Page 124 of The Sunrise Sisterhood

‘Excuse me, Skye?’ The man in the straw boater had come inside but was hanging back awkwardly.

Liz bristled and took a step forward. ‘If you’ve come to make inappropriate remarks to my staff, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.’

He held his hands up in defence. ‘My apologies. I assumed you knew where we are from. I’m Iain Banks from Good Vibrations. We’re seeking investors to allow us to expand into Alaska and Northern Canada.’

‘The sex shop!’ Liz’s hand fluttered to her throat.

‘We prefer to use the term adult entertainment,’ said Iain. ‘And we tend to be a bit broad-minded in our discussion. I’m sorry for any distress caused.’

‘No harm done,’ said Skye, scratching a mark off her apron, avoiding his eye. ‘Apology accepted. But my private life isn’t up for discussion.’

Iain nodded. ‘Understood.’

As soon as he’d gone, Liz and Skye hooted with laughter.

‘Sex shops,’ Liz gasped, holding her side. ‘So much for Mike being involved with something extremely prestigious. I thought it must be something for the royal family. What a let-down!’

‘He needn’t have asked us to keep it a secret either,’ Skye spluttered. ‘My dad in sex shops! I’d rather never even think about it again, let alone tell anyone else.’

‘Come on,’ said Liz, handing her a tissue to dry her tears of laughter. ‘Let’s get this over with. Only one more course to go and then we can all relax.’

Ninety minutes later, Mike’s guests had gone. Harriet remained outside making notes and tapping at a laptop. Skye and Clare were upstairs with Ivy, who’d woken up from her nap. Liz was cleaning down the kitchen surfaces when Mike came to talk to her.

‘This has been such a success, Liz, even with Skye throwing water on the top dog at Good Vibrations.’ Mike took hold of her shoulders and planted a kiss on her forehead. ‘You’ve done me proud.’

‘I’ve enjoyed it. Most of it,’ she said sternly. ‘Why didn’t you tell us who your guests were?’

He frowned. ‘Didn’t Harriet?’

Liz shook her head. ‘I think the power went to her head today.’

He looked through the open patio doors to where she was sitting and grinned. ‘She’s young.’

‘Younger than your daughters,’ Liz warned. ‘Both of whom you upset today, by the way.’

He leaned back against the kitchen worktop and sighed. ‘I know. I’ll make it up to them.’

‘Good,’ she said firmly. ‘And do it soon. Mend those bridges. Those two young women look to you for approval.’

He looked surprised. ‘Do they?’

‘Of course they do, idiot, always have. Not that you deserve it.’

‘You’re probably right.’ He looked around to check they were alone. ‘There’s something I need to tell you.’

‘There’s something I need to tell you too.’

Liz had come to a decision. She wasn’t going to beat herself up about not being able to repay him the money by his deadline. She was doing her best and that was all she could do. And she’d realised something else too; while she’d enjoyed working with Skye and getting to know her better, she definitely didn’t want to run the catering business anymore. She’d changed since she and Jen had started it and she was ready to move on.

‘Oh.’ He tucked his chin in, looking put out. ‘You go first then.’

Liz swallowed. ‘OK. Business has been very good over the last few weeks.’

‘See! I knew you could go it alone.’ Mike leaned on the edge of the kitchen worktop and folded his arms.

She shook her head. ‘I couldn’t have. If it wasn’t for Skye and Clare, I wouldn’t have been able to take on the work physically or mentally. I’m still grieving for Jen. This was our business; it isn’t the same without her. And I’m not going to keep it going.’

He frowned. ‘We had a deal, you agreed to repay the twenty grand.’