Page 35 of Topped

“Did you give her a form? I left them behind the counter,” I asked as I took the box off him. I’d had the forms available for several weeks now, before our agreed-upon date of the seventh, because I hadn’t wanted to face the wrath of Mrs. Lambert. Or Norman, if he was forced to deal with her. And I wasn’t going to put myself through that.

But she hadn’t been in to get one since issuing her demands, which didn’t surprise me. She could be a contrary person.

“Certainly. But I didn’t enjoy it.”

“You don’t have to enjoy it, Norman. You only have to do your job.”

Norman huffed and turned away. “I am well aware, young Rupert. But dealing with Mrs. Lambert should count as going above and beyond. I should get hazard pay.”

“And I’m very grateful for it,” I said. I still wasn’t completely sure why the pair of them loathed each other, but there was no point asking Norman. Not if I wanted the truth.

As I turned back to my half-constructed window display, I saw a familiar face smiling at me from the other side of the glass, and I had to giggle because he was wearing his hot pink, teal, and yellow fleece. The eighties one he’d apparently rescued from his uncle’s wardrobe.

I waved, beckoning him to come inside. There was a strange feeling of giddiness racing through me, as if I hadn’t seen him in months instead of hours.

Milo grinned and blew me a kiss before heading for the door, and my stomach started doing somersaults, like it was trying to win a gold medal for gymnastics. I put the chocolate spiders down and turned towards the door as Milo pushed it open, the bell tinkling joyfully.

“Hey, I didn’t expect to see you today,” I said.

“Well, I just happened to be out and about and I saw a very gorgeous man through the window, so I thought I’d stop by and say hi,” he said, smirking casually, his hands in the pockets of his fleece. The urge to lean forward and kiss him rose up inside me, but I resisted because I knew Norman was watching us from behind the counter. His fake busy act was completely transparent.

“Are you on your lunch then?”

“Yeah. Enjoying my freedom before we start a final deep clean, then our last day for the year is Sunday. Really not sure what I’m going to do with myself after that.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something.” I couldn’t imagine having that much free time. In principle it sounded nice, but I was sure I’d quickly get bored.

Maybe it would give me an opportunity to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, though. I’d spent all this time telling myself running Saltgate Sweets was only temporary, that one day I’d sit down and work out what I was actually interested in. But “one day” had never materialised and somehow ten years had passed and I was still here, no closer to the life I really wanted.

It wasn’t like my life was bad. I could be doing so much worse than I was. And happiness in life was never a guarantee, so I supposed I didn’t have much to complain about.

But sometimes I did wonder, what if? What if my uncle hadn’t died? What if I’d sold or closed the shop as soon as I’d inherited it? What if I’d put myself first instead of the wishes of a dead man?

“You okay?” Milo asked, tilting his head slightly like a curious puppy. “Where’d you go?”

“Yeah, just thinking. I’m not sure what I’d do with that much free time either.”

“Maybe I’ll go back to doing graphics for a bit. Do some art. Come and annoy you.”

“How kind of you.”

“I know, I’m very generous.” He grinned and nodded towards the door. “Want to go and get some lunch? My treat.”

“Are you sure?” It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go, but if Milo wasn’t going to be working for several months, I didn’t want to put any financial pressure on him. A sandwich might not sound like much, but it all added up.

“Of course. Come on.”

“Okay, let me grab my coat.” I looked over towards the counter, where Norman was pretending to tidy a stack of paperback. “Do you mind if I go out, Norman?”

“No, darling. You go and have fun.” He smiled at me and I knew he was itching to call Sidney and tell him exactly what was going on.

“Do you want me to bring you anything back?”

“I’ll never say no to a cup of tea or a piece of cake, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course not.” I walked over to the counter so I could duck around it to fetch my coat. “I assume you’re waiting until I leave to tell your husband everything?”

“Absolutely not!”