Page 144 of Daddy's Pride
“I can tell. Look, you don’t have to lunch with us if you don’t want to, but you’re clearly really overwhelmed at the moment.”
“It’s okay, Brianna’s taking me out for dinner tonight.” At the sound of Bri’s name, Susie’s face lit up. “I always feel better after I’ve had some Bri time.”
If Isla’d had any doubts about whether or not Susie’s best friend Bri could mean something more to her boss, they were instantly washed away. She doubted that Susie was even aware of it herself. Lesbians. It still amused her how many times people thought that they were just best friends when in fact their relationship meant far more. “That sounds like an excellent plan. So yes to lunch?”
“Yes please,” said Susie. “We going out?”
“Sushi in the garden,” said Isla. “I’ll go grab it now.”
It was one of the nicest things about Stuffie Hospital London. Because the building was a converted old house, one of those fancy tall ones that peppered the streets in Central London, it came with a garden. A small one, to be sure, but Susie had spent a fair amount of time and money sorting out the decking and furniture, and when the British weather deigned to grant them sunshine, it was a lovely space to sit in.
Perfect for tearful clients who didn’t want to be separated from their stuffie for a night.
And perfect for a summer lunchtime.
Isla made her way down the road to the independent sushi bar, and picked out a selection of some of her favorites, and then paused before picking up a large seaweed salad and some pickled veggies. Rachel never ate enough greens.
By the time she got back to the office, Rachel was in reception, bouncing up and down in excitement. “Isla! I got so much to tells you!”
“I got sushi, and Susie’s going to join us, if that’s okay?”
“Of course! We in the garden?”
Isla nodded, and after calling up to Susie, headed through the Restoration Hub to the back garden.
Rachel flung herself onto the rattan couch, reached out for the bag of sushi, and started chattering away to Susie as the other woman joined them.
Isla found herself smiling unwittingly, as she often did around Rachel. They’d been the best of friends since their university days, and couldn’t be more different. Isla was short, Rachel was tall; Isla’s hair was cropped short in a blonde pixie cut, Rachel had long, honey-colored tresses; Isla was quiet, Rachel was… not.
Sitting down, she ruffled Rachel’s hair and tucked in to her sushi, listening to the conversation.
“And so I told Cat—she’s the one who thought it up—that I think it’s an excellent idea! All the alternative markets are aimed at Bigs, and that’s fine, and there’d definitely be crossover, but there are things that Littles would want, that Littles would like, that you just wouldn’t find at a standard kink market. And she asked me if I’d like to partner with her and so we’re going to do it!”
Isla blinked. She’d clearly missed an important step somewhere along the way. “Sorry, do what?”
Rachel turned and beamed at her. “We’re going to run our own kink market for Littles!”
Chapter Two
Rachel didn’t understand why Isla and Susie weren’t immediately telling her what an amazing plan it all was.
Susie was smiling, sure, but Isla looked like she’d been hit by a sledgehammer.
“Rachel, have you really thought this through? I mean, where is it going to be?”
“In Brighton!” she said. “We’re going to call it The Littles’ Market by the Sea!”
“That is an adorable name,” said Susie. “Do you think that we could have a stall?”
“Yes!” said Rachel. “That was part of my reason for telling you guys about it! It would be amazing to have Stuffie Hospital London repped there, though there will be other… you know…”
Susie laughed. “If it’s a kink market, I’d hope there would be!”
Isla still hadn’t said anything. Her brow was furrowed, and Rachel couldn’t tell what her best friend was thinking. “Isla?”
The blond opened her mouth to speak, and then paused, as if taking stock. “I really like the idea, and there’s definitely an audience for that kind of event, but that’s a hell of a lot of work on top of your already busy job.”
“That’s why I’m joining with Cat! And she lives in Brighton, so one of us is closer to the site.” Rachel’s jubilance was starting to abate slightly. “You don’t think I should do it, Isla?”