Page 71 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

Lily leant her head to one side as she studied her friend. ‘Why are you blushing?’ she asked.

‘I’m not,’ protested Hannah.

‘Liar. You’ve got the most colour that I’ve seen you have all week,’ said Lily.

‘I know! I reckon it’s because she likes Alex,’ said Beth, looking delighted.

Ella frowned. ‘Everyone likes Alex. You can’t not. It would be like hating Tiny.’

‘No, Beth means that Hannahreallylikes Alex,’ said Lily, with a gleam in her eyes.

They all stared at Hannah whilst she shuffled in the bed, feeling awkward under their gaze. In the end though, they were her best friends. She couldn’t hide the truth from them any longer.

So she gave them a small nod in response, hoping her silence would encourage her friends to change topics. But her prayers weren’t answered.

‘Well, I don’t know how I feel about this considering it’s come out of the blue,’ said Ella. ‘Let’s check the list.’

‘OK. We like him,’ began Lily, counting on her fingers.

‘He’s got bigger shoulders than we have,’ added Beth.

‘Ben trusts him and says he’s a good guy,’ said Lily.

‘Ben’s also known him for a long time so no scary secrets to be discovered,’ said Ella.

‘And the man sure looks good in swimming shorts,’ said Beth with a cheeky grin.

Hannah nodded, thinking back to the previous week when she had watched him come out of the water, the droplets dripping down his bare chest. She gulped and remembered that she had almost dropped the tea pot.

She blinked back to life and found her friends watching her, all of them wearing a smile.

‘What?’ she snapped.

‘You’re not disagreeing that the man sure looks mighty fine,’ said Lily.

‘I’m not blind,’ said Hannah, throwing off the duvet and getting up to go over to the dressing table to brush her hair.

‘The question is how much does he like Hannah in return?’ asked Beth.

‘Oh, I know the answer to that one,’ announced Lily. ‘My radar is always right.’

Hannah spun around to look down at her friend in shock.

‘Go on,’ urged Beth.

‘He’s been giving Hannah some serious side-eye pretty much since I met him last year,’ she said, with a grin.

‘Excellent,’ said Beth, clapping her hands.

‘No, it’s not,’ muttered Hannah. ‘It’s all nonsense. I mean, look at him! He would never be interested in someone like me.’

‘First off, you’re mad,’ said Lily.

‘Because you’re gorgeous,’ added Beth.

‘Exactly,’ said Ella. ‘You’re kind, and beautiful and generous.’

‘And I think he feels the same way about you,’ said Lily, with a knowing smile.