The Chocolate Lovers' Christmas

by Carole Matthews

  I give him a dark look. ‘I bet I was.’

  Crush laughs and crosses to the wardrobe and pulls out a shirt and his suit. I love him in a suit; he looks so sexy. However, I have to say that he’s looking mighty fine without his suit too.

  I’m filled with a rush of love and lust for him.

  Even though he’s doing the reverse of a strip – A Getting Dressed, I suppose – he’s making me feel all hot and bothered. No one has ever looked sexier putting trousers on.

  ‘Let’s have a romantic weekend away,’ I suggest. ‘Soon. We could spend all weekend having rampant sex.’

  ‘We could stay here and do that,’ he points out as he buttons his shirt.

  ‘I know. But we never seem to get round to it. We could go somewhere snowy and really get in the mood for Christmas.’ I’m warming to my theme now. ‘We could perhaps take in a Christmas market.’

  ‘Deep joy.’ Crush knots his tie. ‘What do you want, sex or shopping?’

  ‘Maybe a bit of both.’

  ‘If it will keep you happy, we can do that. Could you get the time away from Chocolate Heaven? It’s surely your busiest time of the year?’

  ‘Oh, yeah.’ Another ill-considered plan bites the dust.

  ‘Maybe one of the girls could hold the fort for a couple of days,’ he puts forward. ‘Would Nadia be glad of the extra money? Perhaps Autumn could do a few hours too.’

  ‘A brilliant idea!’ Now I know why Mr Aiden Holby was my boss and I was the lowly temporary secretary who could never find the filing. ‘It’s the perfect solution.’ I jump out of bed and fling my arms round Crush. ‘I love you,’ I say.

  He grins at me indulgently when he answers, ‘I love you, too.’

  Chapter Twelve

  Nadia arrived at Chocolate Heaven ahead of her sister. ‘I’m nervous, Lucy,’ she said. Lewis had caught her anxious mood and had been particularly fractious this morning. It was becoming increasingly difficult to be spending so much time away from her son but, for once, she was relieved to be dropping him off at the nursery.

  ‘Don’t be,’ Lucy said, kindly. ‘Remember, Anita was the one who contacted you. She’s the one who offered the olive branch. Surely she must be looking for reconciliation.’

  ‘You’re right.’ Nadia tried to stop wringing her hands. ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’

  ‘You’ll be fine,’ Lucy assured her. ‘If you start coming to blows, I’ll be sure to step in. But, before she gets here, I wanted to ask you a favour.’

  ‘Ask away.’

  ‘Crush and I were thinking about going away on a romantic weekend somewhere. Preferably before Christmas if we can squeeze it in. Do you think that you could look after Chocolate Heaven for me for the weekend so we could sneak off? I know it’s a lot to ask.’

  ‘As long as Autumn can help me with babysitting, I’d love to.’

  Lucy kissed her. ‘You’re a star.’

  ‘You haven’t negotiated rates yet,’ Nadia laughed. ‘You might not be able to afford me.’

  ‘I know you,’ Lucy countered. ‘Will work for chocolate.’

  ‘So true.’

  Lucy handed over her cup of espresso and a chunk of the delicious rocky road that was her current favourite. It was rich, dark chocolate and loaded with pistachio nuts and squishy marshmallows. Every bite was pure heaven. What could be better to calm her nerves?

  Nadia made her way to the leather sofas in the far corner of the café and settled down. Lucy had put a reserved sign on the coffee table as she’d promised, but there was no need as Chocolate Heaven was unusually quiet this morning. Though it rarely stayed that way for long.

  Nadia had only taken the first sip of her coffee when the doorbell chimed and she saw Anita come through the door. Her sister was older than Nadia by two years, but it was like looking at her twin. They had the same long black hair. The same nose. The same dark, almond-shaped eyes. It was only when she saw Anita that she realised how very much she’d missed her these past years. She was a part of her and not seeing Anita had left a hole inside her.

  Standing up, Nadia waved and, as she did, noticed that her hands were trembling. Anita saw her and made her way towards the back of the café. Nadia stood awkwardly as she waited, not sure what to do. Anita did the same. They stood and looked at each other, a whole raft of emotions clear on their faces.

