‘No, no, not at all. I’ve been up since seven anyway. I usually am. That’s when I make most of my chocolates, early morning. I can work away undisturbed. Whereas once the shop is open, I’m limited as to what I can do. I can’t really stop in the middle of making something or it’ll all be ruined.’

‘Wow – you work long hours then.’

‘Yep. All part of the job. But I couldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it. And I do, I love it.’

‘Don’t you ever get tempted to dive in and eat them all?’

‘Sometimes,’ she laughed. ‘But most of the time, just one or two is enough. Probably as well, or I’d be the size of a house. It’s nice testing out the new flavours, mind.’

‘So, you don’t ever get sick of chocolate?’

‘No, not yet. And the job’s not just the making of it. I love the creative side, designing the displays, making up all the bags and tags, deciding which colour ribbons and bows to use. It can be quite therapeutic.’

‘Hmm, each to their own.’

‘So, how do you find your job? What’s it really like in the building trade?’

‘Well, I enjoy it. It’s very physical, often quite hard manual work. I still like to keep my hand in, practically, with the tradesmen. And I’m always trying to keep the team motivated, getting in the right building supplies, coordinating contractors – it can be a bit of a juggling act at times, though.’

‘Yeah, that’s very different from my role.’

‘But I do get a real sense of satisfaction when a job’s done well and the clients are happy. Seeing my customers’ faces when their house or extension is finished is great.’

How would she feel seeing The Chocolate Shop Café all finished, with its window seats made and colourful cushions in place? The new coffee machine on – well, that might take some time, with finances the way they were, but still. Just imagining that, she knew she had to go ahead and make her coffee shop happen soon, and she’d need to act quickly to take advantage of the pre-Christmas run-up.

‘Max, I’ve had an idea for the chocolate shop. Can I run it by you? Get your professional opinion?’

‘Of course.’

So, as they passed the harbour and reached the dunes on their way to the beach, they chatted about Emma’s plans for The Cosy Chocolate Shop Café.

‘Well,’ Max responded, ‘the only real building-type issue would be creating the window seats, by the sounds of it, and that’s more of a joiner’s job, so it should be fairly easy to get done. Then, I suppose you’d want to give the shop a repaint and freshen it all up.’