When her alarm went off, Rosie had been awake for a good long while. She put a hand on her chest, feeling her heartbeat. Her heart was slamming against her ribcage as though it wanted to break free from its confines.

The walk home with Charlie — her hero — had sobered her up, but the signs of a hangover were still very much present.

She touched her finger to the place on her cheek where Charlie had kissed her. Charlie. During the bouts of fitful sleep she’d had, Charlie’s face had appeared in her dreams several times.

Even though she knew Charlie would be leaving Otter Bay as soon as next week, meeting her had loosened something inside of Rosie. Not only the desire to kiss her on the lips instead of the cheek, but the possibility of change. Of something different. Spending time with Charlie had shifted her perspective and made her realise that she wanted other things besides waking up early every morning and spending her days in a ramshackle cafe.

This thought had dawned on her with the particular clarity that came with the kind of night she’d had. Fitful sleep alternating with long stretches of being awake had left her mulling over her entire life.

Around four in the morning, the conclusion had presented itself loud and clear. Images of her bank balance, memories of her mum and dad, hopes for Paige and, maybe for the first time ever, dreams for herself, had played like a movie in her mind, converging in the decision she was finally ready to make.

Rosie knew what to do. She’d known for a long time, but she’d been waiting for the right sign to cross her path. She laid a finger on her cheek again and gently pressed down.

“Look at this place,” Rosie said. She swept her arm about in a dramatic fashion, then brought a hand back to her head. The cider she’d indulged in last night might have been local, but it was not being very kind to her this morning. “It’s a dump.”

“It’s not a dump, Rosie,” Aunt Hilary said. “Sure, it could do with some sprucing up, but that’s not what this place is about.”

Rosie stared at the door. Charlie hadn’t been in yet. She was probably in bed, sleeping it off. But she had said she would come by today. She glanced at the clock on the wall opposite her — which looked just as worse for wear as the rest of the cafe. It was only midday. Charlie would probably stop by for lunch instead of breakfast today.

Rosie opened the folder she’d brought from home. It only contained one item — a piece of paper she’d picked up a while ago, when things had first taken a turn for the worse. She showed her aunt the For Sale sign she kept inside the folder.

Aunt Hilary shook her head. “Are you sure this is what you want? This place is your life.”

“Of course I’m not sure, but I’m definitely sure this place should not stay open the way it is, either. And I can’t keep stalling while I’m haemorrhaging money. I need to make a decision.” Rosie glanced at Aunt Hilary. She looked tired, her eyes sunken, the grey roots of her hair showing. She imagined she didn’t look much better herself.

Rosie had mulled it over in her head a million times, but she already knew all the pros and cons. She’d just been afraid to make the decision, because it would change her life completely.

Perhaps her evening with Charlie had something to do with that. If she no longer had the cafe to worry about, she could go to London at some point in the future to visit her. She pushed the thought from her mind immediately. That was not a valid reason to try and convince Aunt Hilary. It was just… Rosie didn’t quite know what it was. Just a feeling she got when she thought about Charlie and her self-assured, sexy ways.

“I do understand,” Aunt Hilary said. “But it’s a big decision, and, if you don’t mind me saying, you look a little exhausted this morning. Maybe it’s not the kind of decision to make when you’re not feeling one hundred per cent.”

“I look tired because I was up half the night coming to this conclusion. The only possible one.” She expelled a sigh. “I need the money to pay for Paige’s university.”

“Paige can get a student loan,” Aunt Hilary said.

Rosie shook her head. “Mum and Dad paid for my education. I want to do the same for Paige, so she doesn’t have to start her working life in debt.”

“If you put that For Sale sign up,” Aunt Hilary said, “you do know who’s going to be the first to make an offer, don’t you?”

“Greg and Linda Davies,” Rosie said, “most likely using their lovely daughter as a proxy.”

Aunt Hilary narrowed her eyes. “Speaking of the lovely Amy,” she said. “I heard there was a little, how shall I put it, altercation between her and the new girl in the pub last night.”

Rosie’s jaw slackened. She should have known that Aunt Hilary would have heard by now. You couldn’t bat an eyelid in this village without everyone knowing about it. If she sold the cafe, Rosie could get out of here, if only for a little while — take a break from Otter Bay’s stifling atmosphere.

“Yes, well, you know how annoying Amy can be.” Rosie almost said that Amy had it coming, but that wasn’t something she would say to her aunt.

“I think you know best of all.” Aunt Hilary tilted her head. “Do you really want Mark & Maude’s to become part of the Davies conglomerate?”

“Conglomerate?” Rosie chuckled. “I wouldn’t go as far as to call owning two B&Bs, one pub, and one cafe slash bar in town that.” When Rosie spelled it out like that, it was beginning to sound a lot like a conglomerate.

“You’re forgetting the wine bar and if they add another cafe to all of that,” Aunt Hilary said. “They’ll be one step closer to owning all of Otter Bay.”

