Page 24 of Winter Magic on Railway Lane

‘No time,’ said Libby. ‘We’d better start cleaning this place or I’ll never have time to make any chocolate.’

And meet my deadline, she added to herself in silent dread.

As they picked up the cleaning materials, Paddington the dog sprawled down on the floor to keep a watchful eye on them.

‘By the way, I’ve told dad that I’m helping you out at the lavender spa, okay?’ said Libby, looking at Harriet.

Harriet nodded. ‘Of course.’

Libby had also had to tell her dad that Ethan had bought and moved into the empty schoolhouse. Her dad hadn’t said anything in reply, merely silently nodded his head. Libby knew how much he missed teaching even though he never mentioned it.

She caught Harriet and Flora exchanging a look.

‘Don’t you think it’s time for you to tell your dad about your chocolate making?’ said Flora, in a soft tone. ‘Isn’t it time to be honest with him?’

Libby shook her head. ‘Not now,’ she said.

And perhaps not ever, she thought. The chocolate was too big a reminder of her mother’s own skills and she couldn’t bear to upset him any further.

Thankfully, Flora and Harriet were hard workers and so were able to concentrate on the task in hand. Pretty soon, the kitchen was starting to look a lot cleaner.

Naturally, it was accompanied by Harriet’s only topic of choice, her wedding.

‘No, I definitely don’t want a vast wedding like my brothers and sister had,’ said Harriet, giving an exaggerated shudder before she bent over to scrub the top of the vintage oven. ‘Their weddings were so huge. And I just know my parents would invite all their fancy friends that would put me straight on edge. Joe and I just want everyone we love to be there and that’s it. So we’re happy with small and intimate.’

‘Good job too, seeing as St Barnabus’ Church only holds about sixty people at a push,’ said Flora.

St Barnabus was the pretty but tiny church in Cranbridge, only a mile away.

‘And Platform 1 will be perfect for our reception,’ added Harriet, with a smile. ‘It feels like home anyway. Although we don’t want Ryan and Katy to have loads of extra work on that day. After all, they’re best man and bridesmaid. Along with you two and Ethan, of course.’

‘For a small wedding, you’ve got a lot of groomsmen and bridesmaids,’ Flora told her, with a wink.

‘Not sure Ethan is best at being anything,’ added Libby, as she scrubbed the marble counter. It really was a revelation and she was itching to use it already.

‘What about you and Ethan?’ asked Harriet, frowning. ‘Is this going to be okay with you being here? You’ve always gone on about how he ruined your prom, not that you’ve ever told us about it.’

Libby gave a shrug. ‘It’ll be fine. I can totally handle being here. It’s just a business arrangement.’

She had definitely moved on and didn’t need Ethan Connolly any longer. Just his kitchen.

So why did she feel so nervous all of a sudden?

She decided that the quicker she started making chocolate and lost herself in the process, the better.

She looked down at the marble surface once more. Perhaps it was a good sign. Perhaps it was a stroke of luck working in the old school. And perhaps she could put up with Ethan for the next three weeks too.

15

Despite appearing to be cool with it, Ethan had found that he was mesmerised by having Libby close by in his kitchen.

They had bumped into each other around Cranfield before now, of course. At various parties or even just grabbing a coffee from Platform 1. So he was used to seeing her around.

And yet, this was different. Closer. More personal, if anything, because she was in his home.

As he left Libby, Flora and Harriet cleaning his kitchen, he reminded himself that he had a very long to-do list to be completed over the next couple of weeks to keep both his mind and body occupied.

‘Good morning,’ he said to his dad as he headed inside the train workshop.