Читать книгу The Cosy Seaside Chocolate Shop: The perfect heartwarming summer escape from the Kindle bestselling author - Caroline Roberts, Caroline Roberts - Страница 8

Emma woke the next morning to find Max asleep beside her. It was rather wonderful, but it still took a little getting used to. He’d arrived a little later than expected last night, so they had had a chilled-out evening in the flat above the shop, catching up on their week apart over a supper of chicken and salad.

The morning light glowed on his face, which was framed by short, mid-brown hair. She studied the dark lashes on his closed lids, the shallow lines on his forehead, deeper laughter lines around his eyes that she knew were hazel-green, the sensual curve of his lip, the cropped beard. It was a handsome face, a little lived-in and rather gorgeous. Watching him made her melt and then spin inside. It was hard to pin down these new emotions. She had been self-contained for so many years; a case of necessity. And day by day she felt her heart unravelling just a little more. It felt beautiful … and somewhat scary.

She reached to gently touch his shoulder which was bare above the covers. He was well-built, the muscles defined. There was the small scar where he had injured it just before Christmas. He still had to be careful, the dislocation to his shoulder making it likely that it might happen again. She loved him for his scars, his hurts, as well as his bloody sexy body. And hey, there were worse things to get used to than waking up to a strong, caring guy who looked a bit like Gerard Butler.

His eyes blinked open. ‘Morning, beautiful.’ His just-awake smile was warm in his voice.

‘Hello, gorgeous.’ Their morning greeting had become their ‘thing’ as they welcomed another day. It started off as a cheesy joke but had stuck and it never failed to make her smile. ‘Oh, hang on,’ she added, ‘Happy Easter.’

‘Happy Easter, Em. Now then, I haven’t got you a chocolate egg – thought you might be all chocolated-out by now. But I did get you this …’ He got out of bed, totally starkers, and wandered across to the chair where he had placed his clothes and overnight bag. She loved that he was happy in his own skin, uninhibited. He lifted out a small gift from his luggage. ‘For you.’

He climbed back into bed, as she opened the gift bag to reveal a very cute soft toy rabbit.

‘Well, you seem to be the one doing all the Easter-egg making and delivering around here, so I thought your very own Easter Bunny might be quite fitting.’

‘Aw, how sweet. He’s really lovely.’ The toy was gorgeous, all soft beige fur, with a white fluffy bib area and a yellow-spotted bow tie. ‘Thanks.’

With that, she leaned down to find her gift for him where she’d hidden it under the bed. ‘And this … is not your average Easter egg, by the way.’

‘Oh, I can’t wait.’ Max opened the medium-sized cardboard box, unwrapping layers of tissue paper to find a set of chocolate tools: spanner, hammer, nuts and bolts, and a screwdriver with screws.

‘Hah, this is brilliant!’

‘All edible,’ Emma announced. She had seen the moulds online and knew that was just the thing for Max, who owned his own building company. It had taken a while to get the silver-metallic finish just right, but she was pleased with the end result.

‘Wow, I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s so cool. I’m gonna have to show the lads at work. Thank you.’ He beamed at her. ‘I love it.’

‘You’re welcome.’

He leant across to give her the most tender kiss – an embrace that promised so much more.

‘We have no rush this morning,’ she hinted. ‘I’m not opening the shop today.’ After three weeks of manic build-up, creating chocolate eggs of all shapes and sizes, filled chocolate bonnets, moulded Easter chicks and bunnies, she was more than ready for a day off – a rare treat. Running your own business meant long hours, and busy days.

‘Hmmn, no rush at all then. So, I’m going to make love to you very, very slowly indeed.’

Em felt her whole body tingle just at the thought of it.

‘And … I might even find a use for that chocolate spanner,’ he added jokingly, with such a wickedly naughty grin on his face, that the pair of them dissolved into laughter.

Making love in the morning left you with a warm glow for the rest of the day. There had been no rush for Emma and Max to be out early, but there were two special chocolate Easter eggs she had yet to deliver to her twin nieces who lived nearby. They arrived late morning at her brother James’s house, which was in a small hamlet in the countryside outside the market town of Alnwick, a twenty-minute drive away through pretty country lanes.

After the annual Easter egg trail in the back garden for the girls, which had now become a bit of a tradition (and who better to bring the most delicious chocolate eggs than Auntie Emma?), they were chatting in the family kitchen over tea and simnel cake, with Easter ‘nests’ the girls had made themselves with lots of chocolate, cereal and mini eggs.

‘Uncle Max, do you like my chick?’ Lucy asked.

Emma had lovingly crafted two large and very cute chocolate Easter chicks, which had been the grand finale of the trail. They even had bow ties on – one red and spotty, the other yellow-striped.

‘He’s rather fabulous, isn’t he? Do you think it is a he?’ Max asked, noting with a smile that there was a large chunk of chocolate missing already from the back of his head.

‘Oh, yes. Of course.’

‘Mine’s a girl,’ Olivia piped up. ‘I’m going to call her Flick.’

