Page 54 of The Cosy Christmas Chocolate Shop

A toddler stood staring with his parents as the pair of them dashed clumsily by, both laughing hysterically.

‘I’m looking for a suitable landing pad,’ Max shouted over his shoulder as he kept going, with Emma clinging on like a monkey, but all the while feeling herself sliding lower.

They reached the softer sands at the edge of the dunes, and Max tipped her gently over to place her into a sandy hollow at the start of the marram grass. Unfortunately, he somehow caught his foot on a root and toppled just about on top of her. He steadied himself with his arms at the last to stop a full-on crush. His upper body was then balanced just centimetres above hers, with his lower half in full, warm, and very manly contact.

‘Oh,’ was all she manged to say. The wind had been knocked out of her sails by the tumble, but more so by the fact that this gorgeous man was now up close and very personal. She was so aware of his body weight on hers, in just the right position, his hazel-green eyes fixing her own intensely, their lips mere centimetres apart. And it felt, scarily, just right. She could just go ahead and bury herself in his kiss, and they might just carry this on back at her cottage …

Some deep, sensual instinct was flaring within her, but she also had in mind her recent fears, and then she remembered the young family who were most likely watching their antics from halfway up the beach.

‘Max – the family.’ And she made a gesture back towards the shore.

‘Ah, yes. Of course.’ And he rolled off her, with a cheeky grin plastered on his face that left her smiling too.

Dammit, she wished she’d gone ahead and kissed him! Last night in the jeep had been almost too polite, had left her wanting so much more. They sat side by side at the base of the dunes. The family had wandered away and were walking with their backs to them, swinging the little boy between them; they wouldn’t have even seen.

Emma leaned across, brushed Max’s cheek with a gentle fingertip, and moved in slowly for the kiss that she didn’t want to miss. It was tender and passionate, and seemed so very heartfelt for them both. It left her with butterflies in her stomach, a feeling of happiness, yet also vulnerability. It also left her with the sense that life had so much more to give to her. A feeling that was both scary and beautiful.

26

She felt a bit odd watching Max head off back to his B&B after their walk. He’d called in and taken a few measurements for the window-seat dimensions, and then he’d had to get back. She needed to get to work and open up The Chocolate Shop like every other Sunday afternoon, but now she was back in her safe haven, she wasn’t sure about all this romance stuff – it left you feeling edgy, nervous about whether you’d ever get to see the guy again. And she was also still feeling a little guilty.

She focussed her excess energy into the shop. Luckily it was a busy afternoon, and in between serving customers she spent her time planning exactly how she might proceed with the café idea. She had a notepad next to her on the countertop, and was jotting things down like: ‘Carpenter for window seats’, ‘Coffee machine/expense?’, ‘Soft furnishings – seat pads, cushions’, ‘Colours? Paint the walls’. And her mind went off in a spin. What kind of food would she serve? Would it be chocolate-based only? Brownies, choc-chip shortbread, chocolate cake? How would she make it Christmassy?

The shop door would then go, a family or a couple might come in, and then she’d be serving again. Seeing her customers all wrapped up and coming in from the cold, she knew they would enjoy the chance to sit down with a cup of hot chocolate and slice of cake, as well as buying some goodies to take away. It would be lovely to give this shop, which already was her favourite place in the world, a bit more life and buzz. This café idea could really, really work.

She decided that she’d pop and see her parents tomorrow evening, chat about her plans, and see if they might consider helping with a small loan, which she’d repay as soon as she could, of course. She’d better find out tomorrow how much a carpenter might charge first, and what the likely costs might be to purchase the second-hand furniture. If the chairs and tables she sourced were a bit shabby, she could always give them a spruce up with some chalk paint in a gorgeous heritage-grey shade or something similar.

The afternoon was flying by, with several tourists and locals popping in. Maybe they were just dodging the showers that had set in after lunchtime, but it was all good for trade, and with thoughts of her new café in her mind, Emma was feeling buzzy and happy.

‘I’m looking for Max.’

A woman with a sweep of sculpted dark-brown hair, wearing a tailored beige woollen coat and black leather gloves, blasted in just after 4.00 p.m. She looked glamorous, yet her scowl and tone made her seem rather cold.

‘Oh? And you are?’ Emma started, trying to place her.

The woman gave her an extremely haughty look, apparently shocked to find Emma was daring enough to ask such an impertinent question.

‘Siobhan, his girlfriend.’

‘Oh.’ Emma was taken aback.

She remembered the piggy back, the kiss on the beach just this morning, the feeling that life might just have turned some new corner for her. Em began to feel a little sick. Had he lied to her? Was he playing them both?

‘Well, have you seen him? I heard mention of Warkton and some chocolate-shop woman.’ The words came out sounding as if she’d said ‘harlot’.

‘Well, yes, I saw him this morning.’ There was no point lying, but there was no way Emma was going to mention the cosy dinner for two last night. The woman was fired up enough as it was, angry energy pounding off her in waves. A couple had been browsing in the shop when Siobhan had come in and they looked extremely uncomfortable and had managed to back themselves into a corner.

‘Right, I see. I don’t know what the hell he’s playing at, or you come to that, but if you happen to see him again, you can tell him his girlfriend’s looking for him.’

‘Hang on a minute, I’ve done nothing wrong here at all.’ Emma was very aware that her reputation was at stake, and felt conscious of the poor customers still hovering in the shop having to hear all this. ‘But,’ she continued calmly, despite her heart going ten to the dozen, ‘it certainly sounds as though you and Max have things to sort out. Anyhow, I doubt if I’ll be seeing him – as far as I know he’s already headed back for work.’

In fact, she doubted she’d be seeing him again at all, after this incident.

‘Well, let me just make it clear: he’s taken. We go back a long way. So, I’ll be on my way.’ With that, Siobhan flounced out of the shop.

Em stood behind the counter, feeling shellshocked.

‘I’m so sorry about that,’ she rallied, apologising to the couple.