Chapter 83
CHAPTER 83
“ W ow, well, at least you know how he feels about you,” Sophie said after Gemma told her what Kent had said on the phone. “He loved you since the Muddy Duck? Wasn’t that your second date?”
“First official,” Gemma said, but she didn’t want to talk about that. There were other parts of the conversation playing over in her mind. There was the way he had said our cafe, stressing the first word, like it genuinely belonged to them both, which it didn’t. And then the actions speak louder than words part too. “What actions is he talking about?”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Sophie said. “You made him sentimental. He’s not going to accept Harrison Dean’s offer. That’s what he means.”
“But he needs to,” Gemma replied. “He can’t afford to keep the place going and pay himself a living wage. He lives in a caravan on his friend’s farm, for crying out loud.”
“You didn’t tell me that?” Sophie said, but Gemma didn’t respond.
Kent’s living situation wasn’t the type of information she thought he would want shared—especially not with his employees.
“So maybe he’s found another investor?” Sophie suggested. “A way of finding the money. That’s what it comes down to, right? Money.”
Something was niggling at Gemma. Something Sophie had said that didn’t sit quite right with her, though it took her a moment longer to realise what it was. Sophie’d said that Gemma had made Kent sentimental, but she was wrong. He had always been sentimental. That was why he wanted to make a profit on the cafe as quickly as possible. That was why he needed money. Because his sentiment lay elsewhere.
Suddenly, she knew exactly what his action was going to be, and she couldn’t let him do it.
“Sophie, you’re in charge of the coffee shop until I get back,” she said, already running for the door.
“What? Why? Where are you going?”
“To put this right.”
“Well, how long are you going to be?”
“As long as it takes,” Gemma said.
It probably wasn’t the most helpful answer, but it was the only one she could give. As she raced out the door, she was already opening her phone and flicking up the map. She had a long drive ahead of her.