‘Flick, the chick. That’s a cool name,’ Max said, grinning.

Max was a natural with the children, so at ease chatting away with them, despite having no nieces or nephews of his own. Lucy had started calling him Uncle Max soon after Christmas, when Emma had only been seeing him for a few months, and it had stuck. He seemed very much a part of Emma’s family already.

‘So, how’s the shop going, Em?’ Chloe, her sister-in-law, asked.

‘It’s been really hectic in the run-up to Easter, but that’s good. And I’m managing to keep up with the rent payments okay for now, so that’s a bit of a relief.’ There had been issues with a huge rent hike the year before, but Emma was managing to keep the wolf of a landlord from the door at the moment. The new café area was proving popular and her Chocolate Shop by the Sea was doing well; it certainly kept her busy.

‘That’s good news, Em. Glad to hear it. Anyone for a top-up?’ Chloe got up from the table where she’d been sitting with Emma and busied herself with the kettle and teapot.

The two men were standing chatting by the French windows that led to the garden. They were talking work too.

‘The accountancy practice has been full on lately,’ James, her brother, was saying, ‘what with the end of the financial year coming up. You?’

‘Yeah, lots on for me at the moment,’ Max replied. ‘Things have really picked up in the building industry again. New houses going up, conversions, all sorts. In fact, I’ve just been offered a great project down in Leeds.’

Emma’s ears pricked up – it was the first she’d heard of this.

‘Converting a warehouse into apartments, right by the side of one of the canals. The job’s worth a lot of money and sounds really interesting. I like working with original buildings, but then that has its problems too, and it’ll mean I’ll be travelling and being away quite a bit. Gotta go where the business is, though.’

‘Too right.’

Well, thanks for letting me know about this, Emma mused, feeling a little disgruntled that he hadn’t thought to tell her first. It was hard enough finding time to spend together as it was, with both of them running their own businesses.

‘Uncle Max, can you come and play dens with us?’ Lucy interrupted.

The girls had a Wendy house all set up in the lounge.

‘Yes, Uncle Max.’ Olivia was on the case too.

‘Okay, okay. Just give me five minutes to finish my tea.’

‘O-kay.’

It always made Emma laugh seeing him trying to squeeze his well-built frame into the tiny tent-like play zone. He was often the ‘giant’ in whatever scene they were playing. And off he went, escorted by two five-year-olds to the play den, one holding each hand. He gave a mock look of horror to Emma, but she knew he didn’t mind. Hah, they might even get to paint his fingernails again. They had once before, in alternate colours of pink and silver, and he had begged Em to go to the village grocer’s for some remover, before he set off to work the next day. ‘I look like Eddie Izzard or something,’ he’d muttered. ‘I’ll never survive the ribbing from the lads if I don’t get rid.’

Em chatted with James and Chloe, catching up on her brother’s recent visit to her parents – she hadn’t had a chance to call across herself with the shop being so busy lately – whilst Max kept the girls happily occupied. She peeked into the lounge at one point to find them putting hair clips in his hair, which was a challenge with it being so short. They stayed for another half hour or so after Max managed to escape the den, chatting over a glass of wine, and then set off back to Warkton-by-the-Sea.

‘Max …’ Emma said in her car on the way home, ‘I couldn’t help but hear you and James talking earlier. Why hadn’t you told me about the job in Leeds?’ It had been simmering away in her mind. She concentrated on her steering as she reached a sharp bend in the country lane. Her fingers tensed.

‘I was going to – it just didn’t seem right last night when I’d only just got there. I wanted to relax and have a nice evening. I would have said something tonight.’

‘Oh. Well, with you away more, will I still get to see you?’ They only managed to snatch days together at the weekends as it was.

She sounded needy, she knew, and hated that. But she was just getting used to being in a relationship again, had only just let someone back into her heart. It felt odd, like a loss of independence, life had been a lot simpler for all those years on her own.

Simpler, but rather lonely, something inside reminded her.

Ah, relationships, they made you feel out of control, fuzzy at the edges somehow. Hah, that’s when they didn’t rip you apart.

To be fair on Max, working six days a week herself and also a Sunday afternoon at busy times, didn’t help matters. It was hard for both of them, with their homes an hour apart, leading different and hectic working lives. It was sometimes a miracle they had time to meet up at all. But the alternative, no Max, she didn’t like to think of that.

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean for you to find out like that.’ His green eyes gazing across the car at her were caring, his gentle smile honest.

How could she stay cross with him? ‘Ah, it’s okay.’ Her tone softened. Through the windscreen, the metallic blue of the sea came into view as they approached her village. She was more annoyed at herself for beginning to rely on him being there. She knew he had to be back at work early tomorrow, leaving her bed in the early hours and she didn’t want to spoil this evening. She had plans for them to walk on the beach with Alfie, before a cosy supper, a seat for two on the sofa by the fire, then hopefully making love once more. Having Max in her life was so much better than having him out of it.