‘Yes.’ Kristian leaned forward, his blonde fringe flopping forward in his boyish enthusiasm. ‘If she weren’t so old, I’d ask her out.’
Bernhardt managed to refrain from rolling his eyes this time, but Mina got the impression he tolerated Kristian’s inappropriate comments like one would a small, badly trained puppy. ‘You should never mention a woman’s age, and certainly not refer to her as old.’
‘Really?’ asked Kristian looking totally perplexed. ‘Why not?’
Johannes patted him on the arm. ‘You have a lot to learn, boy.’
Mina, enjoying the byplay between the three men, tried to focus on Bernhardt, aware that on the other side of the room, Luke was carrying on a lively conversation with Claudia and Frank. Although she tried not to look his way, it was as if she had developed some special radar for him, because she was constantly aware of exactly where he was in the room.
‘Enjoy the skiing? I saw you come back.’ asked Johannes.
‘I loved it. It was so much fun.’ Her eyes shone with the memory of the downhill trip back to the chalet.
He took a bite of the cake and closed his eyes in apparent bliss. ‘This is exceptional.’
‘Mina helped,’ Kristian piped up.
Johannes opened his eyes and stared at her. ‘Amelie allowed you to brave her kitchen? You’re very honoured. I’ve been trying to encourage her to take on some help, but she’s very stubborn.’
‘I guess she doesn’t want to relinquish control,’ Mina gave him a friendly shrug, getting the distinct impression that he felt a little put out. ‘Not while she’s still building the business.’
‘Hmm. She’s not very good at accepting help, although I did persuade her to accept my latest batch of chocolates to serve with coffee this evening.’
‘You make chocolate?’ Mina’s eyes widened with sudden interest. ‘I love chocolate.’
‘Well, you’ve come to the right country. We make the best chocolate in the world,’ declared Bernhardt.
‘We do. For me, it started as a hobby, but now I sell everything I make.’ There was definite touch of pride in the way Johannes straightened up in his seat as he finished the sentence.
‘I’d love to see how you do it. Could I?’
Johannes frowned, his scraggy eyebrows drawing together like a pair of hairy caterpillars. ‘Hmm, my recipes are a closely guarded secret. I never share them with anyone.’
‘Oh,’ said Mina, a little crestfallen and feeling that she’d overstepped some boundary. ‘Not to worry. Perhaps you could tell me a little more, one day. I’d really love to know more about chocolate and how it’s made.’ She hoped her friendly smile might disarm him. While she knew there were some people who were very secretive about their recipes, it wasn’t something she could relate to. Good food and lovely things were to be shared. Like this gorgeous cake. Just imagine if the bakery had kept the recipe to itself; all these people in this room, who were clearly loving it from the happy expressions on every single person’s face, would never have tasted it. That would have been a terrible shame.
Johannes pursed his lips following her gaze and as if he knew what she were thinking, let out a small harrumphing noise. ‘I’ll think about it.’
She beamed at him but didn’t say another word, instead just lifting another forkful of the delicious frothy confection of cake into her mouth. This was one recipe that she would definitely be taking home with her.
The room buzzed with that happy, low-key vibration of satisfied, contented people and as it started to get dark outside, Mina decided she would pop into the kitchen to check Amelie didn’t need any help, before she went up to her room to have a soak in the bath before dinner.
Amelie was sitting with a cup of coffee on the table, looking as if she were about to fall asleep.
‘Are you OK?’ asked Mina, faintly alarmed at the weariness dragging at her godmother’s eyes. ‘Is there anything I can do to help?’
Amelie jumped up. ‘Absolutely fine. Everything’s under control. I’m just waiting for the potatoes to boil. And the girls will be here in half an hour to lay the tables in the dining room. Johannes has chopped some wood for me and is keeping an eye on the fire in the salon.’
She crossed to the oven and took off one of the lids over the big boiling pots. ‘Yes, they’re nearly done. Why don’t you go up? There’s a good two hours before dinner, I’m sure you’ll want to freshen up and change after all that skiing this afternoon.’
‘If you’re sure you don’t need any help.’ The thought of a bath was extremely welcome.
‘No, no. It’s nearly all done the. I hope everyone is hungry, although I’ve made extra as there are another six coming in for dinner this evening.’
‘Gosh, cooking for twenty-six. That’s a lot of work.’
‘Don’t you start. I’ve got enough trouble with Johannes fussing. He’s such an old woman.’
‘He’s a big fan of your cooking.’
