The Cosy Seaside Chocolate Shop Read online

  There was a phone call that Emma had been meaning to make for a few days now. That Monday evening she picked up her mobile and dialled.

  ‘Angela, hello. It’s Emma.’

  ‘Oh Emma, how lovely to hear from you. How are you, darling?’

  It had been a month since she had spoken to Angela. She was Luke’s mum – Luke, Emma’s fiancé, who at only twenty-six had been knocked off his bicycle by a lorry and killed instantly. Luke, whose photo still sat on Emma’s dressing table.

  ‘I’m fine, thank you.’

  ‘And are you still with your young man?’ Angela asked.

  ‘Yes, I am. It’s going well.’

  ‘That’s good. I’m pleased for you, Emma. Really.’

  It must be hard for her to say that when they both knew that it should have been her son’s place next to Emma in the world. And yet, here was a mother, generous with her love and good wishes, despite all the pain and the might-have-beens.

  ‘Thank you.’ Emma’s voice had quietened. Although she had fallen in love with Max only recently, and Luke was no longer here, it still felt a little like a betrayal.

  ‘And how has The Chocolate Shop been doing, and the new café? You must tell me all about it.’

  And so the conversation moved on to easier topics, chatting away about chocolate and village life. Emma asked after Luke’s father, John, and the family.

  ‘Oh, the lovely news is that Nathan is coming back home for a while. Finished his travelling, as far as we know, and is looking for work back in England.’

  ‘That’s good. Send him my love, won’t you?’

  ‘Of course.’

  Nathan was Luke’s younger brother. It had hit him extremely hard, losing his sibling in such a sudden, horrendous way. Just a month after the funeral he had upped and left his job and set off with a backpack and a few possessions. He’d been travelling and working his way around the world ever since, with just the odd visit home, but he’d never settled. Every now and again, Emma would spot a new Facebook status with some amazing scenery or mention of a hostel with newfound friends in another foreign country.

  ‘Aw, it’ll be lovely to have him home again,’ said Emma, suddenly realising that for Angela, in a way, it must have felt that she had lost both her sons that year, and all those years since.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Well, you take care, Angela.’

  ‘You too. And you know you are always welcome if you ever want to come and stay.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘So lovely to hear from you, Emma.’

  ‘Yes, it’s been good to chat. Lots of love.’

  They still felt like family. Just speaking to Angela brought back so many memories, happy times and the saddest of times too. After putting the phone down, Emma realised she had tears in her eyes, but the best antidote for sadness was work, Emma had found. So she was soon in the shop’s kitchen, making buttery flaky pastry ready to turn into chocolate croissants that would be just-baked and still warm for the arrival of her customers in the morning. Another day with customers to serve and chat with, chocolates to craft, bills to pay, a spaniel to walk, and a heart to keep healing.

  5

  With Easter now over, it was time to change The Chocolate Shop’s window display. Emma loved the changing of the seasons, seeing it as a new chance to be creative – with the chocolates she made, the drinks and cakes she served, and the styling of the shop itself. For this summer she had decided on a harbourside, coastal theme for her window extravaganza, reflecting the beautiful setting of their village, which would hopefully help to draw in the summer customers.

  Holly loved getting involved with the window displays too. She had agreed to come in on Tuesday afternoon, straight from the Sixth Form bus, to give her a hand. A while ago, Emma had found a scrap of blue fishing net on the beach, which she’d taken home and washed thoroughly. She’d known it might come in handy one day, and this was now set out at the base of the window. She carefully placed some pieces of driftwood, smoothed and weathered to a bleached grey, on top of it and an old-fashioned indigo glass float. From the craft shop halfway down the hill she had bought a wonderful model coble boat and intended filling the hull with chocolate truffles, and she also had three small, very cute wood-painted puffins. Along with a selection of her moulded chocolates shapes – seashells, anchors, starfish, and packs of chocolate puffins and seals – it would look delightful (hopefully!).

  Holly had helped her place all the items carefully and was now standing outside, judging the final effect and getting Emma to tweak the positions so it all looked just right. There was lots of nodding, pointing and thumbs-up signs going on.

