There was still half an hour before opening time when Pip called. Harper snatched the phone from the counter where she’d been polishing the glass of the display case.

‘Is everything OK?’ she asked before Pip had even greeted her.

‘Good morning to you too!’ Pip said in a bemused voice.

‘Only I tried to call you last night and there was no reply. I thought you might call me, y’know, in the circumstances…’

‘Because I’m in big scary London?’ Pip laughed. ‘Hey, look, I’m sorry. I was distracted – Esther and I were out for dinner and I didn’t realise how late it was. Out of order, I know, and I’m sorry I made you worry.’

‘It’s OK,’ Harper said. She clambered up onto a stool at the counter. ‘You know what I’m like.’

‘Wasn’t Shay there yesterday evening mopping your brow and distracting you from your worries? I’d have thought he’d have been staying every night while you had the place to yourselves.’

Harper paused. Shay had been there, but that was partly why she was so jittery. He’d been sweet, a complete departure from the night before when he’d turned up at the farm covered in cement dust with an attitude murky enough to match. He’d picked up some flowers from Cerne Hay’s one and only supermarket by way of an apology, and he’d even attempted to cook them a supper – although cheesy beans on toast wouldn’t have been her first choice. But the sweeter he was, the worse her guilt, because her thoughts kept wandering to Kristofer. She wanted to be straight with Shay, to tell him that Kristofer had been there helping her out, but she didn’t trust herself to do it without looking as guilty as she felt.

In the end, she hadn’t been able to tell Kristofer not to come back – she didn’t think she could cope with the disappointment that she knew she’d see on his face. He was clearly loving his new role as saviour of her café and her sanity, and she just knew that he was the sort of person who took what he saw as his duty to be kind and compassionate to all others very seriously. And a part of her had wanted to spend time with him again. She’d enjoyed her day working alongside him so much that she would have almost been happy to hear Pip say she wasn’t coming back for another month. But now, as she recalled he was due to walk through the doors any minute, she was plagued with misgivings again.

‘Shay was here,’ she said. ‘But you know I’ll still worry about you.’

‘Don’t worry about me,’ she said. ‘How are you getting on with him at the farm every day? Have you managed to keep your sanity with him under your feet?’

‘Actually, he only did one day with me and since then he’s had a job of his own.’

‘He took work this week?’ Harper could hear Pip’s frown in her voice. ‘But he knows how tough it is to run the tearoom and keep an eye on the animals.’

‘I suppose he has to take the jobs when they come his way; he has a business to run too. It was a pain, though. I had to close the petting zoo for a day; there was no other way around it, but it wasn’t too bad. And yesterday… well, I had help.’

‘That’s good. Who?’

‘Kristofer.’

There was a brief silence. ‘As in Francesca Logan’s friend? The Danish guy?’

‘He’s Norwegian. But yes, him.’

‘Yeah, Norwegian. I don’t quite understand how he’s got involved. I mean, it’s brilliant that you’ve managed to get help but… Did he need a job or something? I thought he was a writer.’

‘He is. But when he found out I was working alone he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Said he had time on his hands and it was all helpful for his research.’

‘Well I don’t see how,’ Pip said doubtfully. ‘Does he fancy you?’

‘Pip!’ Harper felt the blush rise to her cheeks, thankful there was nobody there to see it. ‘I’m engaged and he knows that.’

‘Doesn’t mean he can’t fancy you and it wouldn’t stop a lot of men from trying.’

‘He’s not like that. He just likes helping people.’

‘He must do. What’s Shay got to say about it? I can’t imagine him being happy.’

‘I haven’t had a chance to tell him yet.’

There was another silence at the end of the line, and Harper didn’t need to ask what it meant. Pip was processing the story and probably coming to the conclusion that most reasonable people would come to.

‘Harper,’ she said. ‘Is there the teeniest chance that you fancy Kristofer?’

Harper let out a too-hysterical giggle. ‘Of course not! Just because I’m letting him help in the café and I haven’t yet told Shay? I mean, he’s good-looking and everything, and most people would have to admit that, but I love Shay. So even if I did fancy Kristofer – which I don’t – it wouldn’t matter because I’m engaged to marry Shay.’

‘It wouldn’t be the first engagement to be broken.’

‘I love Shay,’ Harper repeated.

‘OK.’

Harper shot a glance at the doors, but the car park was still empty. There was still twenty minutes until opening and Kristofer would arrive soon, but she hoped it wouldn’t be too soon considering the nature of her current conversation.

‘Anyway, what I need to know about is you and Esther,’ she said, hoping to steer Pip away from her own love life and compose herself for when Kristofer did arrive. ‘I take it from all the time you’re spending together that you’re a couple again.’

‘Sort of. We’re spending time together, but as for anything permanent… well, it’s too early to say. For a start, a lot will depend on her getting a job and where she has to go to do that. If she stays in London, perhaps it’s doable for a while if we commute to each other. Other places…’ She sighed. ‘I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.’

‘But you’re OK with that?’ Harper asked. ‘The uncertainty of it all?’

‘I’m trying not to think that far ahead, because I can’t help how much I’m loving being with her. It’s like we’re two halves of the same soul when we’re together – you know? I don’t know how I lived so long without her. I don’t want to think about losing her again already.’

‘You’ll have some tough choices to make,’ Harper said. ‘You know I’ll support you, whatever you decide. So if you need more time, or if you decide you’re not coming back to Silver Hill, don’t feel guilty. You can tell me and I’ll understand. OK?’

‘I know you would, but I wouldn’t leave you in the lurch. I’m giving all that a lot of thought right now, believe me. Besides…’ a tone of mischief crept into her voice now, ‘it sounds as though you already have a willing volunteer to replace me if I decide not to come back.’

‘Nobody would replace you,’ Harper said, deliberately ignoring the dig. ‘But you’re back at the weekend regardless?’

‘Esther needs to go to Cambridge to see family, and we’ve agreed that we both have a lot to sort out before we make a decision on our future together – or not. So I’m coming back to Silver Hill and she’s going to spend a week or so there. I’m sorry if it sounds like I’m messing you around – I don’t mean to—’

‘I know,’ Harper cut in. ‘I can’t pretend it’s not an absolute pain trying to manage without you, but I understand how important this is for you to sort. Take as long as you need to decide, and when you tell me what the decision is, then we’ll do what we need to. Don’t worry about it for now.’

‘You know you’re brilliant, don’t you? The best friend in the whole world…’

‘Don’t you start getting emotional on me when I can’t give you a hug,’ Harper warned with a faint smile. ‘Just get things sorted and I’ll see you at the weekend.’

There was a tap at the glass doors and Harper looked across to see Kristofer standing outside.

‘I hate to cut you off, Pip, but I have to unlock the doors.’

‘Customers already?’ Pip asked.

A heartbeat’s pause. ‘Yeah,’ Harper said. ‘Customers.’