Free Stirred with Love by Marcie Steele Page B

floor. ‘You must be Kate?’
    Kate, embarrassed at being caught with her favourite knickers in her hand, quickly shoved them into a drawer. Rosie gave a grunt and headed across the floor, immediately demanding attention.
    ‘Yes, hi yourself.’ Kate swept Rosie up and onto the swirly pink and white duvet. ‘Are you in the room next to mine?’
    Chloe nodded. She began to stroke Rosie’s head, looking over as Kate grouped her toiletries and cosmetics together on top of the dressing table.
    Kate was older than Chloe had imagined. She’d assumed she’d be working with someone the same age as herself. She hoped it wasn’t going to be a problem as she watched Kate’s array of jumpers and t-shirts being put into the drawers. There didn’t seem much in the way of things that she could borrow, she sighed inwardly, as she scanned the rest of the suitcase.
    Kate straightened up to her full height and Chloe realised that she’d be known as the tall one again. Kate was small and thin, with hair that she envied already. Chloe would love to have straight hair of any colour. At least there were choices with straight hair.
    ‘Lily’s making coffee for us,’ she said. ‘I’m going to dump my stuff and go downstairs. See you in a minute.’
    ‘I’ll settle Rosie and then come down to you,’ Kate shouted after her.
    Hearing her name, Rosie bounced around like a kangaroo while Kate wondered where on earth she was going to put her cushion. It was bad enough that she had to stay in here. With all her snoring and twitching, she’d be lucky to get any sleep. Hastily, she pushed it under the dressing table and prayed that she’d settle quickly.
    Chloe was waiting for her on the landing when she came out of the room minutes later.
    ‘So, what made you come here?’ she asked as Kate walked downstairs in front of her.
    ‘Oh, you know,’ Kate glanced back shyly. ‘A new challenge, a change of scenery. Something like that. How about you?’
    ‘Oh, you know,’ Chloe jumped down a step at a time, ‘my first job, my first salary, my first taste of freedom away from home. I’ve just finished my A levels.’
    ‘How did you do?’ Kate asked, recalling how nervous she’d been when her results had been due. She needn’t have worried though. She’d passed all three.
    ‘I think I did enough to pass but I’m not sure the grades will be good enough for uni.’
    ‘There you are,’ smiled Lily as Kate pushed open the door to the café. Catching her breath as she pushed a tray onto a table she had dressed for the occasion, she turned back to the counter. ‘Help yourselves while I fetch the milk.’
    Kate’s eyes lit up. There was enough cake for ten people, let alone the three of them. She spotted her favourite Madeira cake alongside scones, a layered chocolate sponge cake and what must be a litre of cream.
    Chloe grabbed a mug and added two spoons of sugar before stirring it well. ‘This cake is delish,’ she exclaimed when Lily eventually sat down with them.
    Kate’s eyes rested on Chloe’s trim waist. She looked like she’d be able to eat anything and get away with it. She wondered if she exercised or if it was the youth in her that made it easy for her to keep the weight off.
    ‘I made it.’ Lily helped herself to the last mug. ‘My Bernard said he’d run a marathon if the prize was one of my cakes. We used to sell them in the café.’
    ‘I hope you’ll still be doing that once you’re up and running again,’ said Kate. ‘This Madeira cake tastes delicious.’
    ‘Thank you.’ Lily turned to the first page of her notepad and declared the meeting officially started. ‘Now I know that you’ve only just arrived, but I’d like to know, one more time, what does it suggest to you when you walk into the café?’
    ‘Lots of men coming in to taste your cake,’ said Chloe and they all laughed, if a little false and jittery.
    ‘Yes, I’m sure it does,’ said Lily. ‘And what about you, Kate?’
    The first time