The Chocolate Lovers' Christmas

by Carole Matthews

  ‘He won’t mind?’ Stacey looks anxious.

  ‘Of course not,’ Chantal says. ‘Besides, it’s the least he can do. I only wish he’d told me earlier that you had no one to help you.’

  ‘My family all live a long way from here,’ Stacey says to me by way of explanation.

  ‘As well as fine chocolate, we provide an excellent surrogate family service,’ I tell her. ‘There’s no need to be on your own now.’

  At that moment, Autumn arrives with Lewis. ‘Here’s another of our girls.’

  They’re both shivering and have bright red noses. I jump up to meet them. ‘You look frozen through to the bone. What do you want to drink?’

  ‘Hot chocolate for Lewis,’ Autumn says. ‘I’ll just have tea, but we’ll have a couple of chocolate-chip cookies too. Though we’d better not tell Mummy just how much chocolate you’ve had today. It will be our secret.’ She winks at Lewis. ‘You’d better promise me that you’ll eat all of your dinner.’

  ‘I will, Auntie Autumn.’

  ‘How are you doing?’ I ask Autumn quietly.

  ‘I’m OK,’ Autumn says, but she looks very pensive. Then a text pings in and she checks her phone. ‘It’s Nadia. She’ll be here in two minutes and she’s a woman in need of sustenance in the form of a caramel latte.’

  ‘I’ll get to it then.’ I take Autumn’s hand and lead her to the table. ‘Come and meet Stacey,’ I say. ‘And this is Elsie.’

  ‘Oh, she’s lovely. Hi, Stacey.’ Autumn and Lewis sit down with them. ‘Can I have a cuddle?’

  Elsie is handed over and looks slightly more surprised by it than Lana usually does.

  A moment later Nadia joins us. A blast of cold air comes through the door with her and I’m pleased to see that there’s a smile on her face.

  ‘How did your first day at work go?’ I ask her.

  ‘Not too bad. I think. It was lovely to spend some time with Anita. It was as if we’d never fallen out at all. The shop, however, has got quite run down. There’s a lot I could do to make it look better.’

  ‘So you’re going back tomorrow?’

  ‘Yeah,’ she says, pulling a face that might be a little bit excited, a little bit frightened. ‘I am. I’ve re-joined the world of work. I feel really nervous, but I’m looking forward to it too.’

  ‘Good for you.’ I give her a hug. ‘I knew you could do it. Now, go and sit with the others. Stacey has joined us.’

  Nadia raises an eyebrow in question.

  ‘She seems lovely. And in need of some friendship,’ I fill in.

  ‘We can do that,’ Nadia concedes.

  ‘I got your text order. I’ll be right with you.’

  Nadia goes over to the girls and throws off her coat. She introduces herself to Stacey and then hugs Lewis. He slides on to her lap and she holds him tightly, kissing him even though he tries to wriggle away. ‘I’ve missed you today.’

  ‘Stop it, Mummy!’

  ‘Have you been good while I’ve been at work?’

  ‘He’s been brilliant,’ Autumn says.

  When I take over the drinks, I say, ‘I think we’ll have to start a crèche corner if we produce any more babies.’

  ‘I’ve no plans for another,’ Chantal holds up her hand. ‘Much as I adore Lana, one is hard enough work.’

  ‘We should celebrate their arrival though.’ I hand round the cakes and cookies. ‘We haven’t really done that yet.’

  ‘Any excuse for a get-together,’ Nadia agrees.

  ‘We should have a joint naming party,’ Chantal suggests. ‘Have you made any plans yet, Stacey?’

  ‘No,’ she admits. ‘It was just one more thing that seemed too difficult to organise.’

  ‘You could have it here,’ I offer. ‘Alexandra could make a cake.’

  ‘I like the sound of that,’ Stacey says.

  ‘Then let’s do it. Soon, too,’ Chantal says. ‘We have to get Clive and Tristan back from the wilds of France. They’d love to see what you’ve done to this place for Christmas.’

  ‘It would be great to see them,’ I agree.

  ‘I’ll text them and find out if they’re planning to come back at all.’ Chantal pulls out her phone. ‘I haven’t spoken to them for weeks. Surely they must be planning a festive jaunt back to London.’

  Suddenly, I feel quite buzzy about the idea and then I remember that I’m supposed to be trotting off to Bruges for the chocolate festival for a romantic weekend.

