Page 18 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

‘Hannah,’ Ben told them.

Jake gave a choking sound in his throat and Alex nearly fell off his chair in shock.

‘Hannah!’ spluttered Alex, feeling ill. The thought of watching Jake become romantically entangled with Hannah made his brain misfire.

‘Let me clarify,’ said Ben, with a grin. ‘Keep your hands off my little sister. Any wooing is to be entirely mental.’

Alex looked at Jake in confusion.

‘You’re losing us,’ said Jake, equally puzzled.

‘I want her to run the Boathouse Café,’ said Ben.

Although Alex was still trying to dismiss the idea of Jake and Hannah together from his mind, he spoke almost immediately.

‘She’ll never do it,’ he replied. He knew her so well that her lack of confidence and shyness would mean that it was a step too far for her.

‘That was her initial reaction, unfortunately,’ said Ben, making a face. ‘But I was hoping that with a bit of persuasion from my oldest friends, and if we all work on her together, then she might just make a go of it.’

Jake shrugged his shoulders. ‘Don’t think there’s much hope, mate, to be honest. But yeah, I’ll talk to her.’

They both looked at Alex, who nodded slowly. ‘Sure,’ he said. ‘We can only try.’

He was still touched at Ben inviting him to stay on after the weekend and rest. After all, he had always loved staying at Maple Tree Lodge. Perhaps it would give him more time to plan his future. To think about building his own life away from the endless competitions.

Of course, he secretly hoped that perhaps he could ask Hannah out one day. He had waited for so long. Been so patient.

He had never let on to either of his best friends about his crush on Hannah. Thankfully, as the quiet one in the threesome, he was able to keep his feelings private. Or at least he had done so far.

However, Ben’s warning to Jake about being hands off only served to remind Alex that his friend would never be happy with either of them dating his little sister.

But he could daydream, couldn’t he?

10

Despite telling Lily that she had no interest in managing the Boathouse Café, Hannah couldn’t stop herself from lingering in there for most of the morning.

She told herself it was because she was keeping out of both Ben and Lily’s way. But the truth was that she had a good feeling about the space and found it a relaxing place to be.

Her mind reeled with the long list of reasons why she couldn’t take up Ben and Lily’s offer regarding running the café.

Could she really run a business? She didn’t think so. And yet she could already envision how it would look and feel. But still, she didn’t have the confidence. Surely she would fail?

It didn’t smell of cakes or any kind of baking – yet, she reminded herself. Instead, the air was filled with the aroma of the large wooden logs that made up the sides of the building.

With the kitchen already fitted out, that just left the main room to be filled with chairs and tables, all of which would face that glorious view of the lake beyond the huge patio doors.

With the sun rays shining through and illuminating the oak floorboards, she was drawn towards the doors and, turning the key, stepped outside onto the newly renovated balcony. It was wide and large enough for many more tables and chairs.

All it needed was someone to serve up delicious teas, coffees and cakes. It was so tempting and yet totally beyond her reach. She leant on the balustrade, looking over the water which sparkled under the blue sky above, lost in her thoughts.

‘If you’re thinking of jumping in, I wouldn’t.’

She spun around to find Alex hobbling towards her, making a slow and steady progress with his crutches across the floorboards.

‘The water is at its coldest at the moment,’ he added with a smile as he came to stand next to her. ‘I can verify that after the race yesterday morning.’

He placed the crutches up against the balustrade and leant on the balcony next to her, looking out across the water.