Page 62 of The Cosy Christmas Chocolate Shop

It was, in fact, one of the best meals she’d had in ages.

‘Delicious,’ Max stated, as he forked up the last of his chips.

‘Just right,’ Emma agreed.

‘Well, let’s get back to work again.’ Max was keen to crack on. ‘This window seat isn’t going to make itself. Here goes.’

It was twenty to twelve when they decided to call it a night. Max looked pretty stiff as he stood up and stretched. Emma was feeling achy too. She’d been keeping busy in the kitchen, popping through to see if Max needed help here and there. The physical work of the day was taking its toll, finding muscles she hadn’t used in an age. She yawned.

‘Right, I suppose I’d better get away.’ Max looked at her.

‘Oh.’ She hadn’t even considered where he would stay, but she hadn’t imagined him going all the way back home. Of course, coming up last minute he wouldn’t have booked a B&B for tonight and it was too late now to contact the pub, or anywhere else for that matter.

‘You can’t drive all that way back now. And – and won’t you need to come back up to finish the job?’ She sounded a bit cheeky, she knew, but she hoped he wasn’t going to leave the job half-finished. It would be hard to reopen the shop at all, if so.

‘Yes, that’s what I was going to do, head home. Then come back up early tomorrow morning, try and get this done before I need to be in Gateshead – got to check on a job there in the afternoon. It’s the only day the owners are about.’

‘Oh, you can’t do that. You’ll be shattered.’ The words came out before she had a chance to think, but she didn’t like the idea of him driving back tired after all that work. ‘You could stay.’ What was she saying? Alarm bells were going off in her head as she spoke. ‘On the sofa. That’d be fine,’ she clarified. There, he couldn’t misconstrue that. Yes, he’d helped and she really appreciated that. She’d count him as a friend, one that probably still had a girlfriend in tow, and she needed to keep things totally clear between them and above board.

‘Okay. Well, cheers. If you don’t mind, that would help and save me a couple of hours’ drive. I can start a bit earlier in the morning that way too, as there’s still a fair bit to do. I’m not quite as quick as Andy would have been. But needs must.’

‘You’ve been great, that’s all I know.’ She had to admit that much; his help tonight was just amazing.

‘Thanks … and the sofa is absolutely fine for me. Em,’ he started, just as she was going to clear some empty mugs to the kitchen, ‘about Siobhan. It really is over, you know. It has been since August, since before I came back to see you.’

‘Right … but why would she say it wasn’t?’

‘Wishful thinking, maybe. Hoping I’d come back. I went to see her the other night, though. The day after I’d seen you.’

Strangely, Emma felt her heart sink a little.

‘I went to make it absolutely clear. That there’s no going back this time. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that.’

‘Oh.’ Could she really believe him? It was such a messy situation. All those bloody emotions were going crazy inside her again. She hated feeling out of control, confused. Well, this changed nothing.

She went to let Alfie out into the back yard whilst Max tidied some of the tools and equipment ready for the next day. Alfie came back in, delighted to see Max again, sneaking through to the shop where he wasn’t normally allowed, curling around Max’s legs and thwacking his eager tail against him, having been kept upstairs all the while, out of hammer and harm’s way.

They were both pretty shattered, so Emma took Alfie back upstairs and set up a duvet and pillows ready for Max in the lounge. It was quite a big sofa, but ten minutes later she smiled as she passed the open door spotting his legs and feet poking out over the arm end. She noted he’d kept his socks on.

‘Goodnight, Max.’ She felt a little sad. A part of her would have loved to just walk across and give him a goodnight kiss and a hug. The room was smelling rather lovely of his aftershave with a hint of underlying manly work-sweat. Instead, she just waved from the door. ‘Thanks so much for coming up like this, for helping out.’ She still couldn’t quite believe he’d really turned up and done all this work. But best to stay as distant friends. And meddling Bev was going to get a stern call in the morning.

‘You’re welcome, Emma.’ He looked at her tenderly.

She headed for her own room, feeling confused and yet aware of a little glow she couldn’t help but feel inside. She lay down on her double bed, remembering kisses in car parks, Max’s smile, then memories with Luke, but despite the jumble of thoughts, she was soon out like a light.

Emma came to in the middle of the night in need of a wee. She got out of bed quietly, aware that Max was there just down the hallway in the front room. It was strange to think of someone else here in her little cottage. Even stranger to think it was a man – and, she still had to admit, a rather gorgeous one at that.

She had a quick pee, wondering whether to flush or not, not wanting to wake him, yet equally not wanting him to find it lingering embarrassingly in the morning. She went for the not waking him theory, hoping to be the first to hit the bathroom in the morning.

She stepped back into the hallway … and felt drawn to go and take a quick peek at the man lying there so near her in her front room, wondering what he would look like whilst he slept. As she approached she could see that the door was left ajar. She could hear his heavy, sleeping breaths. She crept along the hallway in her bare feet and held her breath as she gazed in through the doorway, opening the crack a little wider.

He hadn’t closed the curtains, so she could make out his features in the soft orange glow of the street light outside – his tousled hair, defined cheekbone, stubbled jawline, the thick lashes on his closed lids, his lips.

Without realising it, she let out a soft, slow sigh.

Ping, his eyes opened. Eek. She’d been caught acting like a stalker. How embarrassing.

‘You okay?’ he asked a little warily.