Page 55 of A Winter Kiss on Rochester Mews
‘It says £6.95 on the chalkboard,’ he pointed out.
‘Shop staff get mates’ rates,’ Cuthbert said, whisking away Tom’s mug.
Mattie didn’t feel the need to point out that if Tom had ever bothered to actually buy something from the tearooms he’d already know this. She was, after all, reasonable. And Tom had obviously decided to be reasonable too for he dropped a shiny pound coin in the tips jar. ‘For my coffee,’ he said. ‘A compromise,’ and only once he’d left, did Mattie allow a small, satisfied smile to break through.
When Mattie took Tom’s breakfast through, the shop was already busy with customers browsing the tinsel-bedecked shelves while trying really hard to avoid any low-flying pink and silver stars. Mattie was never going to get used to finding a massive, pimped-out Christmas tree standing in the middle of the shop where two of the sofas usually sat.
She’d also forgotten just how much space the Mistletoe Booth took up. Despite the TV slot and the initial flurry of interest, there was just one couple loitering by the booth waiting for a photo of their recent smooch to come sliding out of the appropriate slot. The booth really did completely obscure the new-releases shelves.
Tom was sitting behind the counter, whacking Bertha, the Happy Ever After till, with a copy ofWar And Peace, while Nina scolded him.
‘Don’t be so rough with her. She needs a much more gentle touch,’ she said. ‘Honestly, Doctor Love, thought you’d have more respect for romantic fiction. Bet you had a whole chapter on boring Russian novels in your thesis, didn’t you?’
‘Stop calling me that stupid name and may I remind you that the other day you thumped Bertha with your shoe,’ Tom pointed out then paused, his nose twitching for his breakfast.
‘One croque missus,’ Mattie said brightly, setting down plate and cutlery folded in a napkin. ‘Bring back the plate and knife and fork when you get a chance.’
Tom was staring down at the plate hungrily. ‘This looks amazing. Thank you,’ he said. He looked up to stare at Mattie, the hungry expression still on his face. ‘Thank you.’
‘You’ve already said thank you,’ Nina said, with a curious look at Tom, then at Mattie, who looked back at Nina with one eyebrow slightly raised as if there was absolutely nothing odd about her bringing breakfast in to Tom and for Tom to be abjectly grateful about it.
‘I have a lot of “thank yous” to make up for,’ Tom muttered, unwrapping the napkin then pausing. ‘Oh, Mattie! Why are there holly sprigs on this napkin? Have you gone dark side and embraced Christmas?’
‘I have not!’ Mattie said. ‘I sent Sophie out to get plain napkins from the pound shop and this is what she came back with. We’re still united in our loathing of Christmas.’
‘Good,’ Tom said and then, unbelievably, he offered Mattie his fist, which she bumped while Nina stared at both of them as if she’d recently suffered a blow to the head. Then he picked up his croque missus but paused with it halfway to his mouth. ‘I hope you’re not both planning to stand there and watch me eat?’
That was Mattie’s cue to leave. She and Tom were fine now, after the events of last night. As soon as she thought about the strange way the night before had ended, that moment when she thought that Tom might kiss her, her face heated up and her lips began to tingle.
‘I need to get started on my lunch bakes,’ she said and backed away, resisting the temptation to put a finger to her mouth. ‘Bon appetit!’
Mattie was almost through the Classics arch, when Nina called her name.
‘Yes?’ Mattie hesitated in the doorway: she really should have been up to her elbows in puff pastry by now.
‘It’s just … could you put a couple of pig-in-blanket rolls by for me? I’m not allowed to take lunch until three,’ Nina said plaintively. ‘I’m sure they’ll all be gone by then.’
‘I can do that,’ Mattie agreed.
‘Now that you and Tom have got over yourselves, do we still get mates’ rates and free tea or coffee?’
‘You give new meaning to the word “shameless”,’ Tom said, his croque missus gratifyingly almost half gone by now. ‘And I made a point of putting one pound in the tip jar for my coffee. Mattie still has to buy the coffee and milk, plus electricity, rent …’
‘OK, OK. Sounds fair,’ Nina decided. ‘God knows you’ve ruined me for that instant sludge, and do you know how much Chiro in the Italian café charges for coffee? Three pounds! And I got a lecture about how much the council had put the business rates up when I asked for steamed milk.’
Where Tom and Nina trailblazed, Posy and Verity followed. Both of them tried to come into the tearooms to buy their lunch, but the queue for pig-in-blanket rolls was so long that Mattie had had to lock the glass doors that led to the shop to discourage any queue-jumpers.
Posy was forced to come out of Happy Ever After by the front door and fight her way through the queue and into the tearooms by shouting, ‘Coming through! I own this building and I’m very heavily pregnant!’
‘I’m so glad you and Tom have sorted out all this silliness,’ Posy said, once Sophie came around the counter with a stool so that Posy didn’t have to stand a second longer than necessary. ‘How did you sort it out?’
Mattie’s cheeks were already bright red, as she’d just been redeploying her afternoon tray bakes in the oven, but she fancied they now became even brighter. ‘We’ve come to an understanding and Tom did me a massive favour last night when my ex-boyfriend got a bitdifficult,’ she said. ‘In fact, I’d go so far as to say that Tom and I are friends now.’
She really needed to stop thinking about the kissing.
‘I’m so glad,’ Posy said fervently. ‘I tried to be neutral but it turned out to be much harder than I thought. I mean, I’ve known Tom foryearsand I’m a pretty good judge of character. Though I did think your ex-boyfriend seemed charming. He’s very handsome.’
‘But he has a very ugly personality. Anyway, Tom and I are fine now. Better than fine, and you don’t need to worry about us any more.’
