making his way up the stairs. A smaller dog would have struggled but Tiny was growing bigger day by day, his coat already becoming shaggy and his legs longer.

His black face appeared at the top of the stairs and he wandered over to slump on Alex’s good foot with a heavy sigh. Alex could already see a line of drool that was now strung across his trainer laces.

‘What do you think, Tiny?’ asked Hannah, bending down to stroke his head. ‘Do you think you’ll be happy up here? Because if Alex doesn’t want to move in here, I definitely would!’

Alex looked around at the cosy apartment and allowed himself a brief daydream of what it would mean to live there with Hannah. To distract himself, he sank down onto the bed and picked up Tiny to sit next to him on the mattress.

‘It’s great,’ he said. ‘But we still need to sort out the rent, remember?’

Ben nodded. ‘First thing is for you to get that foot mended. And when was the last time you had an actual holiday? Apart from our lads’ week in Las Vegas.’

Hannah’s eyes gleamed. ‘Oooh, tell me more,’ she said.

‘Not on your life,’ said Ben quickly, shaking his head. ‘You know what they say about Vegas.’

‘Awww,’ moaned Hannah. ‘I never get to hear the juicy gossip.’

‘Good thing too,’ Ben told her. ‘We don’t want to corrupt your innocent mind.’ He turned to look at Alex. ‘So, what do you say? Just you and Tiny, living the countryside dream out here. You could stay here for the summer. Sounds like a great idea to me.’

Alex looked down at the dog who was staring up at him in adoration with big black eyes. Although that could just be because lunchtime was nearly upon them, Alex reminded himself.

He had always dreamt of having a dog. And the thought of all that fresh air, without the strict training schedule, was extremely tempting. They could walk without thinking about records and setting a decent pace. He could relax and enjoy the tremendous view, for once. All the pressure had been taken away from him, even though he was still trying to work out what was left in its place instead.

Perhaps it could work. Perhaps taking the summer to take stock of all of his life might just be the break that he had been thinking of.

Finally, there was Hannah. He loved his friends and the Jackson family as a whole. They were like a second family to him. But the temptation of spending some quality time with Hannah every single day was the biggest reason of all that he could find, despite her only wanting to be friends. He glanced across and found her blue eyes staring into his and began to nod without even thinking about it.

‘That’s a yes?’ asked Hannah tentatively. ‘You’ll stay for the summer?’

Alex carried on nodding as if in a dream. ‘It’s a yes.’

‘Brilliant!’ exclaimed Ben.

‘That’s wonderful news,’ she said, looking delighted. Standing nearby, she smelled of fresh air, sugar from her baking and the soft flowery perfume that she always wore. His senses reeled for a second until he dragged himself back into the present.

‘Looks like we’re both starting again at the boathouse,’ he told her.

‘Sounds like it,’ she said, breaking into a nervous smile.

And he found himself wondering just what the summer might bring both of them and their friendship.

23

Once the boathouse had been decorated, Hannah felt as if opening day in a week’s time was charging towards her at full speed. The date had been set in stone because all the marketing that Ella had put together had stated the spring bank holiday as the opening weekend for the café.

Even with the fear deep inside, she was pleased with the turquoise touches that she had discussed with Lily. The pop of coloured tiles along the bar separating the kitchen and the main room was just right and tied in perfectly with the new chairs in the same colour. The rest of the room was cool and neutral pale blues and warm oak wood.