‘Let’s do it soon,’ she said. ‘No fuss.’
‘Sounds perfect.’ He glanced over at the restaurant decorated
to look like a spaceship. ‘This is a very momentous occasion.
Shall we have hot dogs and ice-cream at the starship Enterprise
to celebrate?’
Autumn giggled. This was why she loved him. ‘Yes. Why
not? Let’s push the boat out.’
‘Here, you hold this one.’ His gaze had already gone to Flo,
who was now clambering up the climbing frame, a look of grim
determination on her face. ‘I’m just going to stop my child
from boldly going where she shouldn’t be.’
‘Don’t let me stop you from saving the universe.’ Autumn
took Lana from him, and she blinked awake. Soon she’d be
wanting her lunch. ‘Hello, little one,’ Autumn cooed. ‘Did you
have a good sleep?’
Miles turned back to her. ‘Did I mention that you are the
most fabulous woman in the world and I’m the luckiest man?’ ‘You didn’t,’ she said.
‘Well, I am,’ he said. ‘I love you to the moon and back.’ ‘I love you more,’ Autumn said.
He winked at her and blew a kiss, then turned and shouted,
‘Flo, get down from there!’
And, while Autumn looked on, smiling happily, he bolted
after his child.
Chapter Sixty-Two
Nadia watched the man hammering the ‘Sold’ sign into her scruffy bit of front garden. So that was it. The house was gone. It had been priced to sell, the agent said and, on the first day it was up for sale, three couples had come to view it. One had paid the asking price and that was it.
She was surprised that, in its current state, the house had sold so quickly but that was the benefit of the overheated property market here. It would, obviously, take some time before the sale was completed, but she felt as if it was one less thing to worry about. Nadia glanced around the faded property seriously in need of a makeover and some TLC. Most of her possessions were now packed in boxes, which made it look even worse. It was bare, unloved. This had once been a happy family home – perhaps the right couple could make it so again. But she’d had her time here and now it was right to move on. Even if it didn’t work out with James – and she had every hope that it would – she wouldn’t be coming back to this house.
Despite being able to rationalise all that, it was still hard to move away. This had been her home for so long and she would be leaving her final ties to Toby behind. She was boxing up all the books that stood on the shelves by the fireplace, along with the last of the family pictures. There was one of her and Toby on their wedding day and she stroked the image of his face. He’d been so handsome when he was young and she’d been smitten. They’d set out with so much hope, so much promise, so much love – enough for her to disobey her family’s wishes and have them cut her off. How naive that seemed, with the benefit of hindsight. There were days, even now, when she still missed him.
Stroking Toby’s face on the picture again, she put him in the box and considered what she’d do with the photos at her new home. James had photographs of his wife and children on show all over the house and she wondered whether he’d be happy for her to put some pictures of Toby and Lewis there, too. She wanted her son to remember his dad, as Seth and Lily should remember their mum. Perhaps they could just choose a few special ones to display and put the rest in a safe place in the attic for when Lewis was older and wanted to know more. It was something she and James would need to talk about. She didn’t want all these little points of etiquette to cause friction between them. Nadia sighed to herself. The joys of trying to make a modern, blended family. She was sure there’d be a few teething problems along the way, but if they worked together everything could be resolved. Couldn’t it? Panic gripped her. She’d be up there alone without her girls to turn to. That was the hardest thing to bear.
Lewis came downstairs dragging his current favourite teddy bear. ‘Stuart said he doesn’t want to go in a box.’
‘That’s fine, darling.’ Nadia took Stuart from him and gave the bear a hug. ‘He can sit with you in the car.’
He looked placated by that. James had come down yesterday and was currently sorting out the shed for her. Then he was going to drive them both back to the Lakes the day after her leaving party at Chocolate Heaven. She was conscious of the amount of time he was taking away from the farm, but was grateful to have him here to do the heavier lifting. It was quite handy to have someone around who was used to hefting hay bales.
She was also glad that he’d be with them on their way to their new life. If she and Lewis had to get on a train by themselves, that would seem too awful. Now it felt as if they were coming together properly as a family right from the start.
