The Cosy Seaside Chocolate Shop Read online

  ‘Thank you so much. I’ll never be able to do enough to repay your kindness.’

  ‘Yes, you will. You go and make your Chocolate Shop the best it can be. Go and make your dreams come true. That’s all I want to see.’

  Emma’s heart was brimming. ‘I will do. Of course. I won’t let you down, Mrs C.’

  ‘You’d better not.’ The old lady smiled, and then gave her a wink.

  50

  The last few weeks had been such an emotional rollercoaster and Emma was so looking forward to her weekend chill-out with Max. The night away that he’d promised was here, and she couldn’t wait to relax with him, just the two of them somewhere special, but he was keeping the destination very much under wraps. Emma had to guess what might be suitable to pack, choosing a pretty dress for an evening meal as well as some casual clothes in case they went out walking or the like. Max arrived at four o’clock as promised. Holly was ready to cover the shop for the last hour and close up. She was also going to come in tomorrow afternoon to help Bev, and Alfie was settled with Bev and Pete. Emma felt a flutter of excitement as she and Max set off in the Jeep for their romantic getaway – the chance to have some uninterrupted time together and reconnect would be bliss.

  Emma was quite surprised when he switched the indicator on at the top of the village and pulled into The Seaview Hotel. Maybe he was just picking something up or had some kind of surprise arranged there first. Curious.

  Max grinned at her. ‘We’re here.’

  ‘What? Honestly? We could have just walked up here.’ Emma really couldn’t work out what was going on. She wasn’t sure if this was some kind of joke. Not that the hotel wasn’t lovely.

  ‘Yep, this is it. When you already live in the best place along the coast, why go anywhere else? It’ll be very special, I promise.’ He got out and walked around to open the Jeep door for her.

  ‘Okay.’

  Laura was there at Reception with a big smile for them both. ‘Hi, Emma, Max. Welcome to The Seaview Hotel.’

  Adam then appeared, giving them both a big hug, and offering to carry up their overnight bags. ‘Great to see you two back together,’ he said, smiling and shook hands with Max warmly, having felt dreadful about the rift his revelation had caused to his close friends.

  Max quickly signed some check-in details, and then Adam led the two of them up two flights of stairs to the very top of the hotel – the executive suite.

  As he opened the door for them, Emma gasped. It was absolutely beautiful. Holly had been right when she’d gushed about it all those weeks ago. Max was just grinning away beside her, having evidently seen it already, and delighting in Em’s reaction.

  There was a massive bouncy-looking king-size bed, covered in a gorgeous black-and-cream fleur-de-lys-patterned bedspread, with lots of plump cushions. A lovely cosy sitting area looked welcoming, with a beige sofa, a wide-screen TV, and a coffee table. The pictures on the walls were of the local area, with some beautiful photographic seascapes of the bay and some black-and-white images of close-ups in the dunes. There was a dining table and two smart wooden chairs – and the en suite bathroom was enormous, easily as big as Emma’s whole bedroom back in the flat. It had a huge double-ended bath, and a walk-in shower, all tiled out in slate and stone. It was like something out of House and Home magazine.

  ‘Wow,’ was all Emma could say.

  Then Adam came back to the main bedroom area and pointed out the complimentary snacks and drinks all set out for them on a lovely dark wooden cabinet. There was a posh coffee machine, kettle and teapot, with packets of scrummy local biscuits, as well as a small bottle of Alnwick Gin and some tonics on the side plus an ice bucket, and a tub of kettle chips. Em spotted her own turndown chocolates, which made her smile even wider. And, out of the bay window she could see right down the high street to the harbour.

  ‘It’s just perfect,’ she said, delighted.

  ‘Right, well I’ll leave you two to it,’ Adam said. ‘If you need anything at all just press 0 on the phone and Reception will answer.’

  As soon as Adam had closed the door behind him, Emma couldn’t resist bouncing on the huge bed and laughing out loud. It was as springy as it looked. ‘Thank you,’ she said to Max.

  ‘You are so welcome.’ And he came and joined her on the bed, the two of them bouncing until they ended up in each other’s arms in the most sexy, tender embrace ever. Ending in a kiss that meant so very much.

