Anya slipped ahead and by the time Kat walked into the café she was already talking to Issy. Issy shot Kat a perplexed look, but unfastened her apron and set it to one side while Anya fetched herself a clean one from the back kitchen.
Instead of going back to the main table, Kat caught Harry’s eye and pointed to a smaller one in the corner. ‘Just the three of us is probably best.’ She would be honest with the others as well, but her father’s plans would impact Harry and Issy the most if he managed to pull them off and she didn’t want to be bombarded with dozens of questions from all sides until she was sure they understood everything.
Harry pulled out a chair and sank down on to it. ‘I’m not going to like this, am I?’
Kat shook her head as she took the one opposite. ‘Nope.’
Issy came and joined them and Kat indicated for her to take the chair beside Harry. She wanted to be able to look them both in the eye. ‘First off, I’m going to say that I’m sorry I didn’t say anything about this earlier and the only reason I haven’t brought it up is because I thought it was already dealt with.’
‘Enough of the cryptic shit, Kat, just tell us.’ Harry was doing his best to look relaxed as he lounged back in his chair but thefingers of his right hand were drumming an impatient tattoo on the table.
‘My dad wants to buy the Nicholsons’ shop and open a second Java Brava franchise.’
‘What the hell?’ Harry bolted forward in his seat to prop his elbows on the table. ‘Why didn’t you say something?’
Kat sighed as she shifted forward in her chair and mirrored his body language. ‘Please, Harry, I know this is a lot but can you try and let me explain everything first and then you can ask me all the questions you want?’
He glowered for a moment before nodding. ‘Yeah, okay, go on.’
Kat looked over at Issy, who was watching her with wide, worried eyes. Kat swallowed and knew she had to lay it all out. ‘Not only does Dad want to open another coffee shop that would be in direct competition to yours,’ she said, holding her friend’s gaze, ‘but he wanted me to run it for him.’
‘Oh, Kat, what a horrible position for him to put you in.’
Kat thought she might laugh if she wasn’t worried she’d cry. Trust her dearest Issy to immediately think of Kat and not her own situation. Kat reached out and grasped her hand. ‘I told him no, right there and then, Issy, I promise.’ She looked over at Harry to include him in what she said next. ‘He first told me about his plan on New Year’s Eve.’
Harry’s shoulders relaxed a little. ‘You didn’t know anything about my plans before he came up with this?’
She shook her head. ‘No, I swear I had no idea that you were even thinking about trying to buy the shop. He tried again not long afterwards and I told him no again and then he adjusted my schedule to give me that extra time off so I truly thought he’d given up on the idea. I still should’ve mentioned it to you, but you know how hard things have been for me. I was just trying to keep that mess from bleeding over into our life…’
‘So what’s he doing over there now? And who’s that bloke with him and Trevor?’
Kat scrubbed a hand across her forehead. She was still trying to process it all herself. ‘What Dad didn’t tell me until just now was that he’d already sent the idea up the chain to the area manager.’ She nodded across the road. ‘That’s who’s with him today. Dad also doesn’t seem to have made it clear to him that I’ve refused to have any involvement with potentially running the second franchise, but that’s his problem to explain.’
She hesitated, knowing her dad would hate for her to share what he would consider private business, but she didn’t want any more secrets between herself and two of the most important people in her life. ‘I don’t want this to go beyond the three of us, but I think Dad’s in a bit of a bind financially and he sees this as a way of digging himself out of a hole.’ Kat was deeply concerned her father was going to end up over-extending himself and that hole would only grow. He’d told her it wasn’t her problem, but, well, they’d see about that.
‘So where does that leave us?’ Harry asked.
Kat offered him her free hand and was relieved when he took it without hesitation. ‘In exactly the same place we were when we woke up this morning. The only business I’m interested in is the cookery school. I let my mouth run away with me just now and I told him about our plans.’ She sighed. ‘I shouldn’t have said anything but a tiny part of me hoped he’d drop his idea for the second franchise when he realised we were on competing sides.’
‘He didn’t?’
Kat shook her head. ‘He said it was business and we have to face competition just like everyone else.’
‘Bastard,’ Harry muttered, then he squeezed her hand. ‘Then we’d better get our pitch finished and make sure it’s something the investors will be queuing up to support. If your dad wants afight then he’s got himself one.’ He released her hand and stood. ‘I’ll give you two a minute.’
Kat waited until he was gone before she met Issy’s eyes. ‘I’m sorry, I should’ve warned you before.’
‘You have nothing to apologise for, Kat. I know how things are with your parents. Even if you had decided to go ahead and take on the second franchise it would’ve been okay. There’s probably more than enough business in the summer to sustain two similar businesses this close to the beach.’
But it wasn’t only the summer Issy would have to contend with. Kat rose and came around the table to hug her friend. ‘I know you would’ve been okay about it, but I could never have lived with myself.’
27
Kat worked like a demon for the rest of the weekend, to the point Harry had to physically confiscate the cookery school proposal and hide everything on the highest shelf in the kitchen where she couldn’t reach them in order to get her to take a break. She was a woman on a mission, acting as if she had a point to prove to him after the revelation about her father’s opposing scheme.
Harry still wasn’t happy she’d kept it from him and her attempts to reassure him only made the uneasiness in his gut churn harder. Though they’d only been together a few short weeks, there’d been multiple occasions where he’d caught her saying or doing what she thought he wanted to hear rather than what she would’ve done purely by choice. Most of it had been minor like what film or TV show to watch, but it happened often enough for him to look out for it. Talking to her about it only seemed to put her further on the defensive, leaving Harry no choice but to bite his lip and bide his time and hope she’d eventually get over this constant need to please.
On Monday morning, he set his alarm to make sure he was up in time to at least have a cup of tea with her before she headed off to work. She’d asked to sleep on her own the nightbefore and he had respected her choice, but one look at her when she emerged from her room dressed and ready to go said she’d hardly slept a wink. She clearly wasn’t expecting to see him from the surprised expression on her face. ‘Oh, did I wake you up? I tried to be quiet when I was in the bathroom.’
