Page 77 of New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Cafe
Tori was busy handing everyone a glass of fizz, when she heard a knock on the door.
‘Oops, hang on, let me get that,’ said Tori.
The next twenty minutes passed by in a whirlwind of welcoming her closest friends and neighbours to the Cosy Cat Café. Finally, Leo was at the door, accompanied by Lara and a tall, slim woman with long, red, curly hair.
‘Leo, Lara, hi! How are you?’ said Tori. All she could think about was kissing Leo again, but now wasn’t the time.
‘Tori, this is my mummy,’ said Lara excitedly. ‘Mummy, this is Tori.’
‘Hi, Tori, I’m Nina. Lara talks about you all the time – I feel like I know you already,’ said Nina, with a smilethat lit up her whole face. Wow, she really did look like her brother.
‘Does she?’ said Tori, trying to keep her eyes focused on Leo’s sister.
‘Oh yeah, but in a good way,’ Nina explained.
‘Well, she’s adorable! Why don’t you go through. I’m just going to grab a word with Leo if that’s okay?’ said Tori.
‘Sure, come on Lara, you can show me the cats,’ said Nina, taking Lara by the hand. As soon as they’d shut the door, Tori reached for Leo and pulled him close so they were out of sight.
‘Hey, you,’ he said, sliding an arm around her waist, ‘I’ve missed you.’
The temptation to kiss him was overwhelming, but Tori knew she had to resist.
‘Listen, I was thinking, let’s not say anything to anyone about what happened the other night? It’s still early days… I’d rather not deal with any questions yet, if you don’t mind?’
‘Sure, if that’s what you want.’
‘You know what people can be like. I just don’t want to put any pressure on us – let’s just see where things are going first.’
‘I get it. We’re taking this at your pace, Tori. Although the fact that I can’t kiss you right now is killing me…’
‘Me too.’ She gripped his hand. ‘Imagine their faces.’ She nodded towards her friends through the window in the door.
‘It would be priceless!’
‘Almost worth it just to see the look on Maggie’s face…’ Tori’s breathing quickened, the urge to kiss Leo was intense.
The door to the lobby creaked open.
‘Uncle Leo, Tori, come on! Everyone is waiting for you,’ said Lara, oblivious to the conversation she had interrupted. Leo took a step away from Tori, letting go of her hand.
‘Lead the way, Lara,’ said Tori, snapping herself back to reality. Lara had done them both a favour. Imagine if they had given in to temptation and kissed in front of the whole village?
Tori picked up a glass of Prosecco and tapped the side gently with a knife to get everyone’s attention.
‘I just wanted to say thank you all for coming today. I know not everyone in the village was in support of turning Mum’s tearoom into a cat café, so having you all here today means a lot. There are a few rules to follow, I’m afraid. Please don’t feed the cats; they’ll try and convince you they’re starving – don’t fall for it!’ Laughter rang around the room. ‘Let the cats come to you in their own time. If they’re sleeping, please don’t wake them up. There are toy boxes dotted around the café, so feel free to play as much as you like and when the cats are ready for cuddles, believe me, they’ll let you know. You’re all here as our guests today, so the food and drink from our new menu is on us, but if you did want to make a contribution to New Beginnings, the rescue centre we’re working with, that would be fantastic. As you know, all the cats staying with us are available for adoption, andwe’re so grateful to Izzy and her team for not just letting us look after them, but for all their help in getting this venture off the ground. We couldn’t have done it without you, Izzy, and I hope you’ll all join me in raising a glass to the Cosy Cat Café.’ Tori raised her glass and the room around her chorused, ‘To the Cosy Cat Café.’
‘Oh, well done, love. That was perfect, I couldn’t have said it better myself,’ said Joyce, wiping a tear from her eye. ‘I’m so proud of what you’ve done here, I really am.’
‘Oh, Mum,’ replied Tori, ‘don’t, you’ll set me off too!’ She pulled a tissue from her pocket and blew her nose hard. ‘Come here, will you,’ she said, hugging her close. ‘You know the only reason we’ve done this is because you suggested I go for it in the first place. Thank you for trusting me with the Cosy Cat. We’re a team, I hope you know that.’
‘Would you look at you two,’ said Rose. ‘You know you’re both adorable, right?’
‘Ha,’ laughed Tori, wiping her eyes. ‘You wouldn’t say that if you saw us fighting over who gets the last custard cream in the pack.’
‘The answer is me, of course,’ said Joyce, winking. ‘Right, I’m off to mingle.’
‘See you in a bit, Joyce,’ said Rose, turning to face Tori. ‘So, what’s going on with you and Leo?’
