Tea'd Off (Life On Victoria Square Book 6) by Lorraine Bartlett

Author:Lorraine Bartlett [Bartlett, Lorraine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781940801629
Publisher: Polaris Press
Published: 2019-10-03T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 3

On the morning of the dry run, Katie stood by the big refrigerated display case near the Tealicious front door, looking across the dining room with pride. She’d accomplished a lot since gaining possession of the building just a month before. Paint was an inexpensive way to transform a room, but it had worked wonders. Instead of looking precious, Tealicious now had clean lines, subdued décor, and white-painted metal bistro tables replacing the clunky old wooden ones. To save on linens, she’d purchased twenty pieces of heavy-duty beveled glass to place over the tablecloths, which made clean-up a snap. Each table would have a small vase of fresh carnations and baby’s breath, which could last up to a week or more. She kept the mismatched china but also bought a few dozen each of cups, saucers, and plates, all with the Tealicious logo on them.

But it was the kitchen where she’d made most of the changes after getting advice from Andy, Jordan Tanner, and Don and Nick from Sassy Sally’s B&B. It felt good to know that so many of her fellow merchants were rooting for her to make Tealicious a success. The only fly in the ointment was the somewhat annoying soft-rock music that played in the background; a compromise she’d made with her new manager, Janine, to keep the young woman happy.

Katie had made most of the food herself, from the scones, to the sandwiches, to the cookies, but she also had on hand a variety of jams from Booths Jams and Jellies, decadent hand-dipped chocolates from Sweet Sue’s Confectionery, and the bread for the cuke and egg salad sandwiches had come freshly baked from Tanner’s Café and Bakery that very morning.

She glanced at the big, black-framed, French country clock that graced the north wall as a focal point. The hands pointed to the Roman numerals ten and six. And, as predicted, her first guest had arrived precisely on time: Nona Fiske.

Although the breeze outside was warm for the month, and the sun shone brightly, Nona Fiske entered the shop bundled up as though a blizzard might hit at any moment.

“Good morning,” Katie greeted cheerfully.

Nona’s sharp gaze raked the empty dining room. “Where are the others?”

“They’ll be here soon. I invited you to come a little early because I thought we should have a little chat.”

Nona looked ready to bolt, but then Katie, who was at least three inches taller than her, sat down at the first table, where a freshly made pot of tea sat under its quilted, satin cozy.

“Please have a cup of tea with me.”

Nona’s pursed lips made a thin line in her already heavily wrinkled face. She must have been at least forty years older than Katie, and Katie had a pretty good idea what was the cause of the bitterness the older woman constantly spewed.

Nona slowly approached the table.

“Why not take off your coat and stay awhile?” Katie asked gently. “I’ve made a batch of my Aunt Lizzie’s butter cookies, as well as my favorite chocolate chip cookies—” She indicated the pretty rose-patterned plate.

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