Page 89 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

‘Have dinner with me,’ he murmured against her lips.

‘Of course,’ she replied. ‘Your place or mine?’

It was a running joke between them. They would sit at the dinner table with the family, from the outside as if nothing had changed, all the while brushing their hands against each other’s under the table and wishing the time away until they were alone again.

‘I could always cook here one evening,’ she told him.

But Alex shook his head. ‘I mean, let’s go out one night,’ he told her, kissing her on the nose.

Her eyebrows shot up. ‘Out like a date?’ she asked.

‘Notlikea date,’ he said, smiling down at her. ‘I mean, an actual date.’

‘Oh.’

‘What’s the problem?’ he asked. ‘We have dinner all the time.’

She nodded. ‘We do.’

‘With your family,’ he added. ‘This time I want it to be just you and me. And I need to talk to your brother. I want to make this official, let the whole world know. Is that OK with you?’

She loved that he respected her feelings and was so patient with her.

‘So?’ he prompted her. ‘What do you think?’

‘It feels like pressure having a date,’ she confessed, biting her lip.

He drew her close so she felt safe and warm once more. ‘It won’t feel like pressure because you’ll be with me. And I’ll be with you. It’s just us.’

She began to relax once more as he held her.

‘And if you feel nervous, just remember that because it’s a date, there’ll be an awful lot of kissing going on,’ he added, with a gleam in his eyes.

She laughed and reached up to kiss him once more.

And as they kissed again, she found herself thinking, what harm could one date do?

48

Alex felt as if he were riding on cloud nine.

Almost all the stars had aligned and he felt as if he were floating most of the time. Somehow, and he still couldn’t work out how it had finally happened, he had ended up with Hannah in his arms at long last. They were kissing, and enjoying each other’s company, and it felt as if it were a dream. He couldn’t stop smiling. She cared for him and he cared for her. It felt natural and uncomplicated.

He was in serious danger of losing his heart to her and he didn’t care. She wasn’t Claire. She was more amazing, more beautiful, more kind, more generous in spirit. She was, in short, fast becoming the love of his life.

And yet the sadness that he still didn’t have his parents’ support of his new life weighed over him a little. But he knew that by taking a stand he had found happiness, not only in his personal life but in his professional life as well.

He was taking huge satisfaction from his work each day. People with no paddleboarding abilities or confidence in swimming were leaving each day stronger and more motivated towards getting fit. They were more confident in their abilities and happier too. He had seen it at close hand with the swimming club. He had so many ideas that he was buzzing as to what the future might hold. New clubs, new training and teaching opportunities all waited for him in the coming months.

But all that had to wait.

Because before he and Hannah had a future, there was one more hurdle to get across. And it was a big one.

Ben had always been her protective big brother. That much he knew from over the years. He had always declared that nobody was good enough for his little sister. So where did that leave Alex?

He decided to tell him when they were relaxed and having Jake there would help, he knew. So he waited patiently for a few weeks until Jake was able to visit them again. Then, one Sunday night when the bar was relatively quiet, he invited Ben and Jake to a game of snooker in the snug.

‘I can’t get over how popular that swim club has become,’ said Jake, lining up the triangle of balls.