It had been a risk she had run, even if it hadn’t felt like one, to ask Oliver to get to know him and it was a relief to hear that she wasn’t the only one appearing to think that this could be more. On the way out of the door, Melinda once again waved her wand, activating the Charm that would take care of the dirty dishes that were still left in the sink – there weren’t a lot, hiring someone to do the dishes during opening hours had cut down the hours spent on doing just that.
“Charmer,” she grinned, looking up at Oliver and still holding on to his hand. “Unfortunately I’m all out of paper bags and this?” She gestured to her white coat – well, it had been white when she had put it on in the morning, now it was still white but there were traces and streaks of chocolate and fruit juices. “This has the uncanny ability to hide a glob of ganache or a dollop of jam that’ll then smear when and where I least expect it, so at least just let me deposit elsewhere before making a right mess.” Pointing to the kitchen she moved just a little closer to him. “Thai sounds lovely. There’re menus on the counter, Floo over there, and my Owl, Dauphine, is on the roof,” she told him and leaned up brushed a soft kiss to his lips. “And anything with shrimp sounds just about perfect right now. I’ll be back in a moment. Please, make yourself at home.”