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‘Come on,’ he said, taking her hand without even thinking about it and pulling her up the beach. ‘Ice cream time.’ He held it for not more than ten strides before letting go, hoping he hadn’t overstepped a mark, pretending it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t a big deal, so why did he like the feel of her hand inside his so much?
He bought her a cornet with a flake and strawberry sauce; he plumped for chocolate, and they sat on a bench looking out to a sun-sprinkled seascape in a companiable silence while they ate.
‘Sabrina,’ Teddy asked eventually, breaking into herreverie, ‘do you really think a lunchtimefasta pastainitiative might work?’
‘I don’t see why not,’ Sabrina. ‘People eat on the go these days, have lunch at their desks. There’s often someone in an office that is sent out to collect breakfast or sandwich orders, so I can easily imagine one of the big firms nearby ordering pasta pots from you and getting a runner to pick them up. And if they’re not quite hot enough when they arrive, the container would be easily microwaveable, one quick minute blast and Bob’s your uncle. You wouldn’t need a massive takeaway menu: a few standards, a vegan option, and a changing special. Same with pizza slices. A single giant triangle. I even thought about pizzas in the restaurant shaped like an initial for special occasions.’
‘Now that idea I like,’ said Teddy.
‘You’d have to use the same amount of dough for an M as an I of course, to avoid any complaining. Just brainstorming; I expect some of my ideas to fall on stony ground, but not many.’
Teddy smiled at her, a lopsided smile that set off a small warm incendiary bomb inside her that she wasn’t expecting.
She wasn’t being big-headed, he knew. She was more confident in her work than she was in herself, that was clear.
‘You really are an enigma,’ he said.
‘Tell me about it,’ she replied.
‘Okay, playing devil’s advocate, what would you do with Ciaoissimo if they ever came to you and told you they wanted to take over the world.’
‘I wouldn’t work with them,’ answered Sabrina. ‘Knowing what I know.’
‘No, really, humour me.’
‘Okay,’ she began slowly. ‘I’d go back to basics withthem. I’d make sure I had a mission statement which was at the heart of my business. What do I want to do? I want to bring Italy to Yorkshire, give my customers an unforgettable dining experience—’
‘It certainly does that,’ said Teddy with a sneer.
‘It hasn’t got its fundamentals right, but it’s forged ahead nevertheless. So, there’s a Ciaoissimo in Whitby and one in Scarborough, yes?’ Sabrina asked him.
‘That’s right. The one in Shoresend will be the third.’
‘They’re spending their money on all the wrong things. Who owns it?’
‘A group, that’s as much as I know.’
‘If they’re a limited company, you can access their records.’
‘I did; none of the names mean anything to me,’ said Teddy. ‘What do I do?’ he went on. ‘Sell up and move? I don’t want to. Why the dirty tricks? Why do they feel the need to drive me out to set up themselves?’
‘Because it’s run by people who aren’t as business savvy as they think they are and they see you as competition that has to be eliminated when really you could, at a push, co-exist because your clientele base, with some crossover of course, is quite different. I was thinking, you could ask your customers when they leave to give you a positive review online and if they do, they can have a free dessert or coffee the next time they come for a meal.’
‘Is that ethical?’ asked Teddy.
‘Well… it’s a sort of bribery, yes, but you do need more good reviews. It’s a negative age and people are more likely to publicly complain than praise. You’d just be asking politely if they’d take the time to do that for you if they’ve had a nice meal. Most people won’t have thought about doing it and they’ll make the effort once you tell them it would help yourbusiness. You’re not exactly forcing anyone, just rewarding some kindness.’
‘Yes, that’s a good idea.’
‘Ciaoissimo as a company are obviously not community-minded, which will do them harm with locals but not so much with holidaymakers. They seem to be throwing investment at it at the moment, like a hobby… a racehorse venture, but if it doesn’t start earning its money back soon, it’ll either fold or they’ll get someone in to turn it around. That’s when they might up their game and become your real direct competition.’
‘And then it’s goodbye Teddy.’
‘You never say never; there’s always hope.’ Sabrina remembered someone very special telling her so at times when she’d doubted they’d ever be able to rescue a failing business.
They sat on the bench long past the point when they’d eaten the last of their cones, just enjoying the sunshine and people-watching. A little girl in a frilly swimming costume and a pink hat was attempting to make a sandcastle but spilt every shovel of sand before it reached her bucket. Sabrina wondered if she’d ever taken Linnet to the beach and tried to force her brain to bring just one memory of that forward, but there was nothing. Sometimes walking round and round in her head got tiring. She could have closed her eyes and gone to sleep in the sun and hoped that the seagulls that featured in her memories and her dreams would take pity on her and bring her some clues about her other life on their wings.
She felt at peace here, soaking up the warmth and the seaside sounds and the easy company of this man at her side. She hoped the day would kick against the clock, force its hands to brake so she could have longer resting on this lovely solid oasis where everything felt certain and uncomplicated.