  ‘Oh,’ I say. ‘You’ll never guess who came in here this morning.’

  ‘Marcus!’ The girls say in unison. They don’t even hesitate.

  I frown at them. ‘How did you know that?’

  ‘Because only Marcus can bring that stupid look to your face,’ Chantal says.

  ‘He does not.’ I try to make my face look less stupid.

  ‘Oh, Lucy,’ Autumn says. ‘Not Marcus again.’

  ‘It was nice to see him. Well, quite nice.’

  ‘So, tell us. What does that low-life want from you now?’ Chantal asks.

  ‘Nothing.’ They’re all wearing sceptical faces. ‘Really. He just came to say hello for old time’s sake.’

  Much tutting.

  ‘He told me about this fantastic chocolate festival in Bruges. Marcus said that if I wanted to go he could get me a slot to do a talk or something.’

  ‘I knew there’d be some scheme,’ Chantal says. ‘What’s Marcus got to do with a chocolate festival?’

  ‘He’s investing in it or something.’

  ‘He’s trying to worm his way back into your life more like it.’

  ‘I don’t think so. Not this time. He knows it’s over. Really he does.’

  Much disbelieving snorting.

  ‘I thought it would be a brilliant idea. Crush and I were talking about going away for a romantic weekend. I’ve neglected him so much recently because of this place. We need to reconnect on a deeper level.’

  ‘You mean that you need to spend the weekend shagging like rabbits,’ is Chantal’s assessment.

  I choose to ignore the comment even though it may be close to the mark.

  ‘Oh, Lucy,’ Autumn sighs. ‘Anything to do with Marcus makes me nervous. He wouldn’t happen to be going along too?’

  ‘No!’ I laugh at the very thought. ‘At least, I don’t think so.’

  ‘You know Marcus, Lucy,’ Nadia warns. ‘How many times has he let you down? You shouldn’t trust him as far as you can throw him.’

  ‘I think he’s changed.’

  They all guffaw at that.

  ‘He has,’ I insist. ‘Marcus has learned his lesson. He knows that I’m with Aiden now and that’s how it’s going to stay.’

  ‘I hope you’re right, darling,’ Chantal says. ‘For your sake, I really hope so.’

  ‘You’re too trusting of him, Lucy,’ Nadia agrees.

  Sometimes, I can’t believe how little faith they have in my ability to stay strong in the face of Marcus’s charms. Admittedly, I’ve given them plenty of reason in the past. But that is the past. Since he dumped me at the altar, I have grown up and so has Marcus. We were together for a long time and it would be nice if we could salvage a friendship from the wreckage. Surely that’s the mature thing to do?

  ‘Be careful,’ Chantal advises. ‘Marcus is one slippery bastard. None of us want to see you in pieces again because of him.’

  ‘You won’t,’ I assure them. ‘This time it will be different.’ And I’m really determined that it will be.

  ‘Right. We have just one thing left to do before we get stuck into this chocolate,’ Chantal announces. She raises her cup. ‘Ladies, are we willing to embrace another member of the Chocolate Lovers’ Club?’

  ‘We are!’ we all say.

  ‘Will we support and love her through thick and thin?’

  ‘We will!’ we all say.

  ‘Will we eat chocolate with her on a ridiculously regular basis?’

  ‘We will!’

  ‘Then all that remains f
or me to say is welcome, Stacey.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Our new friend, tears in her eyes, smiles gratefully. ‘You don’t know what this means to me.’

  ‘It’s good to have you on board.’ I squeeze her hand.

  Then we all lift our drinks in a toast. ‘To the Chocolate Lovers’ Club.’

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  I’m laying full length on the sofa with Crush watching Chocolat and, even though it’s my very favourite film, my poor eyes are rolling with tiredness. It’s been yet another busy day at Chocolate Heaven. But how lucky am I that I have someone wonderful to come home to – even if it is just to collapse on the couch with. I nestle further into him, which is potentially dangerous as I might well nod off.

  ‘Do we have to watch Chocolat again, Lucy?’ Crush murmurs against my neck. ‘You play it, on average, once a week.’

  ‘It’s not that often.’ Surely.

  ‘Can’t we watch something with car crashes and gratuitous violence? Something with Jason Statham kicking in baddies?’

