Page 70 of The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts

She felt brave and full of confidence as she looked up at him expectantly.

He stared at her for a very long time as if struggling internally with some monumental decision. Then he bent forward.

Amber found herself holding her breath and opening up her lips slightly.

But at the last second, he moved his face and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

Even in her drunken state, she could feel the disappointment seep through her.

He stepped backwards, his face almost hidden in the dark shadow of the door now.

‘Goodnight, Amber,’ he said.

‘Goodnight,’ she replied, hoping her words weren’t quite as slurring to his ears as they were to hers.

Then she went into her bedroom, lay down on the bed fully clothed and passed out, still wearing her witch’s hat.

28

Josh was not entirely surprised to find that he was alone for the first hour or two in the shop the morning after the Halloween party. But he was feeling cheerful as he reflected back on the previous evening. Whatever truth serum Mike had put in his Halloween punch had certainly brought out a completely different side of Amber. He smiled to himself as he thought about her staggering around on the dance floor before asking him for a kiss when they had returned back to the flat.

Well, at least he knew that she liked him romantically on some level, he thought. Whether she would regret the whole evening remained to be seen.

Although he got the answer to that half an hour later when Amber appeared at the bottom of the stairs at the back of the shop. She was walking extremely slowly, as if she was in danger of falling over.

‘Good morning!’ he called out, deliberately loudly.

She immediately staggered, clutching her head. ‘Not so loud,’ she moaned, hanging on to the door frame for support.

She slowly drew up her head and gazed at Josh, who stared at her red-rimmed eyes and pale face.

‘Coffee? Paracetamol?’ he offered. ‘Or do you want to choose a painless death instead?’

‘Definitely death,’ she groaned, slowly walking over to the counter and feeling her way around until she sank onto the chair behind.

He made her a coffee from the machine, glancing over at her once in a while. She really did look very pale.

‘Good morning!’

Amber jumped at the cheery greeting that came from Tom in the doorway and gave a soft cry out in pain.

‘Ah, I see Mike’s home-made punch has left its mark on you,’ he said, grinning. ‘At least you made it into work. Molly called in sick!’

‘Well, it is Saturday,’ groaned Amber. ‘Lucky her.’

Josh handed her a cup of coffee which she held between her hands.

‘I recommend a plate of bacon sandwiches and an awful lot of water,’ said Tom.

Amber shook her head. ‘Don’t think I could eat anything,’ she muttered.

The doorbell rang and Belle walked very slowly into the shop before pausing to lean against the gleaming red tractor.

‘Help me,’ she whispered.

Amber looked at her. ‘You too?’ she moaned.

Belle nodded before wincing.