  ‘Your turn now. Go on out for the final approval,’ Holly said to Em with a grin, as she walked back in.

  Emma was soon standing outside. ‘Hmm, pretty good. Just up a bit with that puffin there, yes. Perfect. Yep, I’m pleased with that.’ Emma gave a final thumbs-up sign to Holly through the glass.

  Just then, Adam came past. ‘Looking good!’ he exclaimed.

  ‘The window display or Holly?’ Emma grinned, as Holly was inside beaming out at the unexpected sight of her tall, sandy-haired boyfriend.

  ‘Both,’ he announced wisely with a grin. ‘See you later, Holly,’ he called out. ‘Can’t stop. I’m on a super-speedy mission for gluten-free bread. I’m hoping Sheila’s got some left in stock. Got a hotel customer with dietary needs they hadn’t specified before arrival.’

  ‘See you,’ Emma said as he strode on by.

  ‘By-ee!’ Holly was waving animatedly from the other side of the window.

  Em walked back inside, ‘Hey, look at you, grinning like a Cheshire cat. So how are things going with you two? I don’t suppose I really need to ask, looking at that beam of a smile,’ Emma said, grinning.

  ‘Great. He is just lush, Em, and we are getting on so well.’ There was virtually a swoon going on. If they were back in the Victorian days the old smelling salts would be coming out right now.

  ‘Well that’s brilliant. I’m happy for you, Hols. Now then, let’s get back to work.’

  Just after closing time the phone rang.

  ‘Hi Em, it’s a lovely evening. Pete’s got one of his golf committee meetings and I wondered if you fancy coming down to The Fisherman’s Arms? We could sit outside with a drink and watch the sun go down. What do you think?’ It was Bev.

  ‘Sounds perfect, yes.’ It had been a busy day – one of the ones when Bev worked at the surgery, so Em had been multitasking. A chilled-out evening might be just what she needed.

  ‘I could ask Ali too. It’s been a little while since the three of us have had a catch-up.’

  ‘Great. What time?’ Em glanced at her watch; just after six. She had closed the shop an hour ago and had been thinking of making some more chocolate-shaped puffins and seals, but she had felt tired and ended up reading her book for a while instead.

  ‘In about half an hour so we can sit out while it’s still warm?’

  ‘Yep, I’ll meet you there, shall I?’

  ‘Yes, great. I love it when a plan comes together. I’ll ring Ali straight away.’

  Emma had made some lovely friends since arriving at Warkton-by-the-Sea, having known no one at all in the village at the start of her Chocolate Shop venture seven years ago and at her darkest of times, her friends and her family had become a bit of a life-support system, especially Bev.

  The three ladies were soon installed at a wooden picnic bench in the back garden of The Fisherman’s Arms, the village pub, which stood proudly on the rise of land to one side of the harbour, nestled by old stone fishermen’s cottages. There was an area of grass to the rear of the pub, and a little gate that led out to the coastal footpath on one side, and some steps that led down to the harbour on the other. She often let her mind stray to times gone by, to when the fishing fleet would be bringing in their catch of herring or the like, ready to take to the smokehouses on the other side of the street, all but one now converted into
a restaurant and cottages. It must have been a hard life, with the North Sea always cold, at times treacherous, the women left at home mending the nets, nursing hungry children. They would have known grief and loves lost, for sure.

  ‘So, been busy today, Em?’ Bev brought her back to the here and now.

  ‘Yeah, it has actually. Even though the schools’ Easter holidays are over, there’re still plenty of tourists about. I think the fine weather has drawn them out.’

  ‘Ah, yes. The village is pretty busy. I had trouble getting parked today.’

  ‘Been up to much, Ali?’ Em asked.

  ‘Head down at work too. An outbreak of the norovirus has kept us pretty hectic, hasn’t it Bev?’ Ali worked with Bev at the doctors’ surgery.

  ‘Yeah, it’s been like D & V city. Oh, the joys.’

  ‘D & V?’ Emma quizzed, then wished she hadn’t.

  ‘Diarrhoea and vomiting,’ answered Bev matter-of-factly.

  ‘Ah, I see.’

  ‘Though,’ Ali continued, ‘me and Dan are planning a breakaway soon. Got a cottage booked for a long weekend down in the Yorkshire Dales.’

