Page 89 of The Cosy Seaside Chocolate Shop

She kept going, driving on autopilot, whilst trying to frame the words she wanted to say and testing out phrases of love and apology. Then there they were, turning off for Max’s village just before the town of Hexham. Driving down country lanes, passing the first cottages of the village, the old schoolhouse now converted to a residence, the village green, the pub. The stone cottages of Max’s row, his at the far end. She felt a bit light-headed.

It was now after 8.00, but she couldn’t see Max’s Jeep outside. Could he still be working? Visiting his parents maybe? Popped out for a takeaway dinner? Damn, she hadn’t thought about him not being there. Oh well, she’d just have to sit and wait a while. She had a bottle of water in the car. She could give Alfie a drink, and then maybe take him for a stroll around the village.

She sat in the car for five minutes, then thought she might as well go and knock on the door in case Max was actually in and there was some reason why his Jeep wasn’t outside. Alfie had a little run around the front garden and she knocked and rang the doorbell. No answer. She tried the door. Locked. She’d have to just be patient.

It was still light, so Em took Alfie for a wander around the village. It was an idyllic place, set in the Tyne valley. Cream-stone cottages bordered a village green that had a big old oak tree on it. A quaint pub was set to one side of the green, and there was a church and a small village shop. She passed another dog walker with a terrier who barked repeatedly at Alfie, before they settled down and sniffed each other. The owner, a middle-aged lady, said a polite hello to Emma, adding, ‘Nice evening.’

‘Yes, it’s lovely.’

Then they both moved on.

The sun was bleaching everything blond with that lovely soft summer evening light, it was still warm, and the gnats were out. A fat bumblebee buzzed by, then Emma watched it land on a beautiful yellow rambling-rose that was climbing a cottage wall. It was a peaceful, pretty place. Emma could see why Max liked it.

She headed back along the road to his house; damn, still no sign of any vehicle. Well she wasn’t going to head home just like that after making her mind up to see him and speak with him. She’d just have to sit it out until he came back. An hour passed. She wished she’d brought a book along or something to occupy her, but she’d dashed out, not really thinking. She was feeling a bit stiff sitting there in the car. Another thirty minutes passed, and the sun was starting to set over the distant hills, softening their outlines with a dusky orange glow.

Her tummy started rumbling. Luckily, she’d fed Alfie before she’d left the shop. She didn’t have a lot of cash in her purse but decided to pop to the pub for a packet of crisps and a bottle of Coke. That might just stave off the hunger pangs until Max came back. Back in the car she shared the odd crisp with the ever-hungry spaniel, and then they settled down together on the back seat. She stroked his ears, the soft fur of his back.

She must have nodded off because it was dark when she woke. She looked out. No Jeep, no Max, no lights on in the house. The car’s clock read 10.20. Max must be out for the evening. Typical. She hoped it wasn’t going to be a late one. One leg was dead already where she’d slept at a funny angle, and ooh yes, now it was coming back to life with a fuzz of pins and needles.

Well, she was here now, so she might as well sit it out. Em felt a bit like a private detective in a stakeout. It wasn’t much fun, to be fair. It was getting chilly, so she leaned over and grabbed a blanket from the boot. A rather doggy-smelling blanket, but hey, needs must. She’d apologise to Max on that front later, but better than catching hypothermia. She found the ‘Sorry’ T-shirt that she’d quickly made from an old white T-shirt of hers and a permanent marker pen, before dashing off. She put the spaniel’s front legs through the armholes and he wasn’t bothered in the least. She’d thought it might make Max smile if she’d put it on, but at least it might now serve to keep Alfie cosy. The temperature at night cooled dramatically in Northumberland, despite it being summer. The two of them huddled together again.

It was the early hours when she next came to. Two-fifteen and still no sign of Max. No Jeep. She was sure she’d have woken anyhow if he’d come home. Even if he’d had a lift home with someone else or a taxi, he’d have had to walk right past her car. Wherever he was, he was staying all night. Emma’s heart sank. Had she got this all wrong? Had he already found someone else? Was she clinging to false hope?

