Maggie snorted. ‘Oh, please. As if they’d recognise something real. God, I cannot stand her. She’s still behaving as if she’s the one in school, not a mumatthe school.’
‘I know, but it still gets to me.’
‘You’ve got actual evidence of someone showing up for you, not just in the good bits, but in the awful bits too.’
Daisy looked down at her coffee. ‘What if it all goes wrong with his mum here? Flipping heck, we already have to navigate how the twins fit in and now caring for the elderly too! It’s hardly romantic.’
‘You find the middle ground and you work it out together.’
‘You’re good at this Doom counselling.’ Daisy chuckled. ‘You should charge a hefty fee.’
‘I don’t need to. I get enough in my other job.’
Daisy smiled, then stood and topped up the kettle. The kitchen filled with the low bubble of water heating.
‘What’s your instinct, honestly?’ Maggie asked.
‘My instinct is that I want him here. All the messy, complicated, stressed-out bits of him and I want him to bring the people he loves, even if they don’t understand Pretty Beach at first. However, I am really selfish and I liked the bit where I just got to have my life and him there for the good bits. How self-centered is that?’
‘Very.’
Daisy poured hot water into a fresh mug, dropped a tea bag in and let it swirl. ‘He messaged this morning and said he was thinking about me. That he hoped my morning was ticking along okay despite the impending takeover of the building down the road.’
Maggie grinned. ‘Textbook lovely. I like him. I liked him before, but I like him more now since all of this has happened. Apart from that first vanishing thing, he hasn’t put a foot wrong.’
‘Nup.’
Maggie stood up. ‘I’d better push off if I want to make the most of my day off. Did you want me to do the school run later?’
Daisy shook her head. ‘Nope, thanks, we’ll be fine.’
‘Okay, I’ll get going then.’
Daisy saw Maggie to the back gate. ‘Thanks for the cake.’
‘No worries. Text me with an update about Miles and his mum.’
‘Will do.’
After Maggie had gone and the tea things were rinsed and the cake plates scraped, Daisy sat for a few minutes in the quiet and listened to the creaks and ticks of the old building settling around her. She nodded at the fact that she did like the good bits and that she was selfish, really. For once, though, it sort of felt okay to be just that.
33
Acouple of hours or so later, Daisy was walking through the back of the bakery on her way to see Chloe. She’d mulled over Miles bringing his mum to Pretty Beach and had decided that it was a good thing and that she would put the word out to find them somewhere nice. Arriving in the bakery office, Chloe was sitting at a very efficient-looking white desk in the corner, her head partially hidden by a Mac screen. She popped her head around after hearing Daisy come up the stairs.
‘Oh, hey, I didn’t expect to see you today. Problems with that stuff I sent you or do you need some more anti-corporation posters to put up?’ Chloe pre-empted.
‘No, no. Not at all. I’m nearly finished it, actually. I have enough posters.’
‘How are you feeling about it all?’
Daisy shrugged. ‘I feel a tad useless apart from putting up posters and commenting in the group. Until we have some more information, there’s not a lot to do apart from wait.’
Chloe lowered her voice. ‘Keep it to yourself, but Holly and Xian have had a few meetings with the estate agent.’
‘Oh, right. What, to get more information?’
Chloe held her hands up. ‘I guess so.’
