Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Immy glanced across the street at her sweet shop the next day.
Xander and Logan were inside now installing the wooden floor and Archer and Quinn were outside, helping to cut the wood to the right size.
She’d wanted to help but as it was the floor they were installing, the fewer people in there the better or they’d just be in the way.
Plus she had no idea how to install a wooden floor, and she didn’t want Xander and Logan to have to explain to her what to do, as that would just take longer, so in the end it was agreed that she would run the chocolate shop instead.
As it was the day before Good Friday, she was expecting it to be very busy.
Judy, Xander’s assistant, was there too with her disapproving looks and of course Etta was there, greeting every customer with a smile.
If ever there was an expert at upselling, Etta was it.
Every time someone walked through the door, she was showing them examples of the fabulous chocolate, smiling at them sweetly as she persuaded the customers to buy a lot more than they’d come in here for.
But she was just too damned cute for the customers to say no to.
Immy had received a message from Belinda to say the electrician would be at the sweet shop around three that afternoon.
Apparently finding one who could come out at such short notice was harder than she’d thought.
And three o’clock was cutting it a bit fine as far as Immy was concerned.
Of course, if the electrician came and had a look at the electrics and said everything was fine, it didn’t matter what time he arrived, but if there was work that needed doing, he probably wouldn’t be doing it this afternoon.
And that meant they would have no electrics for Sunday.
As a customer Judy had been serving left, laden down with all the extra chocolates Etta had persuaded him to buy, Judy turned to Immy with her arms folded across her chest.
‘I bet you’re feeling pretty pleased with yourself.’
‘I’m sorry?’ Immy said, in confusion.
‘You’ve snagged yourself the most eligible bachelor in town.’
Immy didn’t know what to say to that. She’d never had any intention of snagging Xander, it just sort of happened.
But Judy wasn’t finished. ‘Ever since Brook passed, all the single women have been coming here, hoping to be the next Mrs Wild, and he wasn’t interested in any of them, until you came along.’
That didn’t sound like a particularly good thing, in Judy’s eyes.
‘And now he’s over there, cleaning your shop, painting it, laying the floor. You have him wrapped around your little finger.’
Immy rubbed her head. She had already served what felt like fifty customers and it wasn’t even lunchtime. She was tired and certainly not in the mood for whatever this was.
‘Etta honey, would you mind running upstairs and grabbing my pink cardigan? I feel a bit cold.’
Etta quickly ran up the back stairs to the flat. Immy didn’t have a pink cardigan so the little girl would hopefully be a while.
‘Judy, I’m not sure what your point is but Xander and I know what we have and we don’t need to justify it to you. I also don’t think this is an appropriate topic of conversation to have in front of Etta.’
Judy didn’t even bat an eye at that. ‘And suddenly you’re pregnant, which is very convenient, isn’t it, and supposedly it’s Xander’s.
And the poor man is so excited about being a dad again that he just welcomes you into his life with open arms. And there you have it, you have a free ride for the rest of your life.
He’ll marry you because he has a compulsion to always do the right thing.
You never need to work again, never need lift a finger, just like that last waste of space he married, and he will worship the ground you walk on just because you’re pregnant, carrying his child – or so you say. ’
‘I don’t intend to have a free ride at all. I’ll be back at work with the baby just as soon as I’m physically able to. I love my sweet shop, I have no intention of giving that up, no matter what happens between me and Xander.’
‘So when you’re exhausted from raising a baby or a screaming toddler and Xander says you don’t need to work anymore, you’re really going to insist on going back to the sweet shop instead of becoming a lady of leisure?’
‘That doesn’t interest me at all. And Xander might do well from his chocolate shop but I doubt he’d have enough to suddenly pay for food and clothes for two more people.
Babies are expensive, we’ll have to pool our resources to afford it.
I’m certainly not with him for his money or whatever else I can get from him. ’
‘And yet, right now, you’re using him for your own gains,’ Judy gestured across the road to the sweet shop.
‘Do you know how many hundreds or thousands of pounds he’s lost by working over there this week?
All those hours making Easter chocolate and all of it will go to waste.
