wouldn’t have been given the best advice of my life from old Mr Angelo...’
‘What was it?’ I ask.
‘That love is like finding a pair of shoes designed to fit you perfectly: they make you feel like you’re walking on air.’
‘Like these,’ I say, looking down at my winged feet.
Sam smiles and takes my hand. ‘And like us.’
I look up at him. ‘Sam, I’m so sorry I took you for granted. I was so scared that I’d ruined everything and you weren’t coming back. Hardy’s may be my home, but you and Sophie are my world’
He kisses me again. ‘I know. I’m never going to leave you. I promise.’
I turn around, wanting to thank David, not just for the shoes but for what he’s done for Sam and me, but he’s nowhere to be seen. I frown; I’m torn, but only momentarily. I want to find him, but this moment is about Sam and I, David Angelo – and his dad – won’t mind. In fact, I know exactly what they’d say: “Work can wait, Evie. True love can’t.”
‘Shall we go and find out how the takings are going?’ Sam says, eyeing up the cash desk and the flurry of staff and customers crowding the department.
I shake my head and lead him to the real staircase. As we begin to descend, holding onto the rail that is entwined with festive greenery, I feel like I am making an entrance into a new chapter of my own fairy-tale: the one that ends with a happy ever after.
‘I think the store can manage without me for an hour or so,’ I reply with a smile. ‘Besides, there’s someone who needs to be told our good news.’ I pause. ‘It doesn’t seem fair that one of our babies and not the other has heard it already.’ I glance up at the domed ceiling of Hardy’s and say a silent thank you for everything it has done for me, before smiling at my fiancé. ‘I think a celebration is in order.’
‘Eggnog and Christmas cake in Lily’s tearoom with Sophie?’ Sam suggests.
‘Perfect!’ I laugh as he turns and kisses me lightly on the lips. ‘This is going to be the best Christmas ever,’ I add joyously as I gaze at my husband-to-be.
‘A vintage Christmas!’ Sam replies playfully.
And it is.
Discover where the magic began. . .
Available in paperback and eBook
Thursday 1 December
24 Shopping Days Until Christmas
C HAPTER 1
I gaze out of my bedroom window into the dark winter morning as the snowflakes fall softly outside. Is this it? I wonder. It’s not a sudden change in the wind, like the one that carried Mary Poppins to the Banks family, or the tornado that carried Dorothy to Oz, but maybe, just maybe, this downfall is the universe’s way of telling me that my life is about to change. A flurry of snow to signal the flurry of action I’ve been waiting for so long.
I drop the curtains so that they fall back in place and dash over to my dressing table where my Advent calendar is propped up against the mirror. I smile as I open door number one and pop the chocolate in my mouth. The picture is of a snow globe. Another sign that things are about to be shaken up?
Half an hour later I slam the front door behind me, heave my bike down the front steps and hop on, feeling a thrill of anticipation. Today big things are going to happen, I just know it.
Today, like every work day, I’m wearing plain black trousers, a white shirt (with a thermal vest underneath) and flat brogues. I’m also wrapped in a cardigan, my sensible knee-length duffel coat, bobble hat, and a multicoloured striped scarf, which I’ve wound tightly around my neck and mouth. Not a great look but it’s not like anyone is going to notice at this time of the morning. Or indeed at any time. It’s been two years since anyone really looked at me. That was when Jamie broke up with me.
Obviously I’ve changed massively since then and I’m completely over him. Well, maybe not completely. But, you know, these things take time. Two years isn’t that long to get over a five-year relationship, is it? I don’t
‘What was it?’ I ask.
‘That love is like finding a pair of shoes designed to fit you perfectly: they make you feel like you’re walking on air.’
‘Like these,’ I say, looking down at my winged feet.
Sam smiles and takes my hand. ‘And like us.’
I look up at him. ‘Sam, I’m so sorry I took you for granted. I was so scared that I’d ruined everything and you weren’t coming back. Hardy’s may be my home, but you and Sophie are my world’
He kisses me again. ‘I know. I’m never going to leave you. I promise.’
I turn around, wanting to thank David, not just for the shoes but for what he’s done for Sam and me, but he’s nowhere to be seen. I frown; I’m torn, but only momentarily. I want to find him, but this moment is about Sam and I, David Angelo – and his dad – won’t mind. In fact, I know exactly what they’d say: “Work can wait, Evie. True love can’t.”
‘Shall we go and find out how the takings are going?’ Sam says, eyeing up the cash desk and the flurry of staff and customers crowding the department.
I shake my head and lead him to the real staircase. As we begin to descend, holding onto the rail that is entwined with festive greenery, I feel like I am making an entrance into a new chapter of my own fairy-tale: the one that ends with a happy ever after.
‘I think the store can manage without me for an hour or so,’ I reply with a smile. ‘Besides, there’s someone who needs to be told our good news.’ I pause. ‘It doesn’t seem fair that one of our babies and not the other has heard it already.’ I glance up at the domed ceiling of Hardy’s and say a silent thank you for everything it has done for me, before smiling at my fiancé. ‘I think a celebration is in order.’
‘Eggnog and Christmas cake in Lily’s tearoom with Sophie?’ Sam suggests.
‘Perfect!’ I laugh as he turns and kisses me lightly on the lips. ‘This is going to be the best Christmas ever,’ I add joyously as I gaze at my husband-to-be.
‘A vintage Christmas!’ Sam replies playfully.
And it is.
Discover where the magic began. . .
Available in paperback and eBook
Thursday 1 December
24 Shopping Days Until Christmas
C HAPTER 1
I gaze out of my bedroom window into the dark winter morning as the snowflakes fall softly outside. Is this it? I wonder. It’s not a sudden change in the wind, like the one that carried Mary Poppins to the Banks family, or the tornado that carried Dorothy to Oz, but maybe, just maybe, this downfall is the universe’s way of telling me that my life is about to change. A flurry of snow to signal the flurry of action I’ve been waiting for so long.
I drop the curtains so that they fall back in place and dash over to my dressing table where my Advent calendar is propped up against the mirror. I smile as I open door number one and pop the chocolate in my mouth. The picture is of a snow globe. Another sign that things are about to be shaken up?
Half an hour later I slam the front door behind me, heave my bike down the front steps and hop on, feeling a thrill of anticipation. Today big things are going to happen, I just know it.
Today, like every work day, I’m wearing plain black trousers, a white shirt (with a thermal vest underneath) and flat brogues. I’m also wrapped in a cardigan, my sensible knee-length duffel coat, bobble hat, and a multicoloured striped scarf, which I’ve wound tightly around my neck and mouth. Not a great look but it’s not like anyone is going to notice at this time of the morning. Or indeed at any time. It’s been two years since anyone really looked at me. That was when Jamie broke up with me.
Obviously I’ve changed massively since then and I’m completely over him. Well, maybe not completely. But, you know, these things take time. Two years isn’t that long to get over a five-year relationship, is it? I don’t
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