Whispering now, Kendra said, ‘See, Itoldyou he fancied you.’
‘He saw a business opportunity and decided to give it a whirl.’Forget the kiss, forget the kiss…
Kendra gave her a measured look and raised her eyebrows. ‘If that’s all there was to it, he wouldn’t have turned up at nine o’clock in the evening. He’d have waited until today. What were the cakes like? Were they any good?’
‘I’ve brought some in for you to try. I only had a nibble of each, but they tasted mighty fine to me. Mind you, these days an apple tastes pretty good, so I think my tastebuds are knackered. See what you think.’ She took the box out of her bag and put it on the countertop.
Kendra peered inside. ‘They look lovely. What are they?’
‘That one’s a brownie, that’s a chocolate chip cookie, that’s a peanut butter bomb thing.’ Nora thought she’d shown exceptional self-control by only having a small mouthful of each, considering that after Elijah had left she’d felt like stuffing the lot in her face in one go.
Instead, she’d had a large glass of ice-cold water, hoping it would stifle her greed and douse the flames of her lust at the same time. Though, to be fair, he’d done a pretty good job of dousing those himself, when he’d gone all cold and formal on her.
‘Lori, I’ve got some goodies if you want to grab one before Kendra eats them all,’ Nora called, and Lori came hurrying in.
‘Fudge! Yum.’ The girl took a piece. ‘Does this mean you’re off the diet?’
‘Not at all. A… friend…’ She hesitated over what to call him ‘…made them. They’re… um…’ She caught Kendra’s eye, who nodded. ‘Suitable for diabetics.’
Lori stared at her. ‘Is that supposed to mean something?’
‘It means I’m diabetic.’
‘Okay.’ Lori shrugged.
Nora blinked, taken aback. She’d expected… To be honest, she hadn’t knownwhatto expect. To be judged, maybe? To be pitied?
Lori did neither. She merely dipped her hand back in the box and brought out another treat. ‘Mmm, these aresogood.’
‘They are, aren’t they?’ Nora replied, and smiled when Kendra gave her arm a reassuring rub. Suddenly, life – diet-wise, at least – was looking up.
Now all she had to do was become Biscuit’s new owner and control her growing feelings for Elijah.
Easy-peasy!
As Nora hurried past the bakery on her way to the kennels, she noticed Andrea wasn’t in her customary position behind the counter, and she wondered whether that might be the reason for Elijah’s cryptic comment about not seeing her at the kennels today. He was having to man the shop again.
‘Her dad’s had a fall,’ Christina said when Nora asked after her. ‘So she won’t be in for a while. I can get a message to her if you want?’
‘Gosh, no. It wasn’t anything important. Tell her I’m thinking of her, if you speak to her.’
She considered asking to have a quick word with Elijah, but the place was busy and Christina looked a little frazzled, so she thought she’d better leave it.
As Nora made her way up Muddypuddle Lane, her emotions were conflicted. If Elijah had been able to visit the kennels this afternoon, how would it have been between them? Awkward, perhaps? Would he have wanted to talk about last night, or would he have brushed it under the carpet and tried to pretend it hadn’t happened?
‘What do you think, Biscuit?’ she asked the dog, as she led him across the moor on what was quickly becoming her favourite walk. ‘Do you think Elijah is regretting kissing me?’
Biscuit booped her leg with his nose and gazed up at her with soulful eyes.
‘No, I don’t know, either. I wish I did, because I really like him.’
Biscuit woofed softly.
‘You do too, don’t you, boy. Are you going to miss him when you come to live with me?’
Another woof.
Nora eyed him speculatively. She was becoming more and more convinced the dog could understand her. ‘If you had to choose between us, which one would you pick, I wonder?’