Her son looked downcast and she ruffled his hair as she pulled him into her arms.
‘Aren’t you looking forward to moving?’
‘I don’t know,’ Lewis said. ‘How long are we moving for?’
‘For always.’ She gave him a hug. This was the only home that Lewis had known, and she wasn’t sure that he fully understood that they weren’t coming back.
‘Is Flo coming with us?’
‘No, darling. She’s staying here with Auntie Autumn and Uncle Miles.’
‘Oh.’ He didn’t look as if he liked the sound of that. ‘But I’ll still be able to play with her on the swings?’
‘You’ll have Lily and Seth instead,’ Nadia said. ‘Won’t that be nice?’
He considered it thoughtfully.
‘Flo can come and see us for holidays,’ she promised. ‘You can show her the lambs and the mountains.’
‘And we can throw stones in the lake?’ Lewis had been very taken with the idea of skimming stones, but hadn’t quite mastered it. Instead, he usually found the biggest one he could lift and tipped it into the water with a plop.
‘Yes. We’ll have a lovely time,’ she said. ‘You liked it at James’s house and now it will be our house, too. You’ll have a new bedroom and a new school to go to. That will be exciting.’ He didn’t look convinced.
‘And your pet lamb is still waiting for you.’
His eyes lit up. ‘Wellyboot?’
‘You haven’t forgotten her?’
‘No,’ Lewis said. ‘If we live there every day, she’ll be properly mine?’
‘She will.’ That certainly made him look a lot happier which was a relief as she wanted it all to go as smoothly as possible. Nadia squeezed him again.
Anita came downstairs, sniffing back tears as she had done all morning. Her sister wasn’t handling her departure well. Despite her distress, she’d insisted on being here to help and was currently packing up Nadia’s wardrobe for her. Nadia had taken out the clothes she thought that she’d need immediately and had put them into two suitcases, but the rest were going into sturdy boxes. She wondered if James would have second thoughts when he saw exactly how much stuff they were bringing with them. She had no idea how it had all fitted into her few rooms. Perhaps moving into the bigger house in the Lakes would be a necessity rather than an option.
‘How’s it going?’ Nadia asked.
‘Nearly done.’ Anita burst into tears and pulled a tissue from her sleeve to dab furiously at her eyes.
‘Oh, come here,’ Nadia said.
‘I’m going to play.’ Lewis wriggled free and bolted for the door.
‘Finish your packing!’ she shouted after him, to no avail. But at least it meant that her arms were free to embrace her sister.
This was the hardest part. She could just about hang on to her own emotions, but dealing with other people’s reactions was too much.
‘I can’t believe you’re leaving when I’ve only just got you back.’
‘It’s not far at all. Really. You can be up there in a few hours.’
‘I’ve never driven that far,’ she sobbe
d. ‘My little car doesn’t know its way out of London. I’d be terrified.’
‘You can take the train. It’s so easy. You don’t even have to change.’
‘I don’t understand why you’re going!’
‘Because I’ve been lucky enough to find one of the few hot, single men left and I love him very much. Thankfully, he loves me. He just happens to live in one of the most beautiful places in our country.’
‘Doesn’t it rain all the time?’
‘Quite a lot. That’s why there are lots of lakes.’ She rested her forehead against her sister’s. ‘Come as soon as you can. Then you’ll see why I love it. The scenery’s stunning and the house has plenty of rooms. There are lots of great cafés, too.’ She chucked her sister’s chin as if she were a child. ‘No excuse.’
Anita wiped away her tears. ‘I’ll miss you.’
‘And I’ll miss you, too. You’re still coming to the leaving party, though?’
‘Yes. I’ll bring the boys, but Tarak can’t come. He has some important business to see to.’
It was no great loss. That was one person she would be glad to see the back of.
‘Mum and Dad are very upset that you’re leaving.’
‘They’re not,’ she said, softly. ‘Well, maybe Dad is.’
‘You could have made more effort,’ Anita admonished. ‘It’s not all their fault.’
