‘I know, I trust you completely.’
‘OK. If you’re sure?’
‘One hundred percent.’ He wrapped his arms around her and she held him tight. ‘I’m so sorry about all of this.From ex-in-laws to my crazy family, it feels like you’ve had a baptism of fire.’
‘Well, I don’t think Alex is going to make it easy for you when she comes back either.’
‘Let’s just elope. You, me, Etta and Jacob. We’ll find a little island somewhere for the four of us. Well, five in a few months.’
‘Very tempting.’
‘I’m ready,’ Etta announced as she marched into the lounge struggling to get her coat on.
Immy crouched down and helped her put it on.
‘Thanks, Immy.’
‘No problem. And you know I love you too. And when the baby comes he or she will love you as well. So while your daddy has more people to love, that also means more people will love you.’
A huge smile spread across her face. ‘I hadn’t thought of that.’
‘I think you’ll love being a big sister. You know, Alex is my younger sister and I loved being her big sister. We played together, we talked about everything and we always looked after each other. She is my best friend and I think you and the baby will be best friends too.’
‘I hope so,’ Etta said.
‘Right, shall we go and get that ice cream?’
‘Can Jacob come?’
‘Dogs aren’t allowed in the ice cream café but they do sell doggy ice cream that we can bring back once we’re done,’ Immy said, standing up and taking Etta’s hand.
Xander smiled. Seeing the two of them together made his heart ache. ‘I think they even have stinky sock flavour.’
Etta laughed. ‘I think I’ll stick to chocolate.’
By the end of the day, the sweet shop was empty. All of the shelves, display cases, boxes, cupboards, sweet dispensers, the dreaded till, everything from the storage room had been dumped unceremoniously in the skip. Even all the wooden flooring had been ripped up and disposed of. There was nothing left now except the four walls and a very soot-blackened ceiling. So many people had turned up to help, including Logan, Archer and Max. Xander had come over for a few hours after the ice cream but Immy had felt too guilty that his shop was closed at one of the busiest times of the year so she’d sent him back to do a few more hours in the chocolate shop before the end of the day.
At least they now had a good starting point for the redecoration and renovation. Belinda had even arranged for someone to come round and fix the front door, so at least Immy could lock the shop again. Not that there was currently anything in there to steal.
She walked across the street and could see Xander and Etta were busy serving a customer so she let herself into the flat and went upstairs to start unpacking some of the things she had brought over from her flat earlier that day.
She heard a thunder of feet coming up the back stairs from the shop. Etta must have seen her go in.
‘In here, sweetheart,’ Immy called from Xander’s bedroom.
Etta appeared in the doorway. ‘What’re you doing?’
‘Since I was allowed to go back to my flat, I’ve picked up a few things. I’m just unpacking them.’
‘Are you not going back home?’ Etta said, climbing up on the bed and sitting next to Immy’s bags.
‘Not yet.’
‘Because you’re still trying to find out if you love each other?’
‘Sort of. That’s one of the reasons. Also, I can’t use my electricity until someone comes over and makes sure it’s safe, so it’s better to stay here for a little bit longer.’ She paused. ‘Is that OK?’
Etta nodded. ‘I like having you here.’