“That might be so, but it’s not a reason for me to hold on to it.” Rosie picked at a serviette. She wasn’t sure she could hold her own against much more scrutiny. Because not only was her entire life wrapped up in Mark & Maude’s, her memories were as well. Her dad in the kitchen, with his indestructible white apron, her mum in the front, having a chat with every single customer — even the ones who didn’t much feel like chatting.

“I just wanted you to be aware of it.”

Rosie let her gaze swoop over the cafe again. What would Amy’s parents do to it if they bought it? They’d probably make it look like a replica of a trendy coffee bar in London — and put quinoa and smashed avocado on the menu.

“Someone else might buy it,” Rosie said, trying to inject a sprinkle of hope into her voice, but she couldn’t even muster that.

“I wish I could help,” Aunt Hilary said. “This place means a lot to me as well.”

Rosie took a deep breath. “Maybe we’ve let our feelings for this place stand in the way of making the right decision. It’s been losing money for more than a year. I have no savings. I can’t keep on sitting around waiting for something amazing to happen. It’s not realistic.”

“We might have a great summer,” Aunt Hilary said.

“Yeah, like last year.” Rosie hung her head. “When it rained almost every weekend.”

“Nothing we haven’t seen before. And people do love a pasty when it’s pouring down outside.”

“Yes, but a lot of them prefer to eat it in a fancier-looking place.” Rosie craned her neck and tried to look into the kitchen through the open door. She didn’t see Gina. When it was quiet — and it often was — she usually went out the back and sat on the bench outside, chatting on her phone to her family in Argentina. “And chances are Gina will have to leave soon.”

Aunt Hilary nodded. “Say you do sell it, what will you do?” Aunt Hilary’s eyes were narrowed in concern.

Good question. Perhaps it was that particular uncertainty that had kept Rosie from making the ultimate decision for too long. “Definitely not work for the Davies’,” she said on a sigh. “I couldn’t bear that.”

“You should be able to get a good price for this place.” Aunt Hilary scanned the cafe, as though making an estimate in her head. “You’ll be able to get by for a while, until you find your feet, at least.”

“I’d love to go to America,” Rosie said. “Drive down the Pacific Coast Highway, like Mum and Dad did before they had me.”

“I’d miss you if you went.” Aunt Hilary drew up a corner of her mouth. “But I’d understand if you wanted to leave. You were never meant to come back here in the first place. You’ve done more than your best. You looked after Paige.” She cocked her head. “Maybe it is time you put yourself first.” Aunt Hilary leaned over the table. “And it’s not as if Otter Bay is teeming with eligible bachelorettes, is it?”

Did her aunt just wink at her? Rosie grinned to let her aunt know she appreciated the sentiment, but it was a little disconcerting to have that kind of conversation with her nonetheless.

Rosie picked up the For Sale sign. “So, what do you say? Shall I put this up?”

“Have you talked to Paige about it?”

“I haven’t told her my final decision yet.” Rosie had always tried to shield her sister from money woes, but Paige was a bright girl, and she could put two and two together. “I’ll talk to her after school.”

“How do you think she’ll react?”

Rosie pursed her lips. Not long ago, she’d wanted to keep the cafe and stay in Otter Bay, so Paige could have a place to come home to in between terms. “She’s going away soon. Her life’s going to go from Otter Bay dreariness to Bristol University excitement. She cares about this place, I know that, but her life’s about to change so drastically, I think she’ll accept my decision.”

“Are you sure you want to hang that up before you’ve talked to her?” Aunt Hilary nodded at the sign.

“I’m afraid that if I don’t hang it up this very second, I’ll start changing my mind again.” Rosie fidgeted with the edges of the For Sale sign.

Aunt Hilary gave a slow nod. “It’ll be the end of an era.”

A pit the size of a football seemed to sink right down to Rosie’s stomach. Saying it and doing it were very different things. She didn’t know if she could actually instruct her hands to lift up the sign and stick it in the window. It was such a monumental act of change. But Rosie needed change. This was the only option. And she needed the money.

She considered asking Aunt Hilary to put up the sign for her, but it was important that she did it herself. Like an act of transition. The first step to a new life.

Rosie stood and walked to the window closest to the door. The sign would be most visible if she hung it next to the menu. She fished a roll of Sellotape out of the back pocket of her jeans. She’d put it there that morning, when she was still feeling extremely determined to do this.

“Here we go,” she said, and stuck the sign on the window. Mark & Maude’s was now officially for sale. She stared at the sign and, for a split second, contemplated taking it down again. That ball in the pit of her stomach was not getting any smaller. But she’d crossed the first hurdle. It might have been hard, but there were opportunities on the other side of this as well. Rosie tried to focus on those instead of the memories the cafe evoked.

A shadow passed by the window. Someone outside stopped to look at the sign. With the way word travelled in Otter Bay, soon the entire village would know. Rosie tried to make out who it was checking out the For Sale sign, but she couldn’t see their face. Whoever it was, she was sure they’d do a good job of spreading the word.

She was about to turn around when the door swung open. The person who’d been eyeing the sign was coming in. The questions would be starting already.

Rosie braced herself and, as she straightened her spine, came face to face with Charlie.