  ‘I’m thinking about ordering room service for later, if you’d like that,’ Max said. ‘We can have dinner up here – the menu sounds amazing.’

  ‘That sounds wonderful.’ She did not want to leave this room at all. Just the two of them nestled away up there. No work, no worries. The Chocolate Shop purchase all seemed to be going ahead as it should in the hands of her solicitors – so far so good. For today at least it was just about them.

  She’d brought a pretty floral-patterned dress to put on that evening and she’d maybe have a shower – in the big shower made for two, she thought with a grin – and change into that later.

  ‘There’s something else.’ Max looked slightly nervous as he spoke.

  ‘Okay …’ She hoped it was good news. She didn’t want this gorgeous bubble to burst, not yet.

  ‘Follow me.’

  There was a white-painted door with a small glass window inset at the far side of the room. She had spotted it earlier, but there was so much to take in with the room, she hadn’t really registered it much further. Max went first, turning the handle. The door led to a wooden-decked balcony area, right at the top of the hotel. They stepped out together. The view was stunning; they could see right across the arc of the bay and down the Northumberland coastline – the sea, the beach, the sky, the patchwork greens and golds of the summer fields.

  ‘Oh my!’ Em was lost for words after that. She couldn’t think of a more perfect spot. And she had Max beside her. A tear welled in her eye. Sometimes moments in life were just so beautiful they took your breath away.

  She finally found her voice again and turned. ‘Max … it’s just beaut—’ Then her focus fell on the decking area itself. There was a fancy outdoor Jacuzzi, two wooden lounger chairs. She spotted an ice bucket, ready on a stand. Oh wow, he’d got a bottle of champagne organised for them. But the most jaw-dropping thing of all was that Max was no longer standing next to her. He was down on one knee, looking up at her.

  He looked so gorgeous and earnest – and a little bit nervous. ‘Emma, would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?’

  It was so perfect, the view of the bay, being here in Warkton, being here with Max. It was almost overwhelming.

  Was this really happening? Never in her wildest dreams had she thought …

  Max was still there, waiting for her response.

  Was she ready to give up her soul once more? Was she ready to take that risk?

  And the answer was there in her heart. ‘Yes.’ Her voice was loud and clear. ‘Yes!’

  ‘Woohoo!’ Max shouted out, then he spun her around in a whirl of love.

  Later, they sat in the Jacuzzi with bubbles all around them from the whirlpool, bubbles popping in their flutes of champagne and bubbles of excitement surging within Emma. She could still hardly believe all this and yet here was Max beside her with the happiest grin.

  They sipped champagne to celebrate their engagement. The ring he’d chosen was just stunning, a vivid green emerald with four tiny diamonds around it. He’d picked it to match the green of her eyes, he’d said. He thought she’d like something slightly unusual. And he was right. Luke had given her a beautiful, yet traditional, solitaire diamond ring. It was lovely to have something new and different. Something that was special to Max.

  He turned to her, suddenly looking rather serious. ‘That day, when Adam told me … I had the ring with me there, ready. I hadn’t quite planned it out, but I was going to make it special for you that night. I thought with The Chocolate Shop at risk, if I asked you to marry me, you’d k
now at least that you’d always have my support. That I’d be there with you for the long run, whatever happened. And then …’

  ‘Oh Max, I’m so very sorry.’

  ‘That’s why I took it so hard.’

  ‘Oh …’ She felt so sad that she’d hurt him so much.

  ‘It’s okay now, honestly.’ He smiled at her, took her hand in the misty bubbles. ‘We made our way through it, Em. No more looking back. The here and now is what matters.’

  ‘Yes.’ And she snuggled up beside him in the warm bubbles, both looking out over the glorious view of the bay.

  ‘You’ve just made me the happiest man.’

  She moved in to give him a very sensual kiss, full of love and silent promises never to hurt him again. To love him for him always.

  Max pulled back after a lingeringly gorgeous while. ‘There’s something else, Em.’