  ‘Chocolat is a lovely film. Besides, this is really work. Research,’ I tell him. ‘If you ask me, there aren’t enough chocolate-based films in the world. It’s an untapped market. It’s nothing to do with Johnny Depp at all.’

  ‘Pull the other one,’ he says. ‘That’s got bells on it.’

  I pop a Malteser into his mouth. And mine, of course. You have to watch a film with a bag of Maltesers. It’s the rules. A little yawn escapes, despite the fact that it’s at my favourite bit, where Vianne and Roux finally get down to it after the lovely party.

  ‘Come on,’ Crush says. ‘We should head to bed.’

  ‘I like the sound of that.’

  ‘To sleep,’ Crush adds. ‘You know how the film ends, anyway. You’re dead on your feet, Lucy. I feel we’re both just surviving from week to week. The sooner we book up that romantic getaway the better.’

  ‘Oh.’ I sit upright. ‘I don’t know how this went out of my head. You’ll never guess who came into Chocolate Heaven today.’

  ‘Marcus,’ Crush says wearily.

  ‘How did you know that?’

  ‘He’s been gone for too long. Like every bad penny, he had to turn up at some point.’

  ‘I think he’s changed,’ I say and now it’s Crush’s turn to roll his eyes just as the girls did. ‘No, really.’

  Crush gets up and turns off the television.

  ‘Marcus suggested that we go to Bruges for our romantic weekend. There’s a chocolate festival on and a Christmas market. It sounded absolutely perfect.’

  ‘It’s Marcus. There has to be a catch.’

  ‘I don’t think so. He said that he could fix me up with a talk or something, then I can justify it as work, too.’

  ‘I thought the idea was to get completely away from work?’

  ‘It is, but a tiny little bit of work wouldn’t hurt, would it? How long can a talk last? An hour? I might get a fee, too, which would pay for the trip.’

  Crush looks resigned. ‘I haven’t been to Bruges. It looks great. Though I’d much rather organise it ourselves.’

  ‘But if Marcus can swing this for me, it might be a great opportunity.’

  Crush sighs. ‘Well, if you think he isn’t up to his old skulduggery, then we should do it.’ He frowns. ‘Marcus isn’t going to be there too, is he? I couldn’t stand that.’

  ‘No, of course not.’ Yet I admit that there’s a little moment of panic that crosses my mind, as it’s the second time it’s been raised. He wouldn’t do that. Would he?

  Crush pulls me up and throws his arms around me. ‘All I want is for you to be happy, Gorgeous. If that means taking you on a trip to Bruges, then let’s do it.’

  ‘You’ll be able to get the time off before Christmas?’

  ‘It’ll be tight,’ Crush admits. ‘We’ve got a lot on at the moment. Targa is the company that never sleeps. Or expects its employees to. I’ve got meetings, targets, deadlines, blah, blah, right up until Christmas. But I’ve actually got two weeks’ worth of holiday to take before then, so surely they can’t deny me a couple of days of that? How will you get away?’

  ‘I’m hoping that Nadia and Autumn might manage it between them. I wanted to confirm that you were up for it before I checked with them. It will take a bit of childcare juggling for Nadia, so I need to sort out the details as soon as possible.’

  ‘What did they say about Marcus?’

  ‘Much the same as you,’ I admit.

  ‘You’re too soft, Lucy.’ Crush shakes his head. ‘Be careful when it comes to your ex. You know only too well what he’s like. Give Marcus an inch and he’ll take a mile.’

  ‘I won’t let him,’ I promise. ‘I can’t just cut him out of my life, though. We have a lot of shared history.’ I very nearly married the man, for heaven’s sake. ‘I’d like it if we could be friends.’

  ‘Would Marcus accept that?’

  ‘Yes.’ I’m convinced he would. ‘This time things will be on a very different footing.’

  ‘I wish I could believe that.’

  ‘I love you,’ I tell him. ‘You’ve nothing to worry about. I would never let Marcus come between us again. The minute he steps out of line, he’s gone. I swear. And, if you want him out of our lives now, this minute, then you only have to say.’

  ‘That’s your call, Lucy. He treats you terribly. I don’t want him taking advantage of your good nature.’

  ‘He won’t.’ I wrap my arms round Crush’s neck.

  He grins down at me.

