I'm Glad I Found You This Christmas E-Book

CP Ward

• Herausgeber: AMMFA Publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

I'm glad I found you this Christmas - an uplifting sweet romance set against the magical backdrop of Christmas.

Maggie Coates is frustrated. Her longterm boyfriend, Dirk, recently moved to London to take a job she fears puts him out of her league. Despite the assurances of her best friend Renee, Maggie is convinced Dirk is slowly drifting away. All Maggie wants is to get married and settle down, but maybe Dirk has other ideas.

Convinced by Renee to make one last throw of the dice, Maggie books a romantic holiday for two in the quaint Scottish village of Hollydell. But will Dirk show up?

And if he doesn't, what if there is a perfect man waiting for her among the Christmas magic of Hollydell's snow-laden streets? What if Henry, the humble reindeer farmer with the kind smile, turns out to be the man of Maggie's dreams?

I'm glad I found you this Christmas is a glowing sweet romance which will leave you feeling warm inside and buzzing with Christmas spirit.

Leseprobe

I’m Glad I Found You This Christmas

CP Ward

“I’m Glad I Found You This Christmas”

Copyright © Chris Ward 2018

The right of Chris Ward to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the Author.

This story is a work of fiction and is a product of the Author’s imagination. All resemblances to actual locations or to persons living or dead are entirely coincidental.

By CP Ward

I’m Glad I Found You This Christmas

We’ll have a Wonderful Cornish Christmas

Coming Home to Me This Christmas

Christmas at the Marshmallow Cafe

Christmas at Snowflake Lodge

(Coming September 30th)

I’m Glad I Found You this Christmas

Contents

1. Last Chance Saloon

2. Decisions

3. Invitations and Preparations

4. Departure

5. The Journey North

6. Hollydell

7. The Cottage

8. Barney’s Christmas Kitchen

9. Henry

10. Miffy

11. The Reindeer Farm

12. Tug-of-War

13. Lookout Point

14. The Snowman Concert

15. Still Waiting

16. Dog Sledding

17. Fall

18. Recovery

19. Return

20. Revelation

21. Blame Game

22. Friendly Advice

23. Hopes and Fears

24. Secret Visitor

25. Music and Coffee

26. Words in the Park

27. Resolutions

28. Rescue

29. Disappointments

30. Café

31. The Last (Healthy) Supper

32. The Christmas Message

33. Reindeer

34. Latecomers

35. The Grand Arrival

We’ll have a Wonderful Cornish Christmas

Coming Home to Me this Christmas

CP Ward’s debut summer novel coming in summer 2021

Contact

About the Author

1

Last Chance Saloon

Would he pick up this time?

Maggie stared at Dirk’s picture on her smartphone’s screen, waiting for the inevitable referral to voicemail. What had happened to him recently? She knew he was busy at the company—and being the youngest member of the board of directors in the company’s history made it no surprise—but recently she’d begun to feel … well, she knew what Renee would say. Needing the comfort of her best friend’s words, she hung up and rang Renee instead.

Like clockwork, Renee answered on the second ring.

‘Lo?’

‘Ren, it’s me.’

‘Mag? A bit early for lonely hearts. What’s up? You got an hour for coffee?’

Maggie leaned over her shoulder, glancing up at the work schedule taped next to the clock. At the same time she noticed she only had six minutes left on her break. Her shift manager, Dolores “Thundercloud” Smith, would come deluging down on her freedom if she caught Maggie on the phone.

‘Look, I can’t really talk now, but it’s about Dirk.’

‘Of course it is. What else would it be?’

‘He’s not answering his phone.’

‘That’s probably because he’s womanizing. You know what I think of him. Dirk the—’

‘That was a once-off. He promised me it wouldn’t happen again. It’s just that since his promotion he’s been absent more than he’s been around. This time last year we were planning to move in together, but now it’s just work, work, work—’

‘I’ll be waiting outside yours with a bottle of red at six-fifteen. On second thoughts, screw it. Make it six-ten. We’ll get sloshed and go over everything that’s happened since we last got together.’

‘Renee, I couldn’t put it on you again—’

‘He needs a slapdown if you ask me. I mean, come on, Maggie. Have you looked in the mirror recently? You’re gorgeous.’

Maggie felt her cheeks flush. ‘You’re just trying to cheer me up—’

‘Break’s over, Coates!’

