Page 57 of The Winter of Second Chances
‘I am a fully trained barista,’ she replied as haughtily as she could muster. ‘Among other things.’
‘Oh?’ there was note of surprise in John’s voice and Annie thought she detected a twinkle of humour in his eyes.
‘I am a classically trained award-winning chef and have run a successful restaurant for fifteen years.’
‘If it’s so successful, why did you leave it?’ He raised one eyebrow; he was teasing her. Annie didn’t know if she liked it or not.
‘That’s a bit impertinent, Mr Granger,’ she said and gave what she hoped was a Mona Lisa smile.
Just then Raye came bounding up to the kiosk window, seemingly unaware of the human mountain stood in front of it.
‘Hi, Annie! Thank goodness I caught you, I was worried you’d be closed already. I’ve just got back from the cash and carry and I’m gagging for a coffee before we open. Can I have an oat milk mocha, please?’ She thrust her reusable bamboo cup through the hatch.
It was only then that she noticed the scowling man.
‘Oh, gosh, sorry!’ she flustered. ‘Were you here first? Trust me, barging in like a fairy elephant!’ And then she registered who the other customer was. ‘John!’ she squealed delightedly and threw her arms around his waist, hugging him tight. ‘Great to see you! Are you here for long? You must drop in to The Bounty, Aiden would love to see you. You’ve met our Annie then? She’s an absolute lifesaver, I tell you.’
Annie smiled and John Granger looked uncomfortable.
‘It’s lovely to see you, Raye,’ he said with a warmth that Annie found hard to associate with the same stony face that had greeted her on both occasions they’d met. ‘How are you? How’s Melody getting on?’
‘I’m good,’ said Raye. ‘We’re all good. Melody is loving university life, we’ll be lucky if she even bothers to come back for holidays at this rate. We miss you, though; where’ve you been hiding yourself?’
John Granger smiled then and Annie felt her eyebrows rise in incredulity. She hadn’t expected a face with such a propensity for scowling to be capable of such friendliness. His eyes crinkled at the edges with lines that implied he smiled often, though Annie considered that they could equally be the result of frequent glowering. The five o’clock shadow of last night was dark stubble today, tapering to smatterings of white at the sideburns.
‘I miss you guys too,’ said John. ‘Work’s just been crazy this last few months. And I’ve had a few ups and downs with Celeste.’
Raye frowned sympathetically. ‘Everything all right now, though?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ he said reassuringly. ‘You know how it is.’
And Raye nodded knowingly.Trouble with the missus, Annie thought.
‘So, when are you going to give up life in the big smoke and come back here where you belong?’ Raye asked.
‘One day,’ he said. ‘One day.’
‘Are you getting coffee?’ she asked.
Annie raised an eyebrow and couldn’t quite hide the smirk that threatened around her lips. John looked at Annie and then back to Raye.
‘No,’ he said. ‘I had to visit a client in Whitstable, stayed the night in a hotel. I’ve got to get back to London.’
Raye pouted comically.
‘But you’ll come down for the grand opening on the eighteenth, won’t you?’ she asked.
‘Whatgrand openingwould that be? Have you finally built that extension to the pub?’
Raye chuckled.
‘Sadly not. We’re still ploughing pennies into the pot for that one.’
‘Well, you just let me know when you’re ready for that free design consultation,’ said John.
‘Thanks, John. As soon as we’ve saved enough, we’ll be on the blower quicker than you can say boutique hotel!’
‘So, what’s thisgrand openingthen?’
