‘Really? How come you might need time off?’
Liz took a sip of her drink, stalling. She’d nearly let the news about her pregnancy slip when it had been her idea to keep it quiet in the first place. ‘Alex and I are thinking of moving. We haven’t found anything yet, but we’re looking at houses, so I might be a bit tied up with that in the future.’
‘Oh, congratulations,’ Jay replied. ‘I know you’ve wanted to get a new place that you can put your own stamp on for a while now.’ He paused and then asked, ‘But will that mean you’ll be selling our flat?’
Jay had taken over Liz’s old flat when she’d moved in with Alex, and later Emma had moved in too. At the mention of buying a house, Jay looked so stricken that Liz felt the need to reassure him. ‘Don’t worry about that. I’m not looking at selling the flat — your home is safe.’
‘Thank goodness for that.’ Jay’s smile returned to his face. ‘I thought for a minute we were going to be homeless.’
‘I wouldn’t do that to you.’
‘But don’t you need the money to put into the new house?’
She shook her head. ‘When Dad died, he left me and Mel quite a significant inheritance from when he sold the farm. It seems fitting to invest that money in the house, so that Dad can become part of my future.’
‘That’s a nice idea.’
Liz changed the subject; she always began to well up when she spoke about her dad. ‘So, competitions. Do you have anything in mind?’
‘Nothing so far. I wanted to clear it with you first.’
‘Okay. As long as we give each other plenty of notice I’m sure we can work things out.’
‘Thanks, Liz.’
‘No problem.’ She paused. ‘I don’t suppose you’re thinking of enteringMasterChef, then?’
Jay laughed. ‘No, not yet anyway. That’s what Emma asked. But I’ve never done a competition before, so I thought I might start smaller.’
‘That does sound sensible. Although I’d say you’d be more than a match for most of the chefs I’ve seen on that programme.’
He blushed. ‘Thanks Liz.’
‘I’m imagining you’ll need to start on building your repertoire. Let’s have a look at the bookings we’ve got coming up and see if you can incorporate any of your ideas into the menus.’
* * *
Jay left Diva’s feeling so much lighter than when he had walked in only a few hours earlier. The thought of telling Liz had been weighing on his mind, but Emma had been right — Liz had readily accepted his ambitions. He should have trusted in both of them before now, then he wouldn’t have had to suffer so many sleepless nights. He whistled as he walked towards Tottenham Court Road Tube station. Liz had made a valid point, though — he did need to work on his repertoire. For years he’d worked at La Emporium cooking dishes inspired by Roberto and, although he had more creative input working for Liz, a lot of the dishes were designed according to either their clients’ requirements or whether the dishes were suitable for mass catering. For the first time in a long time, he’d be creating the dishes he wanted to cook. The ability to experiment filled him with joy. He would have to go through all the classic techniques and make sure he’d know what to do in any given situation. Jay stepped up his pace. He couldn’t wait to get home and start planning his future.
* * *
‘He wants to do what?’ Alex asked later that night.
‘He wants to start entering competitions to build up his own reputation,’ Liz replied calmly.
‘That’s going to take a lot of time and effort.’
‘It will, but it’s far better than I was expecting. At first, I thought he wanted to dissolve our partnership.’
‘It’s a shame about the timing, though. This is the last thing you need right now.’
Liz handed Alex a glass of wine and poured herself an apple juice.
‘It’s not great timing, and for a moment I was really tempted to tell Jay about the pregnancy.’
Alex looked horrified. ‘But you didn’t?’
‘No, I didn’t. We agreed not to say anything. Besides, it might make him feel guilty for wanting time off.’
