That morning Sam had been in early at Stargazey Pie with Stefan, baking extra stock for the festival weekend. Stefan was manning the van with a part-time assistant as Sam would be completely taken up with her festival duties. At lunchtime, she nipped out to make some calls and check out the Chef’s Theatre, which was taking shape by the harbour. Dings and clatters filled the air, and Pirate FM blared out of a ghetto blaster. The seating was already in place, and the contractors were installing the stage, some of them bare-chested under their hi-vis waistcoats. Although it was only half past nine, the sun was beating down, leaving the builders with a sheen of sweat as they worked. Sam had heard the weather report and found it hard to believe that strong winds were forecast to blow in that evening.

After its re-spray, the Stargazey van was looking better than new in its slightly upgraded livery. The insurance had agreed to pay and the re-sprayers had done a cracking job so that was one thing off her mind. Sam had been worried that the Phantom Paint Flinger might try again but there was nowhere else to park the van other than outside the unit, so she’d had no choice but to cross her fingers and pray there was no further damage. The police had drawn a blank in their investigations and obviously, with more serious things to deal with, Sam had resigned herself to never finding the culprit.

As for Gabe … since the party she hadn’t seen that much of him as he’d had to return to London for most of the week. She hated to admit she’d missed him, or think about the way her stomach did a flip when he waved at her from outside the Tinners’. Even if they resolved their differences over Ryan, another worry had taken root. Gabe had hinted he wanted them to get back together, but how would that work? Practically, she supposed he could spend part of the time in Porthmellow, though the physical distance didn’t bother her as much as the way their lives had diverged. Gabe was used to the pace and glamour of London, and he might enjoy the attention of his fans far more than he let on. Sam lived a quiet life in the company of her friends in a town that would probably never have been big enough for Gabe, even if they hadn’t split up over Ryan.