Ice Creams at Emerald Cove: A heartwarming feel-good romantic comedy to escape with this summer

by Holly Martin

  ‘That makes sense,’ Bea said.

  ‘Running a café is a lot of work and I love it and I love making ice creams and desserts, but if I had to make fifty flavours every week, that would take up all my time. Some of the flavours like chocolate or mint chocolate or vanilla I go through two or three cartons a night so I have to outsource those. Part of my love of running a café is chatting to the customers and explaining about the different desserts and ice creams and I don’t think I’d be able to do any of that if I was in here all the time making ice creams.’

  Bea nodded, stirring the cream.

  ‘So what you’re making here will go in the freezer at least overnight, but I have one that’s already cooled that we’re going to add our flavour to. I always do that, one tub out, one tub in.’

  ‘How very organised.’

  Skye laughed. ‘You sound surprised.’

  ‘Well, you’re not the tidiest of people. Dad was always complaining about tripping over your shoes.’

  ‘Was he now?’ Skye laughed. ‘I might have to have a word with your dad.’

  ‘I don’t think he meant it in a bad way,’ Bea said quickly. ‘I just always thought it was funny that he was quite a tidy person and you crashed into our life with your shoes and your ice cream and your clothes everywhere and he fell completely head over heels in love with you.’

  Skye’s heart leapt and then plummeted. ‘I… don’t think it was love but he certainly didn’t seem to mind my presence too much, I guess he became attached to me.’ And that was all it was, an attachment.

  ‘I think it was a bit more than that.’

  Skye decided to change the subject before they went down a dangerous path again. ‘OK, that should be ready now, let’s take it off the heat and we can let it cool down before we put it back in the freezer. Now we’re going to add the rhubarb puree to the sugared cream I made earlier. We can make the ice cream with the sugar in the fruit puree or in the cream, it doesn’t really matter, but I prefer to add it to the cream. The fruit has its own natural sugars anyway.’

  ‘How do you make the puree?’ Bea said, opening the rhubarb.

  ‘I put the fruit in the blender until it’s smooth. With fruit like strawberries and other berries, there are a lot of natural juices which are helpful. If I use a fruit like rhubarb or bananas, it’s more of a paste and I might have to add a bit of water. I’ll simmer it for around twenty minutes or more then I’ll sieve it into a tub and cool for at least an hour. If I add sugar to the fruit, then that makes a jam-like consistency once it’s set, but I find that too sticky to really work with, which is why I prefer to add the sugar at the cream stage rather than the fruit. You can stir the rhubarb into the cream and sugar I made a few days before.’ Skye gestured to the tub.

  Bea carefully scooped the rhubarb into the cream and started stirring it through. ‘It’s so creamy.’

  ‘Yes, that’s because of the sugar I already added to the cream. It stops it freezing into a solid lump, like normal scoop ice cream. OK, that’s good, now to use the electric whisk. This helps to get air into the mixture.’

  Bea carefully whisked the mixture together, being careful to go around the edges with the whisk.

  ‘OK, I think that’s it,’ Skye said. Bea turned the machine off and Skye tested the consistency with a spoon. It was perfect. ‘Great job.’

  She handed Bea the spoon to lick. ‘Oh, it tastes lovely. I could certainly get used to rhubarb.’

  ‘I love it too, it’s one of the only sweet flavours I can eat lately. I think I had a bit of a bug last month, I’d gone off all sweet things – well actually all foods but rhubarb has that tang that I like.’

  ‘We never have it back home. I’m not sure if that’s because we don’t really have it in Banff or whether it’s just because Dad doesn’t like it.’

  ‘Well, Seamus gave me a few kilos but I’m actually down to my last little bit now. We desperately need some more if I’m going to make the giant rhubarb pie, but I’m not sure where I’m going to get it. It grows all over the island, mostly in people’s back gardens, but everyone is quite protective of their rhubarb. A lot of people cook with it and Kendra and Seamus even make rhubarb gin out of it. I’m not sure if the islanders will be prepared to give it up. Seamus will probably give me a bit more but I doubt he will have enough for the whole pie. I might have to look at getting stock delivered from off the island at this rate.’

