busy to look at it any further because you keep getting commissions from businessmen who like to leave things until the last minute.’
She grinned. ‘Something like that. But there’s only one businessman. Is that a flyer?’ She saw what was in his hand as he stepped inside, out of the cold. She nodded approvingly at the pictures of the waffle shack, another he’d taken of waffles drizzled with chocolate sauce and a side of whipped cream. ‘If these don’t get people’s taste buds going, I don’t know what will. I assume the whole village gets a flyer.’
‘If you’re asking whether I’ve been hiding away from my brother or at last venturing out in the Cove to put them through doors, it’s the latter. The pub was phase one of me showing my face around here, the flyer drop was phase two.’
‘And what’s phase three?’
He pulled a face. ‘Not sure yet. Coming here seemed a safe option, though.’ He returned her smile. ‘Let me fix the doorbell for you.’
‘Don’t be daft, it’s probably a two-minute job.’
‘That you haven’t done yet.’
‘Good point.’ She went to retrieve the new bell from one of the metal drawers and handed him a screwdriver so he could first remove the faulty one. ‘I appreciate it. I’m usually in the zone when I work and making a lot of noise – I’d hate to ignore a customer.’
He went back outside and unscrewed the existing doorbell and button from the wall. He touched the two wires together and when they made the bell inside chime, he told her, ‘It’s only the button, easiest problem of the lot.’ And after she unwrapped the new bell and handed it to him, he soon had it fixed in place.
‘Thank you for doing that,’ she smiled. ‘Unfortunately, Fred hasn’t modernised anything around here in years, including the flat, so the doorbell joined a long list of things that are on their last legs.’
‘Oh dear, that doesn’t sound good.’
‘Most things in the workshop are fine but the flat’s another matter. And don’t get me started on the kitchen.’
‘That bad?’
‘Cupboard doors falling off, wobbly shelves, tatty, and not enough bench space.’ With a grin she added, ‘Sorry, I told you not to get me started, didn’t I? Come and see the sign so far.’ She took the empty packaging for the bell from him and dumped it in a recycling container. ‘I’ve made good progress.’
He went over to the work table, still in the part of the workshop that saw all the action. The forge wasn’t on yet so it was a much better temperature and he felt privileged to get such an insight into the intricate work she did. He expected most customers were shunted through to the more comfy area with the desk and furniture.
The oval wrought iron of the sign was on the table and she’d begun to cut out letters she’d stencilled onto the metal pieces that would make up the wording of his business in the centre of the sign. ‘You’d want to be able to spell doing this,’ he said, lifting up the letter ‘T’ she’d cut out. ‘Imagine if you made a mistake, fixed it all together and then realised.’
‘I’ve done it and, believe me, it’s beyond frustrating.’
He reached out without thinking and touched a hand to her arm. ‘You’ve burnt yourself.’ His fingers hovered near a pink patch of skin that had almost healed.
She looked at his hand for a moment and, keeping her gaze on her skin, told him, ‘Not my first time and unlikely to be my last either.’
He took his hand away, albeit reluctantly. He wondered if she’d felt the same connection he had. ‘I suppose it’s a hazard of the job. My only likely hazard is putting on a few stone from eating too many waffles.’
She laughed at that. ‘At least you’re tall, you could probably get away with a few waffles before you had a problem.’
‘It won’t be so lethal when the place opens up but for the last few weeks I’ve been experimenting with flavours, which has meant a lot of eating.’ He shrugged when she rolled her eyes. ‘Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it.’ He patted his stomach, which, thankfully, with all the physical labour of getting organised at the Little Waffle Shack, still felt as taut as it had when he’d been hitting the spit-and-sawdust local gym every morning. It had been part of him getting back on track, using