  ‘Ooh, sounds nice.’ Em couldn’t remember the last time she’d taken a holiday. It just hadn’t been on her agenda – building her business and keeping the shop running had kept her busy enough. And where would she have gone on a holiday on her own, anyhow? Looking out across the harbour with the soft peachy-grey shades of a late-spring evening settling over sea and sky, a few boats bobbing about and the graceful swoop of a tern nearby, this was a lovely place to be anyhow.

  ‘Fabulous,’ agreed Bev. ‘Though I hope there’s a nice pub or takeaway nearby. You’re not out hiking all weekend with packed lunches in backpacks, are you?’ Dan was well known for his love of outdoor pursuits.

  ‘Hah, well there will definitely be some hiking involved, but I have checked out the local village online and it has a Chinese takeaway and a good pub by the looks of it.’

  ‘Good girl.’ Bev smiled.

  Their glasses were nearly empty.

  ‘Right then.’ Emma stood up. ‘I’ll go in and fetch the next round of drinks. Same again, girls?’

  ‘Ooh, yes. Thanks, Em.’

  She entered the back door of the pub from the beer garden. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust with it being so much darker inside. It was fairly busy in there. Sounds of chatter filling the air with people making the most of a pleasant spring evening, and holidaymakers out for their supper and enjoying the atmosphere of a traditional English pub. The Fisherman’s Arms had been here at the harbourside for centuries, heard and seen the tales of the local fisherfolk, witnessed hard times, and good times.

  There was a guy at the bar and Emma stopped in her tracks. She felt goose bumps all over her body. Luke! Memories flooded her mind. That same dark-blond hair, something about the curve of the back of his neck. The clothes were a bit more casual than he might have worn but … yes, Luke. Oh my God. She felt giddy, strange. Dropped her purse, as her hands began to tremble, bent down to see where it had fallen. Damn, it had gone right under a chair at someone’s table.

  ‘Sorry,’ she apologised to the couple sitting there, as she fumbled for it on the floor.

  When she stood back up, she looked towards the bar again. He’d gone.

  She scanned the room. No sign. It was as if he’d never been there. Was she hallucinating? Was it just wishful thinking? But for a split second it felt like Luke was really there. It was probably just some tourist who looked a bit like him. But blimey, it was like seeing a ghost.

  There was a part of her that wanted to run out, check if he really was there, if he might be walking around the village right now. But she knew that was just plain crazy. She had seen Luke laid out, kissed his cold, scarred forehead on that mortuary slab. It was a doppelganger tourist at best, and a figment of her imagination at worst. She must have been working harder than she’d thought – she was overtired or something.

  Emma headed for the bar, still feeling a prickly sensation just heading to the space where he had been. But yes, all was okay, she told herself, she needed to just chill out with a half pint of cider and her friends.

  ‘Hi Danny, can I have a G&T, a half of Fosters and a cider, please.’

  ‘You certainly can.’ He stopped for a second and looked at her. ‘You okay, Em? You look like you’ve …’

  Seen a ghost, Em finished in her mind.

  ‘Well, you look a bit pale,’ he continued.

  ‘Yeah, I’m fine, Danny. You?’ she asked, neatly deflecting the question.

  ‘Great. The good news is that the pub’s up for an award – best coastal pub in the North East. We’re on the shortlist.’

  ‘Cool. Well done. You deserve it. It’s lovely here. Fingers crossed for you.’

  ‘Cheers.’ Danny busied himself getting their drinks ready.

  Em scanned the bar area and tables. No one at all that looked like Luke. She must have been having a ‘moment’.

  The landlord Dave appeared next to Danny. ‘Evening, Em.’

  ‘Hello. Well done on the short-listing for the award, by the way, that’s great news. Well, so far so good, anyhow.’

  ‘Yeah, it’s fantastic, isn’t it.’

  ‘You’ll be putting Warkton-by-the-Sea on the map.’

  ‘Hopefully.’

