Page 65 of The Cosy Seaside Chocolate Shop

‘Can I have a rock stick, please?’ said Lucy.

‘And I’d like a big lollipop … please.’

‘Okay, which colour rock, darling?’ the lady asked.

‘The stripy pink one.’ Lucy pointed.

James needed to open the conversation a little. ‘Lovely place here, cute little harbour.’ He smiled. ‘Have you been here long?’

‘Just a few weeks and yes, it is lovely.’

‘Is there anywhere you’d recommend for, say, some coffee and cake?’ James angled.

‘Oh, I love chocolate cake,’ added Chloe exaggeratedly.

‘Hmm, didn’t we spot that chocolate shop up the road?’ James looked thoughtful.

‘Oh no, I wouldn’t go there,’ Anne started up animatedly. ‘It’s up for sale, you know. Heard it’s gone downhill lately, standards have fallen, so they are having to sell up.’

James paled, but stayed calm, just nodding. There was an angry twitch in his cheek though.

Lucy bristled, crossed her six-year-old arms, and then she couldn’t help herself, despite the warnings not to mention they knew anyone at The Chocolate Shop. ‘Well, that’s my Aun—’

‘Right then, I’ll bear that in mind. Thank you,’ James butted in quickly over Lucy, so as not to give the game away. ‘That’s been … most helpful.’

Chloe quickly paid for the sweets, handing a bag each to the girls, trying to keep up the play-acting. Unusually for two little girls who had just been given sweets, they weren’t smiling at all.

‘Anyway, her fudge is way better than yours,’ added Lucy dramatically, having been cut short before.

‘And we love it there!’ piped up Olivia as a grand finale.

The four of them turned and walked away. James and Chloe couldn’t help but smile at the girls’ protective comments about their aunt. But this wasn’t good news for Emma’s Chocolate Shop.

Back at The Chocolate Shop, James nervously began to tell Em the whole story. It was when he got to the part about ‘standards having fallen’ and the shop being ‘about to close’ that Emma blew.

Right, that was it. Enough was enough! Emma felt red rage burn right through her. So, there was truth in this talk. NOBODY bad-mouthed her Chocolate Shop without good reason.

‘James, can you mind the shop for ten minutes?’ Emma’s voice was clipped.

‘Of course.’

‘We’ll help too, Auntie Emma.’ The girls grinned sweetly. ‘Yes, go and tell that naughty lady off,’ added Olivia.

Emma set off at a marching pace.

Trouble had brewed and revenge, or at least justice, was about to be poured …

She found Anne busy with a customer and bided her time until the gentleman had been served before moving in. She hadn’t planned what she wanted to say, but approached with her head held high.

‘Hello, Anne, we met a few weeks ago.’

‘Yes …’

Emma’s gaze became stern. ‘Well, since then I heard talk that you’d been saying things about my Chocolate Shop, disparaging things, but I dismissed it as gossip at first. Now I find out that my brother has just been down and you tried to put him off visiting my shop by spreading talk that it’s about to close due to falling standards and lack of customers.’

‘Well …’ Anne looked distinctly uncomfortable. ‘I saw the “For Sale” sign up.’

‘And? Where did you get the falling standards idea from? Make it up, did you?’