Page 61 of The Cosy Seaside Chocolate Shop

‘Ooh, what’s on the menu?’ Emma resurfaced now she had blinked away her tears.

‘My go-to gourmet dish. Steak and chips.’

‘Sounds wonderful.’ She could never afford steak herself.

‘But first, seeing as I haven’t seen you for a whole ten days, I think we have some serious catching up to do …’ He didn’t need to say any more, as he took her back into his arms and kissed her again, their tongues entwined, her hands in his hair. She could feel the firmness of his erection against her hip.

She wanted this too.

They started for the stairs, laughing, dashing up them, then pausing at the top landing for another kiss. Emma undid several of his shirt buttons, traced his gorgeous torso with her fingertips. He pulled her summer dress up and over her hips, her chest, her shoulders and then discarded it, the pair of them bolting to his bedroom. Underwear was tossed aside, the bed then beneath them, a tangle of legs, skin on skin, lips on lips, making sweet and very sexy love. A sigh, a groan, and that beautiful, blissful moment where they became one.

‘Emma, my love …’ he breathed, his words tender by her ear.

She was lost to him, with him.

They dozed after making love, Max tucked behind her in tumbled sheets, the tiredness from working so hard these past weeks catching up on them both. Alfie had crept up into the room too and had made himself cosy on the floor, curled up in Max’s discarded clothes.

When they woke, they didn’t rush to get up, just stayed in bed, chatting about their lives, work, how Emma felt about the shop being up for sale. Max trying to reassure her about the future, that her business might carry on in a different, new way. How life had a way of working itself out.

He stroked her hair where it lay splayed out on the pillow. ‘Did I ever tell you how much I love your hair?’ He smiled at her.

‘Maybe once or twice,’ she answered softly.

‘It makes you look like a flame-haired goddess.’ And he couldn’t resist kissing her again.

They finally got up. Max cooked their steak supper and they chatted over red wine, chilling out with some music on, until it was time once again for bed.

It was dark; Max had fallen asleep, and was breathing deeply, their hands were still entwined. It had been such a lovely evening, and Emma relished having him beside her. She never wanted to lose that.

And she knew, then, that she could never tell him.

32

Max made a breakfast of bacon sandwiches with some fresh white bread he’d fetched from the village shop whilst Emma was still snoozing. They sat eating at the small wooden table in his kitchen, drinking orange juice and good coffee. Delicious.

Morning had come around all too soon. Emma felt sad having to leave already, but they both had work to get to this morning, and Emma needed to be back to open up the shop by ten. They took Alfie for a quick stroll around the village green, and then it was time to pop her overnight bag in the car and head back to Warkton.

‘I’ll catch up with you at the weekend, yeah?’ Max smiled, his green eyes full of love.

‘That’ll be great.’ The thought of leaving him felt like a weight on her this morning.

‘Miss you already.’ He took her into his arms.

With Max it was that physicality she so loved. His warmth. His body next to her, that feeling of closeness. It was addictive. ‘Miss you too.’ It seemed so hard to be leaving him, even for a few days.

Emma told herself to get a grip, not to be so daft. They’d be fine. They were used to living like this, spending time apart. She wondered why she felt so fragile. Was the secret of her misdemeanour scratching away inside? She needed to stop overthinking.

She put Alfie in the hatchback, popped her bag in, then got into the driver’s seat. She waved out of the window as Max stood on his doorstep, waving back.

‘See you soon,’ he shouted.

‘Yes. Love you.’ She called from the window of her car, not at all bothered if the neighbours heard.

And once she turned the corner, her smile faded and her heart felt as heavy as a lead balloon. What on earth was up with her?

That day and the next rolled on with Emma’s focus back on her Chocolate Shop. Business was fine but seemed slightly quieter than usual. Sheila came into the shop that Saturday afternoon to buy a box of chocolates for her mother-in-law’s birthday.

The chat soon turned to Anne, the owner of The Rock Shop down in the harbour.