Page 98 of The Cosy Christmas Chocolate Shop

Emma stood frozen to the spot, feeling a bit sick, as he marched across in heavy work boots.

‘What on earth are you doing here?’ He sounded abrupt.

‘Ah …’

But she knew why she was here, and she needed to tell him. ‘I missed you.’ There was a sense of relief as the words were spoken.

‘Look, I’m right in the middle of things here. But if you can just wait for five or ten minutes, I’ll take time out for a coffee or something. How does that sound?’

‘Okay, I’ll go wait in the car. It’s just along the street here.’

‘I won’t be long, honest. I just need to make a couple of calls. There’s something I need to sort out.’

‘Okay, no problem.’ He seemed rather cool with her, which made her heart sink. But, it was no more than she deserved after cutting him down when he had opened his heart to her after the Christmas market that day.

‘Suits you, by the way,’ he added with his trademark grin. ‘The yellow.’ He nodded towards the hat, then winked at her.

‘Hah.’ She’d bet her red curls were springing out wildly from under the hat in all directions. It was nice to see him smile, and with those words he seemed to soften a little.

‘See you in a few minutes, then,’ he added.

‘Yes, I’ll wait.’

She saw Max coming out from the gates at the front of the property and stepped out of her car so he could see where she was parked. She felt so nervous it was crazy, her heart thumping away in her chest. He’d smiled just a while ago, seemed to be okay with her, she reminded herself.

He walked across. ‘Sorry to keep you hanging about.’

‘It’s fine. It’s not as though you knew I was coming.’

‘No, well it’s been a bit of a surprise, I must say. There’s a little coffee shop.’ He indicated towards the next street. ‘We could walk there.’

‘Yes, I’d spotted that on the way past. The super-duper banana milkshake place?’

‘That’s the one – well remembered.’

‘It led me to your door.’ She smiled.

‘Have you been okay?’ he asked more seriously.

‘Yes, well kind of,’ she replied. ‘Ah no, to be honest, I’ve had a tricky few weeks.’

‘Me too.’ He gave her a look that said so very much.

So, it seemed they had both been hurting, or was that too much to hope? Hah, and she’d thought she was avoiding all that for them. She wanted so much to feel him close, to have his warmth beside her. She took a chance and linked her arm through his as they walked along. He glanced down to where her elbow lay crooked against his, but didn’t pull away. Neither spoke. Sometimes words just got in the way.

In the coffee shop, they found a table by the window and ordered cappuccinos from the waitress. Emma realised she hadn’t had any breakfast yet, but her stomach was still doing too many somersaults to be able to eat.

‘So,’ Max started the conversation that they still hadn’t had, ‘are you going to try to explain? Why you never answered my texts, my calls for weeks and then blew me out at the market that day? Just when it seemed everything was going good between us. I’ve never known anyone blow so hot and then cold, Em. And now, you turning up like this? I really don’t know what the hell to make of it.’

God, she’d made such a mess of things.

‘We were getting on well. You were right about that.’ She gazed out of the window. How to capture it all in words? But she needed to try for Max’s sake. ‘I think I was afraid to let you in. Max, my heart has been in a thousand tiny pieces for years, and I’ve only just begun sticking it back together again … I – I couldn’t risk it again.’ She still hadn’t mentioned his name, didn’t know how it could fit in this conversation.

‘You can talk about Luke if you want. I’m okay with that. I know you’ve had a hard time and I’m prepared to be there for you, but don’t shut me out, Em. Be honest with me, tell me more about what happened with Luke?’

The waitress came back over with the cappuccinos, popped them down on the table with some sugar sachets in a white porcelain dish.

‘Thanks,’ Max said.