Page 32 of New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Cafe
Rose and Jake exchanged an awkward glance.
‘You’ll see,’ said Rose, tapping her nose. ‘Here you go,’ she said, passing Tori the largest glass of wine she had ever seen.
‘So, Mum’s had this great idea for the Cosy Cup—’ There was a knock at the door and all three dogs leapt up barking. ‘Shall I get it? I’m closest,’ said Tori, getting up from her seat.
‘Thanks,’ said Jake. ‘If this goes pear-shaped, it’s on you,’ he whispered to Rose.
‘If what goes pear-shaped?’ Tori asked. She opened the front door and found herself face to face with Leo. He was grinning, holding a bottle of wine in one hand and a cheesecake in the other. She stood completely still, in stunned silence.Leo?What was he doing here? Surely,hewasn’t the mystery dinner guest?
‘Tori, hi!’ he said, leaning forward and kissing her on the cheek as he stepped over the threshold. ‘Sorry I’m a bit late guys, I got halfway here and remembered Rose had asked me to bring dessert.’
Leo was the fourth dinner guest!Tori threw Rose a confused look. Rose shrugged and mouthed a half-hearted ‘sorry’ in her direction.
‘Brilliant, thanks, Leo,’ said Jake, stepping forward to break the silence. ‘Cheesecake, my absolute favourite.’
‘It’s only shop-bought, but I didn’t want to turn up empty-handed. Rose was pretty specific,’ said Leo.
Why had Rose invited Leo? She thought tonight was just about catching up with old friends. What were they up to? After everything she’d said about not being ready to date again, was Rose trying to throw her and Leo together?
‘Sorry,’ she said quickly, ‘I need to use the loo.’ She wanted a moment to gather her thoughts. She headed for the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water. Within seconds, Rose appeared in the doorway.
‘Please tell me this isn’t a set-up. I thought I explained I wasn’t ready to date,’ groaned Tori.
‘I’m sorry, I know it looks bad…’
‘You’re right – it does!’
‘Listen, this is absolutelynota set-up.’
‘It’s not?’
‘No, I promise. I just thought the two of you would get along. You’ve been away for a while and Leo’s pretty new to the village too. I just thought it couldn’t do any harm for you to get to know each other better, that’s all.’
‘As friends?’
‘Just friends. Seriously, I never meant to upset you. I guess it does kinda look like a set-up but that wasn’t the plan.’
Tori perched on the edge of the bath and took a deep breath.
‘Okay,’ she sniffed. ‘Sorry, I’ve not had much sleep, I was up most of last night thinking about—’
‘Ryan?’
‘Actually, no. Mum’s had this idea for the tearoom…’
‘What idea?’ asked Rose, perching precariously alongside Tori on the edge of the bath.
‘Well, you have to promise not to think we’re crazy.’
‘As if!’ said Rose. Tori’s eyes narrowed. ‘I promise.’
Tori took a deep breath. ‘Well, Mum’s suggested turning the Cosy Cup into a cat café, like the ones I saw in Japan.’
‘Ooh, I’ve heard about them,’ said Rose, her eyes widening.
‘And?’
‘I think it’s a great idea.’
