A Sprinkle of Sabotage
Page 24
‘Friends for life?’
‘Friends for life.’
We stood in silence again, but it was a rather more relaxed, companionable one.
‘I was thinking,’ I said, ‘if we’re still single in twenty years’ time—’
He laughed. ‘You won’t be single in twenty years’ time.’
‘Well, no, nor will you. But if we are…’
‘Let’s not plan that far ahead,’ said Tony, with a grin. ‘Let’s just see what happens, yeah?’
‘Er…’ I turned as I heard another voice behind me. Now Nathan stood in the doorway, looking awkward, holding two mugs of tea. Tony smiled.
‘Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, you’ve got a visitor.’ He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, then said softly, ‘Don’t miss this moment.’
I looked into his eyes; he genuinely seemed to be okay. I was relieved. He winked at me and said, ‘I’ll leave you to it, then.’ He crossed the garden and stopped for a second in front of Nathan. Neither of them spoke, but something seemed to pass between them. Or was I imagining it? It had been a tiring and emotional few days, after all. Then Tony went into the house and shut the door behind him.
Nathan cleared his throat. ‘Your mum made us some tea,’ he said, holding up the mugs. I sat on the wall, trying not to notice how cold it was under my bottom. He smiled and joined me.
‘Sorry, was I interrupting something with you and Tony?’ he asked, handing me my tea. I shook my head.
‘Nope, nothing at all,’ I said. We sat quietly for a moment, inhaling the steam off our tea. He looked up at the sky.
‘The stars are bright tonight,’ he said.
‘Not a cloud in the sky,’ I said. ‘That’s why it’s so chilly.’
‘Yeah…’
We sipped at our tea. I began to wonder why he was there, even though I was glad he was. I didn’t have to wonder for long.
‘So, I have some news about that job…’ he said, and my heart sank.
‘When are you leaving?’ I asked. I really didn’t want him to go. He opened his mouth to speak but I suddenly thought, No, don’t let him go without at least telling him how you feel. Don’t miss this moment!
‘I—’ he started.
‘Don’t go,’ I said. He shut his mouth abruptly, then opened it again.
‘What?’
‘Don’t go. We need you here. I mean, I need you here. I want you as my partner in crime. I want—’ I was already struggling for words, but then in the field behind me one of those blasted sheep farted (seriously, what had they been eating?) and totally threw me. Way to ruin the atmosphere. Literally. ‘That was the sheep, not me.’
He laughed. ‘I know.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I came to tell you I’m not going.’
I stared at him in amazement. ‘What? But it’s a great job, and it’s near your parents…’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Are you trying to talk me into taking it now?’
‘No! No, of course not. I just…’
He put his mug down, then gently plucked mine from my hands and set it on the ground. ‘Jodie, I’m not going anywhere. I told my old super that I’m not interested in moving back there anymore.’ He smiled and took my hands. ‘I put in for a transfer straight after Andrea changed her mind about moving down here, in the hope that if I went back then we could patch things up. Even after I realised that I didn’t want her any more, I still felt like an outsider here, like a … what’s that word you lot use?’
‘Emmet.’
‘Ha! Yes, I felt like an emmet, for a long time. And then I met you.’ He gazed deep into my eyes, and I thought, YES! THIS is how I should have felt when Tony kissed me! Tingly! This was exactly what had been missing. Nathan smiled, and, just as I had been on the day we’d first met when he’d questioned me at Tony’s disastrous wedding-that-never-was, I was struck by how absolutely bloomin’ gorgeous he was. ‘And now, you know what? Liverpool’s not home any more. I can’t go back, Jodie, because you make me feel like I’m already where I belong,’ he said simply.
And then finally – finally – he pulled me into his arms. And with the gentle night breeze toying with our hair, the stars above bathing us in their celestial glow, and the sadly unmistakable scent of flatulent sheep assaulting our nostrils, we finally, finally, kissed.
