The Cosy Seaside Chocolate Shop Read online

  ‘Nate?’ She caught up with him down by the harbour wall.

  They instinctively walked away from the road that led to The Fisherman’s and diverted along by the harbour where it was quieter.

  ‘About Saturday night …’ Em paused. She really didn’t want to have to say the word ‘kiss’.

  Nate stopped and looked up at her. Oh my, there were still so many shades of Luke there in his eyes, across his face. ‘I know,’ he started.

  Emma realised she was holding her breath.

  ‘Look,’ Nate continued, ‘I’m sorry, it shouldn’t have happened.’

  Phew, at least they were on the same wavelength.

  ‘I know, I feel so awful, like I’ve let everybody down,’ Em tried to explain. ‘Luke, Max, your parents, even you. I shouldn’t have let you believe there was more to it than there was. I think I was feeling a bit emotional, you know.’

  ‘No worries, honestly Em. I’ve been feeling rotten about this too. What the hell was I thinking? Don’t take that the wrong way – you’re lovely, really lovely. But you were always, will always, be Luke’s. I had no right. Dammit, I have so messed up.’

  ‘It is pretty messed up, isn’t it?’

  Nate just nodded, Em wasn’t sure what was going on in his head, but he looked like he was really blaming himself.

  ‘Nate, can we just keep this between ourselves?’

  ‘Of course. My lips are sealed.’

  Both of them had got caught up in a crazy, stupid moment. That was all.

  ‘Thank you. Well, I’d better get back,’ Emma had plenty to do in the shop, and she didn’t want to drag this out any further. The last thing she needed was someone overhearing or seeing them together like this. Sheila might well be peering out of the grocer’s window as it was.

  ‘Yeah, me too. I’m on shift soon. Don’t worry, Em. No one will hear anything from me. We’re all good.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  That they’d had this conversation was a relief – but it still didn’t change what had happened. And Emma knew she had done wrong by Max, and that felt horrid. But no one could change the past; all she could do was be the best person she could be in the future.

  Normally Emma would be really excited about seeing Max, but guilt and worry were doing terrible things to her insides and so, the drive down to Hexham that evening was a little stomach-churning. How would she be when she saw him? Could she act the same as normal? She’d never been any good at lying. James would come up with all sorts as a kid, and get away with stuff, yet her mum would just see right through Emma. Normally that wouldn’t be such a bad trait; honesty. But this evening she could really do with a good poker face.

  She parked outside Max’s end cottage in Whitstone village just outside of Hexham. Alfie was with her too, nestled happily in the back of the car. He was always pleased to go wherever Emma went. He barked as they came to a halt. Max’s Jeep was parked outside, so he was home.

  She didn’t need to knock on the door. As she walked up the front path, Max was already there with it wide open and a smile on his face.

  ‘Hey, beautiful.’

  ‘Hi, gorgeous.’ Their usual waking-up together phrases flowed easily, but it also made Emma feel so very sad. How could she have ever thought of risking this? Her first real chance of love in the eight years since Luke’s death … argh.

  She let herself melt into his arms and breathed in the comforting, sensual aftershave smell of him.

  ‘God, I missed you.’ He sounded so honest.

  ‘Missed you too.’

  ‘Hey, Alf.’ The spaniel had followed Emma in and was now receiving a warm pat from Max.

  Max closed the door on the outside world and took Emma back into his arms, his kiss tender at first, then firmer, passionate, stirring sensual thoughts and sensations all the way through her. This felt so very right … and yet had she trashed everything in that one crazy moment?

  As the kiss eased off, Em realised tears were forming in her eyes. Oh my, she couldn’t be seen to cry now, or there’d be some explaining to do. She moved in for a big hug, her head bowed. She took some deep breaths as she leant against Max’s broad chest, composing herself.

  ‘Well then …’ After a short while, Max shifted back and started chatting. ‘I’ve been home for an hour, so I thought the least I could do was prepare us some supper. There might be a little something for Alfie too. I had thought of a takeaway, but reckoned you’d prefer something home-cooked. Mind you, I warn you now, the takeaway option may have been the safer bet.’ He grinned.

  ‘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.

