Page 65 of New Beginnings on Railway Lane

‘Is that what I think it is?’ asked Harriet, her eyes lighting up.

‘It’s my marvellous hot chocolate, if that’s what you mean,’ replied Libby, with a grin. ‘And I’ve got squirty cream in here too.’

‘You made this?’ said Katy when she was handed a mug full of steaming hot chocolate.

Libby nodded. ‘From bean to the mug,’ she said, looking a little proud of herself.

Katy sat down on the leather bench and took a sip. ‘Wow,’ she said. ‘That’s sensational.’

‘I know,’ said Libby with a smug smile. ‘I add a tiny bit of chilli, which makes all the difference.’

‘Where did you learn about this?’ asked Katy.

‘One of my long-haul flights a few years ago was to South America,’ Libby told her. ‘I had a few days off, so I headed to a cocoa plantation field. It was incredible, the best chocolate I’ve ever tasted.’

‘No, this is the best chocolate I’ve ever tasted,’ said Flora, licking her lips.

‘I keep telling her that she should go into the chocolate business,’ said Harriet.

‘Well, that’s an idea,’ said Katy.

Libby grinned. ‘You know, if anyone can think of how to get me into the chocolate business and away from long haul, then it would be you!’ she replied, giving Katy a nudge.

‘What? And deprive all those poor airline passengers of her snarky charm?’ said Ryan as he came into the room.

‘Ha!’ replied Libby. ‘I suppose you want a drink as well?’

‘We were told that there were balloons to pin up,’ said Ethan, following his brother inside whilst holding a short stepladder.

‘He doesn’t get any of my hot chocolate,’ muttered Libby, with a scowl.

‘Not when there would be a chance of you poisoning it anyway,’ replied Ethan smoothly.

As the others went to help with the balloons, Ryan smiled at Katy. ‘Just how good is the hot chocolate?’ he asked.

She took another sip before passing the cup to him.

‘Spettacolare,’ muttered Ryan, with a nod after he too had tasted it.

Katy looked at him. ‘Excuse me?’

‘It means spectacular,’ Ryan told her.

‘So you speak Italian?’ asked Katy.

‘Si.’

Katy rolled her eyes. ‘Not exactly impressive, is it?’ she teased, laughing.

Ryan leaned forward with a sudden gleam in his eyes. Then he began to speak in fluent Italian. Katy had no idea what he was saying, but the look on his face and those beautiful words of love and desire had her reaching out to hang on to the bench she was sitting on for fear of falling on the floor.

When he stopped speaking, Katy looked at him in wonder. ‘What did you just say?’ she asked, her voice low and husky.

‘I said that Libby’s hot chocolate is actually wonderful and that the chilli chocolate was a good addition,’ he told her. ‘Then I said that you have a perfect white moustache from all that whipped cream.’

Katy blinked at him. But the words had sounded so sensual, she thought.

Then the sensuality in the room hit the ceiling as Ryan reached out to stroke her top lip. ‘See?’ he said.