‘The gang?’Mab, confused, was still trying to shake off the image of herself kneeling by Leo’s chair, kissing her way down his stomach.She took a deep breath; she’d had never had the urge to kiss Pete anywhere but on his rather surly mouth, and Pete’s passion for pickled onions had often made even that sort of kissing a trial.
‘Yes, Dad and my brothers said as soon as I was sure that you’d agree to be part of the scheme, they’d jump in the van and get down here to help.None of them seemed to think I could do it on my own.’He shrugged.‘Anyway, they haven’t had a break for ages; it’s a Bank Holiday on Monday so they can take at least the weekend off and give us the benefit of the family muscle.And they’ll probably bring Sophie with them.’
There was a moment’s silence, then Jess said, ‘Sophie?You’ve got a sister too?’
‘A sister?That’s a laugh – no, Sophie’s my fiancée.We’re getting married in the summer.Sophie’s a great girl.You’ll love her.She’s only twenty-five, so you’ll have to give her a helping hand with some of the jobs, maybe.She’s not been down here before, so I’m hoping she’s going to like it.’
‘Why shouldn’t she like it?’said Mab, defensively.
‘Well, she’s always had her heart set on a modern penthouse flat in the city, overlooking the Tyne.Her dad said he’d give us something towards the deposit if we stayed up north.Her parents don’t like me much,’ Leo added.
‘Why not?’
‘They think I’m too old for Sophie.And she’s their only child.They want her to live near to them.I suppose it’s only natural…’
Mab’s skin prickled, this time not because of the damp chill in the air.But why should a fiancée make any difference to their plans?She couldn’t have this man for herself, that much was certain, even if his skin did look so unbelievably warm and touchable.Another woman around the place would be useful, surely?
‘Is Sophie interested in books, then?’Jess asked Leo.She was looking at Mab rather curiously; that was the trouble with old friends, Mab thought, giving Jess a warning glare, they didn’t miss a trick.
‘Oh, well, not really interested as such, she likes films better.But she’s bound to love the shop, isn’t she?And she can help you with ideas for the design of the place.’
This was even worse.Mab was already feeling protective about their project.‘So, where will Sophie live?Will she move in here straight away?’she asked.
Leo laughed again.‘You’ve got to be kidding!Sophie, here?She hates mess.No; we’ll book her a room at that nice little hotel down by the river.You know, the cute one next to the old stone bridge, right by the shopping arcade?She’ll need her own space, and she loves shops.The gang can sleep on the floor in the living room over the weekend, though.They’ll bring sleeping bags.We’ll just need to feed them regularly and get lots of ale in.’
Jess looked thoughtful, but for the moment, she was silent.Mab shook herself and reached out a hand to pull Jess to her feet.
‘Right, I’m off to work, and you’d better go and fetch George from school before he tries to escape out of the playground.You know what happened last time you were a couple of minutes late.’
They left the shop together, with Leo carefully locking the door behind them.
‘Not that there’s much to steal, but I’d hate anyone to get in and go through Annie’s things,’ he said.‘I’ll need to sort them out soon, I suppose, but I’m not looking forward to that job.’
‘Don’t worry, we’ll help, won’t we, Mab?’said Jess.‘Can I come round tomorrow when you start the work properly, Leo?I seem have quite a few extra hours free now.There’s just my college work to fit in, but I’m doing my degree part-time so I could do lots of jobs for you.I don’t mind how much cleaning I do if you treat me to a gallon of Flash and some new rubber gloves.’
‘’Course you can, love – I’d be really grateful.Sophie’s a bit funny about keeping her nails nice, so I guess I’ll need all the help I can get with that kind of thing.And I’m really sorry about the café job finishing, but it might be for the best in the long run.’
‘Hmm, tell that to the school when I can’t pay George’s dinner money on Monday.’
‘Right.Well, anyway, I’ve already registered the business name and that’s all gone through, so I’m off to the bank as soon as they open but I should be back here by eleven at the latest.’
Jess stopped suddenly, letting go of the others in her consternation.‘Hey, I’ve just thought.What are Edward and Beattie going to say when they find out you’re setting up in competition?’
‘Don’t be daft, I’m not in competition.They don’t sell books, do they?’
‘No, but they’re the best café in town, and you’re going to be tempting people with really yummy cakes and things, and not a bag of brown flour in sight.’
Mab stopped dead in her tracks.So that was it.The snag she’d been trying so hard to pin down.Leo looked just as aghast.Mab wondered why on earth this hadn’t occurred to him before.Maybe he’d been so busy with thoughts of books and crèches and writers’ groups that he’d completely forgotten that the shop next door would be his rival in other ways.Leo slapped himself on the forehead.
‘Oh, man – how could I have missed that point?I’ve done hours of market research about the other selling points and completely ignored the most important part.’
Mab shivered.Knowing the Crabtrees as she did, she was painfully aware that they’d resent a rival of any sort.She wished she’d never met them.She wished her mum, Ria, had never dragged her into the Crabtrees’ complicated lives.Most of all, she wished Ria was a normal sort of mum.A less forceful one, without so many emotional hang-ups of her own.
‘I didn’t think of it either,’ said Mab, ‘but now Jess has mentioned it, it’s obviously a major problem, isn’t it?’
‘Well, never mind that for now,’ said Leo, ‘we’ll worry about the Crabtrees later.Maybe it won’t matter, as they’re so big on health food?People who like to eat organic soup and bread made of crunchy seeds and funny-tasting tea with bits in the bottom aren’t going to want sticky toffee pudding, are they?’
Mab tore herself away and hurried off to work.She wasn’t so sure about that.And however optimistic she was beginning to feel about the new project, she couldn’t avoid the most important issue for much longer.Mab sighed heavily.Soon, very soon, she would have to tell Leo and Jess about the baby.