THE END
Jodie’s tried and tested recipes #3
Japanese kakiaage
These Japanese seafood and vegetable fritters are a lot easier to make than they are to pronounce, and they taste great! What, did you really think I’d give you the recipe for fugu sashimi? I don’t want you lot going off, eating poisonous pufferfish and carking it before you’ve bought book 4…
* * *
So anyway, I love Japanese food. Everyone thinks it’s all raw fish and karaoke with noodles, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Crispy and mildly spiced karaage chicken, ebi furai – deep-fried prawns in panko breadcrumbs, pan-fried teriyaki tofu… Japanese food is varied and delicious. Well, the savoury stuff is, anyway. I was originally going to find a nice Japanese cake or sweet recipe to finish off my adventure this time, but it didn’t end well.
* * *
Anyone who’s watched The Great British Bake Off will have seen several of the contestants use matcha powder, so I went in search of this exotic (and achingly trendy) ingredient. Matcha is green-tea powder, and the Japanese use it for all sorts of things. For starters, they drink it (‘tea’ in Japan doesn’t come with milk and two sugars. Heresy!), and they add it to all kinds of desserts, not just cakes but ice cream and mousse too. So on a trip back to London to visit some friends, I took Daisy to a fancy Japanese bakery (nothing like that here in Penstowan, or even in the cosmopolitan metropolis that is Truro). We chose a layered matcha crepe cake and a matcha cheesecake. Both looked absolutely amazing (and cost a flipping fortune). We both tucked in eagerly. The taste was strangely evocative; it brought back memories of the time I fell off my bike in the park when I was kid, and face planted on the ground with my mouth open, because both of them tasted like eating grass. Happy days.
* * *
So, a savoury dish it is, then! These fritters are deep fried in crispy tempura, a light batter that you can actually use to coat loads of different things. You can even do your Friday fish and chips in it. Or Mars bars, if you’re that way inclined (or Scottish).
Coarsely chop 7 or 8 medium-sized peeled, de-veined raw prawns – you want some nice little chunks, so don’t chop them too finely or they’ll get lost in the batter, and nobody wants to lose their prawns. Cut 1 carrot into matchsticks, or you can use sweet potato, courgette, or even a broccoli stalk – the bit that everyone throws away. You could use a mixture of these if you wanted to. Do what you like. I ain’t your mum.
Thinly slice an onion and a shallot (or you could use a couple of spring onions instead) and combine them with the other ingredients.
For the tempura batter, mix 1/2 cup of plain flour with 2 tablespoons of cornflour. Make a well in the centre and add 1 egg yolk and 1/2 cup of iced water, and stir until just combined. The traditional way is to stir it with a chop stick, and leave it a bit lumpy, but that goes against the grain for me and I have to beat it until it’s smooth. Add the chopped veg and prawns and stir them in until they’re just coated.
To deep fry, you’ll need a depth of around 5cm of oil in a saucepan, heated to 170ºc. You’ll know it’s hot enough if you chuck in a cube of bread and it sizzles (the way my bits do when Nathan kisses me) and quickly turns golden brown (my bits don’t do that). Drop 1/3 cupfuls of the mixture in to oil, making sure you get a good mix of ingredients in each one; you don’t want a cup full of batter, because it’ll just taste like a deep-fried Yorkshire pudding – which actually sounds quite nice, but isn’t Japanese. Fry on each side for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and crispy, then drain on kitchen paper while you cook the rest. The first one is usually a bit soggy because the oil is never quite as hot as you think it is. Or maybe that’s just me? Anywa
y, it’s a good excuse to eat it while you cook the others, because of course you don’t want to serve anyone else something that’s under par…
These kakiaage (and no, I don’t know how you pronounce that. I think it’s kaa-key-ah-hay, but don’t quote me on that because it could be wrong and I will deny it) are great on their own or served with a dipping sauce. Nathan likes them with sweet-chilli sauce, but that’s probably because it’s hot and sweet (and tasty), just like him…
Acknowledgments
These things get harder to write every time! Not because I did it My Way (cue music) or all on my own — far from it — but because I thank the same people over and over again, and quite frankly I owe them so much that it’s beginning to get embarrassing.
