Page 36 of Topped

“Really?”

“Yes. He’s giving tours today, and I promised not to distract him. I shall tell him as soon as I get home instead.”

I chuckled and shook my head, grateful for that small mercy at least.

It only took me a few minutes to grab my coat and hat, pulling them on quickly before I went back into the shop to find Milo and Norman chatting animatedly. Norman was clearly telling some scandalous story about his wild youth in London, the pair of them laughing together as Norman waved his hands for emphasis.

“You know, I was saying to Rupert earlier he should come for dinner again soon,” Norman said when he spotted me, a sly smile on his face. “I think you should come with him.”

“Er, yeah, that’d be great. If you’re sure?” Milo looked between me and Norman, almost as if he was asking for permission. But I didn’t mind. It would be fun. After all, we were friends. And friends got dinner with friends.

Why would it be an issue?

There was a bit of a funny twinge in my chest at the idea, but that was likely just my normal anxiety. Sometimes it flared up over the smallest things, and this didn’t feel like anything to worry about, so I assumed it was worried about the overall idea of socialising. Even if it was with people I knew.

“We’d be delighted to have you,” Norman said.

“Sounds fabulous,” I said as I held my hand out for Milo’s.

His skin was warm against mine, his fingers slotting into place around mine like they belonged there. It felt right.

But there was still an uncomfortable feeling in my chest and I didn’t know why.

Chapter Thirteen

Milo

“And that, my friends, is that,” I said, setting down my scoop for the final time this season. It felt oddly ceremonial, like there should be a fanfare and trumpets, not just the four of us stood around the counter in quiet contemplation. “Darcy, would you like to do the honours?”

“Sure,” he said. There was a slightly melancholy smile on his lips, contemplation weighing heavily on his shoulders as he walked towards the front door and flicked the sign to closed, turning the key in the lock and slotting the bolts into place.

“It doesn’t feel real,” Alfie said solemnly. He was leaning against the back counter beside me, arms folded across his chest, like he wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. “I keep thinking I’ll be back here next week, same as usual.”

“I mean, you can come in. There just won’t be anyone here,” Darcy said with a small chuckle.

“Either way, it means I’ll be able to do my accounting in peace,” Alfie said.

“Hey! I’d like it known that I’ve never disturbed you while you’re working. Unlike some people,” I said, raising my hand in defence. I didn’t want anyone thinking I was more annoying than I was.

“True,” Alfie said. “You just disturb me in other ways.”

“Yeah, but they’re all good ones.”

“That’s definitely not true, but I’m not going to argue with you.”

“No arguments,” Darcy said as he crossed back over to us and leant against Owen, who’d been surprisingly quiet so far. I wondered if it was all sinking in for him too.

At one point, not too long ago, Owen had only been contracted to stay with us until the end of September. Then he’d planned to get back to his life of travelling the world and picking up jobs as he went. But he and Darcy had fallen for each other over the summer and now—after Alfie and I had helped them resolve their severe lack of communication—he was staying.

It had to be strange knowing that, even after his and Darcy’s planned trip to Australia over Christmas, he was coming back here. That he’d decided to fix his heart, and his home, to a single person, whose lifelong dream revolved around a single place.

In a way, I understood how he felt. I’d always liked having roots in a place, it made me feel safe, but I was also impulsive, happy to chase my dreams and interests of the moment wherever they took me. The idea of travelling appealed deeply to me, but I’d never managed to get trips off the ground without external input. If that was my life, I could imagine how strange it would be to pivot to something very settled, even if it was what I wanted.

Although, the idea of knowing exactly what I wanted from life was also a strange one. I’d never had that big feeling of “this is what I want to do with my life.” I’d always just done whatever made me happy and trusted it would all work out in the end.

My thoughts drifted across to Rupert and the sweet shop. The dream he’d inherited from someone else.

Was it really something he loved or simply something he put up with because he had no other choice? There were plenty of people who got trapped in other people’s plans for their lives or stuck in mediocre jobs simply because life hadn’t worked out the way they wanted. Jobs weren’t everything. There was so much more to life than work.