  ‘Are we both going to stand here all day?’ Anita said, voice husky.

  Nadia stepped forward and Anita threw her arms round her sister, hugging her tightly. When they pulled apart, there were tears in their eyes and they both felt self-conscious.

  ‘This is a nice place,’ Anita said, trying to regain her composure. She glanced around at their surroundings. ‘Christmassy.’

  ‘It’s a bit of a home from home for me.’

  ‘I can see why.’

  ‘The girls I meet here are great.’ It was sad to think that her sister didn’t even know who her closest friends were. In fact, she didn’t know what she would have done without them in recent times. When her family had deserted her, the girls of the Chocolate Lovers’ Club had stepped in to take their place. Lucy in particular had been like a sister to her but, obviously, telling Anita that would be like rubbing salt in wounds.

  Nadia sat down again and her sister sat opposite.

  Lucy came over to them, pad in hand. ‘Hi.’

  ‘This is Lucy,’ Nadia said. ‘She’s one of my best friends.’

  ‘Pleased to meet you, Anita,’ Lucy said, brightly. ‘I’ve heard a lot about you and it’s so lovely to see you here. Welcome to Chocolate Heaven. Now, ladies, what can I get for you?’

  ‘I recommend the brownies,’ Nadia said.

  ‘The brownies are fresh this morning and we’ve also got a lovely tiramisu cake today,’ Lucy added.

  ‘I’ll have a brownie and a black coffee please,’ Anita said.

  Nadia remembered that her sister was a chocolate fiend too.

  ‘Anything else for you, Nadia?’

  ‘Just another coffee please, Lucy.’

  Lucy went off to get their drinks.

  It was obvious they were skirting round the main reason why they were here, but it had been a long time and wounds couldn’t instantly be healed. This would take time and effort on both sides. Nadia searched her brain, struggling for the best thing to say to span the breach.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Anita said, pre-empting her. She reached out to clasp Nadia’s hand. ‘I should have contacted you before now.’

  ‘I’m just glad that you did,’ Nadia said. ‘Nothing else matters.’

  ‘It’s been too long.’

  Six or more years. Yet there was still a pain in her chest when she thought about how easily her sister had seemed to turn from her.

  ‘I missed my little sister too much. I had to see you.’

  ‘I was so pleased to get your letter. But, I have to ask, why now after all this time? What made you get in touch again?’

  ‘It was coming up to Christmas that made me start to think of you. The boys are getting older and it made me wish that you could see them and that I could see my only nephew. I looked out some of our old photographs. We used to be a happy family, close. Didn’t we?’

  Nadia felt a tight ball of emotion close her throat. Her family had cut her dead when she’d announced that she was marrying Toby. They weren’t a very traditional family, but there was still the hope that she’d marry a nice Indian boy. They’d found Toby too brash, too loud. They thought he was flighty. Sadly, he’d proved them right.

  All the time, Nadia had hoped that her sister would defy her parents and keep up a relationship with her but, sadly, that hadn’t been the case. Anita hadn’t liked Toby either and, in the face of all the opposition, their relationship had fractured too. Nadia had missed her. She’d missed them all. None of her family had ever even met Lewis. She thought that after his birth, her parents would come round, thrilled by the prospect of a new grandchild, but they’d all become too entrenched in
their positions. Nadia regretted that now.

  ‘I couldn’t let another year pass,’ Anita said, a tear squeezing from her eye. ‘I only hope that you’ll forgive me.’

  ‘Of course I will.’ They hugged again. It was easy to say, but the sense of betrayal and abandonment ran deep. She was going to have to work on that.

  Lucy brought their order and they distracted themselves, exchanging pleasantries about the brownies, stirring the coffee, adding sugar.

  ‘How are the boys?’ Nadia asked. Anita’s sons, Mani and Daman, were both a few years older than Lewis and she hadn’t seen them since they were toddlers.

  ‘A handful,’ Anita admitted with a laugh. ‘They’re growing at a rate of knots. It won’t be long before they are teenagers. I think they’ll be much taller than me and Tarak when they grow up. Whatever I feed them, they can always eat more. They must have hollow legs. You and Lewis should both come to the house for dinner.’ Anita’s eyes filled with tears again. ‘I dearly hope you will, sister. They’d love to see you.’

