Page 41 of Tricks & Treats at The Cosy Cornish Bakery

‘Good point. Nik and I are only friends, though. Actually, I’m not sure we’re even that.’

‘Hmm, I’m not convinced. Maybe you should take your own advice and jump his bones?’

‘Maybe I’ll do just that.’ Chloe waggled her eyebrows suggestively. ‘After all, they’re very sexy bones.’

‘You,’ Ginger said, clinking her glass with Chloe’s, ‘are incorrigible. Drink up. Let’s hit the fair and maybe work off some of this sexual energy on the waltzers. Last one over there’s a sissy and buys the toffee apples.’

CHAPTER 21

It was three in the morning and Chloe let herself into the bakery, hardly daring to breathe. Not normally prone to whimsy, she couldn’t help but shiver. It was cold in here and more than a little eerie. The chilly night told her it was nearing Halloween and the sea mist had clung damply around her as she’d walked down the path from Grey Seal Cottage. Aided only by the light from her phone, she’d tripped up more than once. The sea had sounded very loud behind her as she’d jogged along Beach Lane, the silent and dark buildings looming in hulking shadows on either side. She’d heard a scuffling and a squeak and had stopped, frozen in fear. London had never been as dark as the village was now. Flashing her phone in the direction of the noise she was relieved to see it was only a tabby cat. It slunk past, a dead mouse hanging from its mouth. But, by the time she’d reached the bakery, she’d thoroughly spooked herself.

Rebuking herself for being a wimp, she switched on all the lights and flicked the radio onto Kernow Toons. It was a phone-in and the sound of the murmuring voices was comforting. Heaving the bag she’d lugged all the way onto a table, she slipped off her jacket and scarf and hung them over a chair.

Going through to the prep area she admired how immaculately clean Pammy always left it and switched on one of the big ovens. Pulling a face, but deciding to follow the rules, she pulled on a white coat and bundled her hair into the blue hygiene hairnet.

‘Right then,’ she addressed the commercial ovens. ‘Let’s see if you bad boys bake bread better than the NEFF in my holiday cottage.’

After washing her hands thoroughly, she tipped out the dough, which she’d mixed up and kneaded after returning from the fair. It had been proving ever since. The first batch she’d made a few days ago had been a disaster. She didn’t like to fail at anything – the word wasn’t in her vocabulary – so thought she’d have another go, but using the ovens in the bakery. She couldn’t understand where she’d gone wrong. She’d watched the YouTube videos and made copious notes, had got a sourdough starter going and had followed the instructions to the letter. Not willing to accept Pammy’s assertion that there was more to baking bead than appeared, and unable to sleep, she’d decided to slip down to the bakery and have a go.

On the radio the Kernow Toons phone-in host asked why the caller thought her husband was having an affair. ‘Because he’s a man,’ Chloe retorted bitterly, and then jumped a foot as a male voice called from the café.

‘Hello? Is there anyone here?’

She’d forgotten to lock the door behind her. Whirling round, she searched for anything she could use as a weapon. There was only a fluorescent yellow golf umbrella. Amber’s. Pammy wouldn’t be seen dead with anything so garish. Instead, the woman wore one of those old-fashioned plastic rain hats that she tied on tight at the merest suggestion of rain. Grabbing the umbrella and rushing through to the café, she brandished it at the intruder.

It was Nik.

He held up his hands in surrender. ‘Hey, Chloe. Thank goodness it’s you. I thought you’d had a break-in.’ He grinned, his face creasing. ‘Nice outfit.’

Chloe sank onto the nearest chair, letting the umbrella clatter to the floor. ‘Oh, Nik, you gave me such a fright. What are you doing roaming the village at this time of night?’

‘Could ask you the same.’ Pulling out a chair, he sat opposite her. ‘Couldn’t sleep.’

‘Same.’ She deliberately calmed her breathing, thankful her prowler was a friendly one.

Nik was still looking hugely amused. He’d topped his usual scruffy jeans with a hooded sweatshirt. His skin was freshened by the cold and his features sharpened. He slipped off his hood and she saw his hair was loose for once. It fell around his face in silky strands, the blond contrasting with his tanned skin and his electrifyingly alive grey-green eyes. What would it be like to run my fingers through that hair? What would it feel like to have it drift across my bare skin? The moment was curiously intimate. The village asleep, the sea murmuring in the distance. It felt as if it was only the two of them left in the world. She could reach out and touch him, caress him, kiss that gorgeous mouth. Shivering, she shook her head. Must be the shock. ‘Tea?’ she blurted out.

‘Why not?’

In the kitchen, she boiled the kettle and found a teapot. The mundane task helped a little but not enough. Her skin felt alive and her nerve endings tingled. Holding a palm to her cheek, she could feel the heat from her blush. The old crush in sixth form had never felt like this. Clattering the mugs, she feared for their safety as her hands shook so much.

‘Are you all right in there? Want some help?’

‘Fine,’ she called back. ‘Nearly ready.’ And she was. Her insides felt hot and loose. Need blossomed between her legs. God, she was turned on. She was coming to a boil along with the kettle. Get a grip, woman. It’s just the relief that it’s Nik and not some burglar. ‘Calm down!’

‘Did you say something?’

Carrying a laden tray through, she said, ‘No. Must be the radio. I turned it on for some company. I’ve found some of Pammy’s biscuits. Leftover from yesterday so she won’t mind.’ Putting the tray down she forced in a deep breath. Stop chattering.

‘Are you okay? You look flushed.’

‘I switched the ovens on in the kitchen. It’s warm in there.’

‘Good. It’s freezing out here. Be glad of a hot drink although tea’s probably the last thing we should drink if we can’t sleep,’ Nik said easily. He seemed completely unruffled.

‘Probably.’

‘Why can’t you sleep?’