Page 8 of A Poisonous Plot

“Of course I am,” he quipped, then shifted his leg out of the way when she went to kick him.

“I should be excited,” she agreed reluctantly. “I hate that I’m stressing about this. I’ll open in two weeks.” She took a deep breath. “That means I have some work to do.”

Chapter Four

The Pengelly GardenCentre was located to the north of the airport. As well as selling plants, garden furniture and a selection of gifts and cards, it also boasted a cafe and a farm shop with a selection of fruits, vegetables and herbs. When Lily had met the owner, Gordon Pengelly, on one of her previous visits, he’d told her the business had started as his own private vegetable garden which had got out of hand.

The produce was great quality and Lily had been utilising it for her ice cream experiments. She’d continue to do so when the shop opened, and intended to have a seasonal menu, alongside the staples of vanilla and chocolate.

As part of her push to get ready for opening the shop, she was meeting with Gordon to get a list of the fruits and herbs he could supply her with over the next few months. She’d finalise the menu based on that.

It still felt a little daunting. She knew Flynn was right that she should stop panicking about it and open the shop, but the thought of it made her insides twist. That was probably mostly imposter syndrome. She felt in no way qualified to open an ice cream shop, even though the feedback on her flavours couldn’t be better.

“I think that’s everything I can offer,” Gordon told her, leaning back in his chair, across from Lily. His office at the back of the garden centre was spacious and, judging by the number of people who’d come and gone while they chatted, he seemed to have an open-door policy.

Lily glanced down at her notes. “I’ll go through all this and decide on the menu. Then I can let you know what I’ll need.” She smiled uncertainly, reminding herself that she was on a steep learning curve and everything would get easier. “I guess I won’t know the exact quantities I’ll need to start with, but you said you can be flexible.”

“Of course.” He smiled and interlaced his fingers across his round belly. “Not a problem.”

A female voice interrupted them. “It’s great that you’re going with seasonal produce for your flavours.”

Lily’s gaze snapped up to Gordon’s daughter, Sally. She’d been in and out of the office a few times and wasn’t shy about offering her opinions on Lily’s business venture. Not that Lily minded, especially as she seemed to have a head for business.

“It will keep things interesting for the locals too,” Sally went on, idly curling her long blonde hair around her finger as she spoke. “Never knowing what will be on the menu. You’ll get people coming in purely out of curiosity.”

Lily shifted in the uncomfortable wooden chair. “I was going to stick to the same menu for a few months. I’ll change the menu with the seasons.”

“Oh.” Sally frowned and leaned against the desk. “I assumed you’d change the menu from one week to the next, depending on what ingredients are available, or even from day to day during the busy season.”

“I’d have to keep printing the menu, so it wouldn’t be great from an environmental perspective.”

“I assumed you’d just have a blackboard,” Sally said blithely. “But of course if you have printed menus it wouldn’t make sense.”

Lily’s stomach tightened. Why hadn’t she thought of having a blackboard? That made way more sense. Apparently, she’d been too caught up in perfecting the ice cream to really consider the basic setup of the shop.

“It’s a good idea,” she said, nodding.

“It would also work better for us. Then you could take more of the stock we need to get rid of. For example, berries which are only available for a limited period.”

Lily continued to nod. “That’s a good idea. I’m also happy to be flexible about what I take from you.”

“Great.” Sally moved past the desk and patted her dad on the shoulder. “It sounds as though it will be a really positive working relationship.”

He squeezed her hand. “Sally has good business instincts,” he told Lily.

“You must be very happy to have her around.”

“I am,” he said with a pointed look at his daughter. “I’m sure the place would go to pot without her.”

Sally rolled her eyes. “You managed fine while I was away at sixth form, and then university.” She cast her gaze to Lily. “He’s not happy with me because I’m moving back to the mainland at the end of the summer.”

“More studying?” Lily asked.

“No. I just graduated. It’s finally time to start my career. If I can find a job, anyway.”

“I don’t know why you can’t find something on the islands,” Gordon grumbled.

“Because there are very limited career options here,” Sally told him. “As you well know. How many more times are we going to have this conversation?” She smiled at him affectionately.

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