‘Oh no – please join us,’ said one of the women that Anna had seated at the bench. She was leaning out over the fence, her face bursting with excitement. ‘We can all squeeze up!’

Anna shook her head. ‘No, I really don’t think—’

‘We don’t mind,’ the woman insisted, turning to gather support from her fellow diners. ‘Do we?’

Geoff looked pointedly at Anna. She briefly considered lying and saying that she only had enough ingredients for six meals, but knew he’d never believe that. She gave in. ‘I’ll bring an extra chair.’

He smiled, showing her all his teeth. ‘Great. I can’t wait to taste this food of yours. The reviews make it sound as if you should already have a Michelin star.’

At that he turned his back on her and went towards the woman, who was chattering excitedly about what an honour it was to share a table with such a renowned chef. Anna went back inside and grabbed an extra chair. When she took it out, Geoff was standing at the end of the table with his arms crossed. He barely even looked at her as he took the chair and positioned it right at the head of the bench.

Anna went back into the Fishergirl’s Luck again and pushed the door shut. She was shaking and her fingers felt numb. All of her confidence had vanished and now she was reduced once more to that minion in Geoff’s kitchen, waiting for him to criticize her food. She felt sick.

She grabbed the phone and dialled Cathy’s number. Her friend answered on the first ring.

‘Hello – what are you doing? Shouldn’t you be in service? Is everything all right?’

‘He’s here. Geoff’s here.’

‘What?’

‘He turned up out of the blue. The guests – they’ve made room for him. He’s sitting at the bench, waiting to eat. I’m not going to be able to plate, my hands are shaking too much.’

‘Hey,’ Cathy said, her voice snapping over from shocked to strong. ‘You listen to me. You can do this. I know you can. You know you can. You are not in his kitchen anymore. This is your table, your food. Take a moment. Drink a glass of water. Breathe. Then do what you were born to do. He can’t take this away from you, because he did not give it to you in the first place. Got it?’

Anna shut her eyes and sucked in a breath. ‘Yes. I can do this. I can.’

‘Damn straight, sister. I love you. Now go and do your job. Call me later.’