Page 8 of Love or Your Money Back

CHAPTER

As I approach the top table, Chris reclines easily on his plastic chair like a medieval lord. He wears a crown of some kind of woodland menagerie and a leather-thong wood-slice pendant around his neck.

‘Hey, Kat.’ Chris gives me an easy smile, showing one crooked front tooth. ‘Sorry I gave you a hard time. Those life goals of yours … two out of three ain’t bad, right?’

I take a deep breath. ‘Congratulations. Chris. Minola. I wish you a lifetime of happiness.’

‘Katerina.’ Minola gives me a compassionate smile, downward-turned, pale eyes layered with pity.

‘Thank you for coming. I was worried you might … well. Never mind. Listen. If you ever want to talk about your alcohol issues, I can give you a free first session.’ She pulls a card from a pearl purse that says: ‘Magical Life Coaching with Minola’ and features an illustration of Minola with wings and a wand.

‘You’re a life coach?’ I ask. ‘Aged twenty-one?’

‘Age is just a number.’

‘Was that one of Chris’s chat-up lines?’

Minola’s face hardens. ‘Look, sometimes, happiness comes from letting go. Right?’

‘What do I need to let go? I might still get married.’

‘Oh Katerina …’ Minola gives me sympathetic eyes. ‘Getting married by December would be difficult for a normal person, let alone …’ She gestures to my legs. ‘You know. Someone with a disability and alcohol issues.’

‘People said it would be impossible for me to launch a publishing company while I was still at university,’ I say. ‘So I’ll tell you what I told them. Impossible is a state of mind.’

‘That’s right, Kat.’ A familiar voice rumbles somewhere behind me. ‘Nothing’s impossible with good marketing.’