Page 82 of The Pop-Up Cake Shop

‘Sorry I haven’t got a table yet,’ he apologised, handing me my delicious-looking burger on a plate. ‘It’s being delivered nextweek. I thought we could eat in the living room. There’s no furniture in there, either, but there’s a window seat.’

‘Right. So this isyourhouse? The one you’ll be living in?’

He nodded. ‘I’ll give you the tour later if you’ve got the time before you shoot off to Primrose Wood.’

‘Plenty of time.’ I glanced at my watch.

We sat down on the window seat, turning slightly to face each other. The burger looked too good to resist. I took a very inelegant bite, which resulted in lettuce flapping on my nose. The food tasted even better than it looked. ‘This is delicious. But what’s it all in aid of?’

Caleb took a bite himself and chewed. Then he said, ‘It’s a peace offering, really. And a hope that we can continue where we left off. Before all the Loretta confusion?’ His eyes were still wary, as if he thought I might be about to yell at him, Mo-style, that all men were ignorant nob heads and I wouldn’t touch him with a bargepole.

‘That... sounds good,’ I murmured, my heart hammering wildly.

He nodded, gazing at me intently.

Oh, my goodness, how romantic was this? Sharing a window seat and gazing into each other’s eyes over burgers made specially for me...

‘Er, you’ve got mayo on your nose,’ he said.

Ah.

I rubbed my nose hard. ‘Gone?’

He smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. ‘Gone.’

‘Erm, there’s just one thing . . .’

He nodded. ‘I know what you’re going to say.’

‘You do?’

‘I think so.’ He gave a rueful smile. ‘Ivan said you came over to see me last Wednesday but I was in the portacabin. Apparently, he told you I was in there with Loretta?’

‘So you weren’t? In there with Loretta?’

‘No, Iwas. But I knew as soon as Ivan mentioned he’d seen you that you’d think something was going on between Loretta and me Which it absolutely wasn’t. Not that way, in any case.’

‘Right. So why . . .?’

‘We were having a long chat about things.’ He shrugged. ‘After talking to you about her, I realised I needed to make the situation quite clear to Loretta. I didn’t want her hoping that we might get back together at some point in the future. She needs to be free to move on.’ He looked directly into my eyes and paused before he spoke. ‘Just like I already have.’

‘You’ve moved on?’

‘I’ve moved on,’ he repeated firmly. ‘My focus is on you now. If that’s what you want.’ He shrugged. ‘But... maybe you’re not ready to move on yourself? You didn’t think you were the last time we spoke.’

‘I know. I think that was because I didn’t know if I could trust you. And after Richard, my ex... well, it’s hard.’

He nodded. ‘Of course it is. But youcantrust me. One hundred per cent.’

‘I sort of believe you?’ I gave my head an impatient little shake. ‘No, Idobelieve you, Caleb. I really do.’

‘Well... look, it might take a while for you to forget what happened with your ex. I mean, to leave it behind enough to really trust that I’m not going to hurt you the way he did. So if you don’t think you’re quite ready yet for a new relationship, I’ll understand.’ He leaned back against the wall, folded his arms and smiled that gorgeous crinkle-eyed smile at me. ‘I’m a patient man, Katja. And I happen to think you’re well worth waiting for.’

My heart bounded with happiness at his words.

‘But I am! Ready. I think,’ I blurted out.

He chuckled. ‘So that’s a definite maybe, then.’

---