  Nadia wondered if her nephews would even remember her after all this time.

  ‘Tarak says that he can’t wait for them to start work.’

  Ah. Her dear brother-in-law. That was one member of her family whom she hadn’t missed at all. It had always been a more difficult relationship and if she never saw Tarak again, it would be too soon. He was an unsuitable husband too and yet her family thought the sun shone out of him.

  ‘How is Tarak?’ she asked, dutifully, keeping her tone neutral.

  ‘He’s fine. The shops are doing really well. He has a chain of them now. Four in all.’ Anita glowed with pride. ‘They keep him very busy. He’s always there, working late.’

  When they were last in touch, Tarak had just the one shop. A place called TD Fashions which sold cheap, high-fashion clothes on Brick Lane. She should have known that his ambition would have led him to open more.

  Her brother-in-law was a handsome man, always a little too smarmy for Nadia’s liking. Even when he’d first married Anita, his eyes had always lingered on Nadia for too long, his comments had been a bit too personal. He was always too keen to touch her if he passed her in the kitchen, his hands warm, damp. He gave her the creeps.

  He’d tried to kiss her once at a family party when he’d caught her by herself on the landing as she went to retrieve the coat of one of their many aunties. He’d grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the spare bedroom at her parents’ house, where he’d pushed her up against the wall, crushing his mouth against hers. It was really unpleasant and she’d kicked him in the shin before bolting for the door. She’d never told anyone but, after that, she’d made sure she was never, ever alone with him and their relationship afterwards had been strained. They maintained a cool civility, but no more. Thankfully, her sister, smitten as she was with Tarak, had never noticed.

  Still, despite his flaws, on the surface he seemed to be a reasonably good husband to Anita. They lived in a nice home and, as far as she knew, still took holidays abroad every year. Money had never seemed to be a problem – even when he’d had one shop – and, from the way Anita was dressed and the jewellery she wore, it didn’t appear to be now. Her sister gave every impression that she was very happy and she certainly looked as if life was treating her well.

  ‘How are you coping?’ Anita asked. ‘Without Toby.’

  Nadia hugged herself. ‘I’ve been better.’ There had been times in the last few years when she’d needed her family around her so much, and never more so since Toby died. ‘The insurance company are still dragging their heels about paying out and I feel as if I’m in limbo until then.’

  ‘I should have been there for you,’ Anita said.

  She should have. So should her mother and father. The fact that they’d left her floundering alone cut deep and there was nothing that Nadia could say that would smooth that over. Her friends had been the ones to step in and hold her up. She would never have managed without them. They were the ones who made sure that she was never alone for too long, that there was food in the cupboards, that Lewis was kept occupied when she had days so dark that she could hardly get out of bed.

  With a skill that had been born of practice, she pushed the memories to the back of her mind. ‘Thankfully, after a long wrangle, they’ve decreed that Toby’s death was accidental.’

  ‘That must be good news.’

  ‘Of course,’ Nadia agreed. ‘As soon as I have the settlement cheque from them that will make life a lot easier, but we’re managing. I only wish that they’d hurry up.’

  However, the bank and credit card companies were still in dispute with Nadia about what she had to pay back from their credit cards, so she wasn’t yet out of the woods. She needed to get on the phone to them again this afternoon. All the paperwork had been exhausting and she seemed to be forever chasing, chasing, chasing.

  ‘I need to get a job now that Lewis is at nursery. But it’s not easy fitting around his hours.’

  ‘Have you had any luck?’

  ‘No,’ Nadia admitted. ‘I’ve had several interviews, but they’ve all come to nothing. It’s tough out there.’

  ‘What sort of thing are you looking for?’

  ‘Anything,’ Nadia said. ‘I’ve worked mostly in PR, but I’ve stopped setting my sights too high. To be honest, I’m applying for anything going. Beggars can’t be choosers. I’ve been unemployed for a while and my confidence is at rock bottom.’

