Page 28 of Winter Magic on Railway Lane

‘What are you doing back so early anyway?’ she asked.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. ‘It’s six o’clock, Libs,’ he told her.

She looked at him aghast. ‘Six o’clock? Already?’ She couldn’t believe it. She glanced to the window and could see the inky black dark of the evening outside. ‘I had no idea,’ she said, looking back down to the chocolate she had been working.

To her dismay, it had bloomed. She groaned out loud.

‘What’s the matter?’ he asked.

She sighed heavily. ‘The chocolate has bloomed. See those white bits? I’ll have to do it all over again.’

‘In the morning, though?’ he said. ‘You look done in. You should go home and get some rest.’

Her eyes strayed to the large amount of flat-pack boxes not yet made up and empty of truffles. Time was marching on and she was so behind. Another day had passed and she didn’t feel as if she had progressed as much as she had hoped.

‘I should really carry on,’ she said out loud, to herself more than Ethan. She then felt a bit sheepish. ‘Sorry. I know it’s your home and I’m taking over.’

‘You know I don’t care about that,’ he told her, with a shrug. ‘But I care about you looking whiter than that marble surface in front of you. Listen, have you thought about asking your friends for help?’

She immediately shook her head. ‘They’re all so busy. Besides, I’ll be fine,’ she said.

Ethan rolled his eyes. ‘No surprise there,’ he muttered.

It was one of her many failings, she knew. She never liked to show anyone that she wasn’t in control. Besides, nobody else could make chocolate like she could.

The fact that Ethan also knew of the protective wall that she had built around herself for so many years reminded her of how close they had once been.

‘What about your dad? Where does he think you are each day?’

‘He thinks I’m helping out Harriet at the lavender spa,’ she told him, avoiding eye contact. ‘But I guess I’d better head home as it’s getting late.’

‘And because you look tired.’

She automatically shook her head. ‘I’m fine,’ she said quickly. ‘Anyway, it’s only five thousand truffles!’ She felt the dull pit of anxiety as she said the huge number out loud.

‘Listen,’ he told her, coming around to stand next to her. ‘I know you well enough to tell when you need to stop and I’m telling you right now that it’s time. Stop.’

‘You can’t tell me what to do,’ she said, fighting the fatigue which suddenly ran through every bone in her body.

‘Turns out, yeah, I can,’ he said softly.

To her surprise, he reached out and stroked her face. For a second, she was lost in his gaze, those blue eyes that she knew so well. Did he still care for her? Did he feel that they had unresolved business like she did? Like she had always done?

As he pulled his fingers away, she saw that they were covered in chocolate. She must have smeared her cheek at some point when she was working.

‘Occupational hazard,’ she muttered.

He smiled. ‘Yeah, but what a way to go,’ he told her.

They stared at each other for a moment more before she came to her senses. This was Ethan. Ethan who had walked out on her at the prom. Ethan who had married her and never talked about it. Ethan who had broken her heart just when she had needed him the most.

‘Well, perhaps you’re right,’ she said. ‘I should head home.’

‘When have I ever been wrong?’ he replied, with a smug smile.

‘I lost count when it hit double figures,’ she told him, before glancing around the chaotic kitchen. ‘I’ll tidy up before I go,’ she said, aware that it was his home she was messing up.

‘No need,’ he told her. ‘I’m going to pick up one of Ryan’s pizzas so that’ll be dinner sorted tonight.’