Nadia sagged. ‘I know. I’ll try to call them once a week when I’m settled. I’ll see how that goes.’
‘Promise me?’
‘Yes.’ Nadia reached out for the box of tissues she’d kept to hand and passed one to her sister.
‘I need to get home soon,’ Anita said, blowing her nose.
‘Then go. Let me finish off the packing. You’ve already been a great help. I don’t know how I’d have managed without you. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
Anita gave one last sniff and put her tissue away. ‘Has my make-up run?’
Nadia smiled. ‘No, my sister, you still look lovely.’
She got a teary grin in return. ‘Call me if you need me to make anything or do anything. You know where I am.’
She showed her sister to the door and, with much hugging, waved her goodbye. Then she made a welcome cup of tea and took one out to James. The shed door was open and all her gardening equipment, such as it was, was spread out on the ragged patch of lawn. If she’d thought about it earlier, all this stuff could have gone on eBay. She was hardly going to need her little lawnmower and strimmer with the vast acres around James’s house.
When she called him, James emerged from the shed. He was sweating, his damp hair stuck to his head, his face smeared with dirt.
‘I think you have the entire spider population of north London living in this shed.’ He wiped a cobweb from his face. ‘I’m sure working on a farm is a lot easier than this.’
She laughed, put his tea down on the picnic bench and then went to lean against his chest. He wrapped his arms round her.
‘Everything OK?’
‘This is hard.’ Her throat all but closed and it was a struggle to get the words out. ‘I’ve just had Anita in tears and I’m not sure that Lewis really realises what’s going on.’
‘It must be difficult.’
‘I know I’m doing the right thing,’ she said, wiping away the tears that rolled down her cheeks. ‘But it’s definitely tough.’
He kissed her hair. ‘Thank you for doing this for me. We’ll have a fantastic life together and I’ll do everything I can to make sure that you don’t regret it.’
‘I’m dreading the leaving party,’ she admitted tearfully. ‘I can’t bear the thought of saying goodbye to the Chocolate Lovers’ Club.’
Then her phone rang and she pulled it from her pocket. ‘Talk of the devil. It’s Lucy.’
But it wasn’t Lucy who spoke.
‘Hi,’ he said. ‘It’s Aiden. I’m ringing about your leaving party. Sorry to do this at short notice, but I’ve got a really big favour to ask.’
And, when she heard what Crush had to say, Nadia cried again.
Chapter Sixty-Three
I’ve put a notice on the door and have closed Chocolate Heaven for the day, even though it goes against the grain. I want this party to be perfect for Nadia so that she has some fantastic memories to take away with her and I wasn’t going to be able to throw that together in the blink of an eye. When Autumn is working here full time it will certainly make life a lot easier.
This morning, I left Crush fast asleep in bed and came in here early. I’ve spent the last few hours decorating the café. Now it looks ready for a celebration. I’ve pinned paper pom-poms in pastel colours all over the place. On each table is a floral-scented candle in pretty glass holders. They smell good enough to eat. I bought some flowers from the florist down the high street and made small bunches which I’ve put in jam jars decorated with ribbon. There’s a mix of pink roses, lilac sweet peas, gypsophila and some sprigs of herbs. Gorgeous. Eat your heart out, Jane Packer. I glance at my watch. Plenty of time yet. No need to start panicking. But I have a little panic, nevertheless.
As I knew I’d have a lot on my hands, I ordered the buffet from a local deli and they’ve done me proud. They delivered all the food a few minutes ago and now I’ve arranged the various dishes on the tables I’ve put out along one wall. There are mini canapés topped with brie, smoked bacon and grapes, Wensleydale with carrot chutney, smoked salmon with cream cheese, and New York pastrami with a gherkin and horseradish garnish. We’ve got mini cheese and onion muffins which I’m going to warm in the oven upstairs when everyone arrives. I put the platter of roasted tomato, spinach and feta quiche at one end next to a selection of delicately sliced antipasti meats. There’s a platter of seafood waiting in the fridge, plus a selection of olives and a basket of rustic bread to go out when we’re ready. I stand back and admire my handiwork. I think that should keep us going for a while.
