The Cosy Christmas Chocolate Shop: The perfect, feel good romantic comedy to curl up with this Christmas!. Caroline Roberts

It had been a drizzly damp afternoon and it seemed to have been dark for hours out there, so Emma was glad that Holly had dropped by – the weather today had kept all bar the hardiest of ramblers at bay. A couple in matching red cagoules had called earlier admitting they’d been hoping for a café, but had settled for a bar of milk chocolate for their coastal walk, and that was the last customers she’d seen until the young man Holly fancied.

      Holly went out to the kitchen to make them a cup of tea and the dark-clad figure moved to the doorway. Once his umbrella was let down, Emma had a sinking moment of recognition. It was Mr Neil, her landlord.

      He strolled in, dripping rain on to her wooden floorboards.

      ‘Good afternoon, Emma.’ The greeting came out in a flat tone. ‘How’s business?’ He looked around at the empty shop.

      ‘Afternoon.’ She took a slow breath. ‘Good, thanks.’ She smiled. She was never going to tell him otherwise.

      ‘I was just calling to check you have received my letter.’

      ‘Yes.’

      ‘And to remind you that I need your reply by the end of next week, as per its contents. Obviously, you do need to give me a month’s notice of your leaving, though I’m sure I could make arrangements if you’d like to vacate earlier.’ He gave her a cold smile, pretending to be helpful.

      So, he was evidently counting on her leaving the shop. That made Emma even more determined to do everything in her power to raise enough funds to keep it going and make the new rent payments. He couldn’t just chuck her out of her home, her business.

      Holly wandered through at that point with two cups of steaming tea. She said ‘Hello’ cheerily to the gentleman in the shop, to be answered with a very cool ‘Hello’ back. She looked at Emma with raised eyebrows as she passed over her cup, as if to say, who on earth is that misery?

      ‘Oh yes, I’ll be sure to answer you within the week, Mr Neil,’ Emma replied, giving away nothing about her intentions to stay. But what would happen if she couldn’t make these new payments and fell into default? He’d have her out of there soon enough anyhow, and she’d then be disgraced, having brought her business to its knees. Would it be better to leave of her own accord now, look for other premises, start again? But her heart and soul were here in this shop, in this village, with the community that had sheltered her. No, she wasn’t going to give up that easily.

      ‘Well then, I look forward to receiving your reply.’

      I bet you do, thought Em, but you might not be so damned complacent when you read it.

      ‘And the next rent is due this Thursday.’

      She was fully aware of that. Thank heavens for the Christmas takings she’d saved, but that was going to take the last of those funds. She’d be at rock bottom then, her bank account empty.

      ‘Yep. That’s fine,’ she replied.

      ‘Quiet in here, isn’t it?’ He cast his beady eyes over the shop pointedly, then out to the empty street.

      ‘At the moment, yes.’ Crikey, he’d be enough to frighten any customers off anyhow, she mused. ‘But it was much busier early on today, before the rain set in.’ She pasted on a smile.

      ‘Hmm.’ He looked around again, as though he didn’t believe it. ‘This’d make a lovely living area, open plan right through to the kitchen space.’

      He was already planning the renovations to make this into a holiday cottage!

      ‘Maybe. But it does make a lovely shop,’ Emma persevered. Keep calm, don’t rise to his bait.

      ‘Oh yes, it’s a fabulous little shop, very popular.’ Holly rallied by her side behind the counter.

      ‘Well then, good afternoon, ladies.’ With that, he left, dripping water in his wake.

      ‘Yuck!’ Holly spat out the word as soon as he’d closed the door. ‘He’s like a slug.’

      Emma had to laugh.

      Holly continued, ‘What did you say his name was?’

      ‘Mr Neil.’

      ‘More like Eel, all slimy and a right wriggly character. That has to be the landlord, huh? The guy that sent that horrid rent letter. I don’t know how you put up with him.’

      ‘A case of having to, Hols. I could never afford to buy this place. Dammit, he is so looking forward to chucking me out.’

      ‘Nooo, that can’t happen!’

      ‘I really don’t know how I’m going to finance the new rent payments. But I’m going to bloody well try.’

      ‘Go, Em, that’s the spirit. You’ll find a way. We can’t lose The Chocolate Shop by the Sea, or you. How awful would that be? The shop is such a special place. And there’s no way I’m going back to the greasy chippie to work.’

      Emma let out a sigh. ‘Thanks, Holly. I’ll just have to make sure I give it my damned best shot then. Time for the masterplan to swing into action.’

      ‘Wow, have you got one?’

      ‘Well, let’s just say I have some ideas up my sleeve to get started with.’

      ‘Brilliant.’ Holly beamed. ‘And me and the whole village will be right there beside you.’

      Deep breath … just walk in … shoulders up … smile. The worst they can say is no.

      She so didn’t want them to say no.

      Emma was about to try her first sales pitch, and was loitering nervously outside the main entrance to the Seaview Hotel, two hundred metres up from her chocolate shop. She was armed with a bag of goodies, including a selection of mini truffle boxes and some packs of fudge and raspberry white-chocolate hearts. She was pitching that they take her chocolates to trial as a turndown gift for their guests. It could work as a lovely gesture from the hotel, hopefully getting them good reviews and repeat custom, as well as raising awareness of her little shop down the road, where they might come to buy more.

      She’d done some research and the hotel had twenty-four guest rooms. She had worked out her costs and was going to ask what she felt was a fair price (reduced from the normal shop retail) at 95p per box of two chocolates, all wrapped and tied with thin ribbon, and the hotel could choose either a white or gold box. Emma had even matched the shade of ribbon to the royal blue of the hotel’s logo. Fingers crossed that they’d like the idea.

      Maybe she should have phoned or e-mailed before she just turned up like this. But she was here now. All she could do was give it her best shot. Right, enough dilly-dallying around, Em. If they had a security camera on the front door they’d wonder what the hell she was up to, loitering there.

       Go girl! You can do this thing.

      She pushed open the hotel’s swing door and found the reception desk, recognising the girl there as being from the village.

      ‘Hi, Emma.’

      ‘Oh, hi, Laura.’ She was the daughter of the lady who ran an art gallery in the village.

      ‘How can I help?’

      ‘Would it be possible to have a word with the manager?’ Em asked.

      ‘Ah, sorry, she’s not in this morning. I could ask the assistant manager, if you’d like? Is there a problem?’

      ‘No, no problem. Just an idea I’ve had. Something to put forward. I’ve come to see if the hotel might be interested in me supplying them with turndown chocolates, actually.’

      ‘Oh yum. Now that is a good idea. Give me a second and I’ll just try and locate Adam, our assistant manager. Take a seat if you like.’

      ‘Thanks.’ As she sat down she realised her heart was racing. This order might just help to save The Chocolate