love the photos you post on that account.’
Beth grinned. ‘Exactly! I linked it to Facebook and Twitter so everything I post gets shared there automatically. I’ve even had a few customers pose with him and got them to hashtag the emporium.’
‘I’d need something of my own, though…’ Eliza rested her elbows on the counter as she thought about it. ‘If I can get the Gilberts on board then I can make lavender the central theme.’
‘Yes!’ Beth scrolled through her phone. ‘Look, there’s lots of popular lavender hashtags already. What about Made in Lavender Bay?’
‘Hmm.’ It had possibilities, but Eliza wanted something more personal, something to reflect the care and attention she took over the things she made. ‘How about With Love from Lavender Bay?’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘Or is that too cheesy?’
‘Oh, I love that! And I don’t think it’s cheesy, I think it’s adorable. You could make a little logo, like a heart made from stalks of lavender twisted together.’
Eliza couldn’t help but giggle, the excitement building inside her was too much to contain. If she made the logo simple enough, she could stitch it onto the clothes as well. ‘I’ve got to go and write all this down!’ She’d made it halfway around the counter before she spun back to peck a kiss to Beth’s cheek. ‘You’re amazing. Thank you.’
Feeling positive for the first time in months Eliza practically skipped through the front door of The Siren. A familiar sandy-curled head appeared from behind the bar, followed by a set of broad shoulders as her brother rose to his full height. ‘Hey, where’ve you been hiding?’
The smile on her face threatened to split her cheeks. ‘Not hiding, plotting my new venture with your gorgeous girlfriend.’
A dreamy look crossed Sam’s face. ‘She is gorgeous, isn’t she?’
Eliza rolled her eyes at the goofy expression, though secretly she was delighted to see her big brother so clearly smitten. He’d always been a bit of a rolling stone when it came to previous girlfriends, but Sam had fallen hook, line and sinker this time. ‘I’m guessing she’s about the same as when you left her this morning.’ She’d only meant to tease him, but wondered if she’d missed the mark when a frown crossed his brow.
‘Is everything all right with us? You don’t mind about me and Beth being together, do you?’
Hurrying around to the other side of the bar, Eliza threw her arms around his waist to give him a hug. ‘Of course, I don’t mind. It was a bit weird to begin with, but you guys are so good for each other—anyone can see that.’
Sam squeezed her back. ‘I’m really happy, Eliza.’
She loosened her arms to look up at him. ‘Good.’ A lump formed in her throat out of nowhere. She seemed to teeter on the edge of tears at the slightest thing, and it was getting on her nerves. Leaving Martin had been the right thing to do, and she still had no regrets over it, but that didn’t stop her mourning for what might have been or feeling guilty over her own part in the failure of their marriage. If it had been unremittingly awful—if he’d cheated on her or treated her badly—then things might have been easier. Instead it had been a slow, steady decline, as the bonds of love frayed away until nothing remained but a few strings of familiarity and a legal tie rather than any meaningful remnant of those vows they’d said to each other.
‘Ah, Eliza, don’t look so sad, I can’t stand it.’ Sam tugged a lock of her hair. ‘Besides, crying makes you look ugly.’ He danced back out of reach with an evil grin on his face.
Outrage at his teasing chased away her sadness, exactly as he’d intended, no doubt. ‘At least I’m only ugly when I cry, mister, which is more than can be said for you.’
‘Ouch.’ Sam staggered back clutching at his chest, then grinned at her. ‘So come on then, tell me all about this new venture of yours.’
As she helped him set up the bar for the day, Eliza explained about the customer admiring her clothes and how that had snowballed into plans for her own creative empire. ‘I’ll have to supplement it with working here at first because I’ll need every penny I can lay my hands on to invest in materials and equipment.’ Some of her excitement ebbed away. ‘Mum and Dad won’t be thrilled about it, I think they have their heart set on me taking over this place now you’ve got your restaurant and everything.’
Sam paused in the act of wiping down the bar and fixed green eyes the exact same shade as her own on her. ‘And they’ll get over it the same way they did when I told them about Subterranean. All they really want is for us to be happy and successful. Speaking of which…’ He pulled a thick white envelope out of his back pocket and placed it on the bar between them.
‘What’s this?’ Flipping it over, she spotted the name of the local council on the post mark, and excitement bubbled inside. ‘Is this what I think it is?’ A trained chef, her brother wanted to convert the pub’s old skittle alley down in the cellar into a high-class restaurant. The plans had been drawn up and submitted for planning permission, and Sam had been on tenterhooks ever since.
Sam scrubbed the back of his neck. ‘Yep.’ The look on his face was an agonised combination of hope and worry. ‘What if they said no?’
Coming home to help run the pub after their father fell ill had meant a lot of sacrifices for Sam. The Grand Diplôme from the Cordon Bleu he’d worked so hard towards should have been his ticket to a dazzling future, but life got in the way. His plans for Subterranean offered the perfect solution to achieving his dreams.
She lifted the envelope, feeling the thick wad of paper inside as though she could somehow fathom its secrets. It wasn’t just a single sheet, so that had to be a good thing, right? ‘If you don’t open it, you’ll never know.’
Sam laughed as he approached to pluck the envelope from her hand. ‘Thanks for the deep and meaningful advice, Yoda.’
‘You could always take it next door and open it with Beth.’
To her surprise, her brother shook his head. ‘No. If it’s bad news, I’m going to need some time to think about it before I talk to her.’ He tossed the envelope back on the bar. ‘Christ, just when it seems like everything is falling into place.’ Tucking his hands on his hips, he blew out a breath.
Her heart ached for the dilemma he might be facing. Give up his dream career, or give up his new-found love. Beth might have been ambivalent about taking over the emporium at first, but it had become obvious to Eliza in the past weeks since her own return to the bay that her friend was here to stay. And if Sam didn’t get the approval for his restaurant, she couldn’t see him sticking around for the long term.
God, she was as bad as Sam, borrowing troubles when there might be no reason for it! The idea for the restaurant was a sound one, and surely the council would be keen on something that provided a new attraction for visitors to the bay. Picking up the envelope, she thrust it at her brother. ‘Open it, so we can start celebrating.’
‘When did you get so pushy?’ He was smiling though as he eased open the self-adhesive flap.
Eliza flipped back the curls hanging over one shoulder and stuck her nose in the air with a sniff. ‘It’s the all-new assertive me, do you like it?’
He chuckled. ‘I kinda do, but don’t go changing too much, I’m
