Page 36 of The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts

So they boxed up those items and put them to one side upstairs so that they wouldn’t get muddled up with all the other food.

With the shelves in the middle of the shop now empty, they each took an end of one of the shelving units and shuffled towards the front door. Josh pinned open both doors so that there was just enough room to carry it out onto the veranda and then around to the lane that ran alongside the shop.

As they put it down on the ground with relief, Josh said, ‘I’ll put it back once we’ve cleaned it and maybe given it a coat of paint.’

But when they went back into the shop, he appeared to change his mind.

‘Maybe we shouldn’t replace the centre shelves when we’ve cleaned up.’

‘I agree,’ said Amber. ‘It feels so much bigger now that we can see the middle of the room.’

It was still far too cluttered, she thought. For a moment she remembered how it had looked in Grandma Tilly’s photographs in 1900. It had seemed so warm and welcoming, full of character and life. But that was in a different time. Things had to change, she supposed.

They decided to carry on clearing the area in the middle of the shop, leaving the shelves up against the two opposing walls for the next day. As it was Sunday, the shop shut at four o’clock in the afternoon so they were able to carry on uninterrupted. Although, in truth, they hadn’t seen a single customer since before they started cleaning.

It was dusty and grimy work, but Amber was finding it hugely satisfying to begin to organise the clutter.

As she removed yet another tall pile of boxes, she realised with pleasure that there was an attractive wood-burning stove and fireplace on one wall that had been completely hidden from view.

‘Oh, it’s so pretty,’ she said.

The bricks in the fireplace had been left in their original bare state, with a thick oak beam running across as a mantelpiece. Underneath the black stove was a large slab of grey slate for the hearth.

Josh stared and blew out a sigh. ‘I’d forgotten it was here, to be honest,’ he told her.

‘It would certainly help with the temperature in here,’ she said. ‘And it’s a great feature.’

‘You think?’ asked Josh, looking surprised.

‘Maybe if it’s not so cold, people might linger in the shop a bit longer and spend a bit more money,’ she told him.

Josh laughed. ‘Amber Green! You’re secretly a hard-nosed businesswoman!’

She smiled. ‘Not really. I’d just like to bring back the feeling in my fingers and toes on a daily basis.’

They carried on clearing a few more boxes until finally, as it grew dark outside, they decided to stop.

‘Thank you,’ Josh said, turning to face her. ‘I don’t think I’d have had the courage to even start sorting out this place if you hadn’t been here.’

‘You’re welcome,’ she told him, blushing.

‘Maybe Mum’s right,’ he said.

She looked up at him for clarification and found his blue eyes burning into hers.

‘Perhaps things have changed for the better since you’ve arrived,’ he added.

‘I’m not so sure about that,’ she told him, brushing off the faint praise. ‘Well, what do you think about baked beans on toast for dinner?’

‘Only if they’re in date,’ he said, still watching her.

She quickly walked away and up the stairs. Sometimes the way he looked at her made her catch her breath. But he probably looked at everyone like that. He was quite an intense person.

And she was almost sure that her quickening pulse was nothing to do with the fact that he was becoming more good-looking in her eyes with each passing day.

16

Later that week, Amber had just finished clearing yet another pile of goods in the shop when Josh handed over his mobile for her to take a call.