  And hopefully people would find a gorgeous chocolate shop while they were there too! Emma mused. She was genuinely pleased for the pub. It was great that local businesses were doing well and it was such a nice place to come and chill out; log fires in the winter and the pretty beer garden overlooking the harbour in summer. Fish and chips and their scrummy crab sandwiches, no wonder it was popular there. In fact, ‘Danny, can I put in an order for two lots of crab sandwiches and a large bowl of chips too, please.’ She hadn’t had any supper as yet, and just the thought of them with freshly made, crispy chips was making her tummy rumble.

  ‘I’m on to it.’ He jotted the order down on his pad and handed it to the waitress to take to the kitchen for him.

  ‘Thanks.’

  Emma paid, then made her way back out with their drinks. She couldn’t resist a scan of the harbourside and the pavement that led away from the pub but there was no one there who looked the least bit like Luke. Of course there wasn’t …

  She placed the drinks before her friends at the picnic bench. ‘There you go, ladies.’

  ‘Cheers, Em.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  She wouldn’t even mention the incident in the bar or her ‘sighting’ for fear of sounding slightly loopy. Instead, she needed to relax and make the most of a chilled-out evening. Still, it had left her with an odd prickly feeling at the back of her neck.

  6

  ‘Oh, bloody hell, guess who’s sliming his way across the street?’ Holly was pulling a face.

  Emma looked up from the counter to see her landlord, Mr Neil, outside. Her blood went cold. It was never good news when he turned up out of the blue. She tried to stay calm and smile as he entered the door, managing a polite ‘Hello.’

  ‘Good morning, Emma. How’s business?’

  It always seemed to be a bit of a leading question from him.

  ‘Fine,’ she answered, keeping her reply purposefully vague. If she sounded too positive, he might decide to put up the rent again. Who knew what schemes were going on in that greasy little head of his? ‘Would you like a coffee?’ Better keep him sweet. This place was her life and soul, and he held her future in his hands.

  ‘Yes, thank you, I will.’

  ‘I’ll make it,’ Holly offered. Em thought she might just be looking for a way to escape the room. The guy certainly had a knack of sucking the air of the place. Or maybe her young assistant was thinking of putting salt in it or something. Em gave her a stern glance just in case she had any such antics in mind. It wouldn’t do to annoy him.

  ‘The café seems to be doing well.’ He was perusing the room. The window-seat tables were taken up with two famil
ies.

  ‘Yes, I’m pleased with how it’s going.’

  ‘Hmm, it’s a good new addition.’

  ‘Yes,’ she agreed. And yes, she’d been the one to put in all the hard work and the finances to fund the conversion. He’d be the one gaining from it in the long run. Despite being the landlord, he didn’t do a lot for the upkeep of the property. One time, when the boiler had gone down, it had taken him five days to get an engineer out to repair it. The shop and her flat were freezing all the while. She’d had to borrow a fan heater to keep the shop warm enough during the day, and she and Alfie had had to move across to sleep at Bev’s for a couple of nights.

  ‘Here you go.’ Holly popped a cup of coffee on to a table which was set to the side of the café.

  Mr Neil took up the chair beside it. He then took out some paperwork from his black leather briefcase and leafed through A4 sheets. At least Emma didn’t have to stand making conversation with him for now, as he looked otherwise engaged.

  Holly raised an eyebrow and gave a pretend shudder. Emma held on to her fake smile, then a customer came in asking for suggestions for his mother’s birthday. Em was all too happy to help, though she was still aware that she and her shop were under scrutiny from the side table.

  Once the customer had left, she observed her landlord taking several photos on his mobile phone of the interior of the shop. He was definitely up to something.

  After clearing one of the window tables as one group had left and tidying the counter area which was already tidy to start with, she saw him make a move. He filed back his papers, then brought his empty coffee cup over to her.

  ‘About the rent. I’ve decided I’m not going to put it up further at this point.’

  Wow! Emma felt huge relief; last year had been such a struggle. Well, this sounded very positive. Had he had a personality transplant or something? She stared at his slicked-back black hair (he must use lashings of Brylcreem or some such product) and found herself waiting for the but.

  There was a second or two when he stared back. ‘But …’

  Argh, there it was.

  ‘I won’t be renewing your contract for the full year. Instead, I’ll be reviewing it on a month-by-month basis.’