Strange Attractions

Chapter 13

"Great news and just in time. One of our suppliers is withholding stock until we completely pay off the last order. It's not much, but I'm guessing they know about the threat of closure" she shrugged as she made her way to the kitchen noisily looking for her mug.

"It's not like we haven't paid before" she said as she searched through the cluttered shelves in the kitchen, Grace's loud clanging of pots and pans filled the room. "I can't find my black cat mug".

"It's where it always is, top shelf behind the thousands of other mugs".

Her phone chimed, and she eagerly checked it, hoping it was Meera. However, her excitement quickly turned into a pout when she saw the name on the screen. I knew immediately who it was without even looking.

"Should I answer?" she asked, twisting a curl around her forefinger.

"Sure", I grumbled, anticipating a headache.

"No, we need tea first" she said affirmatively.

As soon as her phone stopped ringing, mine started, and I groaned in annoyance.

"Oh, go away" I complained, covering my face with a cushion. "You'd think it was still her shop, it's like we can't be trusted to do anything. We've kept it going five years on our own. Granted that's mostly your doing".

Grace placed my mug in front of me and wrapped her arm around me in a spontaneous hug, which I gladly welcomed. "Yeah, that's true she said snickering. "But seriously Bella, it's been a team effort and I've loved it you know".

We sipped our tea in silence for a few minutes, both of us dreading the inevitable onslaught of calls and messages from my grandmother.

"I win" Grace said visible irritated as her phone continued to ping with notifications.

"Don't even look, "Let's take tomorrow off and do something together", I suggested.

She picked up her phone and scrolled through, her eyebrows knitted, then her expression changed as a sultry grin crossed her lips as she read one in particular.

"I would love to", she said excitedly, but then added, holding her phone to her chest like it was a Dear John love letter. "Meera has invited me to go for a walk around Coulstone Lake. You can come too if you want?"

"I'm not going to be the third wheel", I assured her with a smirk.

Grace blushed at the word 'date' and started worrying about what to wear. "It's not a date, I don't think it is. Oh god Bella is it a date? What should I wear, I was thinking of walking books and my raincoat. Is that too casual, my raincoat is colourful though, you know it has the cute ducks on it".

Just breathe and don't overthink it", I advised, trying to calm her down. "You're going walking so a black mini dress and heels is hardly going to be appropriate is it. Don't wear the raincoat though. It's something a five-year-old would wear".

"Aw I love that raincoat" she pouted.

"I know, but don't wear it tomorrow" I replied.

"I should've said that was the good news, are you ready for the bad".

"No but tell me anyway".

"I skimmed through some of the millions of messages and emails and your grandma has arranged a meeting on our behalf with Leo tomorrow to go over some things".

My face dropped; I couldn't hide the irritation even if I wanted to.

"I can cancel with Meera and go with you", Grace offered, sensing my irritation.

"No, go enjoy your date and tell me all about it afterwards so I can live vicariously through you", I insisted.

"Are you positive?" she asked, her eyes bright with anticipation.

"I am", I confirmed.

She didn't need telling twice excitement radiating from her every move. She smoothed down her hair in the mirror, admiring her reflection with a satisfied grin.

"Your hair always looks stunning", I complimented.

She beamed at me before turning towards the door. "We'll catch up later, right?" she said eagerly.

But before she could leave, I stopped her with a cautionary tone. "Grace", I called out.

She paused and turned to face me. "Yeah?" she asked expectantly.

"Please don't wear the puddle duck raincoat".

She chuckled and waved dismissively, making no promises as she left. I reached for my phone, already feeling overwhelmed by the barrage of messages, demands, and even a guide on how to exude confidence that my grandma had sent me. Just as I was about to dive into yet another stressful task, a welcome interruption came in the form of a new message.

Hi Bella, it's Leo. I hope you don't mind but your grandmother insisted on giving me your number. She's arranged for us to meet tomorrow at Albion House. Please tell me you're aware of this because I feel a bit foolish messaging like this without your knowledge.

My heart did a little pitter-patter.

He's just messaging about work, only work. This isn't a date.

Not that I wanted one, I reminded myself sternly. But deep down, a small part of me couldn't help but wish for some time alone with Leo outside of work. Pushing those thoughts aside, I spent entirely too long typing a reply, then deleting it and repeating the cycle until finally settling on a casual reply.

Hey Leo, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Are you free around 2pm?