'Okay, thanks.' After pulling her apron over her head and passing it to Diane, Merri made her way outside just as Felix ended his call and put his mobile in his pocket.
'Hi.' Walking towards her, he grinned.
'Hi. sorry,Iwas just out the back int he kitchen.'Shewaved her hand behind her indicating the bakery.
'No worries. I just thought I'd pop and was hoping I could take a few minutes of your time.'
'I'm on my lunchbreak now, so...' Merri shrugged. She wasn’t quite sure how to end that sentence. She didn’t want to sound presumptuous and as though she were expecting him to want to give up what free time he had to spend it with her, or to appear to expect him to have any spare time. For all she knew he'd popped into Penworth Bay to pick something up and had to rush back.
'You are? That’s great. Well...' He glanced around before pointing towards the beach. 'We could grab some chips from the chip van and take a walk on the beach. that's if you don’t have anything else to do and if you want to, of course.'
She nodded quickly, hoping he matched her enthusiasm. She thought he did. 'That sounds nice. I'm starving.'
'Great. before we get our lunch though, I’ve got something to give you.' Felix shifted position.
'You have?' What could he have for her? Had he picked up something from the Christmas tree farm? Some additional bits to pop on the wreath maybe?
'Yes.' He pulled a small jewellery box from his pocket and held it between them. 'I hope this is okay.'
'What is?' She was super confused now. Had he bought her a necklace to replace the one she'd lost? It would be a sweet gesture if he had but they hardly knew each other. She watched as he slowly pulled the lid of the box back on its hinges before she gasped. there it was. Her snowflake pendant, sitting on a bed of soft maroon fabric. Reaching out, she turned it carefully over, the tiny diamonds catching the winter sunlight. Yes, it was hers. the small scar etched into the silver casing on the back only confirmed it was. A dent in the silver casing her mum had created when she'd worn it. 'You found it.'
'It dropped out of one of the wreaths this morning as I picked it up to pass to a customer.' He smiled.
'Wow, it was so close being lost forever. If it hadn’t dropped out and they'd taken it home...' She shook the thoughts away. There was no point in worrying over what-ifs. it had dropped out and he had noticed it. 'We searched high and low all over that stall.'
'I know. I don’t know how we missed it.' He shrugged before rubbing his palm across his face. 'I would have brought it over earlier but, I hope you don’t mind, I popped into Trestow and got a new chain. the old one is underneath it. I wasn’t sure if that too had sentimental value, so I made sure the jewellers gave me that back.'
'You did?' Catching his eye, she could feel her own filling with tears. He'd not only found her necklace, but he'd got the chain replaced too.
He shrugged. 'They couldn’t fix the old chain so I thought it best to replace it. That way hopefully it won't get lost again.'
Reaching out, she placed her hand on his forearm. 'I really don’t know what to say. Thank you. A million thank yous!'
'You're very welcome.' Carefully taking the necklace from its small box, he indicated her to turn around before he fastened it securely around her neck.
Looking down, she held the pendant between her finger and thumb. 'This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me.'
'Ahh, I'm just glad it's back where it belongs.' He slipped the box back into his pocket.
Letting the pendant lay against her jumper, she looked at him. 'Seriously, thank you.'
'You're welcome.'
Searching his eyes, she frowned. She could almost feel the spark between them, the connection she felt towards him when she looked into his eyes wasn't something she'd come across before. Without thinking, She leaned forward, her lips millimetres away from his and passed, suddenly unsure. Pulling back, she shook her head, the fierce glow of embarrassment flushing across her cheeks. Just because he’d done this for her and just because he'd asked her on a date they'd not yet gone on, didn’t mean...
Bringing his hand to her face, he gently cupped her cheek. 'May I?'
Nodding, she closed her eyes as she felt his lips against hers. He did feel the same. He did feel the connection. As she pulled back, she grinned at him. 'Shall we grab those chips now?'
'One minute.' Shrugging out of his thick coat, Felix gently draped it over Merri's shoulders. 'You must be freezing.'
'I can go and grab my coat from the bakery. You'll end of freezing otherwise.' With the surprise of him shaving had hernecklace fixed and then the kiss, she hadn’t felt the cold until now that he'd mentioned it.
Scrunching up his nose, he nodded towards the bakery door where a long queue snaked outside, and groups of people clustered around the window peering inside at the cakes and pasties on display. 'I have a feeling if you pop back in there someone will expect you to serve them. besides, I'm fine. I've been hauling trees around all morning before popping into town, whereas you've been inside a warm bakery all morning. You’ll feel the cold more than me.'
'Okay, thank you.' He was probably right. If she slipped back inside to get her coat as soon as one of the regulars saw her they'd immediately assume she was working and she likely wouldn’t have the heart to correct them. Slipping her arms inside his thick coat, she wrapped it around herself, his wrath from where he'd been wearing it a few moments ago warming her instantly. Linking her arm through his, they made their way towards the chip van idling a little further up the road.
Chapter Nine
