Page 25

Gemma had already set two of the coffee filters on to steam and what she needed now was for Kent to get out of the way so she could fill the cabinet. If agreeing to his idea of emails meant she could do that and get on with her job, then it seemed like an easy decision to make.

“Yes, sure. That sounds fine.”

A smile rose on his face. An irritatingly perfect smile.

“Great, I’ll set those up this evening. See, working together can work.”

She said nothing.

CHAPTER 36

“Kent’s given me this piece of paper,” Sophie said to Gemma the following morning. “Apparently, it’s the login information for my staff email. I didn’t know we had staff email, though. Am I meant to do something?”

Gemma scrunched up her nose as she looked at the small slip.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “He’s given one to me, too. He seems to have forgotten that we have an account for orders already, and I barely have time to check that. Or that we don’t work in an office. Keep it if you want, but I can’t imagine what he’d put in an email that couldn’t be said to us in person. It just lets him feel like he’s in charge, that’s all.”

Several frown lines creased Sophie’s normally smooth forehead. “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure. Really, don’t worry about it.”

The door opened, and Gemma moved swiftly across to the counter, only to stop. It was Margaret. Gemma had thought she’d looked pale and unwell the last time she had come in—when Kent had complained about her spending too long nursing her drink. But today, she looked even worse.

Her skin was a sallow grey, her eyes dull, and she looked at least a decade older than the woman who used to come in and have coffee with her mother. Gemma’s stomach tightened.

“How’s she doing?” she asked.

The slightest hint of a smile flickered on Margaret’s lips, though it faded before it could fully form.

“She’s hanging on, but how or why? I’m not even sure anymore. The doctors say she’s not in any pain. Not with all the things they’re pumping into her, but you can’t know for sure, can you? She’d hate it, you know. Being like that. Not even knowing what’s going on. Is it wrong that part of me just wishes… Oh… I don’t know… No, I can’t say that. I just hate it all.”

Gemma felt no judgement towards Margaret for the words she hadn’t wanted to say. No one wanted to see a loved one suffer. It only caused the pain to spread to those who couldn’t help. That was how Gemma felt at that moment, pained that there was nothing she could do to ease Margaret’s situation.

“Go take a seat. I’ll bring your drink over,” she said.

“Thank you.”

As she turned around to head back to the counter, Gemma found herself facing Kent. She was about to ask him what he was doing out of the kitchen when she saw his gaze shift to Margaret. Her pulse spiked.

“She can sit there as long as she wants,” she said. “We don’t put our customers on a timer here.”

CHAPTER 37

“So it’s really not getting any better?” Flick asked at book club that Thursday. “You know, Sophie still seems to think he’s a nice guy.”

Flick and Gemma were alone in the kitchen at Flick’s house while the others were sitting in the living room, discussing the romcom they had all just finished reading. Usually, Gemma was at the centre of any discussions, but she hadn’t been feeling the book this week, although she thought that was more her fault than the book’s. She had struggled to get her mind to focus. Usually, it would have been her type of read. It was a massive social media hit with a story based around two colleagues who didn’t get on. Of course, it was clear from the beginning that they were going to resolve all their issues, fall madly in love, and become the perfect couple. And she usually would have enjoyed a predictable read like that, but no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t relax and get into the story. Perhaps it was because the thought of falling for the arse you worked with was just too far-fetched, given her current situation. No, there was no way she could ever imagine that.

“I just feel like I’m always second-guessing myself around him,” she said to Flick. “And that he’s sneaking around behindmy back. It’s crap. You know, I’ve always found the job so much fun. Sure, it’s hard work and everything, but it’s always been a laugh. You know, a place where we could have a giggle. In fact, when things went down the pan with Robert, I preferred being at work to at home.”

“I don’t think I know much about you and your ex,” Flick replied.

“You don’t want to,” Gemma answered succinctly. “Let’s just say it was messy. But the point is, I could always count on the cafe as being somewhere I could switch off. I felt comfortable, completely at ease, even when we got the occasional shitty customer, because I knew what I was doing. But I don’t feel like that now. I feel like Kent’s judging me.”

Flick didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she pressed her lips tightly together. As the pair stood there in silence, Gemma noticed something.

“Is that a Coffee-X cup,” she said gesturing over to Flick’s sink, where the takeaway cup was sitting on the countertop. “Don’t tell me you’re buying from them too? You know they’re buying out so many small businesses.”

Flick rolled her eyes. “I was on my way back from London. It wasn’t like I could get one from you. And we’re not talking about Coffee-X. We’re talking about you and the coffee shop. Now, can I say something without you getting mad at me?”