Page 54 of The Twelve Dates of Christmas
“Yes,” said Kate. She didn’t want to seem too keen, even though she felt like she wanted to climb down the phone and give him a good sniff. “Yes, you can.”
“Great!” said Richard. “My treat. Do you know the Smugglers Arms in Great Blexley?”
They agreed to meet the following night outside the pub. Before she went home, Kate dropped in to see Evelyn to ask if the Sex Kittens could help Sarah’s school with their costumes.
“Well, of course we will!” said Evelyn. “I don’t know why she didn’t ask me herself, silly girl.”
“I don’t think it occurred to her ask,” said Kate.
“That’s what you get from living in the Big Town,” said Evelyn. “Big-town mentality! Every man’s an island!”
Evelyn continued to vocalize her opinions on the failings of living in the Big Town while Kate puttered about the shop, gathering the ingredients she’d need for making truffles.
“Baking for Matt again?” asked Evelyn as Kate laid her shopping by the till.
“As always,” said Kate.
“What would he do without you?” Evelyn mused.
“Find another mug to do it, I should think,” said Kate.
•••••
Tiny bubbles began to ripple beneath the surface of the double cream in the milk pan. Kate kept a steady eye on it, waiting for the first wave of a rolling boil. Laid out across the work surface were three deep glass bowls, each half filled with chopped dark chocolate.
Thick white bubbles broke the surface and began to rise up the pan. Kate whipped it off the heat and gently poured the hot cream over the chocolate in the first bowl. She gave it a moment and then gently stirred the mixture together, slowly and carefully, the dark chocolate melting into the pale cream in rich hickory stripes.
When the hot ganache mixture was fully combined, Kate dropped in some softened butter and two generous tablespoons of brandy and stirred again until she had a smooth glossy texture. The aroma was more than she could bear; her mouth watered. Luckily, she was prepared. She grabbed the extra bar from the cupboard, tore away the foil, and snapped off a glistening dark umber chunk of chocolate, makingmmmmsounds to herself as it melted on her tongue.
She set the bowl aside to cool. When the ganache set, Kate would scoop out teaspoons of the mixture and roll it into balls before dipping each one in chopped hazelnuts or cocoa.
Her mind kept drifting to her impending date with Richard.Though it went against her every feminist impulse, Kate found the idea of such a devoted father an appealing trait in a man. She had to keep reminding herself not to discount Phil, her hiking date for Sunday, just because some guy had made her ovaries swoon.
She washed the milk pan and poured in another tub of cream, ready to begin the process again. She would do the next batch with raspberry liqueur. She had some dried raspberries to toss them in when they were ready: delicate little buds of velvet puce. The last batch would be half cocoa and half icing-sugar-dusted whiskey truffles. She just had to make sure she got more in the bags than in her mouth. Not easy.
The phone rang as she set the fresh pan on the stove. It was Matt.
“Hi!” she said. “I’m up to my eyes in truffles for the market.”
“Oh,” said Matt. “Great. Yeah.”
“You all right?” asked Kate.
Silence on the other end. She could hear him breathing. She sensed his hesitation. It wasn’t like Matt to be indecisive. Not with her anyway. He was usually bold to the point of rude.
“Come on!” she said. “Spit it out.”
“Did anything happen at the Dates with Mates night?” Matt asked.
Kate swallowed.
“Like what?” she asked brightly.
“I don’t know,” said Matt. “Just. I don’t know.”
“You’ll need to be more specific,” Kate said. Sarah had expressly asked her not to mention anything about Oliver to Matt, and she wasn’t about to break her confidence. But at the same time, if Sarah had folded and told Matt of her own volition, then Kate needed to know before she denied all knowledge.
“It’s just,” said Matt. “These last few days. Sarah’s been a bit... well, distant. And I wondered if you’d maybe said anything to her?”