Maggie scowled. She hadn’t noticed the dimming of the atmosphere with the onset of rain. ‘Gotta go,’ she said. ‘It’s about to chuck down in here.’

‘Six-oh-five!’

‘Right!’

The door swung open, and a black-clad monster squeezed through. Dolores Smith glared at Maggie with eyes that were too large for a face that sloped backward into her hair, eyes that were perhaps too heavy, and the reason why her head seemed to have sunk into her body, leaving no trace of neck.

‘Get back on the floor, Coates,’ the Thundercloud snapped. ‘Do I look like a charity?’

‘No, Ms. Smith,’ Maggie said, slipping her phone back into her bag, which she pressed into a locker, closed the door and swiftly turned a key.

‘You’re two minutes over break. I expect to see you still folding shirts at two minutes past six.’

‘Of course.’

Dolores lifted a hand and turned it upward with a strangely exaggerated movement. Her thumb poked up. Then, with a sinister grin, she hoicked her thumb back over her shoulder. ‘Move.’

True to her word, Renee was waiting outside Maggie’s flat when she arrived. Even though Maggie was nearly twenty minutes late, Renee flashed a wide grin and lifted up two carrier bags.

‘Wine,’ she said. Then, holding up the other, she added, ‘And this one’s comfort food. Tesco’s takeaway korma, caramel popcorn, and I got us Frozen on DVD. Girls’ night.’

‘Frozen?’

‘It was on special offer. Two for one.’

‘Oh. What was the other one?’

‘Dora the Explorer. It’s for my niece.’

Maggie laughed. ‘Frozen it is, then.’

Renee, petite, blonde-bobbed, and stunning in everything she wore, was an almost perfect person—kind to animals and people, a charity donator, an ever-present at fundraisers, and her job as an administrator in a children’s care home was almost a cliché—and therefore impossible not to love.

‘So, tell me what’s going on,’ Renee said as Maggie let them into her flat.

‘Let me make the tea first.’

When they were settled on the sofa with the curry, tea, and popcorn arranged on the coffee table in front of them, with the Frozen DVD looping through its main menu sequence, Maggie finally let out a sigh.

‘I was hoping it would be this year,’ she said.

‘What?’

‘That he’d finally … you know. Pop the question.’

‘Oh.’

‘Four years we’ve been together, and we still don’t even live together. I mean, that was supposed to happen last year, but then he got promoted and had to move to London.’

‘You could have moved down there. He did ask, didn’t he?’

‘Yeah, of course. I mean, I think he mentioned it once. But I can’t leave my mother, you know that. Her hip is getting worse and she needs me close by.’

Renee sighed. ‘You’re in Cambridge and Dirk’s down in London. It’s not going to work.’

‘It’s only an hour on the train. A lot of people commute from here. The only reason Dirk won’t is because Saunders & Co gave him a flat in Kensington. I know he wants me to move in with him….’

Renee turned on the sofa and put her hands on Maggie’s knees. She cocked her head in that puppy dog way, and Maggie knew a home truth was coming.

‘It’s commitment avoidance. Can’t you see that? He might as well have a billboard above his head with “single and loving it” written in gold lettering.’

‘You’re not being fair—’

‘He cheated on you once; he’ll do it again. Pass me that naan.’

‘Here. He was so sorry. He, um, cried.’

‘Oh, there’s a surprise. Look. You don’t rise to the board of directors at the age of thirty-two—’

‘He’s thirty-five.’

‘—thirty-five without having a few tricks up your sleeve. Honest people don’t get rich. Look at you.’

‘I’m not honest.’

‘Oh, come on, Maggie. You’re so pure you bathe in distilled water. And you’re so kind that even though your boss treats you like a piece of excrement on a farmer’s shoe, you won’t quit your job.’

‘I like the shop! And the Thundercloud’s only there three days a week. June, our scheduler, tries to give everyone a couple of days’ break.’

‘You’re avoiding my point. What I’m trying to say is that Dirk the … whatever … has cooled on you. He’s like a calving iceberg. You’ve been together so long that he’s never known anything else. Now he’s got a bit of freedom so he’s racing away as fast as he can.’

‘Right into London’s shipping lanes, yeah?’

Renee narrowed her eyes. She was trying to look angry, but she just looked cuter than ever. Maggie wished she could hate the way her best friend did that.

‘The female ones for sure. Trust me on this.’