  ‘It’s not that late,’ I coo. ‘You could take advantage of my good nature, if you like.’ I lie down on the rug in front of the fire.

  Crush pulls the cushions from the sofa and puts one under my head. He lays down beside me and takes me in his strong arms. ‘As if I’m going to turn down an offer like that.’

  And we make love bathed in the light of the fire and the sparkly Christmas tree. In the heat of passion I kick the reindeer on the hearth and it belts out ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ while doing a little dance, but even that can’t distract me. I think of no one but Crush. All my attention is focused on him and him alone. Marcus doesn’t come to mind once.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Another day in paradise. Sometimes I look around Chocolate Heaven and can’t believe that I actually work here. I am the most lucky Lucy in the entire world. I celebrate my good fortune by eating two hazelnut praline chocolates. And then have a third for good measure. There is no such thing in this world as too much pleasure. Chocolate releases all your endolphins or something like that and makes you feel fabulous.

  Also, I am still luxuriating in the pleasure that occurred on my living-room rug last night. Sex is also quite good for the endolphin thing too. I would text Crush and tell him so, but would probably get my father instead and I’m not sure his heart could stand it.

  Alexandra’s car pulls up outside and she opens her boot and lifts out a couple of boxes. Our cake here gets eaten at an alarming rate and Alexandra is having a job keeping up with it all, particularly with the extra pressure of the Christmas orders.

  ‘Hey, Lucy,’ she says as she swings in.

  ‘Hey, yourself.’

  ‘How’s it going?’

  ‘Mad busy. You?’

  ‘Same. I’ll be glad to see the back of these chocolate reindeer cupcakes.’

  ‘They’re our most popular seller.’

  ‘I’m seeing shiny red noses in my sleep now.’

  Alexandra is younger than me and prettier with longer, blonder hair. Despite her complaints she looks as if she has time to wash and style it. Already, she has it all – thriving business, fab husband and a brood of sweet-faced children. She’s as slender as a reed and looks as if she never eats any of the delicious cakes she bakes or the yummy chocolates she makes. I think running round after her kids must keep her trim. Perhaps Chantal will find it easier to lose her baby weight when she starts chasing Lana about. Or Ted.

  Today Al
exandra is wearing tight jeans tucked into UGG boots and a cable sweater. It makes her look as if she’s stepped right out of a Boden catalogue. I never look quite so good when I do casual. My attempts at casual end up looking like bag-lady chic. If she wasn’t so very nice it would be easy to dislike her.

  ‘Just a few more boxes and then I’m out of your hair.’

  ‘Excellent. I paid your invoices last night.’ As I’m in Chocolate Heaven by myself all day, I have to do the paperwork at night, which is not an inconsiderable amount. I really must speak to Clive and Tristan about the workload, but I hate to make a fuss. In fact, since they’ve been gone, I’ve hardly heard from them at all. They’ve very much taken a hands-off approach to my supervision. I could have simply shut up shop and they’d be none the wiser. As it is, I think they’ll be surprised by how well we’ve been doing.

  Alexandra puts the last two boxes on the counter. ‘That should keep you going for the rest of the day.’

  ‘Thanks,’ I say. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you.’

  ‘It works both ways,’ Alexandra says. ‘You’re paying for my kids’ toys this Christmas.’

  Then as she turns to leave, Marcus’s Ferrari pulls up outside.

  ‘Wow,’ she says. ‘Cool car.’

  ‘It’s my ex-boyfriend,’ I tell her.

  ‘Your ex?’

  ‘Long story.’ But not one that I’m going to tell her now as Marcus is already out of his swishy car and at the door. He’s also rocking the casual look today in black jeans and leather jacket. Even though the entire cityscape is a slate-grey colour, Marcus is wearing aviator shades.

  Alexandra winks at me. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’

  ‘Hi,’ he says as he comes in. Then, as Alexandra leaves, his head swivels after her.

  I purse my lips. Perhaps Crush is right after all. Leopards never change their spots.

  His gaze lingers as she bends over to put her handbag on the passenger seat of her car.

  ‘What can I do for you, Marcus?’ I say loudly.

  His attention snaps back to me. ‘Oh, hi.’

  ‘We already did that bit.’

  ‘Who’s that woman?’

  ‘Alexandra. She makes our cakes.’ I keep the sigh from my voice and my heart. ‘She’s happily married with three kids.’