“Oh God!” Raye lamented. “Have I spoiled the surprise? I have, haven’t I? Oh, me and my big mouth. Aiden calls me colander because I can’t seem to keep every thought I have from spilling out. Oops, sorry, Annie!”

“Don’t worry,” said Annie, smiling. “You haven’t spoiled anything. Mari must have forgotten to mention it.” She looked pointedly at John. “Would you like to see what I’ve done with the place? Consider it a VIP sneak preview.”

“Thank you, but no,” said John. “I’m in a hurry. Good-bye, Raye,” he said, kissing Raye on both cheeks. “Tell Aiden I’ll be up to see him soon.” He turned and glared at Annie. “Good-bye, Ms. Sharpe,” he said acerbically, and stalked off down the promenade toward the whopping 4×4 parked at the bottom of the hill.

Annie willed the gulls circling above to crap on his head, but they didn’t see fit to oblige.

Annie finished making Raye’s mocha and handed back her bamboo cup.

“Sorry,” said Raye. “I seem to have dropped you right in it. I guess a café opening up doesn’t quite fit with his plans to sell.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Annie reassured her. “He doesn’t scare me.”

“Oh, he’s a darling when you get to know him. Really!” she added, seeing the skepticism in Annie’s expression. “You must have just gotten off on the wrong foot.”

The man from environmental health finally arrived at about four o’clock. All was in order, as Annie knew it would be. It turned out she knew the agent from the Pomegranate Seed.

“I thought your name looked familiar when I got my list through,” said Stephan. “The Pomegranate hasn’t closed down, has it?”

“No, no,” Annie assured him. “I’m just trying my hand at something new.”

“You’ve picked a funny time to open a seaside café. End of season and all that.”

“I’m planning to stay open through the winter months.”

Stephan sucked air in through his teeth. “Are you sure? Most seaside places die a death off season. It’s not exactly a great place for footfall, is it?”

“Well, I’m not expecting to tap into the tourist market,” Annie replied. “But there’s a pretty tight-knit community here who seem keen to have a coffee shop on their doorstep.”

“I hope you’re right,” he said, though Annie could tell from his expression that he thought she was thinking wishfully. “It takes more than warm thoughts to keep a business afloat.”