Chapter 40
Sasha felt humiliated. She felt like a complete fool.
What use was her psychic intuition? She hadn’t been able to detect that Ben was her enemy all along.
This ridiculous thing between them – this physical lust, attraction, whatever it was. It had clouded her judgement – just as Por Por had warned her.
She had to admit, she’d never been able to read Ben. With or without matcha. She’d failed to work out his intentions. She’d thought she knew him – but she hadn’t at all.
He’d only come into her café in the first place, the day she’d drenched him in water, because it was the property he and his business partner Rafe Allbright were targeting for their showroom.
He’d deserved the manure-filled drenching after all!
If she’d known, she’d have thrown the entire contents of the hanging baskets at him.
Had he purposely come to distract her? Discredit her matcha readings, her matchmaking service?
There was a lot she didn’t know. It was enough that she’d worked out that he was a partner with her rival for this lease.
They were the competitors who’d increased the lease renewal by thousands of pounds, making it impossible for her to compete.
Ben hadn’t exactly lied. But he hadn’t come clean about who he was or who his partner was. He’d heard her and the committee talking about Wisdom Kitchens. He knew then. But he’d kept silent.
She felt so gullible. He’d had no qualms about using her.
It was all her fault. If she hadn’t fallen for Ben, her intuition would have been sharper, stronger around him. She might have realized who he was involved with and what he was planning. She might have seen he was trying to suss out the café to lease it for himself.
Instead she’d been dazzled by his brown eyes with gold glints and those cute dimples. She’d fallen for him after the kiss in her garden and his strong comforting arms around her.
Even now, something inside her still wished he could hold her. Last night she had fallen asleep against his chest. It had felt like the best thing in the world, to be held securely all night.
It was all a lie.
She tied on a plain grey apron. Her mood was too low for cupcake prints. Her eyes were swollen from crying so she didn’t bother with eyeliner, just slicked on a tinted lip balm. She gave the counter a quick wipe and plumped up the cushions.
By now it was nearly eleven and she could see a customer outside, so she opened up.
‘Hi!’ The young woman with auburn curls in a side ponytail smiled and waved.
Her beret and yellow sundress were so like Chloé’s, she had to be another follower.
‘Hi, could I have a matcha latte? And I wondered if I could book the Matcha Maker Special? Chloé said you saw her dancing at her wedding with her perfect match. I would love anything that can tell me who’s mine. ’
Sasha looked at the young woman, feeling bitter. Her eyes were full of dreams and her expression so expectant. Sasha huffed and sighed. Another amazing, fabulous woman, vulnerable to being duped by love.
She felt too disappointed to be able to give this attractive woman any hope.
‘I’m sorry – not today – I’m mentally exhausted from the festival. I’m taking a breather. The café is closing at the end of the week, but I have a website – I’ll post on there when I start the readings again.’
The smile on the woman’s face dropped. ‘Oh, OK – well, in that case, I’ll have a matcha latte with salted caramel and cinnamon. And can I have a slice of that luscious-looking baked cheesecake? Since I can’t have love, I’ll have cake instead.’
‘Sure.’ Sasha nodded. ‘Great choice.’ A delicious slice of cake was a great replacement for love. In fact, it was better. Cake didn’t lie to you, or let you down, or break your heart.
She would take her matcha matchmaking website down for a bit. She felt too bruised by what had happened with Ben to be filling people with hopes of finding true love. But she would find her way back to it eventually.
Klara came in around teatime. ‘Hey – how’d it go last night . . .?’ She stopped, her suggestive grin disappearing. She immediately sensed something was wrong. ‘What happened? Is there someone I need to kill?’ She rolled up the sleeves of her peach silk blouse.
‘No – not kill . . .’ Sasha swiped the back of her hand at her eyes, as tears trickled down.
Klara pressed her lips together. ‘Something wrong with his . . .?’ She wagged her pinky finger salaciously, making Sasha laugh through her tears.
‘Kla-raa! No, nothing like that.’
‘So – you did or didn’t?’
‘We did, if you must know, but . . .’
‘Then what’s the problem?’
‘His business partner – I found out that Ben is Rafe Allbright’s local partner. The one Eleanor mentioned. With Wisdom Kitchens.’
‘What?! Oh, Sasha!’ Klara was shocked. ‘What the actual fuck? So – you mean he’s partnered with the kitchen people – they’re helping him sell his ceramics?’
‘I don’t know. But I won’t be here after Friday, so you can tell me. I’m calling my parents tonight to tell them I’m moving home for a while.’
‘You can always stay with me, you know.’ Klara pulled her into a hug and stroked her hair.
Sasha leaned into Klara, squeezing her tight. ‘I know, but – I have to get away for a bit. I might come back . . .’
But she wouldn’t be able to stay in the same town as Ben, with him and this Rafe Allbright taking over her café. She would want to be as far away as possible.
Nathan trooped in. ‘Yay me! I’ve finished my assignment – ready to hand it in tomorrow morning. Aren’t I amazing, it being the weekend of the festival and all? Just saying. So, Klara – have you told her?’
‘Told me what?’
‘Sasha – no excuses – you’re coming to your own Heart of Bramley Green celebration tomorrow night, after the café shuts. The committee are booking the café for the evening, so they can present you with your award.
‘All right,’ said Sasha, shrugging. ‘I guess it’ll be a good time to say goodbye to everyone.’