She dozed intermittently, hearing birds tweeting away in the half-light at around four … yes, the world was still carrying on … And still no Jeep.

The sound of a vehicle pulling up next to her car woke Emma. She blinked her eyes open. It was now light outside, but felt early; that cool, grey morning light that came just after dawn. She checked the clock – just after 6.30. Was it him?

There was his Jeep, parked behind her. She pulled herself up from the back seat where she had been snuggled with Alfie. There was Max getting out of his vehicle. He looked jaded. He reached her car, looked twice at it – confusion and then recognition crossing his face. Emma gathered herself and stepped out, a little wobbly, her bedhead, back-of-car hair stuck out at all angles to her head.

‘Em? What on earth are you doing here?’

‘I waited all night.’

‘Ah … I’m shattered, Em. I’ve hardly had any sleep and I can’t even think straight. Go home. We’ll talk later.’ Max was walking up the path to his front door, his back already to her.

‘I’ve waited all night,’ she repeated. ‘Please, just let me say what I came to say … You’re wrong, Max. I do love you for you. I love your smile, your strength, the way you call me “Beautiful” in the mornings. I love the winter picnic on the beach you did for me, your thoughtfulness. I love that you like dogs, the way you work hard and the drive and ambition you have to make your business a success. I love the way I feel in your arms …’ The tears had started crowding her eyes now and she was finding it hard to speak.

Max had stopped walking. He turned to face her, but he still had that stony, sad look on his face. ‘I can’t do this right now, Em. Okay? I’ll call you later.’

‘You promise?’ She felt like she was clutching at straws.

He nodded and carried on walking, unlocked his front door and went on in.

She watched the door close. She couldn’t bear to go, so she sat down on the cool dewy grass, and hugged the hoodie she had on tight around her. Right, she had to do something. Make him believe her. She wasn’t going anywhere, and she wasn’t giving up that easily. She saw a pile of red house bricks stacked at one side of the garden – he’d been intending to build a barbecue this summer and hadn’t got around to it as yet. Em started arranging the bricks into letters, words, filling the grass to one side of the front garden – the lettering facing the house. He could read it when he came back out, or when he opened his bedroom curtains on the upstairs window that fronted the cottage. No doubt he was off to bed now.

Where the hell had he been all night? That thought began to twist in her mind. Had he patched things up with his ex, Siobhan? Had he been staying over with her? Or someone else, someone new. Though 6.30 a.m. was a bit early to make your exit and come on home. Maybe they’d been ‘at it’ all night and he had to finally get some sleep before work. Her heart sank, a twist of jealousy wrenching it even more. No wonder he didn’t want to speak to her.

But she didn’t know the truth, did she? She had to give him a chance, especially if she was expecting him to give her a chance. She’d sit this out however long it might take. She’d give Bev a call in a while, once it was a more reasonable hour, to ask if she’d open up the shop for her. Her friend was going to be helping anyhow with it being the Bank Holiday Monday. She really should be there herself on such a busy day, but for once The Chocolate Shop could wait. She had a feeling that if she gave up now she might regret this for the rest of her life.

It was chilly outside, so Emma went back to the car and cuddled Alfie again to warm up a bit. He was still in his ‘Sorry’ T-shirt. Was there any chance that that might make Max smile now? Were they beyond all that? She felt so sad. In an hour or so, they’d go and camp out in the garden once more, she decided. In the meanwhile, she’d keep an eye on the house from the car and try and rest a little. She’d hardly slept, felt stiff all over and had a crick in her neck, but all that mattered was getting through to Max to explain, or at least giving it her best shot.

Time ticked by painfully slowly. Unable to drift off to sleep, Emma gave in and phoned her friend. ‘Bev, hi. Look, I’m down here in Max’s village.’

‘Oh wow, have you two patched things up? Thank God, that’s great news.’

‘Well, it’s not quite that simple.’

‘Oh?’