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‘Not totally,’ Evan said. ‘Now, let me weigh those out for you.’

Three minutes later, the jelly babies had been weighed out, bagged and paid for, and Holly and Evan were once again alone in the shop.

‘I didn’t know you had a grandmother in Bath,’ she said. She knew there was still plenty she had to learn about Evan, but she was sure she would have picked up on something like that.

‘That’s because I don’t,’ Evan replied. ‘But I figured it was the type of thing a little guy like that would like to hear. So I made it up.’

Holly laughed and patted him on the shoulders.

‘You just can’t do that.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because they’ll remember. People like that remember everything.’

‘Fine, I’ll try to stick to the truth from now on. Now that was easy. Where is the next customer?’

Evan got his wish as ten minutes later, the shop was full. While Holly stuck to the till, he was running from shelf to shelf, trying to find the sweets that the customers asked for. With most of the regulars, they already knew where their favourites were and were helpful enough to point them out for him. For those that were undecided and wanted to know what Holly had in stock, she had to answer. But it didn’t matter. Somehow, they found a rhythm between them.

It was fun.

A lot of fun.

‘I can see why you love it,’ Evan said, as the busy spell died down and gave them time to talk to one another again. ‘It was a weird rush. Being busy like that.’

‘So does that mean you’re okay if I leave you on your own while I pop upstairs and sort out a few things? The shelves up there are a complete mess.’

Evan looked at her with a hint of fear in his eyes.

‘I didn’t actually think you were serious about leaving me,’ he said.

‘Evan, you run countless businesses, substantially larger than this, and fly across the world regularly to help keep them all in order. You can handle taking two-pound sixty for a packet of sweets.’

He nodded his head rapidly, in a manner that was most ridiculous and incredibly endearing.

‘Two-pound sixty,’ he repeated. ‘Sure I can. It’s fine. And if I mess up, I’ll give you the money.’

‘No, no, you won’t do that,’ Holly said firmly. With Evan’s generosity, she could just imagine him letting people have whatever they wanted off the shelf, then covering it out of his own pocket. ‘And you won’t mess up. Now, I’m just going to be upstairs. Yell if you need anything.’

Holly really did have a fair few jobs that required doing. From unpacking boxes of fudge to looking at her months’ invoices. Still, it was hard not to listen in to how Evan was doing.

‘Jazzies?’ His bewildered voice travelled upstairs, catching her attention. ‘That’s a type of sweet?’

A second later, he was talking again.

‘Wow, I never knew that was what you called these. I guess I just thought of them as sprinkled chocolate drops. It makes sense now. The colours. They are jazzy, right?’

The till pinged open and shut every few minutes, and after ten minutes, when he still hadn’t called her in need of help, Holly finally took the plunge and opened up the computer.

There was a time when looking through her invoices would make her stomach churn with dread. Particularly when she’d first taken over the shop and was still desperate to find out if she could even get a mortgage. But those days were gone, and the shop was going from strength to strength. She’d even joked about opening up a second branch, perhaps in Stow or Moreton. Maybe even as far afield as Cirencester, but that was something she wasn’t going to think about seriously right now. Managingthe staff, Hope, and now a relationship with Evan, was more than enough for her to juggle, without adding anything else to the chaos.

She was still busy, looking at the last month’s profits, when a voice came from downstairs in the shop.

‘Pontefract cakes. How can you not know what Pontefract cakes are? Little, round, black, gooey, delicious.’

‘Well, it’s only my first day. Sort of,’ she could hear Evan respond. ‘I’m not too familiar with all the sweets yet. Give me a minute and I’m sure I’ll find them.’

‘They should be on the top shelf. And when you find that jar, you need to try one. I mean, what is Holly teaching you young people?’