Maggie shook her head. ‘No, you’re wrong. I know you are.’

‘You’re just in denial. Come on, let’s crack the wine.’

‘It’s only seven o’clock!’

‘So?’

Twenty minutes later, with Frozen playing in the background with the sound turned low, and half the wine already drunk, Renee turned to Maggie with that familiar look on her face.

‘Okay, I have a plan.’

‘No, please. I’m sure your social worker friends are really nice and all, but Dirk’s the only one for me.’

‘It’s about Dirk, you dummy. I’ve thought of a way to find out for sure if he still likes you.’

‘What?’

‘A Christmas vacation. Somewhere remote, somewhere romantic.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. It’s only November.’

‘Yeah, and how long has the Thundercloud already been playing your Chrimbo hits CD at work?’

‘Actually, we’re still on Celine Dion. Christmas is one of her—many—pet hates. She usually caves by December, though. As soon as the trees go up in the storefront she has no more excuse.’

‘Anyway. What I have in mind is somewhere the two of you can be alone, all cosy like, where you can find out for sure what Dirk really feels about you. It’ll be perfect. A bit of snow on the ground, a warm fire, a real Christmas tree with presents piled underneath, loads of wine, a double bed—’

‘All right, all right. I get your point.’

‘It’ll be so romantic you’ll have honey dripping from the ceiling. He’ll have to ask you to marry him for sure.’

‘And what if he doesn’t?’

Renee shrugged. ‘Then you’ll know what he really feels, won’t you? Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?’

Maggie sighed. ‘I could spend the next hour trying to talk you round, but you’re set on this, aren’t you? You’re not going to shut up about it until I say yes.’

Renee shook her head. ‘Nope.’

‘Only one question, then. Where? It’s got to be cheap, because I’m skint. The Thundercloud halved our Christmas bonuses this year.’

‘We’ll get hunting as soon as the movie’s over. Gosh, Kristoff’s such a dish, isn’t he?’

2

Decisions

Saturday was Maggie’s day off. Renee was waiting for her in a Starbucks in Cambridge city centre, an iPad already set up on a stand on the table.

‘You’re late,’ Renee said, her little button nose wearing a touch of red as though it were already winter outside. ‘I took the liberty of ordering you a Caramel Mousse Frappuccino and a butternut donut.’

‘Sounds like a heart attack on a plate.’

‘You’ll have one when you look at some of these places. They’re just magnificent.’

Maggie slid into a chair as the waitress arrived, unloading Renee’s excessive order onto the table. A tingle of reluctance was nagging her, as though aware that Renee, in all her perfectness, had got carried away with everything. However, Maggie had checked the Christmas roster and it was her turn to have Christmas week off this year, having worked right up to Christmas Eve last year, plus the sales days from Boxing Day to New Year—Dirk had gone on a business trip with some associates to Malaga—so she was free to go on vacation should she find somewhere suitable, but there were other things to consider. One of them was cost.

‘Canada,’ Renee said with an excessive intake of breath, as though stepping out on to a mountaintop at the end of a long hike. ‘Wiltonsville, a little hamlet north of Whistler. Look at these cabins. They’re only accessible by snowmobile, so you’re totally cut off from civilization. Imagine waking up to these vistas.’

Maggie frowned. ‘Eighty dollars a night, not including flights and transfers. I can barely afford the train fare to the airport.’

Renee grimaced. ‘Don’t give up; we’re just getting started. Next one—what about Lapland? Santa’s home—where could be better? Look at these glass igloos. You could lie on your back with Dirk while watching the Northern Lights through the roof.’

Maggie rolled her eyes then pointed at the screen. ‘Look at these reviews. Half of them say it snowed and they didn’t see anything. And these prices? Sure, it’s cheap in November, but over Christmas it’s nearly double the price.’

Renee tapped her nose. ‘This isn’t looking promising, is it? Why can’t you just get Dirk to pay?’

‘It’s hardly romantic if I book a special getaway then ask him for his credit card number, is it?’

‘You’ll find out if he truly loves you. Plus, he’s loaded, isn’t he? Eighty grand a year?’

Maggie shrugged. ‘A little more. Plus bonuses. Slightly better than nine-fifty an hour, but it’s not about the money, is it? We were together when he was just working at his father’s company for minimum wage. I’m paying for this trip, and that’s the end of it. Keep looking.’

