Page 43 of The Little Board Game Café

‘Chicken and vegetable.’

‘Lovely. Finish yours first though,’ he said as Emily got up.

‘No, it’s fine. The customer comes first. Take a seat.’

She went through to the kitchen, put a second bowl of soup on a tray along with a freshly baked granary roll that he probably wouldn’t touch, a pat of butter, a jug of water and two glasses. She carried it out to the table and set it down in front of Peter.

‘Delicious,’ he said, slurping a spoonful.

He ripped open the roll and began to smother it with butter.

‘The bread isn’t keto,’ Emily said.

‘I kind of gave up on that. After you left. So silly to live with someone who could bake amazing cakes and never once try one. After you’d gone, I troughed my way through boxes and boxes of Mr Kipling.’

‘You never tasted my cakes so how do you know they’re amazing?’

‘Mrs Scott and Mrs Sinclair reported back to Mother.’

‘They were spying on me?’

‘Not spying exactly. Mother and I were worried about you.’

‘Your mother was worried about me?’

‘Yes, she’s always liked you. She was really upset when we split up.’

‘Your mother liked me?’

‘Stop repeating everything I say. Anyway, that day. In my kitchen. The day you left. I could smell how good your cakes were. The whole house smelled of them. The bread was delicious too. I found the loaf proving in the sitting room so I baked it.’

‘I’d forgotten all about that loaf.’

Peter put his spoon down and looked at Emily. ‘Em, do you really have a lunchtime rush? And an elevenses rush? Or are you struggling?’

‘I’m struggling.’

He glanced around.

‘It’s a bit…bare, Emily,’ he said. ‘Reminds me of the losers’ café in The Apprentice.’

‘Thanks for that. If you’ve come to criticise…’

She stood up.

‘No, no, I shouldn’t have said that,’ he said. ‘I was trying to make a joke. I know how much you love all those programmes. Honestly, Emily, I came here because I thought you might need cheering up. And I wanted to see if I could help in some way.’

She wondered what he was after. A reconciliation perhaps?

‘Help? Are you planning to get behind the counter and start serving scones?’

‘No, not that kind of help. Advice.’

‘You’ve never run a café, though, have you?’

‘No, I suppose not. But I do run a successful business.’ He took another mouthful of soup. ‘The trouble is, you’ve no footfall here. People don’t pass by. Though even if they did, well, from the outside, it doesn’t look particularly inviting.’

‘I’ve done my best, Peter,’ she said. ‘I didn’t exactly have unlimited funds or I might have been able to give it more kerb appeal.’