  Emma felt a tug inside. She hoped it was good news. All her life since what had happened to Luke she’d always waited for the but … the kick … the hammer blow. She couldn’t help it.

  ‘Now we’re engaged, we can’t go on spending all our time apart,’ Max started.

  ‘True.’ She began to relax a little.

  ‘If you’re okay with this,’ he continued, ‘I’d like to move into your place, here at The Chocolate Shop in Warkton.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I can rent out my house for now so we’d save money and I can help with your bills on the shop and flat too. I know you’ve taken out a fairly hefty mortgage to buy the place now.’

  ‘But what about your work? You’ll have to drive even further to get there.’

  ‘It’s a small price to pay to come home to you at night. I want to be with you, Em. To be together, in every way. That’s what us getting engaged to be married is all about. And …’ He looked out across the vista of the bay with the fields of golden barley ready to harvest, rolling down to the rugged dunes and the blond sand of the beach, the pewter-blue sea, and the sky above just starting to blush with the pinky-peach tones of early evening.

  ‘It is beautiful, isn’t it?’ Emma felt her heart stir.

  ‘This place has won a little piece of my heart, Em … The big piece is all yours of course.’

  They both grinned and then took up that long, lingering kiss once more.

  Later, in the early hours of the morning, Emma woke. The excitement of the last few hours was still flooding her veins, and her mind was going over the events of the day. She felt restless, drawn to go out on to the balcony. She put on the hotel’s towelling robe and went out in bare feet. She could see the sea glinting silver in the bay. And then she looked up. Wow, it was stunning. A sky full of stars.

  She took a deep breath.

  ‘I’m happy, Luke,’ she said softly to the night sky. ‘And I’ll still always love you, and I’ll never forget you.’

  It may have just been a coincidence, but with that, a shooting star burst into life and blazed a small trail across the sky. Watching it, Emma felt a lift of joy, and then the most incredible sense of peace.

  She heard footsteps behind her and then Max stood next to her, dressed in just a pair of boxer shorts. ‘You okay?’ She could feel his warmth beside her.

  ‘Yes … the sky is so beautiful tonight.’

  Max looked up too. ‘It’s amazing.’

  It was as if a sparkling icing-sugar shaker had been dusted across the heavens. Looking at that expanse of stars, with Max there beside her, she had a feeling that she hadn’t had for a very long time – that the future was looking bright, that life was good and so very precious.

  Max stood with her, silent for a while. The two of them, side by side. Then he gently reached for her hand where the engagement ring now rested. ‘You ready to come back to bed now?’

  Emma took one last look at the glinting waves, the velvet sky, and turned towards her new fiancé. ‘Absolutely!’

  A Letter from Caroline

  Thank you so much for choosing to read The Cosy Seaside Chocolate Shop. I hope you’ve had a great time in Warkton-by-the-Sea with Emma and Max. Hopefully you’ve been curled up with a box or bar of your favourite chocs next to you!

  If you have enjoyed this book, please don’t hesitate to get in touch or to leave a review. I always love hearing my readers’ reactions, and it also makes a big difference in helping new readers to discover my books for the first time. You’d make an author very happy.

  You are welcome to pop along to my Facebook page, Twitter profile or blog page. Please share your news, views, recipe tips, and read all about your favourite chocolates too. It’s lovely to make new friends, so keep in touch.

  Well, the next book is calling, so it’s back to the writing!

  Thanks again, and see you soon!

  Caroline x

  /CarolineRobertsAuthor

  @_caroroberts

  carolinerobertswriter.blogspot.co.uk

  Acknowledgements

  Thanks to my chocolate-making friends – June Carruthers, Louise at Cabosse in Warkworth, Kiki’s Chocolates in Coldingham, The Chocolate Spa Alnwick, and Bev Stephenson of North Chocolates – for all your help, ideas and inspiration.

  For my team at HarperImpulse and HarperCollins – my wonderful editor Charlotte Brabbin, and Charlotte Ledger and Kimberley Young, thanks for your support from day one. Also to all the HC staff who help with the fabulous cover designs, sales and marketing.

