Free Forty Things to Do Before You're Forty by Alice Ross

Annie,’ remarked Harriet. ‘Is that a new dress?’
    Annie tore her gaze away from Jake. ‘Um, no,’ she muttered, aware of a flush settling over her cheeks. ‘I’ve had it ages.’
    â€˜It really suits you. You should wear it more often. But come on. Sit down and tell us the news. Did you get that order for the amazing wedding cake you were talking about last week?’
    Relieved to be on slightly more neutral ground – and off her shaking legs – Annie slipped into the seat next to Harriet, which also happened to be directly opposite Jake. Hastily gathering her wits, she determined to act normally. Not only to prove to Jake that she
was
normal but, more importantly, to avoid arousing the suspicions of her friends. Portia’s teasing would be bad enough. Harriet and Jenny would be double the trouble. She drew in a deep breath and forced her lips into a smile. ‘I got the order,’ she confirmed.
    â€˜Well done,’ they chimed.
    â€˜Thanks,’ she muttered, wishing Jake wasn’t looking at her quite so intently. ‘It’s going to be a lot of work but I’m looking forward to starting it.’
    â€˜I take it this is quite a prestigious order, then,’ he said.
    Annie nodded. ‘It could be,’ she confirmed, addressing her reply to the table. ‘If I do a good job, it will hopefully lead to lots of new commissions.’
    â€˜Sounds exciting,’ he said, still looking at her in that way that made her heart beat just a tad quicker. ‘How long have you had the shop?’
    Annie lifted her head, her gaze immediately colliding with his. For a few seconds, lost in the dark hidden depths of his eyes, Annie had no idea how long she’d had the shop. ‘Oh, um, five years,’ she stammered, quickly pulling herself together. ‘I bought it just after I moved to Buttersley.’
    â€˜And in that time has built up a very successful business,’ chipped in Harriet. ‘Annie gets orders from all over the country.’
    Annie was aware of her flush deepening. Wasn’t it about time someone changed the subject? Please. ‘Not quite all over the country,’ she corrected her friend. ‘But word is certainly spreading.’
    â€˜What do you do, Jake?’ asked Jenny, much to Annie’s relief.
    â€˜This and that,’ he replied, sounding more than a little vague. ‘I’m working on a … project at the moment.’
    Annie resisted rolling her eyes. How many times had she heard Jasper say he was ‘working on a project’? Obviously a standard phrase for that set. Harriet and Jenny, though, seemed enthralled.
    â€˜That sound intriguing,’ said Harriet. ‘Tell us more.’
    Jake shrugged. ‘Not much more to tell. And it’s far from intriguing. Now. What about you ladies? I’m sure you get up to all sorts of interesting things.’
    Jenny tittered. ‘I wish. No. We’re just boring old housewives. Although we do dabble in a bit of cake-making. That’s where we met Annie actually. At an evening class learning to pipe. Annie, needless to say, was top of the class.’
    Jake turned to Annie and fixed her with another penetrative gaze. ‘Now why does that not surprise me?’ he said, his tone so soft and sincere that goose bumps erupted all over Annie’s body. The moment was broken by a shrill:
    â€˜Jake. Darling.’
    All heads snapped around to find Lydia strutting towards them, the front zip of her gold playsuit straining to hold in place her surgically enhanced assets.
    â€˜Sorry I’m late, sweetie,’ she gushed, perching on the seat next to Jake. ‘I got here as soon as I could. So … are you ready to go?’
    â€˜I, er – ’ began Jake.
    â€˜Jake and I have things to do,’ Lydia informed the group.
    At the sort of
things
implied, plus the ensuing conspiratorial look at Jake, Annie felt a prick of