Page 26 of New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Cafe
‘He just mentioned it in passing,’ Leo added quickly.
‘Er, I’m not really sure yet, it depends on a few things…’
‘Like…’
‘Oh, there you are!’ said Rose, on her way to the bar. ‘Grace and I wondered where you’d got to.’
‘Sorry, I can go…’ said Leo, making to stand up. Rose held a hand up to stop him.
‘You’re fine where you are. Tori looks much happier talking to you anyway…’
‘I came here with you and the girls, I’d better—’ said Tori.
‘We’ll come and find you before we leave,’ Rose cut in, mouthing the word ‘hottie’ and gesturing wildly at Leo behind his back. Tori rolled her eyes and ushered Rose away.
‘Sorry about that,’ she said, feeling her insides fizz.
‘No worries,’ laughed Leo. ‘Have you and Rose been friends long?’
‘Since we were kids. She used to come and stay here every summer with her Aunt Jean; we got on instantly, like kids do. What about you? You’re not from around here, are you? I mean… I think I’d have remembered if I’d seen you before…’God, why did she say that?She sounded like a stalker. She took a big glug of wine.
‘I’m from Ashford, so fairly local. When the job came up in Rye I applied straight away and… here I am.’
‘And do you like it? Being a firefighter, I mean.’
‘Oh, yeah, I love it. It’s really interesting work—’
‘Although less interesting when you’re called out to rescue a cat from a tree…’
‘Well, I met you, didn’t I?’ He reached to pick up his pint glass. There was a pause. He cleared his throat. ‘Listen, Tori. I was wondering—’
‘Sorry, I think Rose wants me,’ she lied, jumping up from the bar stool as if it was red hot. ‘It was lovely to see you, Leo – thanks again for the drink.’ She grabbed her glass of wine and dashed across the packed pub as quickly as she could.
Had Leo been about to ask her on a date?She hoped not. It was too soon. Besides, Leo couldn’t be interested inher. She shook her head. She’d run off like a petrified rabbit in the headlights and now he probably thought she was a total idiot. She exhaled slowly. Well, whatever he’d planned to ask, she was glad she hadn’t hung around to find out. Single life was most definitely the way forward and she didn’t plan on changing her mind about that anytime soon.
Chapter 10
Sleep evaded Tori that night. Not only did she keep coming back to what Leo might have been about to ask her in the pub, she also couldn’t stop thinking about what her mum had said. Could she really consider taking the Cosy Cup on permanently? Did she even want to? She looked at the clock. It was 3am and she hadn’t slept a wink. She sat up, threw back the duvet, flicked on the bedside lamp and reached for her phone. Ernie looked up at her from the foot of the bed, bleary-eyed.
‘Sorry Ern, I can’t sleep.’
The huge ginger cat made his feelings known by slowly turning his head away and curling up into an even tighter ball. His message was clear: just because Tori was up at an ungodly hour, it didn’t mean he had to join her.
Tori opened the photo app on her phone and began scrolling through her most recent set of pictures. They were all of Tokyo, her favourite place from her travels with Ryan. She smiled as she flicked through image after image of historictemples and picturesque gardens. When she came across a photo of Ryan, a wave of sadness swept over her. The photo was taken in front of the Senso-ji Temple, and Ryan was smiling broadly with his arms spread skyward. She exhaled deeply, her grip constricting around the phone. Had it really been just a few weeks since they’d been in Tokyo, looking forward to their future together? It felt like a lifetime ago. She almost didn’t recognize the man in the picture. Had she everreallyknown him? She had trusted him, and he had let her down… why? She didn’t know. The feeling of nausea in her stomach turned to a red-hot fury. She jabbed her finger on the delete button and pressed down hard. The picture of Ryan vanished. If only it was that easy to delete Ryan from her mind too.
She knew trying to sleep now would be pointless; she may as well get up and make some hot milk. The sight awaiting her when she got to the kitchen surprised her. Joyce was sat at the kitchen table, laptop open, surrounded by Post-it notes.
‘Mum? What are you doing up?’ Tori asked, rubbing her eyes. ‘What’s all this?’ She pointed to the mess of notes strewn across the table. ‘You look exhausted. Have you been here all night?’
‘Pretty much. Listen, Tori, I’ve got something really important to talk to you about, I’ve had this idea—’
‘Slow down, Mum. I was going to make some hot milk. Fancy some?’
‘No, look, just sit down for a second, will you?’
‘Whatisall this?’ repeated Tori, pulling up a seat. ‘Looks like you’ve been busy—’
‘I have, I’ve come up with a genius idea. I’ve been up all night thinking about it—’