&n
bsp; 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.

  ‘You know, she’s not as friendly as she seems, that lady from the kiosk. I’m still hearing talk that she’s bad-mouthing your business, Emma. Have you noticed if it’s been quieter in here of late?’

  In fact, there had been a turndown in takings, and spare seats in the café lately, just when the summer season was gearing up. She’d hoped to fill both the café and courtyard, but that didn’t seem to be happening as yet.

  ‘Well, my grocery store is definitely down on confectionery sales since she got here.’ Sheila shook her head with a sigh, whilst Em got on with selecting chocolates to fill the bespoke gift box.

  ‘Oh Sheila, there’s always gossip flying about whenever we get newcomers to the village. We just have to give people a chance. Take them as you find them, is what I say.’

  ‘And I agree. But, in this instance, I think you’re being far too kind. I’m just looking out for you, Emma. There’s more than one I’ve heard it from, that have found her to be meddling and spreading rumours. She’s certainly not been very complimentary about your Chocolate Shop.’

  ‘Well Sheila, time will tell.’ Emma really didn’t want to get caught up in the gossip-mongering. ‘She’s never been anything but polite to me.’ She’d not seen the lady often, to be fair. Just that initial conversation and the odd wave as Emma had passed by the kiosk.

  ‘Well, she wouldn’t, would she? It’s always behind other people’s backs with her sort. That’s the whole point.’ Sheila gave a loud tut.

  Emma sent Sheila off with her box of handcrafted chocolates for her mother-in-law, initially dismissing her gossip. But a while after she’d gone, Emma began to think. Customer numbers and her takings had seriously dipped since the arrival of The Rock Shop. Maybe some of that was natural, with people trying out the new confectionery rivals, but she’d thought things should have picked up again by now. There were certainly lots of tourists about in the village. She’d seen plenty of people wandering by with their telltale stripy pink-and-white bags of fudge and goodies from The Rock Shop, but most of them weren’t stopping or even looking in at The Chocolate Shop. Maybe she’d been naïve and she should be worried, after all.

  Max had called her earlier in the day. There were some small but pressing issues with the Leeds project and there was no way around it but to go and sort them out in person. He had anticipated some teething problems and had warned her that there was always something to follow up with projects on this scale. It was best to deal with them swiftly and keep the client happy, he’d explained. Max had then apologised and said he’d definitely make it up to her the following weekend when he’d be there to see her in Warkton, come hell or high water.

  Emma said she understood, even though her heart sank. She’d so wanted to see him – to put things right after her stupid moment with Nate, not that Max even knew. And then she did what she usually did: concentrated on her own business, making more chocolate supplies and dashing about keeping her customers happy. The ‘For Sale’ notice hanging outside the shop was still lingering in her mind, immovable. And she knew that there might be viewings on the property soon, even if she hadn’t heard anything so far. All she could do in the meanwhile was forge on and keep her eyes open for any suitable property up for rent. There was so much out of her control. All she could do was put one foot in front of the other, even if she felt like everything might soon come tumbling down.

  33

  Two uneasy weeks later, with the Wimbledon tennis tournament due to start on Monday, Emma decided she’d spend a couple of hours after the shop closed on Sunday evening re-jigging her window display with an ‘Anyone for Tennis’ theme using a few brightly coloured balls, her tennis racquet (it didn’t get used often!), and the most divine champagne truffles, together with a dish of her chocolate-dipped fresh strawberries and some homemade meringues.

  It looked great, but she wasn’t altogether happy; customer numbers had dropped off this past weekend more than ever and any drop in turnover was a massive concern. She couldn’t afford to get behind with the rent like she had last year.

  On the Monday morning, Emma needed to nip down to the grocer’s to fetch some extra cream and eggs and after a quick stroll over, Sheila was smiling at her from behind the till. ‘How are you, pet?’

  ‘Oh, pretty good.’

  ‘And how’s business?’ A frown creased Sheila’s brow.

  ‘All right.’ Emma was noncommittal, not wanting to give anything away. The next thing would be the whole village hearing all about her misfortunes.

  ‘So, you’re not down on customer numbers, then?’ Sheila fished.

