‘I missed you too.’ She cursed herself for not being able to come up with a more aloof response.
‘I’m sorry about that night.’
‘I’m sorry too, for the way it ended.’
He stared at her, regret flickering in his eyes.
‘Xander, I need some help here,’ Judy called over the loud hubbub of people chatting in the shop.
‘I’ll be right there,’ Xander said, not taking his eyes off Immy.
‘I don’t think she likes me,’ Immy said, quietly, although it was unlikely Judy could hear her anyway, it really was rather noisy in here.
‘She’s a bit protective over me, and the shop. There’s a lot of women that come in here just to flirt with me and I think she gets tired of it.’
She stared at him. ‘You… you have women queuing up to see you?’
‘I wouldn’t put it like that but there are a few women that come in here on a regular basis and make it known that they are single and, umm… willing to mingle… horizontally. I had one woman who asked if I’d be willing to bring some of my melted chocolate to her house and lick it off her body. I don’t think I could look at tempered chocolate in the same way again if I’d done that.’
Immy felt her eyebrows shoot up. ‘That’s how youmeet women? Just flash them a smile across the chocolate counter and wham, bam, thank you ma’am?’
He smiled. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever slept with a woman I’ve met in here. And there’s been no wham, bams since Christmas. I’m not interested in anyone that isn’t you.’
Well that took the wind out of her sails.
‘I’m guessing you must have the same though,’ he said. ‘You must get men coming in to chat you up in the sweet shop?’
She laughed. ‘No, that never happens.’
‘I find that hard to believe. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.’
She didn’t want him to flirt with her, she didn’t want her heart to soar with happiness that he thought she was beautiful. Because this kind of happiness would lead to so much more pain when he backed away again. But the way he was staring at her made her feel so alive that she couldn’t help responding.
She stepped a little closer and lowered her voice even more, though it was unlikely anyone could hear her. ‘I once had a man storm into my shop, drag me into the storeroom and take me against the wall.’
His eyes darkened as he remembered. ‘That doesn’t sound very gentlemanly.’
‘Not at all. But it was wonderful.’
She found herself stroking her belly, wondering if that had been when their baby had been conceived. It had been a few days before their Christmas Day dalliance.
‘What I wouldn’t give to recreate that again,’ he said.
She wanted to say he’d be welcome to come over anytime and do exactly that but she didn’t want that, not really. Even if there were parts of her that were already tingling with excitement at the thought.
‘Xander,’ Judy snapped.
‘I better go, but Etta is at her grandparents’ for the weekend so we’ll have plenty of time tonight to talk or…’ he trailed off, leaving theorunspoken.
Her heart leapt at the thought that he might come over for more than a conversation. She wanted to say no, that she only wanted to talk, but she knew if he kissed her, she’d be lost to him. But then once he heard what she wanted to talk about she supposed there’d be a Xander-sized hole in the door and there certainly wouldn’t be any kisses at all. Which was probably for the best.
‘OK,’ she said, because that was the only thing she could say.
He nodded, took her hand and squeezed it before turning and walking away.
She watched him for a moment and he flashed her a smile as he resumed serving the customer he’d abandoned to talk to her. She smiled back and then walked out the shop and hurried back to hers.
She flicked the sign on the shop door back to ‘OPEN’ and stood watching Xander’s shop. She hadn’t thought for a second that he would want to start things up again between them. The last time they’d spoke he’d been very clear that what they had, howeverbriefly, was over, but now it seemed he was regretting it.
