And again her thoughts turned to Luke. She was sure he would have felt proud of her today.

Life was so strange sometimes; she often felt like she was on a rollercoaster ride and sometimes all she wanted was to get off, go back to the start, have her chance to marry Luke and live that other life – the one they had never had the chance to try.

33

It was twenty past five when Max pulled up outside. He poked his head around the shop door and smiled broadly. ‘Good afternoon, chocolate-maker extraordinaire. Hey, great job in here.’ He looked around at the finished Chocolate Shop Café.

Emma felt her stomach lurch in a happy way. ‘Hi.’

‘So, how did it all go? Were there queues of people? Was it like Black Friday?’

‘Not quite,’ she smiled. ‘But several came in and I think, after the launch night and the press adverts, then more people will get to hear about it.’

‘Yes, plenty of publicity. That’ll do the trick. Then word of mouth. I can help you with a flier, if you like? Not too bad on the computer, though I say so myself.’

‘Excellent. I’ll take you up on that.’

‘So, are you nearly ready?’

‘Yep. Just give me five minutes to get wrapped up here. I’ll just cash up the till.’ She had a feeling just the few hours’ takings that afternoon were pretty good.

She then headed for the rear door of the shop that led to her cottage quarters, calling over her shoulder, ‘I’ll get changed quickly. What kind of clothing do I need?’ That might give her a clue as to their activity too; she was still curious.

‘Well, warm and cosy. Thick socks. Possibly hat and gloves as well as a coat.’ He was following her through.

‘Ri-ight.’ That didn’t sound much like a romantic restaurant meal or a cinema trip. What on earth did he have in mind? After her hectic day, she didn’t know if she was quite in the mood for a hike somewhere. ‘Really? You’re not teasing?’ She stopped and turned to look at him.

‘Nope.’ He had a knowing grin on his face as he followed her through to the stairs. ‘Shall I come up or wait here?’

‘Come on up. You can sit in the living room while I find my warm clothing.’ Now she really was intrigued, but it didn’t seem like he was going to give her any more clues. ‘You’re still not going to tell me, are you?’

‘Nope.’

Alfie headed out from the living room to greet them, his tail thwacking against their legs.

Emma gave his head a rub.

‘Hi, Alfie.’ Max rubbed behind his spaniel ears and the dog dropped almost instantaneously to the ground for a tummy tickle. ‘Like that, do you, mate?’

‘Walking boots, wellies or trainers?’ Em asked as she headed through to her bedroom.