  ‘I work for Tarak, in the original Brick Lane shop. Only a few days a week, but it keeps me out of mischief. I was bored at home now that the boys don’t need me so much.’

  If only she had the luxury of whether to choose to work or not, Nadia thought.

  Anita’s eyes lit up. ‘Why don’t you come and work for us too? Tarak’s looking for someone else to help out. He’d be thrilled. You know what we’re like. We want to keep everything in the family.’

  Her blood chilled. ‘I’m not so sure.’ A long time had passed but she still wasn’t sure that she wanted to spend her days in close proximity to her brother-in-law.

  ‘You must,’ her sister insisted. ‘How wonderful would it be for us to work together? We have lost too much time, Nadia.’ Her eyes brimmed with tears. ‘We could gossip all day!’

  ‘I’m sure Tarak would love that.’

  ‘He would,’ Anita said, firmly. ‘He only ever wants to see me happy. What would delight me more than working with my baby sister?’

  ‘What would you say to Mum and Dad?’

  ‘They’ll come round,’ Anita assured her. ‘Let me talk to them. It’s time that rift was healed. I’ve made the first step. We can only go forward.’

  It was tempting. The thought of spending more time with her sister was very appealing and there was no doubt that she needed a job – and quickly. Tarak was older – as they all were – and hopefully wiser. Perhaps he wasn’t the same man that he used to be.

  ‘I’m sure Tarak would want to help you too,’ Anita pressed on, animated by her idea. ‘I know that we’ve been estranged, but I want to make amends for that. Please let me. We’re family, Nadia. That’s all that matters.’

  There was something in the back of her brain that said she should turn this down, it was foolish to think that it could work. Her relationship with Anita was still on a tentative footing and she didn’t want to upset her again.

  Yet, despite all her misgivings, she heard herself saying, ‘If Tarak says that it’s OK, then I’d love to.’

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chantal gave up trying to struggle into the little black sequined number that she’d chosen and tossed it onto the bedroom chair.

  ‘Another one for the charity shop,’ she muttered as she delved back into her wardrobe again. ‘Come here, comfy pants. You are now officially my best friend.’

  She slipped on the black trousers – now one of the few things left that actually fitted her increased girth. Sadly, they were maternity trousers. Chantal huffed at herself and idly wond
ered whether she’d ever regain her pre-baby figure. Part of her admitted that she didn’t really care. As far as she was concerned, her days of being a sex siren were long behind her. Ted might feel differently, though.

  Autumn was babysitting for them so that they could have a date night. The first one since Lana had been born. If she was honest, she’d prefer to be sitting at home in front of the television with Lana nestled against her and a bar of good chocolate. Ted hadn’t been hinting either. In fact, he seemed surprisingly relaxed about their current situation but, as it was his birthday, she felt as if she should make some small effort.

  She’d put on nice underwear. They hadn’t slept together since Lana’s birth, but perhaps tonight would be the night. It was Ted’s birthday, after all. The thought didn’t exactly fill her with joy. At the moment she felt that if she never had sex again, it might be too soon.

  They weren’t going far for dinner. Just to the little Italian place that they both liked a few streets away. Sequins would have been way too much for it, anyway. Chantal consoled herself with that thought. Their risotto was heavenly and they made a great double chocolate espresso torte – a rich creamy ganache on a chocolate biscuit base. She could almost taste it. Perhaps she could persuade Lucy to add it to the menu at Chocolate Heaven. Was it wrong that she was looking forward more to the dessert than the actual night out with her husband?

  As she slipped on her boots, the doorbell rang and she knew that it would be Autumn – punctual as usual. Ted opened the door, so she popped into the nursery to see Lana before she left. Her daughter was sleeping soundly and Chantal hoped that it would last. She knew that they wouldn’t linger long at the restaurant, but she’d expressed plenty of milk just in case Lana was ready for another feed before they were home. Of course, Autumn would be itching to give her a bottle. Autumn was the one who was the natural earth mother among them all.

  No one had been more surprised when her own nurturing instinct had kicked in the minute she’d laid eyes on Lana. She stroked her daughter’s downy head, felt the usual rush of love and whispered, ‘Sleep tight, sweetheart.’