  My lovely agent Hannah Ferguson, thanks for being there with great advice and for travelling and sharing my special moment (whilst heavily pregnant!) when I was shortlisted at The Romantic Novelists’ Association Awards this year. Also to Caroline, Jo and the team at Hardman & Swainson, thank you.

  For The Romantic Novelists’ Association and my fabulous Border Reivers Northumberland Chapter. Thanks so much for all the years of support and friendship, and for tea, cake, prosecco and chats – essential writing fuel!

  For my wonderful family and friends – a huge cheers, folks!

  My readers and the book blogging community – thank you so much for getting in touch with your fantastic comments, reviews and support. It’s wonderful to hear from you and I hope you have enjoyed escaping for a while in my chocolate-filled teashop kind of world.

  All best wishes,

  Caroline x

  Bev’s Raspberry-Gin Chocolate Truffles

  (Makes approx. 24)

  Ingredients

  125ml double cream *

  250g of good quality (at least 70%) dark chocolate, finely chopped

  2 tablespoons raspberry gin (or why not try sloe gin, elderflower gin – whatever takes your fancy!)

  125g dark, milk or white chocolate to decorate

  Method

  1. Bring the cream just to the boil in a small pan. Remove from heat and stir in the dark chocolate until melted.

  2. Stir in the gin. Pour into a bowl and chill until firm (in a fridge for around 4 hours).

  3. Scoop out a teaspoon of mixture, roll into a ball with your hands – this is the messy bit! – and place on to greaseproof paper. Repeat.

  4. Melt your preferred decorating chocolate gently in a bowl over hot water (white or dark – both work really well).

  5. Using a fork or cocktail sticks, dip the truffle balls into the melted chocolate to coat all over. Transfer to greaseproof paper to set.

  * As these truffles are made with cream, store in a fridge and eat within one week.

  Perfect served with prosecco and friends!

  Chocolate-dipped Strawberries

  Ingredients

  400g punnet of fresh strawberries

  Dark (70%), milk or white chocolate for dipping (100g each approx.)

  Method

  1. Prepare a tray with some greaseproof or baking paper.

  2. Keep the strawberries whole with their stalks on.

  3. Melt the chocolate in separate bowls. Dip the strawberries in, holding the stalk, so the lower half is covered. Place ca
refully on the paper and allow to cool.

  Eat and enjoy! (They can even count as one of your five-a-day!)

  Prosecco Cocktails (Raspberry Gin, Elderflower Gin)

  Choose your favourite gin liqueur. I love Raspberry Gin for this. (The Edinburgh Gin Company do some amazing flavours – you can even try Rhubarb and Ginger or Pomegranate and Rose.)

  Method

  1. Add a 25ml measure to the bottom of a glass flute and fill with prosecco (or champagne if you’re feeling decadent).

  2. If you are having the Raspberry Gin flavour, pop a fresh raspberry into the glass to decorate!

  Hey presto! Sip and enjoy. Perfect served on a summer’s day with friends!

  If you loved this from Caroline Roberts, don’t miss the first ‘cosy’ chocolate adventure!

  The snow is falling, the hot chocolate’s warming, and hearts are melting …

  The chocolate calendar countdown is on. Can Emma rescue her business and her broken heart?

  Click here to buy now 978-0-00-823629-8

  And you’ll love the first in another ‘cosy’ baking adventure series!

  ‘Cakes, castles and oodles of charm: this book is huge fun and pure escapism’ Cathy Bramley

  Can Ellie bake her way to a happy ever after? A deliciously heartwarming novel for fans of Lucy Diamond and Milly Johnson.

  When Ellie Hall lands her dream job running the little teashop in the beautiful but crumbling Claverham Castle, it’s the perfect escape from her humdrum job in the city. Life is definitely on the rise as Ellie replaces spreadsheets for scones, and continues her Nanna’s brilliant baking legacy.

  When Lord Henry, the stick-in-the-mud owner, threatens to burst her baking bubble with his old-fashioned ways, Ellie wonders if she might have bitten off more than she can chew. But cupcake by cupcake she wins the locals over, including teashop stalwart, Doris, and Ellie’s showstopping bakes look set to go down in castle history!