I’ve ordered a cake from Alexandra which will form my centrepiece and she’s going to bring that with her to the party. It’s a three-tier sponge cake filled with raspberries and drizzled with white chocolate. It’s one of her signature pieces and is fabulous. Very popular for weddings now. I’m adding some of the summer cupcakes and lots of lovely chocolates for after our coffee.
Needless to say, this has all cost a fortune, but Autumn and Chantal have very generously chipped in to cover the cost. Nadia has no idea that we’re putting on such a fabulous spread. She thinks we’re having a bit of cheap chardonnay and cake. I can’t wait to see her face. She’ll be thrilled. I do love a surprise!
I’ve made a great playlist – nothing that will make us cry. Well, not much. And my lovely Crush gave me some money to buy myself a new dress. I was just going to wear something that I had lurking in my wardrobe, but when I was raking through my clothes and muttering darkly, he insisted on treating me. So last night I dashed out after work, caught the last hour of late-night shopping and bought myself a fab little number. It’s light chiffon material in the palest pink, with a low v-neck and some figure-hugging drapes across the bodice. At the waist there’s a delicate diamante embellishment, then the skirt falls to the floor with a waterfall skirt. I’m going to look like a little angel in it. And, best of all, it was reduced.
It’s hanging on the back of the door in the next room and when I’ve done all the tasks that could involve me spilling food or drink down myself, I’ll get changed. Can’t wait.
Next, I put out all the fizz. To keep costs down – a bit – we’ve gone for Prosecco instead of champagne and nothing wrong with that. It’s very tempting to sample a glass, but I must keep a clear head until everyone else comes. The guest list is much the same as Chantal’s wedding, except Nadia’s sister and her boys are coming along, too. I didn’t hear back from her parents but would assume they’re not coming and her brother-in-law is ‘busy’. Thank goodness.
By the time I’ve fiddled and twiddled, time is marching on and I grab my fab new frock and nip to the
upstairs flat to have a shower. It seems weird being up here, but it’s a nice place – two bedrooms, biggish living room, nicely fitted kitchen. Crush and I could do worse than move in here. We’d certainly have more space than we do now. Perhaps I’ll talk to Marcus about it. I haven’t spoken to him since he came into the shop and told me he was heading off to Dubai and, if I’m honest, it feels a bit weird. It’s not that I miss him. Not at all.
Actually, I do. A bit. Not much. But, you know, it’s been OK working for him and it will be odd not seeing him on a daily basis. However, as Crush says, times change, people move on. It’s time for Marcus to be part of my past and not my future. Sad, though.
I quickly shower and rub myself down with the towel that, thankfully, I remembered to bring with me. Next, I refresh my make-up and regret that I haven’t had time to have my nails done. Never mind. No one’s going to be looking at those. Then I slip on my dress and have a quick appraisal in the full-length mirror in the bedroom. Looking smokin’ hot, Lombard! And ever so slightly demure. Which, I think you’ll agree, is a killer combo.
As I make my way downstairs, my phone rings. I hitch my skirt and make a dash for it.
‘Hey,’ I say to Crush. ‘I was just upstairs in the flat getting ready for the party.’
‘I’m sorry I missed you this morning,’ he says. ‘I was going to come and help you, but I’ve not long woken up.’
‘That’s OK. You’ve had a busy week and you need your beauty sleep.’
‘Are you all ready for the party?’
‘Just about. I’ve put almost everything out. I want one last pass.’
‘Can you come and meet me for half an hour? There’s something I want to show you.’
‘Noooo,’ I say. ‘Not now. I’m all spruced up. Everyone will be here soon.’
I can hear Crush suck in his breath. ‘It’s really important.’
‘Nothing can be that important.’
‘Trust me. It is.’
‘What is it?’
‘Hmm,’ he muses. ‘Can’t really say, but it will be to your advantage.’
‘We could go any time in the week, once the party’s over.’