Chapter 14
14
Bright and early the following morning, Libby arrived at Ethan’s home. She was anxious to finish cleaning the kitchen so that she could begin making inroads into the huge order of chocolates that Katy had found for her.
She was truly grateful for the money she would receive when the order was complete, but the sheer scale of work required was almost overwhelming.
She reminded herself it was all in the mind and that positive mental attitude would win through. But a tiny voice inside asked her how would she ever be able to make and pack five thousand chocolate truffles, all of different flavours, in less than a month? She tried to ignore it.
In any case, she wouldn’t be able to do anything until the kitchen was absolutely spotless.
‘Good morning,’ said Ethan, opening the door with a yawn.
‘Up partying all night again?’ she asked, brushing past him.
‘You know me, Libs,’ he replied. ‘I’d go to the opening of a barn door if there was a party afterwards.’
She looked at him. ‘Are you at home all day today?’ she asked.
He broke into a grin. ‘Why? Are you concerned that I’ll distract you with my devastating good looks?’ He waggled his eyebrows at her.
In response, she shook her head. ‘More like that you’ll get under my feet when I’m trying to sanitise your kitchen.’ She stalked ahead of him into the lounge.
‘I suppose you want a coffee?’ he asked, following behind her.
‘Just show me how that fancy machine works,’ she told him. ‘And I might need a few extra mugs.’
‘Are you inviting me to my own house-warming party?’ he asked.
‘Actually, it’s a cleaning party,’ she told him. ‘I asked Flora to give me a hand as she had a free day.’ She gave Ethan a sheepish look. ‘I probably should have asked you first.’
There was a knock on the door in the hallway and Ethan looked at her. ‘Probably, but at least I can trust Flora as the sensible one out of the two of you.’
He headed over to open up the front door and Libby spun round at the sound of a couple of familiar voices.
‘Hiya,’ said Flora, closely followed by Harriet. ‘I found a pair of extra hands to help with the big clean-up.’
With a scrabble of paws, Paddington the dog rushed into the house.
‘How good is he with a scrubbing brush?’ asked Ethan, nodding at the golden retriever.
‘Not as good as me,’ said Harriet, with a grin, before staring around the room. ‘Wow! I never saw inside this place before. I love those oak beams. It’s really pretty.’
‘I don’t remember us saying that when we were stuck behind our desks,’ said Flora, with a soft smile.
Libby and Flora had gone to school there, whereas Harriet had only ever visited Cranfield during the school holidays as her upper-class parents had insisted that she went to a private school, which she had absolutely loathed.
‘Coffee?’ asked Ethan, leading them all into the kitchen.
‘Yes, please,’ replied Flora.
‘Oh, this will be perfect for you, Libby!’ said Harriet, following him. ‘It’s huge!’
As Libby went behind her, she had to agree. But as she glanced at the large unit in the middle of the room, she gasped. ‘Was this here all the time?’ she asked, rushing up to the square island in the middle of the room and running her hand over the grey marble surface. She couldn’t believe it and was almost mesmerised by how smooth it was under her fingers.
‘Well, I didn’t install it last night,’ Ethan told her. ‘I cleared it this morning as it had all my boxes of paperwork spread out everywhere. I figured you’d need the space. What’s so special about marble anyway?’
‘It’s perfect for tempering chocolate,’ she said, running her hand once more across the cool stone. She had dreamt of having a marble work surface for many years but had never had the opportunity. ‘I normally have to use a machine instead.’
Once Ethan had showed them how the coffee machine worked, he said his goodbyes and left them to it.
‘It’s really lovely,’ said Flora, running her hand over the oak work surface before staring at her palm in dismay. ‘But you’re right. It needs a really good clean or it’ll never reach health and safety standards.’
‘Absolutely,’ said Libby.
‘Right after I’ve enjoyed my coffee,’ said Harriet, sipping her drink.
‘No time,’ said Libby. ‘We’d better start cleaning this place or I’ll never have time to make any chocolate.’
And meet my deadline , she added to herself in silent dread.
As they picked up the cleaning materials, Paddington the dog sprawled down on the floor to keep a watchful eye on them.
‘By the way, I’ve told dad that I’m helping you out at the lavender spa, okay?’ said Libby, looking at Harriet.
Harriet nodded. ‘Of course.’
Libby had also had to tell her dad that Ethan had bought and moved into the empty schoolhouse. Her dad hadn’t said anything in reply, merely silently nodded his head. Libby knew how much he missed teaching even though he never mentioned it.
She caught Harriet and Flora exchanging a look.
‘Don’t you think it’s time for you to tell your dad about your chocolate making?’ said Flora, in a soft tone. ‘Isn’t it time to be honest with him?’
Libby shook her head. ‘Not now,’ she said.
And perhaps not ever, she thought. The chocolate was too big a reminder of her mother’s own skills and she couldn’t bear to upset him any further.
Thankfully, Flora and Harriet were hard workers and so were able to concentrate on the task in hand. Pretty soon, the kitchen was starting to look a lot cleaner.
Naturally, it was accompanied by Harriet’s only topic of choice, her wedding.
‘No, I definitely don’t want a vast wedding like my brothers and sister had,’ said Harriet, giving an exaggerated shudder before she bent over to scrub the top of the vintage oven. ‘Their weddings were so huge. And I just know my parents would invite all their fancy friends that would put me straight on edge. Joe and I just want everyone we love to be there and that’s it. So we’re happy with small and intimate.’
‘Good job too, seeing as St Barnabus’ Church only holds about sixty people at a push,’ said Flora.
St Barnabus was the pretty but tiny church in Cranbridge, only a mile away.
‘And Platform 1 will be perfect for our reception,’ added Harriet, with a smile. ‘It feels like home anyway. Although we don’t want Ryan and Katy to have loads of extra work on that day. After all, they’re best man and bridesmaid. Along with you two and Ethan, of course.’
‘For a small wedding, you’ve got a lot of groomsmen and bridesmaids,’ Flora told her, with a wink.
‘Not sure Ethan is best at being anything,’ added Libby, as she scrubbed the marble counter. It really was a revelation and she was itching to use it already.
‘What about you and Ethan?’ asked Harriet, frowning. ‘Is this going to be okay with you being here? You’ve always gone on about how he ruined your prom, not that you’ve ever told us about it.’
Libby gave a shrug. ‘It’ll be fine. I can totally handle being here. It’s just a business arrangement.’
She had definitely moved on and didn’t need Ethan Connolly any longer. Just his kitchen.
So why did she feel so nervous all of a sudden?
She decided that the quicker she started making chocolate and lost herself in the process, the better.
She looked down at the marble surface once more. Perhaps it was a good sign. Perhaps it was a stroke of luck working in the old school. And perhaps she could put up with Ethan for the next three weeks too.