‘There’s nothing good on Trip Advisor or Yahoo. Just a few slums. Didn’t realise you could do Christmas breaks in Romania or Lithuania. Wouldn’t fancy it much myself, but each to their own.’

‘Let me have a look. Let’s just Google it and see what comes up.’

As Maggie reached for the tablet, Renee shook her head. ‘No, girl, no. You’re not thinking enough outside the box. You think you’ll find that special place in a conventional way?’

Renee ran her fingers over the screen and an old search engine Maggie remembered from her pre-university days appeared.

‘Where’d you find that? Can it even cope with the full alphabet?’

Renee winked. ‘Let’s find out.’ She typed in “Romantic Christmas getaway location ideal for getting a marriage proposal but off the beaten path and cheap” and clicked enter. A searching icon appeared.

‘I think you’re pushing it,’ Maggie said. ‘I guess we could just go to Centre Parcs. I heard they have some fun package deals. The Thundercloud goes every year.’

‘You really think you’ll be in the spirit for getting hitched while lying in the Thundercloud’s bed?’

‘Well, I doubt we’d get the exact same room….’

‘But just the thought of it? Come on, have faith, Mag.’

‘I haven’t had that in a long time.’

‘I’ve noticed. Aha! Look at this.’

A website had appeared on the screen. Even from the header it looked either a remnant from 1995 or a scam. “PERFECT WINTER HOLIDAYS WITHOUT LEAVING THE UK.” Then, the small print: “Hollydell is a unique Christmas village in the Scottish highlands. Perfect for that quiet Christmas getaway with your loved ones. Snow guaranteed.”

Renee puffed out her cheeks into two perfect circles. ‘And there we have it.’

‘There aren’t any pictures!’

‘Well, it’s an old website, isn’t it? But look, they’re still taking bookings. And those prices … wow. It’s a complete bargain.’

Maggie shook her head. ‘“Snow guaranteed.” What do they do, sprinkle a bit of flour on the trees? It’s Scotland. They don’t get any snow, do they?’

‘They get a bit. I heard there are a couple of ski resorts up there. Come on, Mags. And look at these reviews! “Perfect.” “Idyllic.” “Breath-taking.”’

‘They’re all just one word. That’s totally fake. I’ll show up and it’ll be a dirty business hotel in the middle of nowhere. It’ll probably be abandoned, just me and some crusty old caretaker. I have such a bad feeling about this.’

Renee smiled. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, reminding Maggie how remarkably elf-like Renee’s ears were. They really did have that little point that could have got her a bit part in Lord of the Rings.

‘I’m your BFF,’ Renee said. ‘Just trust me. There’s something about this place that just clicks. I mean, it’s got “holly” in the title. And a dell, that’s like a quaint valley or something, right?’

‘It’s also a laptop.’

‘You’re so sceptical. Look, how about this? If it sucks, I’ll buy the coffees for a whole year. Deal?’

Renee held up one hand and hooked her little finger. The coffee shop lights glittered off perfectly manicured fingernails with little dabs of red like a robin’s breast.

With a sigh, Maggie lifted her hand and gave Renee’s pinkie a little tug with her own. ‘Throw in the donuts and you’re on.’

‘Gotcha. Let’s book it.’

3

Invitations and Preparations

Dirk’s picture continued to flash. Maggie was just about to give up, when a timer appeared, and Dirk’s voice said, ‘Yeah?’

Maggie felt a tingle both of excitement and worry. What if he said no? What if he had to fly off to Malaga again this year?

‘Hey, Dirk.’

‘Hey, Pretty Pea. What’s up?’

Maggie felt an immediate tingle of anger. It was a new nickname, one which made him sound like her dad. She’d told him she didn’t like it, but that had only made him use it more often.

‘Dirk … I … are you still coming back to Cambridge this weekend?’

‘Yeah, about that. I’m sorry, Pretty Pea, but it looks like I’ve got to work. It’s just this new job; I have to put the hours in during my first year, you know. The flat’s looking good. You should come down sometime and check it out.’

The vagueness of “sometime” was another of what Renee would call a red flag marker. Apparently, Dirk’s speech and voicemails were littered with them.

‘Not to worry,’ Renee had told her last time they had met. ‘Your cottage is booked for two. If he doesn’t show I’d be happy to fill in.’

‘I’d love to,’ Maggie said. ‘I’ve got to work this weekend, but next is free—’

Dirk laughed. Maggie was tempted to click the icon for video call, but she was afraid of the look in his eyes. What if he was distracted, or appeared bored? What if he was out with someone else?

