Page 71 of New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Cafe
‘What?’ said Leo, stopping in his tracks and letting go of Lara’s hand. ‘Why on earth would you say that?’
‘Because you like her. And she likes you, I can tell,’ replied Lara without blinking.
Leo’s mind was whirring… he knew Tori liked him but was it really so obvious that a eight-year-old child had noticed?
‘If you ask her out, I bet she’d say yes,’ said Lara, stopping to pick a daisy from the grass verge.
‘She will?’ Leo didn’t tell her that he’d already tried that and she’d said no.
‘Of course. You like her and she likes you. It’s simple,’ said Lara, looking up at him and sighing heavily.
‘Lara, you’re only eight, you’re too young to understand this kind of stuff, it’s complicated.’
‘It isn’t,’ said Lara, laughing. ‘Honestly, grown-ups can be so silly sometimes.’
‘Who says I want a girlfriend anyway? I’m perfectly happy on my own.’
Lara stopped walking and took her uncle by the hand; she looked up at him, her face serious.
‘But I want you to marry someone nice so I can be a princess fairy bridesmaid, and Tori’s nice, isn’t she?’
Leo knelt in front of his niece and hugged her close.
‘How did you get to be so clever at eight years old?’ Lara shrugged. ‘You’re right – Tori is nice, but there’s a bit more to it than that. One day you’ll understand…’
‘Oh, grown-ups always say that,’ said Lara, huffing. ‘It’ssoannoying!’
‘Okay, okay,’ said Leo, standing up. ‘How about we stop in at Harrison’s on the way home. Get some treats for Domino and Dexter?’
‘Oh, yes please!’ replied Lara, pulling Leo towards the shop. ‘And maybe some sweets for me too?’
‘Sweets?’ said Leo. ‘You’ve just eaten a ton of cake!’
‘Oh, pleeeease, Uncle Leo, pleeease!’ she pleaded.
‘We’ll see,’ said Leo, ruffling her hair. ‘We’ll see.’
As they walked through the door of Harrison’s, Leo had a feeling that his niece’s advice had been pretty accurate. He liked Tori and Tori liked him. Did it really need to be more complicated than that?
Chapter 24
On Wednesday night, on the dot of 8pm, Tori stood at the front door of Leo’s mid-terrace house. She smoothed down her dress before knocking. Remember, thisisn’ta date…
‘Hiya,’ said Leo, swinging the door wide open. Two black and white cats darted between Tori’s legs, making a break for freedom.
‘Hello, sweetie,’ she said, bending down to stroke the cat that was now weaving between her feet.
‘Well, that’s Tallulah – and Tinkerbell is the tail you saw scarpering down the road.’
‘She’s gorgeous, Leo,’ said Tori, stepping over the cat and through the doorway. ‘I brought wine,’ she said, thrusting a bottle into his hand.
‘Wine is good, thanks. Let’s head to the kitchen and I’ll grab some glasses.’
‘Wow, this is nice,’ she said, perching on one of the breakfast bar stools. ‘Very modern.’
‘I can’t take the credit unfortunately,’ said Leo, grabbingtwo wine glasses from a cabinet and a corkscrew from the drawer. ‘The previous owners had just had the whole place done up before they split and had to sell.’
‘Ouch,’ said Tori, screwing up her face.
