Free The Seafront Tea Rooms by Vanessa Greene Page A

discussing their initial impressions. Charlie ordered a few extra things, and asked the waitress to bring them some water.
    ‘Should we be taking notes?’ Kat asked.
    ‘Definitely not,’ Charlie said. ‘We don’t want them to know we’re reviewing, so just relax and enjoy.’
    ‘If you insist.’ Séraphine smiled. ‘Shall we try these? She pointed to the macaroons. ‘They’re familiar territory for me.’
    ‘Rude not to, really,’ Charlie said, passing one to Kat and taking one for herself.
    Charlie finished hers in two bites. ‘What do you think?’
    ‘Good – there’s an exquisite subtlety to the pistachio flavour,’ Séraphine said.
    ‘They haven’t gone overboard on the filling, either. A pretty perfect macaroon all in all,’ Kat said.
    They drank their way through a pot of tea, enthusiastically sharing thoughts on the almond slices and chocolate éclairs. When only crumbs and tea leaves remained, Kat asked Charlie what the next stage of the process was.
    ‘We’ll pool our notes, then write up the reviews, and the final stage is to email them over for approval. I’m guest-editing this edition, but Jess, my boss, will still have the final word.’
    ‘That sounds good.’ Kat said. ‘Well, I’ve got a lot to say, already. I love this place.’
    ‘How come you haven’t been here before?’ Charlie asked her. ‘You only live an hour away.’
    Kat toyed with her cup and saucer, stalling. Charlie waited for her to speak, her blue eyes kind, her expression open and relaxed.
    ‘I can’t afford this sort of thing,’ she said. ‘Since Leo arrived, we can’t stretch to much beyond the occasional trip to the Seafront. And even then Letty sometimes helps us out.’
    ‘I see,’ Charlie said. ‘Letty seems kind.’
    ‘Letty’s wonderful,’ Kat said. ‘She always puts other people first. She helped me out when I needed it most.’
    ‘When was that?’ Séraphine asked.
    Kat paused, looking at Charlie and Séraphine. She barely knew them, but something told her she could talk to them honestly.
    ‘Messy break-up, with Leo’s dad.’
    ‘What happened?’ Charlie asked.
    ‘We weren’t ready to have a baby,’ Kat said. ‘We’d only been living together a couple of months when I got pregnant with Leo.’
    ‘How did he react?’ Charlie said.
    ‘Pretty badly. He missed our old life a lot, and I guess he responded by carrying on living it – going out with friends, drinking, coming home late. Having a child brings some people together, but in our case it drove us apart.’
    ‘That must have been very hard,’ Séraphine said.
    ‘It was a lonely time, yes. We didn’t talk enough.’
    ‘Are things any better now that you’re separated?’ Séraphine asked.
    ‘They are, yes. We’re finding a way, muddling through – he’s finally started to embrace being a dad. Leo’s staying with him up in Scotland at the moment, the first time that we’ve done that.’
    ‘You seem very forgiving, and strong,’ Séraphine said.
    ‘Ha ha,’ Kat said. ‘I’m not that strong. I just get on with things as best as I can. It does sometimes seem as if everyone else’s life is smooth sailing, though.’
    ‘I don’t know about that,’ Charlie said, with a wry smile. ‘Mine certainly isn’t. I thought I’d be getting married next spring – that didn’t exactly work out as planned.’
    ‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Kat said. So Charlie’s life wasn’t perfect after all. It surprised her.
    ‘These things happen.’ Charlie shrugged. ‘But I won’t pretend it didn’t knock the wind out of me. I met him at work, and after a year we moved in together. For the first time in my life, it seemed as though everything was going according to plan,’ Charlie paused, thinking about Ben. ‘I’ve kissed enough frogs, and I was sure that Ben was different. He was a good guy – everyone told me so – and when he asked me to marry him I didn’t hesitate. This was it. He was The One. My happily ever