The Chocolate Collection. Trisha Ashley

her parents had got used to him and this was a seal of approval!

      Felix, Poppy and I pushed the boat out and had a birthday feast of scampi and chips in a basket at the Falling Star, though actually the two of them bickered throughout about her next lonely hearts column date, the following evening.

      It sounded like the scenario would just be a repeat of the last one, with Felix glowering over the top of his newspaper in the pub corner, like a jealous dog over a bone – though I thought maybe I would go with him this time out of sheer curiosity and we could peer over the paper together.

      They made up their quarrel when he gave her her present, which was a tiny oil painting of a horse in the primitive style, and then after that she got tiddly and extremely giggly on gin and tonic.

      We went back to the cottage for hot chocolate, the smell of which got Jake, who had by then returned, down from his room for long enough to wish his Auntie Pops a happy birthday and let her kiss him, in that terribly resigned way teenage boys have. You’d think it was an endurance test. Is there a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for that?

      The hot chocolate didn’t have a noticeably sobering effect on Poppy so we finally sent her home in a taxi, singing something about a galloping major. Goodness knows where she got that from. Janey would have to drive her down next morning to pick up the Land Rover.

      ‘You know,’ I said to Felix as the tail-lights of the taxi vanished round the bend, ‘if her mum hadn’t decided to work her way through all the eligible young farmers in the area and the local hunt, Poppy might have found Mr Right somewhere among their ranks.’

      ‘I can’t see her as a farmer’s wife, and she doesn’t like hunting, does she?’ he pointed out.

      And it was true that Poppy had taken a sudden aversion to hunting living creatures for pleasure when she was about ten, and didn’t follow the hounds, even when they turned exclusively to drag hunting.

      She was so terribly soft-hearted and I really didn’t want to see that heart bruised or broken by careless hands, like mine was, even if I had successfully cemented it back together with tempered chocolate, so it wasn’t just as good as new, but better than new.

      But I knew she longed for love and marriage and even children, so I would much rather she fell for a decent man like Felix…if he fell for her in return, of course!

       Chapter Twelve: Desperate Dates

      It was the evening of Poppy’s Desperate Date and I was going as emergency backup with Felix. It wasn’t just an excuse for an outing, I was curious to see what rabbit she had pulled out of the hat this time.

      I collected Felix from Marked Pages on the way and we were just cutting through the car park of the Green Man, when a familiar voice called out, ‘Chloe!’

      I swung round, startled. ‘David?’

      My ex-fiancé was standing next to a snazzy red sports car, the keys in his hand. He looked just as handsome as ever: age didn’t seem to have withered his beauty and it couldn’t have staled his infinite variety because he never had any. His predictability was one of the things I’d appreciated most about him six years before: a calm harbour after the storm.

      While I was still standing transfixed, he slammed the car door shut and strode over. ‘I knew it was you!’ Looking delighted, he kissed me on both cheeks, then held me away slightly and said, ‘And you look absolutely wonderful!’

      I felt flattered, since I didn’t think I did really. My hair needed cutting and my nose was probably pink from the chilly breeze.

      ‘You look pretty good too,’ I said, finding I was quite happy to see him once I was over that initial surprise. Now he was closer I could see new lines on his face and some silver among his dark chestnut hair (he is several years older than me, after all), but it just made him look distinguished. Nature is unfair to the sexes like that.

      ‘You remember my friend Felix, don’t you?’

      ‘Yes, of course,’ he said with a brief, polite smile. ‘Nice to meet you again.’

      ‘Yes, you too,’ Felix said unenthusiastically. ‘I’ll go on into the pub, Chloe – see you there shortly.’

      He walked off and David turned his full attention back to me. ‘I’ve often thought about you, Chloe. How have things been with you and what are you doing here?’

      ‘I was about to ask you the same thing!’

      ‘I have friends who live nearby and we sometimes meet up at the Green Man. But today I had a client over in this direction, so I stopped for a quick bar snack.’

      ‘You never did move out into the country then, David?’

      ‘No, I stayed in the city and I’m still living the bachelor life in my flat…though actually, that might be about to change. How about you? I don’t suppose you’re still in Merchester?’

      ‘No. In fact, we’ve just moved to Sticklepond.’

      ‘We?’ he queried quickly.

      ‘The whole family – Jake, Grandfather, Zillah. Grumps bought the Old Smithy at the other end of the High Street.’

      ‘Oh?’ He digested this information. ‘Jake’s still at home? He must be…how old now?’

      ‘Nearly nineteen and off to university this autumn, if he ever actually gets down to some exam revision.’

      ‘And your mother never came back? I was right about that?’

      He might as well have added, ‘Told you so!’ But then, he’d never believed me when I said I knew she was alive.

      ‘No, she never came back.’

      ‘So – no husband, children, significant other?’ His hazel eyes looked deep into mine. ‘You surprise me.’

      ‘Not at the moment,’ I said, not wanting to come across as Little Miss Desperate, which I wasn’t in the least. ‘My Chocolate Wishes business is thriving and that, plus being Grumps’ PA, takes up most of my time these days.’

      He looked at an expensive watch. ‘Look, I’ve got something on and I’m running late, but I’d love to catch up with you soon. We could even meet here one evening – how about it?’

      ‘I usually go to the Falling Star down the other end of the village with Poppy and Felix. You remember Poppy, don’t you?’

      ‘Oh, yes,’ he said, in the sort of voice that meant he had totally forgotten about her, though six years ago Poppy had been all set to be my bridesmaid at the registry office. ‘The Green Man might be better, though, because I’d like to catch up with you alone the first time – I feel I have a lot to apologise for!’

      ‘Oh, no, really you haven’t,’ I assured him, taken by surprise.

      ‘I’ve always regretted not being more understanding at the time, Chloe,’ he said with rather a wry smile.

      ‘No, I meant it, David, because later, when I wasn’t so upset, I could see your point of view too.’ This was true, though admittedly not for an awfully long time afterwards and the way he had detailed his secretary to help me cancel the wedding plans and return the presents had only added insult to injury.

      ‘Look, how about if we meet early one evening at the Falling Star for a chat, then, before your friends get there?’ he compromised. ‘Can you make it Friday?’

      ‘OK,’ I agreed, because I really couldn’t see why not. Although I’d felt surprisingly pleased to see him again, I didn’t think there were any embers left to stir into a flame, so it would just be a friendly chat.

      ‘There’s no reason why we can’t be