  Emma stayed quiet.

  ‘I’m still hearing rumours, you know. Look, Emma pet, I know you think I’m a meddling thing at times but I don’t like to see anyone unfairly treated. I’ve a mind to go down there and have it out with that Rock Shop woman myself. It’s not the way we work in this village. And I’ll not see your Chocolate Shop harmed by this tittle-tattle she’s spreading. She’s telling people your shop is about to go out of business, that’s why it’s up for sale.’

  ‘Really?!’ Emma was taken aback. But was it just rumours? Just the village grapevine doing Chinese whispers and getting its knickers in a twist? She’d hate to accuse someone of wrongdoing if it wasn’t true. But maybe there was something in it … ‘Well, I’ll take note of what you’re saying, but I’ll fight my own battles, thank you, Sheila.’

  ‘Okay, pet. I wouldn’t take too long about it, though. Things’ll only go from bad to worse otherwise. It needs to be nipped in the bud, so it does.’

  Wow, yet more troubles lining up for her. As she paid for the cream and eggs, Emma tried to keep a sensible head on. She’d need to somehow verify if there was any truth in this. The only thing was, she wasn’t quite sure how …

  Emma really needed something to look forward to, and she was both excited and relieved when Maddi’s hen do rolled around the following week – the first formal ‘Chocolate and Prosecco Party’ for Emma and The Chocolate Shop. She really needed it to go off well because her reputation was at stake and her nerves were jangling somewhat.

  ‘Holly, can you just give me a hand over here, please?’ Emma was balanced precariously up a stepladder, trying to swoop a string of outdoor fairy lights along the side wall of the courtyard. ‘Just keep me steady while I reach across. Don’t want to end up in A&E before the party even starts.’

  ‘No worries. I’ve got your back,’ Holly said, grinning up at her from the base of the ladder.

  ‘Thanks.’

  With fairy lights now strung up on both side walls, tealights and an old-fashioned teacup filled with sweet pea flowers (a gift from Hilda and Stan’s garden) set out on each outside table, it was going to look so pretty there in the courtyard when the girls arrived and dusk began to fall. It was a calm clear night, thank heavens, so her plans for using the outdoor space had come together perfectly. Em was going to start the party outside, serving her bubbly and the chocolate-dipped strawberries to begin. She’d
give the ladies time to chat and relax, and then they were to have a go at making the choc-dipped strawberries themselves out in the courtyard.

  Then, as it would cool down into the evening, they’d head back into The Chocolate Shop after dusk, where Bev was now setting out all the ingredients and bowls ready for the truffle-making session later – raspberry gin truffles being Maddi’s choice.

  Bev was thrilled that her recipe idea from the first prosecco trial night had been selected. Emma was even making them for the shop now – they were summery and delicious, and equally scrumptious dipped in white, dark or milk chocolate to coat. One of each was a nice way to start, to be honest!

  With the deposit money on the booking, Emma had bought a set of glass flutes for the shop, which were already set out on a tray in the kitchen awaiting the cork-popping moment once the girls arrived.

  There were ten minutes to go – the group being due to arrive at eight o’clock. Holly and Bev were inside the shop making some last-minute touches to the arrangements, and Em paused for a moment to stand on the back step, gazing out at the courtyard. Her mind drifting off to her own engagement with Luke. They had been so damned happy and excited. They’d held a party for their friends, family and schoolteacher colleagues at a small hotel just outside Durham. It was great fun with a disco and dancing until the early hours, with all the people that were special to them there.

  The proposal itself had been at their home and was quiet but just right. Luke was not a showy character, but he’d made it special all the same. She smiled as she remembered. It was the night she took an after-school baking class, so she never normally got back until around seven. When she opened the front door, she could smell that something delicious was cooking. She walked through to the living room, on the coffee table was a hand-tied bouquet of soft pink, white and cream flowers. And, even better – Luke knew how much she loved chocolate – was a beautiful heart-shaped box of artisan chocolates.

  She’d thought it was just a romantic meal he had planned, and how lovely was that? But as she walked through to the kitchen where she expected to find him cooking, he was down on one knee, with a huge grin on his face. It tugged at her heart all over again.