Page 83 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

Finally he couldn’t bear it any longer. So he leant forward to close the gap between them and kissed her gently on the lips.

He felt her start before her hand moved around behind his head and drew him even closer to her. The kiss was nothing like he had ever felt before. Passion, desire, love all rushed forward into his consciousness as the kiss went on and on, deeper and deeper.

Finally, she pulled back to look at him with wide eyes.

‘I was supposed to be cheering you up,’ she told him, breathless.

He smiled slowly at her. ‘Well, you’ve certainly done that,’ he replied.

They looked at each other for a long time before Tiny suddenly leapt onto the bed to join them, breaking their eye contact and also the moment.

They both laughed as he ran round and round chasing his tail before finally settling down.

‘Well, I’d better let you boys settle down,’ said Hannah, getting up from the bed.

Still reeling from their unexpected kiss, Alex looked up at her. She was looking a little confused, a tiny crease appearing on her forehead as she too processed what had just happened.

He didn’t want to pressure her and so said the first thing that came into his mind. ‘I’ll watch the medal ceremony, I think.’

She puffed out a sigh of relief and he realised that he had been right not to push her about the kiss.

So they shared a knowing smile and said goodnight before Hannah turned around and headed downstairs.

Alex lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, wondering how the very worst of times could quickly become the best of them as well. And despite still being upset about the race, he went to sleep with a smile on his face.

45

It had been two weeks since the cocktail bar in the boathouse had been opened and on Friday night it was even busier.

It had also been two days since Hannah and Alex had kissed. Seeing him so upset when watching the Commonwealth Games where he should have won a medal had been hard. So hard that she had ended up kissing him as a way to comfort him. Except she couldn’t stop reliving that kiss, the way he had kissed her back.

And she still felt guilty. As much as she had relished being in his arms, she couldn’t ignore the tiny voice inside reminding her that he was probably still dating Aimee. But Alex wasn’t a cheater and nor was she.

Neither of them had referred to the kiss since then and she was grateful just to be friends with him, friends who were comfortable with each other. Friends who had shared one amazing kiss.

Thankfully Ella and Beth had come back to help out in the cocktail bar that weekend and were proving just the distraction that she needed.

‘That was a great idea,’ said Beth, flexing her biceps after the self-defence class which they had just finished early on Saturday morning.

Ella rolled her eyes. ‘I can do more damage with my stiletto than my hands,’ she said.

‘I think those false nails could be your biggest weapon, to be honest,’ said Hannah.

Ella gave a fake roar and raked her French tips through the air as if they were claws.

It had been Aimee’s tentative idea to Alex about self-defence classes that had triggered their interest. Aimee was unsure about a new direction so Alex had suggested that she teach the girls first to see how she got on.

Despite her guilt over kissing Alex and jealousy over their dating, Hannah had begun to like Aimee. She was kind and funny and was a really good teacher as well.

‘Those self-defence tips were amazing,’ said Hannah as they sat down afterwards for a coffee. She had decided to not open up the café until 10a.m., just to give herself a bit of breathing space.

They all breathed a sigh of satisfaction before looking out across the lake from the veranda.

‘What a lovely day,’ said Lily. ‘But you know what, I feel more empowered thanks to Aimee.’

‘Absolutely,’ said Beth. ‘If anyone ever tries it on with me on the tube, then I’m going to try out that trick with the fingers.’

‘Or you could just wear slightly longer skirts,’ murmured Ella.