Free Someone Like You by Victoria Purman Page A

up to our market, buy a few things and have breakfast, just like the produce markets at Willunga and in the city. It’s a win-win. You get to feel good about supporting the local community and we get to sell bucket loads of bacon and eggs and coffee on a Sunday morning.’
    Lizzie sat back, feeling slightly exhausted. Nerves had triggered her excited info dump. She needn’t have worried. Ry didn’t look bored. In fact, he looked interested.
    ‘Have you worked out what this would cost?’ Fair enough question, she thought. Ry was a businessman, after all. She knew the dollars and cents had to add up for him. Unfortunately, that’s where her middle of the night plan hadn’t been fully thought through.
    ‘I have to admit…I haven’t got a clue. We’ll need a few decent-sized trees around the boundary so we get some natural shade out there and we’ll have to dig up that horrible hot bitumen, pave and do some landscaping. Maybe we could have a couple of shade sails? And there would be the cost of the extra tables and chairs, lightweight ones that we could store in the old shed over winter.’
    Lizzie was starting to feel the excitement bubbling in her stomach. She didn’t know if it was making her feel thrilled or nauseous.
    ‘It’ll need council approval, especially if we’re getting rid of car parks.’
    ‘I’m sure you can swing that, Ry. You got the Windswept Development approved, didn’t you?’
    He smiled ruefully. ‘It only took a year of lobbying every local councillor, the Mayor, the State planning authorities and one very powerful local matriarch whose family has lived here since whales were hunted off the south coast. And in the end, what really swung it for us was that we’re remediating a dirty old industrial estate.’ Lizzie could see him doing the sums in his head. ‘So what time-frame do you have in mind?’
    ‘I was thinking we should get it done by Christmas.’ She blurted out the words so he wouldn’t realise that it was only a few weeks away. ‘If we could get one Sunday market organised by then, we could promote it as a Christmas event.’ A thought flashed through her mind about the perfect person to play Santa. At least he had the right beard.
    Ry looked hesitant. ‘That timeline’s gonna be tough, Lizzie. Almost impossible.’
    ‘We can do it, Ry.’
    He pondered and looked her in the eye, as if judging whether she would cave at the slightest scrutiny. And then his expression transformed from sceptical to energised, like a lightbulb had gone off above his head. When Ry reached his hand over the table to shake Lizzie’s, she gave him a firm grip.
    ‘Lizzie, you’re a genius. I don’t know why the previous owners didn’t make you manager years ago.’
    ‘Really? I can do it?’
    Ry grimaced and gave his head a little shake. ‘Well, that’s the only bit I’m having trouble with. The bit where you think you can do this all on your own.’
    ‘Well, obviously I can’t do the paving or plant the trees—’
    Ry held up his hand to shush her. ‘Hold on. Before you get too excited, you have to hear my two conditions. Firstly, I reckon we should let Julia loose on the local council, don’t you? I’m sure she’ll enjoy that. She’s antsy about the wedding and without a date set, she can’t go ahead and plan the living daylights out of it. I’ll ask her to consider a little consulting work. Pro bono, of course. ’
    Lizzie couldn’t believe what he was saying. He was really going to let her do this – and Julia would be in on the project too. If she felt any happier, she’d burst.
    ‘I take it from your reaction that’s a yes?’ Ry smiled at her.
    ‘Yes, yes, yes!’ Lizzie clapped her hands together in glee. She jumped up from her chair, rounded the table, grabbed his shoulders and planted a big kiss on his forehead.
    ‘Whoa, hold on. You haven’t heard the other condition.’
    Lizzie sat down again, excitement heating her cheeks and giving her a shiver all over.