  Bea went to put her spoon back in the ice cream and Skye stopped her. ‘No double dipping, get a new spoon if you want some more.’

  Bea grabbed another spoon and took another small scoop. ‘Why don’t you offer the villagers something in return, like free ice cream for a month?’

  ‘That’s a lot of ice cream for a lot of villagers.’

  Bea sucked the rhubarb ice cream off the spoon. ‘How about a competition then? The villager that donates the most rhubarb wins free ice cream for a month… or a fortnight.’

  Skye thought about it. ‘That’s actually a really good idea. We can weigh each of the donations to see who’s the winner.’

  ‘But with ice cream that tastes this good, you might get a lot of rhubarb.’

  Skye laughed. ‘I don’t think we can have too much rhubarb when we’re talking about a pie the size of a small car.’

  ‘I guess we could have two pies if we do.’

  ‘I’ll let you give your dad that suggestion.’

  Jesse knocked on Aria’s office door and pulled on the sleeve of his shirt nervously. He had been asked to a meeting with Aria and he had no idea why. What could Aria possibly want to talk to him about? It made him feel uneasy.

  The door was pulled open and Aria smiled at him and gestured for him to come in.

  ‘Please sit down,’ she said, closing the door behind him.

  Jesse took a seat and watched Aria carefully as she returned to hers. She was smiling, so maybe this meeting wasn’t going to be a bad thing after all.

  ‘Jesse, thank you for meeting with me this afternoon—’

  She was interrupted by the office door banging open behind him and Orla running in, carrying what looked like a very squashed papier-mâché rabbit, with wild demented eyes.

  ‘Look Mummy, look what I made.’

  ‘Orla, it’s beautiful, but I’m in a very important meeting right now.’

  Jesse frowned. A very important meeting. His heart, which had started to slow, suddenly picked up again.

  Orla eyed him suspiciously and whispered loudly, ‘What did he do wrong?’

  ‘Jesse didn’t do anything wrong, I just need to talk to him,’ Aria said.

  ‘Can I stay?’ Orla said.

  Aria clearly wavered. ‘If you promise to be really quiet while I talk.’

  Orla nodded solemnly.

  ‘Close the door for me, please.’

  Orla ran to the door and closed it. She then pulled up a chair next to Aria, climbed up onto it and rested her hands on the desk just like Aria was doing.

  Jesse couldn’t help but smirk.

  ‘Jesse, thank you for coming to see me today. I’m sure you’ve heard we are looking for a new chef to help Skye in Cones at the Cove.’

  He cleared his throat. ‘Yes, Skye has mentioned it.’

  ‘The interviews are taking place tomorrow, I expect you to be there.’

  He frowned in confusion. ‘I haven’t applied for the job.’

  ‘That doesn’t matter. We’ve chosen five candidates and we’d like you to be number six. There’ll be an interview tomorrow morning and a practical session tomorrow afternoon. Here are the details.’

  He took the sheet.

  ‘I can’t do interviews,’ Jesse said, the memory of the last interview he’d attended when the interviewers had laughed at him suddenly fresh in his mind.

  ‘The interview is really just a formality, it will be the practical that will be the main test.’

  ‘My teacher says you should never say I can’t,’ Orla said, knowledgeably. ‘Because when you
’re little there are many things that you think you can’t do but you just have to keep practising to get better and better. Turn I can’t into I can.’

  Jesse smiled. ‘Those are very wise words.’

  ‘If you can’t do interviews then you need to practise,’ Orla said.

  Aria smiled and kissed her on the head. ‘I couldn’t have said it better myself.’

  He sighed, wondering if Orla’s part in this meeting was more contrived than coincidental. ‘I’m not sure whether I should interview for the job. For a start, I have no idea whether I can come over here. It’s complicated with visas and permits, and there’s Bea to think of too. Whatever I sort out for me, she has to be able to come too.’