I’d like to be able to say, ‘thanks, you know who you are’, but that just won’t cut it, because these wonderful people deserve public recognition.
First and foremost, my husband Dominic and son Lucas. You two are the apples of my eye, the ying to my yang, the icing on my cake, and I love you. You have supported me (financially, emotionally, and probably even physically on occasion), and I am more grateful than you can imagine. Dominic, I hope to one day be so massively successful that I can tell you to quit your job and go and play golf all day. But for the moment you might just have to settle for some new balls (as it were). Lucas, I could win the Booker Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature and be chosen for the Richard and Judy/Oprah Winfrey/Reese Witherspoon book clubs*, and you would STILL be my greatest achievement.
I am also lucky enough to have the support of some brilliant ladies, all amazing writers themselves, who provide an oasis of calm during turbulent times, a plethora of shoulders to cry on, and a safe space to bitch, moan and vent when the need arises. Oh, and we laugh ALL THE FRICKIN’ TIME too, which is nice. Carmen Radtke, Jade Bokhari, Sandy Barker, Nina Kaye and Andie Newton, I consider myself blessed to have you in my life.
Ooh and I actually do have some new people to thank this time! Thank you to Julie Fergusson at the North Literary Agency, who has been looking after me so brilliantly while my usual agent Lina Langlee is on maternity leave, and thank you to Bethan Morgan and Charlotte Ledger at One More Chapter, who have taken over the reins on Nosey Parker. It’s a pleasure working with you.
And the final thanks is also a cheeky request. Thank YOU, dear reader (if you’re still with me), for reading this book. I appreciate it. If you enjoyed it, please take 30 seconds to leave a star rating or a review, and tell your friends about it. If you hated it, please don’t!
* * *
*yeah yeah, never gonna happen, I know…
Thank you for reading…
We hope you enjoyed A Sprinkle of Sabotage!
* * *
Do leave a review if so on all your preferred platforms to help spread the word!
You can also add the paperback to your collection!
* * *
Get your copy here!
You can catch up on the rest of the series by clicking the covers below!
Get your copy here!
Get your copy here!
Be sure to follow Fiona on Twitter @fkleitch and on Facebook @fionakleitch for all the updates on her latest work.
You will also love…
In the mood for even more effervescent fiction?
You will adore The Dog Sitter by Zara Stoneley, a hilarious and heartwarming romantic comedy about how one dog can lead two human hearts to tie more than one kind of knot.
Get your copy here!
You will also fall instantly for Love at the Little Wedding Shop by the Sea by Jane Linfoot, an utterly delightful summer romance set in the cosiest of Cornish villages where friendships are made for life and it’s always cocktail hour somewhere!
Get your copy here!
And don’t miss Before the Crown by Flora Harding, which immortalises the story of the secret engagement between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip in the wake of WWII.
Get your copy here!
Happy reading!
Fiona Leitch is a writer with a chequered past. She's written for football and motoring magazines, DJ’ed at illegal raves and is a stalwart of the low budget TV commercial, even appearing as the Australasian face of a cleaning product called 'Sod Off'. After living in London and Cornwall, she’s finally settled in sunny New Zealand, where she enjoys scaring her cats by trying out dialogue on them. She spends her days dreaming of retiring to a crumbling Venetian palazzo, walking on the windswept beaches of West Auckland, and writing funny, flawed but awesome female characters.
* * *
Her debut novel, Dead in Venice, was published by Audible in 2018 as one of their Crime Grant finalists. Fiona also writes screenplays and was a finalist in the Athena Film Festival Writers Lab, co-run by Meryl Streep's IRIS company.
Also by Fiona Leitch
The Nosey Parker Cozy Mysteries
Murder on the Menu
A Brush with Death
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
* * *
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower
22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada
www.harpercollins.ca
* * *
India
HarperCollins India
A 75, Sector 57
Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201 301, India
www.harpercollins.co.in
* * *
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
* * *
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
* * *
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
www.harpercollins.com