MADE IN ESSEX. Laura Ziepe

the side and Jade felt the urge to run her fingers through it.

      ‘Hi, babe,’ she said, and kissed him hard on the lips, hoping to ease his annoyance at her being over forty minutes late.

      ‘Where have you been? Why are you so late?’ Sam asked petulantly.

      ‘I’m so sorry,’ Jade said as she sat down, ‘it’s just we had some issues with the new website and I had to sort them out with Tony.’

      Sam nodded and the look on his face told her he’d heard it all before. ‘You could have called earlier to tell me, you know, so I didn’t come here and have to sit alone for over half an hour. You did the same thing last week too.’ He looked offended as he sipped his glass of water.

      ‘I’m sorry,’ Jade said, gazing into his eyes to show she truly meant it, ‘please don’t be annoyed with me. Let’s have a nice evening, yeah?’ She grabbed his hand and held it across the table.

      Jade noticed his expression soften and felt relieved.

      ‘So, how’s it all going anyway with the website?’ he asked a few moments later, genuinely interested. She knew he found it attractive that she was taking a risk and running her own company with Kelly. He was proud of her.

      ‘It’s all coming together now,’ Jade grinned. ‘Kelly put on the first bikini in our collection today and it looked amazing. We know exactly what we want on the website, which is nearly done, and then we just need to make the rest of the swimwear, have a photo shoot so it all looks professional and then the website can go live. I can show you some of the categories we’re putting the various bikinis in,’ she said, getting her notebook out of her bag and passing it across the table to Sam.

      ‘That’s great,’ Sam said browsing through the pages. He laughed, ‘You take this red notebook everywhere.’

      ‘It’s in case I think of new ideas,’ Jade told him, smiling warmly. ‘I write everything down.’

      He looked at her lovingly. ‘You look nice tonight by the way.’

      ‘You’re joking? I’ve got hardly any make-up on and got ready in about two minutes! I’m as pale as a ghost!’

      ‘I like you looking natural, you know that,’ he said.

      Jade smiled. Sam always said the right thing and made her feel good about herself. Thank goodness he was nothing like her awful ex-boyfriend, Tom, who not only used to constantly make jokes about her being from Essex, but also cheated on her. She was so happy with Sam; he meant everything to her.

      ‘Anyway, there are some good films on at the moment at the cinema. Fancy it tomorrow night?’

      ‘Yeah, that’ll be great,’ Jade said, her eyes bright. Then she remembered, and her face fell. ‘Oh no, I can’t tomorrow night, sorry. We have a meeting with Tony about the website design. I don’t know how long it’s going to go on for.’

      She could tell Sam was trying to hide his disappointment. He lowered his voice and fiddled with his phone. ‘No worries.’

      ‘What about Saturday night though? We may be meeting Tony again in the afternoon but I can meet you in the evening?’ Jade suggested cheerily.

      Sam nodded. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d be worried about you and Tony.’

      Jade’s jaw nearly hit the table.

      ‘Only joking,’ Sam added when he saw her shocked expression, ‘Saturday night sounds good to me.’

      Jade hoped he was only joking. She couldn’t handle him starting to get jealous, especially about Tony. She thought of Tony and his dark hair and hazel eyes. She supposed he was quite good looking, in a rough round the edges kind of way, but she didn’t look at him like that. Tony was far too old for her too, Jade thought, she guessed he was in his mid-thirties. He was just Lisa’s cousin: their web developer. She didn’t want anyone else and wouldn’t dream of ever even looking at another man when she was with Sam. Why would she, when he was pretty much perfect?

      ‘Sam, I’m sorry I’ve been so busy lately. I promise you, it’s just work, nothing else.’

      ‘I know,’ he reassured her, ‘it’s fine.’

      CHAPTER 2

      ‘That’s definitely the one,’ Lisa said with tears in her eyes, as she was handed the tiny ball of fluff.

      ‘So you’re going to take her then?’ the woman asked, getting a little emotional herself.

      ‘How could I resist buying her with this gorgeous little face? She’s adorable,’ Lisa answered, stroking the puppy behind the ears, much to the dog’s delight.

      ‘You’ll love her,’ the woman said, with a twinkling smile. ‘They’re such good company; all they want is to be fed, watered and loved. My three sit on my lap all day.’

      Lisa was so happy she’d found her perfect Chihuahua. She was long haired and chocolate coloured and literally the smallest dog she’d ever held. There were two to choose from; a boy and a girl. The girl was smaller and had seemed to take a shine to her, so there was no doubt she was choosing the right one. She had also bought lots of pink things for when the dog arrived, so she didn’t really have much choice anyway.

      She had been ecstatic when her parents had finally agreed to let her get one. Since she’d split up with her fiancé, Jake, eight months ago, she hadn’t been herself. The guilt of cheating on Jake on holiday had been too much to bear and eventually she had admitted it to him. Ever since the day she had confessed to him, she hadn’t heard a word. One of his friends had texted her, asking to meet so he could give her some clothes she’d left at Jake’s and get some of his bits from her, but apart from that, there was nothing. Lisa had tried to send him messages at the beginning, but he’d just ignored her. Who could blame him? She was surprised she hadn’t seen him around and could never go out without searching the bar or club for his familiar face. She knew her parents just wanted to see her happy again, and if a dog was the very thing to do that, then so be it.

      Lisa had decided to get Jade and Kelly to look after the dog in the daytime when she was at work. Seeing as their business, Vajazzle My Bikini, was home-based, it wouldn’t be any trouble for them to dog-sit. They would be so excited about her new puppy, she just knew it. Kelly’s mum had a Chihuahua, Lord McButterpants, and they all adored him; now Jade and Kelly had their very own gorgeous puppy as their mascot. Lisa thought they were so lucky working together and their business was such a good idea. She couldn’t wait until they started making the swimwear so she could get some for her next holiday.

      ‘What are you going to call her?’ the lady questioned.

      ‘I think I’m going to call her Cupcake,’ Lisa said, her heart melting as she stared into the dog’s little coal-coloured eyes.

      ‘I can tell she’s going to be spoilt rotten,’ the woman said with an easy smile.

      ‘Most definitely.’

      Lisa could tell that the lady found it difficult letting the puppy go. She could see why though. Who wouldn’t get attached to this cute little thing? She placed her in the new pink dog bag she’d purchased, on the soft white blanket, and put the dog on the floor on the passenger side of her car. Cupcake sniffed around inquisitively, and Lisa felt guilty as the dog began to shake and cry when she pulled away.

      ‘There, there,’ Lisa soothed in soft tones, ‘now stop that crying. You’re going to be just fine, I promise. I love you lots already.’

      She couldn’t stop looking at her new pet the whole journey back. She even got beeped by another car because the traffic lights turned green and she hadn’t noticed, being too engrossed with Cupcake. Just looking at her and stroking her silky fur made her smile. She was the most beautiful dog in the world and she couldn’t wait for Jade and Kelly to meet her. They’d be so happy that they’d get to look after her every day!