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“You needed to come over and ask me that now? You have a customer waiting,” he replied, nodding at a lady standing by the counter.

Lucy gave a little huff and hurried over to take the order.

There was a lull a little while later and Dylan wandered over to the counter with his empty mug. “Could I have a refill, please?” he asked.

“Yep,” Lucy replied, turning to the coffee machine. “But decaf. You’ve had enough caffeine.”

“Spoilsport,” he said. “I haven’t even reached the jittery stage yet.”

“And you’re not going to,” Lucy said firmly.

“So, your query about Downton Abbey,” said Dylan, suddenly serious.

“Yes? Not that it matters. Just so I know.”

“Of course I’m not going to watch Downton without you! The fun part is watching it together. And don’t you dare carry on without me either.”

“I’ll hold on until you’re back before watching any more episodes,” Lucy said, impressed by how nonchalant she sounded until she caught Dylan’s eye and they both broke into a grin.

“Excellent,” he said with a wink, taking the drink she passed him, and causing Lucy’s cheeks to break into a blush.

She watched as he walked back to his seat. Ellen came out of the kitchen without her hearing and came up beside her. “He’s certainly very charming,” she commented.

“Yeah,” said Lucy so absentmindedly she didn’t notice the smile Ellen gave her.

* * *

“Did you come up with something Christmassy you wanted to do this evening?” Lucy asked Dylan, as she was closing up at four. It was just the two of them in the shop and it felt cosy and warm compared with the dark outside.

“I’ve got quite a bit more work prep that I need to do for tomorrow,” Dylan replied, closing his laptop lid.

“Don’t worry if you don’t have time to do anything,” Lucy said, lightly. “We can just carry on when you get back.”

“No,” said Dylan, looking thoughtful. “We should do our walk.”

Lucy groaned, making him laugh.

“I always wanted to do that thing where you wander around looking at all the Christmas decorations on people’s houses . . . It seemed like a fun thing to do,” Dylan said.

“That would be fun,” Lucy agreed.

There was a knock on the coffee shop door and Lucy looked over to see Carrie and Poppy outside. They were accompanied by their dog, Monty, quite possibly the ugliest, but sweetest little snaggly toothed mongrel in the world.

Lucy let them in. “I’m so glad I’ve caught you!” said Carrie. “Poor Michael’s broken down on his way back from an auction and I need to go and get him. I was wondering if you could look after these two for me. My mum and Mary are out at the theatre and Layla’s not going to be back until ten.”

“I don’t want to be in the car for ages,” Poppy declared. “And neither does Monty — it makes him feel sick!”

Carrie caught Lucy’s eye, almost making her laugh.

“Would you like me to go and pick up Michael?” Dylan asked. “I don’t mind at all.”

“Thanks, but I need to make a couple of stops on the way back as well to grab some things Michael was going to get.”

Dylan nodded.

“What do you think, Dylan?” Lucy asked him. “Can these two join us on our walk?”

“I think that could definitely be arranged,” he replied.