‘Next weekend I have a conference,’ Dirk said. ‘We’re as busy as each other, aren’t we? Don’t worry, Pretty Pea, we’ll see each other over Christmas.’

Maggie felt as though a train had hit her right in the heart. Christmas was still five weeks away. She’d hoped to see him in person at least a couple of times before that.

‘About Christmas … there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you.’

‘Oh yeah? Are you working? That’s a shame, but I guess if you are it can’t be helped. There’s a trip a couple of the guys are planning that I guess I could join if you’re not free. Nothing special, just a bit of a management team-builder out to Portugal.’

Maggie sagged in her chair. He didn’t want to be with her. She could hear it in his voice. She was thinking to give him some vague excuse to end the call, but then Renee’s voice, endlessly positive, chirped up in her mind: ‘Just tell him!’

‘I booked somewhere for us,’ she blurted, immediately covering her mouth, worried that he’d take it as shouting. ‘It’s a Christmas getaway. I took a week off from the twentieth. I thought we could go up there together.’

‘Oh really?’ A hint of amusement in his voice. ‘Where is it? Canada?’

Maggie inwardly scowled. ‘Scotland. A place called Hollydell. It’s described in the brochure as a perfect Christmas village.’

‘Nice. What’s it look like in the pictures?’

Maggie hesitated. ‘Um, it looks, er, romantic.’

Dirk’s laugh bordered on condescending. ‘Ha, we’re never going to weed that out of you, are we?’

Maggie opened her mouth to reply, but felt an overwhelming urge to cry. ‘I thought it would be nice,’ she croaked, holding back tears. ‘I thought we could spend Christmas together, just the two of us.’

She heard him sigh. Then, to her surprise, he said, ‘Sure. I’ll be there.’

‘You can make it? Really?’

‘Well, I can’t make the twentieth. So sorry. I have a big meeting in London that I have to attend. But I can come by the twenty-first or second. I tell you what—you go up first and get settled in, and I’ll follow you up a day or so later. I’ll bring a special surprise, something to really cheer you up.’

Maggie frowned before twigging what he meant. Huh. Really? Could it be the ring she had been dreaming of? She needed to end this call RIGHT NOW and call Renee. Oh God. Her perfect friend was right, and they hadn’t even got there yet. He was going to ask. He was going to ASK.

‘That sounds nice,’ she squeaked, barely able to lift he voice above a whisper. ‘I’ll message you with the directions. You can’t drive, apparently. There’s a special train.’

Dirk groaned. ‘You can drive anywhere. But if it’ll make you happy, I’ll go mass transit with the rest of the herd. I’ll wear extra aftershave to compensate.’

Berating the poor was another of Renee’s red flags—since, technically, both Maggie and Renee were minimum wage workers—but Maggie ignored it. ‘I can’t wait,’ she gasped, perhaps with a little too much eagerness. ‘It’s going to be the perfect holiday.’

‘Sure, Pretty Pea. Sure it will.’

After hanging up, Maggie rushed to call Renee. Her friend answered briefly to say she was stuck at traffic lights on her way to spend an afternoon playing board games with a disabled lady, but that she’d call back later. Hanging up, Maggie ran in little circles, wishing there was someone else she could call. Her mum would be at work—but she wasn’t too hot on Dirk since his move to London—and none of her other friends would want to know. Instead, she did the only other thing she could think of to settle her nerves.

She went shopping.

Christmas was still a long way off, but she managed to pick up a nice pair of snow boots and a jacket with a fake fur trim which would look nice in the snow days. Walking out of the shop into a warm, sunny afternoon, however, she had a crisis of confidence. It hadn’t snowed in Cambridge over Christmas since she had been a little girl. Sure, Scotland was way farther north, but was it really going to be much different? She’d been watching the weather forecast with interest, and it was still practically beach weather all over the U.K. What was the likelihood that their remote, romantic getaway was a windy shack on a hill somewhere, battered constantly by the driving rain? Images of power cuts and doors that got stuck in the damp and baths with cracks and spiders and weird locals peering in through the windows and—

‘Stop!’

