Page 51 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

He was glad of the compliment but felt the need to correct her. ‘Thanks, but I still want the same things that most people want.’

‘Like what?’

‘I want to settle somewhere,’ he replied.

‘Well, there’s worse places,’ she told him, laughing before looking over at the boathouse nearby. ‘I wish I could bottle your confidence and take it with me. I’m dreading running a café, to be honest.’

‘You don’t want to have your own place?’ he asked.

She bit her lip. ‘Actually, yes, I do,’ she said softly. ‘I’m just not sure that I’m ready for it.’

‘You need to be single-minded and focused on what you really want,’ he told her. ‘If that’s the café then be brave and go for it.’

‘And what about you?’ she asked. ‘What do you want right now?’

The silence stretched out as he looked at her. Now was his chance. To tell her how he felt. To even ask her out on a date.

But in his hesitation, they were both distracted by Tiny suddenly leaping up to greet Lily as she came down the path towards them. And as Hannah got up to chase after the dog, Alex realised that he had missed his moment once again.

27

‘I haven’t got time for this,’ complained Hannah as she parked the car at the edge of Cranbridge village. ‘The café opens in two days’ time.’

‘You told me everything was all set. Besides, there’s always time for tea,’ said Dotty, before climbing out of the car. ‘And cakes,’ she added, with a smile.

‘You know, you keep telling me thatI’malready pretty good at making cakes,’ said Hannah. ‘So why do we have to go out for them instead?’

‘It’s called sussing out the competition,’ her grandmother told her before linking arms with her granddaughter and walking towards the centre of the village. ‘Besides, it’s good to get you away from the hotel occasionally. You’re too young to hide yourself away all the time.’

Hannah couldn’t disagree with her grandmother, especially with Cranbridge looking particularly beautiful that afternoon. Instead of a main street, there was a wide shallow river running down the middle of the village, with three ancient pedestrian stone bridges connecting either side over the clear, bubbling water. Hugging the river were a number of houses, all built in the familiar honey-coloured stone.

They walked past the Cranbridge Stores, a thriving corner shop which they had often used as it stocked local produce as well as pretty much everything else, and along Riverside Lane.

Hannah smiled at a few familiar faces but she didn’t know half as many people as her grandmother and they had to stop quite a few times to chat to local villagers before they finally reached their destination.

‘Nice day for it,’ said Dotty, pushing open the garden gate. ‘Shall we sit in the tea garden?’

At the end of the row of shops was a large walled garden which was full of colour and customers. Hannah couldn’t blame them for choosing such a pretty place to sit and have a morning break. It was a lovely setting, with the river nearby and the watermill slowly turning at the far end.

‘This place used to be so awful and overgrown,’ said Dotty, as they sat down at the only free table and chairs in the garden.

‘It certainly isn’t now,’ replied Hannah, looking around at the beautifully cared for plants around them. The air was alive with the sound of bees as they buzzed from one brightly coloured flower to the next, searching for nectar.

Her eyes moved on to the small indoor café alongside the garden, which was also full of people. It was certainly very popular, especially on a bright and sunny afternoon in May when everyone was desperate for the warmer days of late spring.

‘Hi,’ said a waitress, coming to stand next to their table. ‘Oh, hello, Dotty!’

‘Hello, Molly,’ replied Dotty. ‘I don’t know if you’ve met my granddaughter Hannah?’

‘Nice to meet you,’ said Molly, smiling down at Hannah.

‘You’ve done wonders with the place,’ said Dotty, before turning to Hannah. ‘Molly owns the tea room.’

Hannah smiled. ‘Yeah, I kind of got that, Grandma,’ she said, holding up the menu on the table which said Molly’s Tea Room.

Dotty looked back at Molly. ‘How’s business?’ she asked.

‘Busy,’ said Molly. ‘And I’m about to get even busier,’ she added, holding her stomach where Hannah suddenly realised she had a small baby bump.