Page 108 of Not So Very Sensible

“I really need to find Ellie. This is Ethan Ferris, by the way, and—”

“Mate, how many times do I need to tell you? She’s not interested in talking to you. And even if you did manage to find her at the café, then you need to know her dad is an ex-cop, and he takes harassment really seriously, so it’s best if you leave her alone.”

He drew in a deep breath. “I’ll take my chances. Her dad’s an ex-cop, you say?”

“Man.” And the call ended again.

Whether he’d meant to or not—it definitely sounded unintentional—Jackson had just given him a very helpful lead. Now he remembered Ellie mentioning something like this at the Hydro Grand. How many other café owners in the Southern Highlands were former policemen?

Two minutes later, he was looking at an online article of a nice-looking couple, the dad a bit fat, the mother round too, beaming out the front of a café he’d passed not so long ago. The one on Wattle Vale’s main street. The Silver Teapot.

He swallowed, and read about John and Elizabeth Bennett and their four daughters, most with Jane Austen–inspired names: Olivia, Emma-Jane, Elinor, and Catherine. Ellie and Katie.

His heart clenched. Finally, finally, he knew where to look.

And while Ellie might be reluctant to talk with him, if he didn’t try to speak with her, he’d always regret it. So he messaged Charlene, even though he’d see her tonight, and texted: “Feel like having a cupcake tomorrow?”

She texted back. “It’s finally happening?”

He exhaled, heart beating in anticipation. “Yep. We’re definitely on.”

Chapter 20

Saturday mornings at The Silver Teapot tended to be very busy at this time of year, and today was no exception. Between three scheduled tea parties in the little party room upstairs and a fully booked morning at the café, there was no time for lingering. Everything had to run like clockwork. Annabelle was even scheduled to be serving with Katie and Ellie today. And while they were guaranteed to be exhausted by the end of the day, the profits would likely equal the takings of Tuesday to Thursday, which made it worthwhile.

And today, on a gorgeous late spring day, the number of walk-ins were likely to be high too, which always made things tricky. If booked tea parties finished earlier than expected, there might sometimes be a chance of squeezing in a walk-in couple for coffee and cake, on the proviso they knew the table had to be released to someone else upon the hour. And while most people were good about this, occasionally they’d run across the odd customer who seemed to think it was their right to show up and demand the special treatment and foods that others had booked for long in advance. That was always fun.

Ellie glanced at her sister and cousin, as already she could see a small line out the door. “Are you ready for this?”

“Bring it,” Katie said, that new light in her eyes since meeting Chris again and finding new purpose.

“It’s going to be a good day, I can feel it.” Annabelle grinned, like the ball of sunshine she was.

Ellie was so blessed to have these two ladies in her life. “Let’s do it.”

She switched the CLOSED sign to OPEN, then unlocked and opened the door. “Hello, and welcome to The Silver Teapot.”

She spent the next minutes directing customers to booked tables, getting people settled, taking drink orders, and beginning the first of many trips to the kitchen, where Mum and Dad had been up early baking and preparing special sandwiches, tarts, and pastries for today.

An hour into service, she was in the kitchen waiting on the first of the tiered trays to be readied for delivery to the party room when her thoughts slipped back to weeks ago when she’d had her special high tea with Ethan.

This high tea was, naturally, superior. The Silver Teapot’s array of goodies included an assortment of triangle sandwiches (cucumber, coronation chicken, and curried egg), mini pies, a sausage roll and quiche, plus both a plain and fruit scone, and then the selection of sweet treats, including a chocolate éclair and a tiny meringue-topped lemon tart, and a few berries “to cleanse the palate” as Mum liked to say. Definitely superior. Still, what had made the Hydro Grand high tea special was the company.

Her heart panged, but she shook her head. She’d been doing better at forgetting Ethan and had no desire to stir things up again.

She’d received a message from Jackson yesterday saying that Ethan had called again. And while he’d done his best to stave him off, he may have accidentally spilled that her dad was a former cop. Which layered on a new level of dread about how long it might take Ethan to put two and two together to finally realise that her dad helmed The Silver Teapot—and how long it would be before he might appear.

Why was he so keen to talk to her? She couldn’t let her heart go back there. She couldn’t. That way disaster lay, and she was trying to be wise, trying to be sensible, even though her heart had proved it was as susceptible to folly as the next girl’s.

She closed her eyes. Lord, give me strength.

“Ellie?” Her eyelids opened to see her mum regarding her anxiously. “Are you unwell? We need all hands on deck today, but if you’re not feeling well, it’s better that you take the day off.”

“No, I’m fine!” She straightened. Smiled. “Just thinking. Now, is this all ready to go?”

“Just a couple of strawberries to go … There!”

Mum gazed proudly at her creation, then an instant later was back at the kitchen bench readying the next. The Silver Teapot stopped for no one.