  ‘I completely understand that but a job offer might make it easier to get a permit or visa to work here,’ Aria said.

  Jesse pushed his hand through his hair. Suddenly it felt like he had to make a decision and he wasn’t sure if he was ready.

  ‘I don’t want this job based on the fact I’m sleep— seeing your sister,’ he quickly corrected himself for Orla’s benefit. Fortunately, she hadn’t seemed to notice or at least understand.

  Aria paused but he would stand firm on this; he didn’t want the job out of favouritism.

  ‘Very well, we’ll treat you the same as any other candidate.’ She consulted her diary. ‘Shall we say half ten for the interview?’

  He sighed, not entirely sure he was happy about being coerced like this.

  ‘I’ll think about it.’

  ‘I’ll be very disappointed if you don’t show up,’ Aria said.

  Jesse stood up. ‘I’m sure you will be, but as I’ve had a whole lifetime of letting people down, this will be no different.’ He turned his attention to Orla and offered out his hand to shake. She took it. ‘Thank you for meeting with me, Orla.’

  She nodded, seriously. ‘I hope you get better at interviews.’

  He smiled, slightly. ‘I hope so too.’

  Skye switched the lights of the café off and stepped outside. Bea had gone back to the cottage a while before, claiming to be tired, but Skye thought it might be so she could finish the book she had been glued to for most of the night, thankfully not one of Dr Jermaine’s.

  Skye locked the door and turned to face Jesse. He had been so quiet all night, clearly deep in thought.

  He offered out his hand and she took it.

  ‘Let’s go down to the beach,’ Skye said.

  ‘OK.’

  She led him down the steps to Emerald Cove, kicking off her shoes so she could feel the damp sand between her toes. The sea was an inky black, twinkling with silvery waves. The stars were endless and the more she stared at the horizon, the more seemed to appear.

  She glanced up at her little cottage and could see Bea’s bedroom light was still on. She smiled. So much for being tired.

  She sat down on the beach and Jesse sat next to her, his arm round her shoulders. She leaned her head against him.

  ‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it,’ Skye said as she gazed at the moonlit waves.

  ‘It is.’

  ‘I always thought I’d get married here, in Emerald Cove. When I was a child, I envisaged it would be a night just like this, with candles and flowers. It’d be a simple event, just a celebration of mine and my husband’s love for each other. But I’ve been married twice now and I never quite managed the candlelit ceremony on the beach.’

  ‘Maybe wedding number three,’ Jesse said, quietly.

  ‘I don’t know if there will ever be a wedding number three.’

  ‘No, I suppose not.’

  They were quiet for a while as they looked over the sparkling sea.

  Skye suddenly sat up and looked at him. ‘Jesse, life is meant to be traversed with someone by your side. We’re not meant to be alone. And I know that things between us haven’t worked out the way we imagined but I hate the thought of you being alone for the rest of your life. Promise me that one day you’ll open your heart to love again. Let someone in. Promise me.’

  He shook his head. ‘I have only loved two women in my life. I don’t think I could ever love a third.’

  She wasn’t sure who the two women were. Ginny probably. Was there someone else before her who had let him down too?

  She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, knowing exactly how he felt. She would never love anyone as much as she loved Jesse and there was something quite sad about that. If neither of them could move on they would spend the rest of their lives alone. There had to be a better way than that.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Skye sat in Aria’s office the next morning, her head in her hands. None of the candidates for the job had made her feel excited. Although some of them had a lot of experience or qualifications, they all seemed to lack any kind of passion. She was yet to see any of them cook, so hopefully her mind could be changed, but so far the best person for the role was Simon and he was a complete ass. She couldn’t imagine working alongside him every day. If she was going to share her working space, her café, her dream with someone then she wanted them to be as excited and passionate about food and desserts as she was. She wanted to be able to have a good working relationship with them, not feel pissed off every time she entered the kitchen.

