The Cosy Seaside Chocolate Shop: The perfect heartwarming summer escape from the Kindle bestselling author. Caroline Roberts

      The three ladies were soon installed at a wooden picnic bench in the back garden of The Fisherman’s Arms, the village pub, which stood proudly on the rise of land to one side of the harbour, nestled by old stone fishermen’s cottages. There was an area of grass to the rear of the pub, and a little gate that led out to the coastal footpath on one side, and some steps that led down to the harbour on the other. She often let her mind stray to times gone by, to when the fishing fleet would be bringing in their catch of herring or the like, ready to take to the smokehouses on the other side of the street, all but one now converted into a restaurant and cottages. It must have been a hard life, with the North Sea always cold, at times treacherous, the women left at home mending the nets, nursing hungry children. They would have known grief and loves lost, for sure.

      ‘So, been busy today, Em?’ Bev brought her back to the here and now.

      ‘Yeah, it has actually. Even though the schools’ Easter holidays are over, there’re still plenty of tourists about. I think the fine weather has drawn them out.’

      ‘Ah, yes. The village is pretty busy. I had trouble getting parked today.’

      ‘Been up to much, Ali?’ Em asked.

      ‘Head down at work too. An outbreak of the norovirus has kept us pretty hectic, hasn’t it Bev?’ Ali worked with Bev at the doctors’ surgery.

      ‘Yeah, it’s been like D & V city. Oh, the joys.’

      ‘D & V?’ Emma quizzed, then wished she hadn’t.

      ‘Diarrhoea and vomiting,’ answered Bev matter-of-factly.

      ‘Ah, I see.’

      ‘Though,’ Ali continued, ‘me and Dan are planning a breakaway soon. Got a cottage booked for a long weekend down in the Yorkshire Dales.’

      ‘Ooh, sounds nice.’ Em couldn’t remember the last time she’d taken a holiday. It just hadn’t been on her agenda – building her business and keeping the shop running had kept her busy enough. And where would she have gone on a holiday on her own, anyhow? Looking out across the harbour with the soft peachy-grey shades of a late-spring evening settling over sea and sky, a few boats bobbing about and the graceful swoop of a tern nearby, this was a lovely place to be anyhow.

      ‘Fabulous,’ agreed Bev. ‘Though I hope there’s a nice pub or takeaway nearby. You’re not out hiking all weekend with packed lunches in backpacks, are you?’ Dan was well known for his love of outdoor pursuits.

      ‘Hah, well there will definitely be some hiking involved, but I have checked out the local village online and it has a Chinese takeaway and a good pub by the looks of it.’

      ‘Good girl.’ Bev smiled.

      Their glasses were nearly empty.

      ‘Right then.’ Emma stood up. ‘I’ll go in and fetch the next round of drinks. Same again, girls?’

      ‘Ooh, yes. Thanks, Em.’

      She entered the back door of the pub from the beer garden. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust with it being so much darker inside. It was fairly busy in there. Sounds of chatter filling the air with people making the most of a pleasant spring evening, and holidaymakers out for their supper and enjoying the atmosphere of a traditional English pub. The Fisherman’s Arms had been here at the harbourside for centuries, heard and seen the tales of the local fisherfolk, witnessed hard times, and good times.

      There was a guy at the bar and Emma stopped in her tracks. She felt goose bumps all over her body. Luke! Memories flooded her mind. That same dark-blond hair, something about the curve of the back of his neck. The clothes were a bit more casual than he might have worn but … yes, Luke. Oh my God. She felt giddy, strange. Dropped her purse, as her hands began to tremble, bent down to see where it had fallen. Damn, it had gone right under a chair at someone’s table.

      ‘Sorry,’ she apologised to the couple sitting there, as she fumbled for it on the floor.

      When she stood back up, she looked towards the bar again. He’d gone.

      She scanned the room. No sign. It was as if he’d never been there. Was she hallucinating? Was it just wishful thinking? But for a split second it felt like Luke was really there. It was probably just some tourist who looked a bit like him. But blimey, it was like seeing a ghost.

      There was a part of her that wanted to run out, check if he really was there, if he might be walking around the village right now. But she knew that was just plain crazy. She had seen Luke laid out, kissed his cold, scarred forehead on that mortuary slab. It was a doppelganger tourist at best, and a figment of her imagination at worst. She must have been working harder than she’d thought – she was overtired or something.

      Emma headed for the bar, still feeling a prickly sensation just heading to the space where he had been. But yes, all was okay, she told herself, she needed to just chill out with a half pint of cider and her friends.

      ‘Hi Danny, can I have a G&T, a half of Fosters and a cider, please.’

      ‘You certainly can.’ He stopped for a second and looked at her. ‘You okay, Em? You look like you’ve …’

      Seen a ghost, Em finished in her mind.

      ‘Well, you look a bit pale,’ he continued.

      ‘Yeah, I’m fine, Danny. You?’ she asked, neatly deflecting the question.

      ‘Great. The good news is that the pub’s up for an award – best coastal pub in the North East. We’re on the shortlist.’

      ‘Cool. Well done. You deserve it. It’s lovely here. Fingers crossed for you.’

      ‘Cheers.’ Danny busied himself getting their drinks ready.

      Em scanned the bar area and tables. No one at all that looked like Luke. She must have been having a ‘moment’.

      The landlord Dave appeared next to Danny. ‘Evening, Em.’

      ‘Hello. Well done on the short-listing for the award, by the way, that’s great news. Well, so far so good, anyhow.’

      ‘Yeah, it’s fantastic, isn’t it.’

      ‘You’ll be putting Warkton-by-the-Sea on the map.’

      ‘Hopefully.’

      And hopefully people would find a gorgeous chocolate shop while they were there too! Emma mused. She was genuinely pleased for the pub. It was great that local businesses were doing well and it was such a nice place to come and chill out; log fires in the winter and the pretty beer garden overlooking the harbour in summer. Fish and chips and their scrummy crab sandwiches, no wonder it was popular there. In fact, ‘Danny, can I put in an order for two lots of crab sandwiches and a large bowl of chips too, please.’ She hadn’t had any supper as yet, and just the thought of them with freshly made, crispy chips was making her tummy rumble.

      ‘I’m on to it.’ He jotted the order down on his pad and handed it to the waitress to take to the kitchen for him.

      ‘Thanks.’

      Emma paid, then made her way back out with their drinks. She couldn’t resist a scan of the harbourside and the pavement that led away from the pub but there was no one there who looked the least bit like Luke. Of course there wasn’t …

      She placed the drinks before her friends at the picnic bench. ‘There you go, ladies.’

      ‘Cheers, Em.’

      ‘Thanks.’

      She wouldn’t even mention the incident in the bar or her ‘sighting’ for fear of sounding slightly loopy. Instead, she needed to relax and make the most of a chilled-out evening. Still, it had left her with an odd prickly feeling at the back of her neck.

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