A Season for Second Chances(52)

“You’ve picked a funny time to open a seaside café. End of season and all that.”

“I’m planning to stay open through the winter months.”

Stephan sucked air in through his teeth. “Are you sure? Most seaside places die a death off season. It’s not exactly a great place for footfall, is it?”

“Well, I’m not expecting to tap into the tourist market,” Annie replied. “But there’s a pretty tight-knit community here who seem keen to have a coffee shop on their doorstep.”

“I hope you’re right,” he said, though Annie could tell from his expression that he thought she was thinking wishfully. “It takes more than warm thoughts to keep a business afloat.”

Annie smiled sweetly as she waited for him to fill out her documents and tried to calculate how many times she’d had the finer points of running a business mansplained to her over the years. It had to be at least high double figures, and that didn’t take into account the number of salesmen who had looked straight past her as they asked to speak to the “man in charge.”





Chapter 40



Annie had never intended the café opening to be a big deal. After all, it was really just a pop-up shop. However, there was something about John Granger’s disapproval that made her abandon her whisper of an opening in favor of a big fat shout, and in double-quick time—and with a lot of favors she would have to repay in free lunches—Annie managed to rustle up a grand opening that Raye could get excited about.

With a little persuasion from Aiden, the folk band who had played at the Captain’s Bounty agreed to play a two-hour afternoon set outside the café. Paul used his charm on the kite surfing club and managed to rustle up a race in the morning—when the wind was due to be at its highest—to the outer marker, kindly deposited by Ely on his early-morning fishing trip. And Pam, who, in addition to being landlady of the Sunken Willow was also the chairwoman of the Willow Bay Council team (mother and daughter were quite the powerhouses), had agreed to cut the ribbon at ten o’clock Saturday morning and declare the Saltwater Café officially open for business.

Annie had reveled in organizing her grand opening; it played to all her list-making skills. Paul had been an absolute star, ferrying garden tables and chairs down from the two pubs and setting them in strategic clusters along the promenade. The Captain’s Bounty and the Sunken Willow had declared they would continue the celebrations throughout the evening with a joint barbecue; Annie was discovering that the residents of Willow Bay needed very little excuse to throw a party.

The weather was due to be cold and windy but bright; just the weather to bring revelers to the beach and make them want a hot drink. On Friday night, Annie was still working to make sure everything was ready. Maeve had offered to make a lemon drizzle loaf cake and a fruited tea-bread to help out, and Annie had made two batches of cookies—oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip, plus a Victoria sponge, a coffee and walnut cake, and a rocky road to go with her brownies-and-chocolate-fudge traybake. As Annie was dolloping clouds of whipped cream onto the bottom half of the Victoria sponge, the phone rang.

“How’s the prep going?” asked Gemma.

“Almost done,” said Annie. “I’m about ready to drop.”

“I’ll bet! Listen, I don’t want to add more to your schedule, but I was talking to the mums at the school today and everyone is wondering if, since you’re going to open and all, you’d consider keeping up Mari’s Halloween tradition? It would be lovely if you could. Mari always makes Halloween so special.”

With a jolt, she realized Halloween was only two weeks away. Annie mentally kicked herself for not reading Mari’s notebook again!

“Well, I’ll see what I can do,” said Annie. “I wouldn’t want to ruin a time-honored tradition!”

“Annie, you’re amazing!” cooed Gemma. “Everyone will be so pleased.”

Annie smiled down the phone and wondered what the hell it was she was going to have to do . . .

When the last cake was stashed in the chiller, Annie wrapped a sandwich in foil and left it on the table just in case Alfred spent the night. She also wrote him a note inviting him to come along tomorrow for the opening, free coffee as payment for all the work he’d done. She had been worrying that Alfred might feel he couldn’t sleep in the old tearoom now it was reopening. It was important to her that he should still feel welcome, but equally he was a proud man; the merest hint of charity or pity on her part would push him away. She tucked the note under the sandwich, and then with one last look of satisfaction around the place she headed up to bed.





Chapter 41



The weather looked like it would hold. It was definitely chilly; you could smell the cold in the air, fresh and clean, but the sky was lapis blue and the cotton-wool clouds were the pure-white friendly kind. Alex and Peter had messaged to wish her luck; Alex late last night—no chance he would be up early after a night out—and Peter this morning after his run. Max had sent her a passive-aggressive text asking her to respect their years in business together by not using recipes she had designed for the Pomegranate Seed.

Annie opened the kiosk early as usual and to her surprise Alfred came to wish her luck.

“Why don’t you stay for the festivities?” Annie asked as she made him an extra-large latte with four sugars.