She shouted so loud at herself that an old lady walking past gave her a bemused glance. Maggie smiled, muttered sorry under her breath, and then did that terribly British thing of talking to herself in quiet tones as though to soften the blow of her sudden outburst. She was working herself up into a panic, she knew it. What happened to being all girl power and feminist and—

Deep breath. He’ll be there. It’ll all be fine.

And it’ll definitely snow.

4

Departure

‘So, you’re all set. You’ve got your passport, right?’

‘My … I don’t … what?’

Renee giggled and patted Maggie on the arm. ‘I’m having a laugh. No, you don’t need it. Except maybe to check in. But they’re hardly going to turn you away after travelling from Cambridge, are they? You’ve got your driver’s license?’

Maggie took a deep breath. ‘Yeah, I’ve got it.’

‘And you’ve got enough underwear, just in case there’s no washing machine?’

‘What? You never said—’

‘Relax!’

Maggie tried to calm herself, but was aware she was starting to panic. ‘It’s not too late, you know. I can pull the whole trip. I haven’t paid anything upfront. I mean, Dirk might not even show up. We can have a girls’ Christmas. Drink some wine, watch, um, Frozen again….’

Renee gave her a comforting pat on the arm. ‘It’ll all be fine. Just trust Auntie Renee. Tell me again about the journey. It sounds so romantic.’

Maggie had read over the printout from the web page so many times she could recite it with barely a mistake. ‘“Catch the 7.15 a.m. train to Edinburgh Waverley. From there, take the 1.03 to Inverness. At Inverness, find Platform 7A and wait for the 4.31 on the Hollydell Line. There is only one train per day—don’t miss it. The train is a single carriage and stops only once, at Hollydell Firth at exactly 5 p.m. Do not be alarmed when you exit the station. To reach Hollydell, walk up the road through the trees for approximately three hundred metres. The village will appear in front of you. The village hall is on your left. Someone will be waiting to show you to your cottage.”’

Renee hummed, her hands pressed together under her chin. ‘“The village will appear in front of you.” Sounds like it’s magic, doesn’t it?’

Maggie resisted the urge to say something negative. ‘Assuming it’s even there. I tried to find it on Google Maps, but it’s a black spot. That could mean anything. Perhaps I’m walking into a military alien abduction facility.’

‘Well, at least Dirk’s coming to meet you. He can be your knight in shining armour to save you from all those pesky E.T.s.’

‘Yeah, sure.’

Renee was still beaming and staring off into space as a loudspeaker announced the approach of a train.

‘Well, here goes.’

Renee pulled Maggie into a bear hug. She smelled faintly of Yves Saint Laurent and Starbucks Latte. No doubt Maggie smelled of fear, but she forced herself to take a deep breath.

‘It’ll be fine,’ Renee said. ‘Haven’t I told you to trust me?’

‘Several times.’

‘And if you get phone reception, be sure to give me a call to let me know how it is. Send me some pics. I’m having Christmas lunch down at the children’s home this year. A few pics of your special moment’ll cheer them up.’

The train pulled in. Guards opened the doors and a stream of passengers climbed down, bustling along the platform.

‘Right, here goes.’

‘And remember, I’ll see you on the twenty-seventh. We’ve got our lunch date, so don’t forget. I want to see your new ring. Gosh, it should be massive, what with Dirk’s salary.’

‘I won’t forget.’

‘Unless the two of you decide to extend your stay over New Year,’ Renee added. ‘I’d forgive that, but anything else … nope.’

‘Ren, I’ve got to go. Thanks for everything.’

Maggie lifted her case and climbed onto the train. Renee waved at her from the platform.

‘Good luck, Mags! Break a leg! Or don’t, as the case may be!’

As the train started to pull away, Renee tucked her hair behind her ear, and Maggie saw that little point again. Perhaps her friend was magical after all. She could only hope so. It might need magic to save her relationship with Dirk.

5

The Journey North

The Cambridge-to-Edinburgh train wasn’t busy, but each time it stopped and groups of families climbed on board, off on some adventure, or a returning relative climbed down into the arms of their waiting loved ones, Maggie was reminded that she was on her way to what she hoped would be a romantic holiday retreat on her own. For perhaps the fiftieth time, she opened her phone and checked for messages, but there was only the same message Dirk had sent her yesterday: I’ll be there. Don’t worry. Xx

There were only two kisses instead of the usual three. Had he been in a hurry, or was she just paranoid? The temptation to call Renee for her opinion was overwhelming, but she’d only been on the train an hour and Renee was possibly still driving home.