Look how many chocolate eggs and bunnies he still has.
Good Friday is tomorrow, he should be practically sold out by now. ’
‘I keep insisting that he comes back over here to work in his shop as Easter is one of his busiest times but he won’t hear of it.’
‘Because you’re carrying his child, that’s the only reason.’
‘That’s not true,’ said a voice from the doorway.
Immy looked up to see Logan standing there. He stepped inside.
‘I had my doubts about this relationship too when I first heard they were together and Immy was pregnant. Not because I ever believed that Immy was deceptive, but just because Xander had been hurt this way in the past and I didn’t want to see him get hurt again.
But I’ve seen them together over the last few days we’ve been renovating the shop.
I’ve seen how much she loves and cares for Xander and Etta, but most importantly for me is how ridiculously happy she makes him.
I’ve seen it in the way they talk to each other, the way they look at each other, the little touches, the laughter they’ve shared.
It’s been a long time since I’ve heard Xander laugh at anything.
I have absolutely no doubt that Immy is the best thing that has ever happened to my brother. ’
Immy couldn’t help smiling about that.
‘I don’t agree with that at all. She is a burden, she will ruin his life.
This week is testament to that,’ Judy pointed at all the unsold Easter chocolate, which made Immy feel horribly guilty.
‘And I’m not going to stand by and watch her do it.
When the silly man realises what a fool he is, he knows where to find me. ’
With that, Judy removed her apron and walked out.
Immy stared after her with wide eyes. ‘Oh crap. Xander will kill me.’
Logan shook his head. ‘He won’t be mad at you, he’ll be mad at her for the way she spoke to you. Where did that come from? I caught most of what she said, but I wasn’t here at the start.’
‘We’ve barely spoken all morning, except for when customers came in and she wanted me to pass her something or I asked her how much something was.
And then as soon as we were alone, she just started saying how I must be pleased with myself for snagging Xander and how I was using him.
I knew she wasn’t happy that Xander was over at my shop because she came over this week to tell him, but I didn’t realise she held me personally responsible.
’ Immy let out a sigh. ‘I appreciate your support.’
‘I meant what I said. He is the happiest I’ve ever seen him when he’s around you.
You’re good for him, and Etta, anyone can see that.
Well, clearly not anyone,’ he gestured to where they’d last seen Judy.
‘But I was wrong, and I’m delighted about it.
You two have something special and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. ’
‘Thank you. I feel the same about him, he makes me very happy too.’
‘Yeah, I can see that. Anyway, don’t worry about Judy, I’ll explain it to Xander. I just came over to grab his garage keys and get some more of his tools. I think the spare set is hanging up in the little storeroom.’
Immy grabbed them and handed them over. ‘How’s it going over there?’
‘Good, we’re probably about halfway.’
‘Oh that’s great, thank you for all your help. I really do appreciate it.’
‘You’re family. Now more than ever.’
Immy stood outside her shop with Xander, Archer and Logan as the electrician did his checks of all the electrics.
The flooring was almost done, apart from the edges.
This was the last thing they needed to be able to open the shop for the Easter egg hunt on Sunday.
Although everything else was in place: all the eggs, the sweets, the bunny ears.
Belinda had even been round earlier with a massive box of maps and clues, after she’d collected them from the printers.
Immy looked up at Xander and he squeezed her hand.
She’d expected him to be mad about Judy, who’d worked with him ever since he’d opened the shop and knew him from when she was his neighbour in his old house.
Maybe her view of women was tainted after she’d seen how terrible Brook was as a wife and mother.
But it wasn’t fair to tar Immy with that same brush and Xander said the same.
He said if she apologised, she’d be welcome to come back but until then it was for the best that she wasn’t there.
It still niggled Immy what Judy had said, that she was a burden to him. Judy was right there was a lot of Easter chocolate left over and Immy felt horribly guilty about that. The last thing she wanted was for Xander’s life to change, negatively, because of her.
The electrician came out after a relatively short time. ‘I have some bad news and some good news,’ Tony said.
Immy cringed. ‘Good news first, I suppose.’