  She sighed and looked down at her notes she’d made for each candidate, searching for any glimmer of hope. The bad thing was, she didn’t know whether the candidates were genuinely not good enough or if it was just that none of them were Jesse. She had a wonderful working relationship with Jesse, it was easy and fun and he had this fantastic natural ability when it came to food. She loved to see him experimenting with different ingredients and the joy he showed when something new came together perfectly. He was an inspiration to never lose that love for cooking.

  He hadn’t joined her in bed the night before. He’d said he needed to do some work on the laptop and he’d be up shortly, but he never came. Over breakfast he’d apologised and said he’d fallen asleep over the computer, but she couldn’t help thinking it was more than that. Was he distancing himself from her before he left for good?

  ‘What are your thoughts so far?’ Aria said.

  Skye pulled a face as she tried to refocus on the candidates.

  Aria nodded. ‘I’d have to agree. Meadow had promise, I thought, I think she was just really nervous in the interview. But we still have one more candidate to interview.’

  ‘What? We agreed on five – we went through the applications together and we selected five.’

  ‘I added one more at the last minute, if he turns up,’ Aria said, looking at her watch.

  Skye felt annoyed at this. ‘Don’t you think you should have checked that with me first? I know you’re the hotel manager but surely I should have the final say about who works in my kitchen.’

  Aria hesitated before speaking. ‘Generally, I have the final say over who works in my hotel, but I’m going to try to get you the best possible person, which is why I added this candidate at the last minute.’

  Skye felt so upset by this. The café had always been hers and she had been left to her own devices; all the decisions surrounding the café had been hers alone. To think that Aria would pull rank and land Skye with someone like Simon or someone else she didn’t like was unbearable.

  ‘Well, who is he?’ Skye said, grabbing the pile of application forms from Aria’s out-tray and flicking through them.

  There was a knock on the door and Skye looked up to see Tilly, one of their receptionists. ‘Your next interviewee is here.’

  ‘Thanks Tilly, can you show him in,’ Aria said and Skye noticed that she visibly let out a sigh of relief. Had she thought he wouldn’t turn up? Was this really the best person for the job if he couldn’t even commit to turning up to the interview?

  ‘What’s his name?’ Skye said, flicking through the application forms. She wanted to be a little forewarned at least.

  ‘Jesse Hamilton,’ said a voice from the door and Skye’s head snapped up to see Jes
se standing there. He’d clearly shoehorned himself into one of Angel or Noah’s jackets and ties, though thankfully he was wearing one of his own shirts.

  She found herself on her feet. ‘Jesse, what are you doing here?’

  ‘Interviewing for the chef position apparently.’ He gave Aria a look.

  She looked at Aria. ‘Did you do this?’

  ‘I might have had some part to play in it.’

  Skye let out a little squeal and hugged her sister. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘Probably because she wasn’t sure I’d come,’ Jesse said, sitting down. ‘I wasn’t entirely sure myself.’

  ‘What does this mean, are you going to move here?’ Skye said, hardly daring to believe this was happening.

  ‘I don’t know, I guess part of that depends on whether I get the job.’

  ‘You’ve got the job, I told you that. I would love to have you work with me.’

  He shook his head. ‘I’m not taking a job that I was only offered because we’re in a relationship.’

  ‘Which is why the final decision lies with me,’ Aria said. ‘I promised Jesse that the best person for the job will get it. There will be no bias here.’

  Skye stared at Aria in surprise. The best person for the job was sitting right in front of them and Aria knew that. Although Skye had to admit that she was obviously biased towards Jesse – it would be a dream come true if she could work with him every day. She glanced at the application forms of the other five candidates. There were some very qualified people here. If it was important to Jesse that he got in on his own merits then she would have to keep an open mind.

  She cleared her throat. ‘Well, Mr Hamilton, we better get started on this interview so you can show Aria how much you shine.’

  Jesse gave her a half smile and Aria leaned forward to start the interview.

  ‘Well, thank you for your time today,’ Aria said.