Page 68 of The Gingerbread Cafe
His gaze lowered. ‘Franny called me to confess what she did there. I’m sorry I doubted you and your stylish little guy. You’ve done an incredible job of turning this around.’
Her heart swelled at the compliment.
‘And these pots of paint?’ he asked.
‘I thought it was time for a new look.’ She paused. ‘If you want to. I didn’t make a start, just in case.’
He nodded slowly. ‘What were you thinking?’
She picked up Lukas’s first stained-glass creation, which had been hanging from the stepladder. It was the one she’d guided him to make that night in the café, as they’d worked cautiously side by side. A gingerbread house in biscuity shades from milky to rich dark chocolate, looking so delicious she could almost eat it. ‘I love the colours you chose. If we decorated the café like this, it would remind me of a real gingerbread house, all cinnamon, ginger and spice.’ She moved around, lining up various pots on the windowsill and pointing to the paintwork. ‘I’m finally ready to say goodbye to the festive reds and greens. They just don’t work all year long. What do you think?’
He bent down to inspect the shades. ‘A while ago, I would have said festive colours even once a year was too much. But like a lot of things, they’ve grown on me.’ He stood. ‘Though you’re right. It’s time for a change and these are perfect.’
There’d been a time when the wordchangewould have sent a bolt of fear straight through her. It would have made her think of losing things and memories fading. But the more she imagined the café’s new colour scheme, the more it felt like the perfect blend of old and new. She could picture the coppery hues sparkling in the sunlight, radiating joy to everyone who visited.
‘I think Nell would have approved,’ said Gretel. ‘It’s still in keeping with the gingerbread theme, but we’d be addingsomething of our own too.’ She hoped this was enough of a demonstration of her commitment to him and the café. That she really wasall in.
‘And the tagline?’ he asked. ‘Should we rethinkFestive Cheer All Through the Year?’ His voice was cautious, but there was thatweagain.
‘I was thinkingFriendship and Cheer All Through the Year.’
He looked up at the sign and cleared his throat. Was he blinking back a tear? ‘It’s perfect. Nell would have loved it.’
Lukas moved his gaze to Gretel. He stepped in, his eyes full of an intensity that made her once fragile heart want to burst. But the low growl she could hear wasn’t from him. Her showpiece was on its way.
Chapter 54
‘Iknow a cherry picker isn’t strictly necessary for a café front makeover. But after everything we’ve been through, somehow a stepladder didn’t seem enough.’
Farmer Wilbur had left them outside The Gingerbread Café with his prize machine, the cradle bedecked in fairy lights like the old romantic he was.
‘This one does come with exceptional memories.’ Those red cheeks on Lukas’s usually cool face were adorable.
‘I had quite fancied being up in the boom lift when you arrived, whispering my soliloquy of love like aRomeo and Julietbalcony scene. But you deserved a proper, face-to-face apology.’
‘Care to go up there together?’ He held out a hand, like he was offering his partnership in a dance.
She took it and they stepped into the cradle.
‘Don’t you feel a bit silly now?’ She giggled as the odd passer-by craned their necks for a nosey. The cherry picker had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now she did feel a bit of a numpty. At least the last time they’d done this it had been dark.
‘I was actually going to wear festive deely boppers and a flashing reindeer jumper to meet you today, so think yourself lucky.’ He gave her a cheeky grin.
‘What? Sensible, Christmas-hating Lukas, head chef at La Carotte Rôtie,dressed like a Christmas nerd?’
‘I’d honestly rather not stay there if you’ll have me in your kitchen.’ He winked. ‘I mean, I’m quite the catch. And you might just have flipped my thoughts on Christmas. It used to be a time of stress and high emotions for me. I couldn’t look at a mince pie without coming out in hives.’ He smiled and she poked him in the ribs. ‘But somehow with you, every day feels like the best day of the year. With your childlike wonder and your crazy ferret, you make me laugh even when I’d rather be grumpy. So if Christmas is your time of year, I’m down with that.’
‘Actually, you’re in luck. On both counts. Idowant you in my kitchen.’ Right then, it wasn’t the only place. ‘And I am ready to have Christmas just once a year. In December. It turns out Christmas isn’t about wheeling out the plastic tree whenever you fancy and hoping it will make you jolly. It won’t. Not without love, and the people who mean something.’ She grabbed a tissue to dry a tear. ‘Lukas, I’ve missed you. Let’s not fight like that again.’
He turned towards her and took both of her hands, as though he wanted to hold all of her delicate hope in his. ‘I love that you came here with a cherry picker to fight for me, you daft thing. But Gretel, you’d already won.’
She let go of his hands and threw her arms around his neck, kissing his soft warm lips and laughing all at once, her body toppling into his and pushing him backwards. His foot landed on a pedal and suddenly they were rising upwards in the cherry picker’s cradle. Past the sign that they would soon repaint, and the slightly dishevelled Christmas tree still planted firmly against life’s knocks, and up beyond the roof of The Gingerbread Café. She’d missed the way Lukas made her feel grounded and safe, even way up here.
Epilogue
Nine months later
It was the week before Christmas, and for the first time in a long while, The Gingerbread Café was practically effervescing with festive charm.
