Page 23 of Winter Magic on Railway Lane

She reminded herself it was all in the mind and that positive mental attitude would win through. But a tiny voice inside asked her how would she ever be able to make and pack five thousand chocolate truffles, all of different flavours, in less than a month? She tried to ignore it.

In any case, she wouldn’t be able to do anything until the kitchen was absolutely spotless.

‘Good morning,’ said Ethan, opening the door with a yawn.

‘Up partying all night again?’ she asked, brushing past him.

‘You know me, Libs,’ he replied. ‘I’d go to the opening of a barn door if there was a party afterwards.’

She looked at him. ‘Are you at home all day today?’ she asked.

He broke into a grin. ‘Why? Are you concerned that I’ll distract you with my devastating good looks?’ He waggled his eyebrows at her.

In response, she shook her head. ‘More like that you’ll get under my feet when I’m trying to sanitise your kitchen.’ She stalked ahead of him into the lounge.

‘I suppose you want a coffee?’ he asked, following behind her.

‘Just show me how that fancy machine works,’ she told him. ‘And I might need a few extra mugs.’

‘Are you inviting me to my own house-warming party?’ he asked.

‘Actually, it’s a cleaning party,’ she told him. ‘I asked Flora to give me a hand as she had a free day.’ She gave Ethan a sheepish look. ‘I probably should have asked you first.’

There was a knock on the door in the hallway and Ethan looked at her. ‘Probably, but at least I can trust Flora as the sensible one out of the two of you.’

He headed over to open up the front door and Libby spun round at the sound of a couple of familiar voices.

‘Hiya,’ said Flora, closely followed by Harriet. ‘I found a pair of extra hands to help with the big clean-up.’

With a scrabble of paws, Paddington the dog rushed into the house.

‘How good is he with a scrubbing brush?’ asked Ethan, nodding at the golden retriever.

‘Not as good as me,’ said Harriet, with a grin, before staring around the room. ‘Wow! I never saw inside this place before. I love those oak beams. It’s really pretty.’

‘I don’t remember us saying that when we were stuck behind our desks,’ said Flora, with a soft smile.

Libby and Flora had gone to school there, whereas Harriet had only ever visited Cranfield during the school holidays asher upper-class parents had insisted that she went to a private school, which she had absolutely loathed.

‘Coffee?’ asked Ethan, leading them all into the kitchen.

‘Yes, please,’ replied Flora.

‘Oh, this will be perfect for you, Libby!’ said Harriet, following him. ‘It’s huge!’

As Libby went behind her, she had to agree. But as she glanced at the large unit in the middle of the room, she gasped. ‘Was this here all the time?’ she asked, rushing up to the square island in the middle of the room and running her hand over the grey marble surface. She couldn’t believe it and was almost mesmerised by how smooth it was under her fingers.

‘Well, I didn’t install it last night,’ Ethan told her. ‘I cleared it this morning as it had all my boxes of paperwork spread out everywhere. I figured you’d need the space. What’s so special about marble anyway?’

‘It’s perfect for tempering chocolate,’ she said, running her hand once more across the cool stone. She had dreamt of having a marble work surface for many years but had never had the opportunity. ‘I normally have to use a machine instead.’

Once Ethan had showed them how the coffee machine worked, he said his goodbyes and left them to it.

‘It’s really lovely,’ said Flora, running her hand over the oak work surface before staring at her palm in dismay. ‘But you’re right. It needs a really good clean or it’ll never reach health and safety standards.’

‘Absolutely,’ said Libby.

‘Right after I’ve enjoyed my coffee,’ said Harriet, sipping her drink.