Page 58 of Topped

“Bossy, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but I believe you like it. Apparently, me telling you what to do turns you on.”

“I wouldn’t put it like that,” Milo said, but even under the streetlights I could see the slight flush on his cheeks.

“Really? Then how would you put it?”

“Dunno.”

I smirked. “We can talk about it later. After our date.”

Digging my keys out of my coat pocket, I steered us towards my car, which was parked on the road outside my flat. It was only a little red Ford Fiesta, which I’d also inherited from my uncle. It’d only been a few months old when he’d died and I didn’t drive much, so even now, it was still in great shape.

Milo climbed in and the two of us set off towards the castle, winding our way through the streets of Heather Bay and out of town.

I knew we were going to be late, but for once, it didn’t matter. Milo and I would get there in our own time, and it would be just as wonderful when we did as if we’d been there all along.

Chapter Twenty-One

Milo

“Wow, that’s beautiful,” Rupert said softly, eyes lighting up with wonder as he caught sight of the castle, where hundreds of pale golden lights draped across the stone, sparkling in the darkness. It looked like something out of a fairy tale or a Hallmark Christmas movie. Rupert would be the perfect fit for that in his knitted green jumper, long wool coat, and red scarf with tassels.

“Yeah, it’s gorgeous,” I said, glancing at the castle before looking back at him, watching joy and delight spread across his face. I loved how open he was becoming with his emotions, even if he didn’t always seem to enjoy them. One day, I’d have to explain I’d take all the good, the bad, and the ugly moments because it meant I got to see all of him, just the way he was.

But that wasn’t a conversation for today.

We’d been through enough tonight. Now it was time to relax, enjoy each other’s company, and find something to eat that wasn’t mince pies.

The fact Rupert liked them was definitely the biggest betrayal I’d encountered so far. What was next? That he didn’t like bananas?

“Where do you want to start?” Rupert asked, tearing his eyes away from the castle to look down at the market which filled the courtyard and spilled out onto one of the nearby lawns. The whole place was teaming with people, with more heading towards the castle gardens and the newly illuminated light trail.

“I think we should get something to eat, maybe have a wander around some of the stalls, then do the light trail when it’s calmed down a little. Apparently, it’s really pretty—Owen’s dad’s a gardener here and was pretty proud of it. Although, Owen said he was muttering mutinously for days about them wanting to put some deer lights in the rose garden.” I chuckled, knowing Owen had spent hours pleading with his dad not to remove said deer lights and throw them off the cliff.

“Ohhh, I know who you mean. Dave, right?” Rupert said, squeezing my hand as we began to walk towards the thronging market. “Didn’t he have a hip replacement this summer? Sidney says he’s ever so nice but very fastidious about the gardens.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Owen’s dad. Owen’s convinced he’s never going to retire, he’ll just keep showing up until he dies, even if they try to tell him otherwise.”

Rupert let out a soft, wistful chuckle, glancing down at his feet for a second. “That must be nice, in a way. To be so passionate about something you want to do it every day until you die. That was how my uncle felt about the sweet shop.”

“But you don’t?”

“I don’t think so. I like it, and it’s nice to bring a bit of nostalgia to people or introduce them to new things. There are bad parts, obviously, and the fact that it’s retail is the biggest one, especially because there are some people who’ll see a vintage sweet shop and use it as an excuse to harp on about the ‘good old days’ and how things were so much better back then, even though I’m, well… me.”

“Fucking wankers,” I muttered, my jaw clenching.

“Exactly. And I will argue with people, or ignore them, or let them talk themselves into a hole, but it is exhausting.” He sighed. “But I don’t know what else I’d do with my life. My only experience is in retail, and I don’t have any other qualifications. I’ve thought about maybe trying to do a degree through the Open University, but I’m not sure what I’d do with it afterwards and it feels like a waste of money to do a degree just for the sake of it.”

“Maybe, but if it would make you happy then what’s the harm in looking?”

“Perhaps…” He trailed off as we reached the market, sliding into the crowd, our hands still clutched tightly together so we didn’t get separated. I saw a lot of familiar faces, but very few people I knew by name. They’d probably all come into Lick It! over the summer, and since a lot of them smiled at me or greeted me by name, that assumption seemed pretty solid.

As I looked around the food stands, which were a lot more diverse than I’d expected, my brain immediately noticed the supreme lack of puddings. Yeah, there was a place doing mulled wine and mince pies—which I wasn’t counting—and another selling pots of fruit crumble and custard, and one doing baked goods like brownies and cheesecake slabs, but that was about it.

“What’re you thinking?” Rupert asked, noticing me looking around. “Anything catching your eye?”

“Lots of things, but mostly I’ve realised there’s a severe lack of puddings, so even if Darcy and Owen do sod off to warmer climates each Christmas, me and Alfie should probably try and get a stand here. Maybe do a bit of a partnership with the crumble people.”